ORCAS AND MOBULA RAYS OF BAJA PHOTO TOUR

swim with schooling mobula rays and orcas

8 Days

Baja, Mexico

4 Pax

Difficult

Medium

Orcas and Mobula Rays of Baja Photo Tour

Swim with large schools of mobula rays and orcas in the Sea of Cortez

Our Orcas and Mobula Rays of Baja Photo Tour will allow you to swim with large schools of mobula rays, as well as provide you the chance to encounter and swim with orcas in the Sea of Cortez. Imagine being in the water near hundreds, if not thousands of munk's mobula rays as they school to filter feed. It is an experience you will never forget. Seeing and swimming with orcas, the apex predators of the area, is awe-inspiring and one we treat with the utmost care and respect. This tour is in the heart of the Gulf of California, where we have the chance to swim with over twenty different mammal species. Enjoy the warm waters of the Sea of Cortez as we encounter the megafauna of these beautiful seas.

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SEE LARGE SCHOOLS OF MOBULA RAYS IN BAJA

POSSIBILITY TO SEE ORCAS HUNT MOBULA RAYS

POSSIBILITY TO SWIM WITH ORCAS HUNTING MOBULA RAYS

SEE OTHER MARINE MAMMALS OF THE SEA OF CORTEZ

SWIM WITH CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS

EXCLUSIVE USE OF THE COMFORTABLE CHARTER BOAT

LEARN HOW FISHING CAN CO-EXIST WITH ECOTOURISM

LEARN HOW FISHING IMPACTS MOBULA RAYS

Why we love this Orcas and Mobula Rays in Baja safari

This Orcas and Mobula Rays in Baja photo tour is designed to get you in the water with large schools of Mobula rays, with the chance to see orcas as they pursue them. This tour takes place during the peak migration time for the rays in the south western part of the Sea of Cortez, when thousands of the rays gather to form super schools. This maximizes our chances of seeing these large schools, which attract the local orca pods that hunt them. If we are lucky, we will have the chance to be in the water and swim with the orcas, an incredible experience as you watch the apex predator of the Sea of Cortez.

The Gulf of California is home to a staggering twenty three species of cetaceans, and we will keep our eye out for all of them. There is a good chance for us to see dolphins like the Common Dolphin, Pantropical Spotted Dolphin, and Common Bottlenose Dolphin. These dolphin species can often be found in large pods, even super pods, that have joined together as they pursue their prey. We will also look for the whales of the Sea of Cortez, including humpback whales and blue whales!

The Sea of Cortez is a haven for marine mammals, including pinnipeds like the California Sea Lions. These sea lions are often very curious, especially when you enter the water with them. It is an incredible experience as the sea lions check you out and to see them move effortlessly through the water, like ballerinas dancing through the air.

As we always believe in utilizing fantastic local guides, we have partnered with the Rocinante boat team. We will have exclusive use of the boat, allowing us to go where we want to go, and see the marine wildlife that we are interested in. To complete the experience we will learn about how fishing co-exists with ecotourism in the region, an essential fact to protecting the wildlife long term.

Orcas and Mobula Rays in Baja photo tour testimonials

Coming Soon

- Teresa Gallet

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Mobula-Ray-School-Sea-of-Cortez

Mobula-Ray-School-Sea-of-Cortez
Orcas-Baja-California

Orcas-Baja-California
Mobula-Ray-School-Baja-California

Mobula-Ray-School-Baja-California
Orca-Predation-Sea-of-Cortez

Orca-Predation-Sea-of-Cortez
Mobula-Ray-Aggregation-Sea-of-Cortez

Mobula-Ray-Aggregation-Sea-of-Cortez
Orca-Pod-Sea-of-Cortez

Orca-Pod-Sea-of-Cortez
Orca-female-Baja-California

Orca-female-Baja-California
Orca-mother-and-calf

Orca-mother-and-calf

Other wildlife you can see on this tour

Brown-Pelican-Flying-Baja-California

Brown-Pelican-Flying-Baja-California
Dolphin-pair-Sea-of-Cortez

Dolphin-pair-Sea-of-Cortez
California-Sea-Lion-Group-Underwater-Sea-of-Cortez

California-Sea-Lion-Group-Underwater-Sea-of-Cortez
Brown-Pelican-Baja-California

Brown-Pelican-Baja-California
Whale Shark, Sea of Cortez, Baja, Mexico

Whale Shark, Sea of Cortez, Baja, Mexico
Sea-Turtle-Baja-California

Sea-Turtle-Baja-California
Bottlenose Dolphin jumping, Baja, Mexico

Bottlenose Dolphin jumping, Baja, Mexico

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Target species during our orcas and mobula rays in Baja photo tour

ORCA (Orcinus orca)

Orcas are the largest members of the dolphin family. They are mostly black in coloration with white markings behind the dorsal fin, chin, and lower body. Male orcas have a very large, straight dorsal fin. They are apex predators, capable of hunting prey much larger than themselves. If you want to target Orca in the Sea of Cortez check out our Orcas and Mobula Rays photo tour.

Difficulty: Difficult

MUNK'S MOBULA RAY (Mobula munkiana)

Munk's mobula rays have numerous common names including Munk's devil ray, pygmy devil ray, smoothtail mobula, and Munk’s pygmy devil ray. They are the smallest of the five species of mobula rays found in the Sea of Cortez, with a wingspan of about one meter. However, what makes munk's mobula rays so incredible is that they congregate in large schools, often consisting of thousands of individuals. Additionally, munk's mobula rays, like the other four species of mobula ray, will leap out of the water, often bellyflopping as they hit the surface.

Difficulty: Medium

Other possible marine mammals during our safari

BLUE WHALE (Balaenoptera musculus)

The world's largest animal to have ever lived, blue whales are simply spectacular measuring up to one hundred feet in length and weighing over one hundred tons. Blue whales come to the Sea of Cortez, also called the Gulf of California to give birth and mate, for just a few weeks each year. This is the time for us to see these incredible giants. These long lived rorqual whales are thankfully increasing in numbers.

Difficulty: Medium

HUMPBACK WHALE (Megaptera novaeangliae)

Though common along the pacific coast of North America, humpback whales don't venture far into the sea of Cortez, which means there is a smaller chance of seeing these baleen whales. Please check out our humpbacks of Tonga tour if you want to swim with these gentle giants! We will of course keep an eye out for their distinctive long pectoral fins, and tubercles on its head.

Difficulty: Difficult

FIN WHALE (Balaenoptera physalus)

The fin whale is the second largest whale in the world, after the blue whale, growing to lengths of eight-five feet. They can be differentiated from their larger cousins by their darker coloration on their dorsal side, with two asymmetric chevron patches near the back of the head. These baleen whales are the fastest whales, reaching speeds up to twenty-five miles per hour. There is a small resident population in the Sea of Cortez.

Difficulty: Difficult

BRYDE'S WHALE (Balaenoptera brydei)

The Bryde's whale is a baleen whale similar to the Sei whale. It can be differentiated from other whales by its dark gray dorsal coloration, darker than Sei whales. Their tail flukes barely break the surface, and their spouts are very columnar. Their dorsal fin appears to be in the middle of their back, when surfacing. These whales are found year around in the Sea of Cortez.

Difficulty: Difficult

SEI WHALE (Balaenoptera borealis)

The Sei Whale is very similar in appearance to the Bryde's Whale, and is more rare in the Sea of Cortez, than its slightly smaller cousin. It is dark, steely gray in its ventral coloration. Its dorsal fin is slightly more upright than the Bryde's Whale and appears further back on its body. These whales are classified as endangered and we would be thrilled to see any individuals during our tour.

Difficulty: Very Difficult

COMMON DOLPHIN (Delphinus delphis)

These medium sized dolphins are unique in their coloration, having a yellow or golden hourglass on the sides of their bodies. These dolphins can form large pods, over a hundred individuals and can sometimes even create super-pods, when multiple pods come together at the same time. They are found year around in the Sea of Cortez.

Difficulty: Easy

SPINNER DOLPHIN (Stenella longirostris)

Spinner dolphins are small, slender-bodied, dolphins known for their acrobatic displays of leaping and spinning when breaching. Unlike most other dolphins, spinner dolphins are nocturnal, hunting squid and fish at night, rather than during the day. They are one of the more rare dolphins in the Sea of Cortez.

Difficulty: Difficult

SHORT-FINNED PILOT WHALE (Globicephala macrorhynchus)

Despite their name, Short-finned Pilot Whales are dolphins. They can be distinguished from other dolphins in the Sea of Cortez by their larger size, bulbous head, and sickle-shaped dorsal fin. They are generally found in deeper waters, preferring to go for prey off the continental shelf.

Difficulty: Very Difficult

RISSO'S DOLPHIN (Grampus griseus)

The unique looking Risso's Dolphin has a large bulbous head, with a quickly tailoring body towards its tail. Its dark gray colored body is often marked by white scratches. They are mostly nocturnal, feeding on squid off of the continental shelf. They are found in the Sea of Cortez all year around.

Difficulty: Difficult

PANTROPICAL SPOTTED DOLPHIN (Stenella attenuata)

The Pantropical Spotted Dolphin is a fairly slender, streamlined dolphin. It has light spots on its body that increase in number and size as it gets older. The coastal spotted dolphins in the Sea of Cortez are larger than the pelagic populations. They are one of the more obvious dolphins as they are very active, and leap and splash a lot.

Difficulty: Medium

FALSE KILLER WHALE (Pseudorca crassidens)

The name of the false killer whale comes from its skulls appearance being similar to that of the orca. False killer whales have slender bodies with an elongated, tapered head. The are black or dark gray in coloration with a slightly lighter ventral side. They are the third largest dolphin in the Sea of Cortez, reaching sixteen feet in length.

Difficulty: Very Difficult

PACIFIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens)

The Pacific white-sided dolphin is an average sized dolphin that has three different colors. The belly, throat, and chin, are creamy white. The back, flippers, and beak are dark gray. On the sides of their bodies, they have light gray patches and an additional light gray stripe. They are only found in the southern part of the Sea of Cortez.

Difficulty: Very Difficult

STRIPED DOLPHIN (Stenella coeruleoalba)

The Striped Dolphin is similar in size to the Pantropical spotted dolphin, but can easily be distinguished from it by its markings. Black bands circle the eyes, which then run across the back. Two further black stripes run from behind the ear down its side of its body. One runs along its body toward the tail, the other ends just at the flipper.

Difficulty: Difficult

ROUGH-TOOTHED DOLPHIN (Steno bredanensis)

The Rough-toothed Dolphin is a large dolphin species with a distinguishing conical head and slender nose. The body is black dorsally and light gray and white ventrally. The lower jaw of the Rough-toothed Dolphin is white in color. They will sometimes join other pods of dolphins or may create large pods amongst themselves.

Difficulty: Difficult

COMMON BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN (Tursiops truncatus)

The Common Bottlenose Dolphin is the most well known dolphin species, as it is the species most commonly found in aquariums and was the dolphin on the show flipper. It is a medium size dolphin, uniformly light gray in coloration, with a short beak. It is one of the more common dolphin species found in the Sea of Cortez.

Difficulty: Easy

DWARF SPERM WHALE (Kogia sima)

The dwarf sperm whale is the smallest of the three sperm whales, with a length of about eight feet. It has a dark-gray or blue-gray color with a lighter-grey ventral side. It has a pale, crescent-shaped mark between the eye and the flipper, just like the pygmy sperm whale. The squared head is the differentiator between the two smaller sperm whales.