Puerto Vallarta Vacation and Information Center

Los Arcos Night Dive Adventure Overview

If you are a scuba diving enthusiast, but have only gone diving during the day, you should try a new exciting experience by diving at night. Los Arcos Marine Reserve, a sanctuary that surrounds the granite islands of Los Arcos in the southern portion of Banderas Bay, offers divers a remarkably diverse habitat that includes some teeming coral reefs. After the sun sets below the Pacific horizon, a fabulous assortment of exotic species appears. Many of these nocturnal species cannot be witnessed during daylight hours. Even the species that can be seen both during the day and at night may display different behavior after the sun sets. When you go diving after sundown, the underwater world of this reef environment seems more mysterious.

Some of the species that you are more likely to see at night include octopus, moray eels, and lobsters. The lobsters can be seen scuttling around the coral, rather than hiding beneath rocks and within fissures. Marine Turtles can often be viewed resting on the sandy shallows during the evening. If you point your light into the nooks and crannies of the reef, you will see plenty of hidden tropical fish nestled into secure hiding places. Perhaps the most exciting species you will see after dark are the invertebrates that display bio-luminescence, lighting the undersea environment with a beautiful eerie glow.

There are some exciting undersea landscapes to explore including a steep drop-off and a sweeping gorge called Devil's Canyon. There are interesting rock formations at a nice array of depths, from ten to ninety feet.