The Nautilus Explorer is a 132-foot (40-meter) luxury liveaboard vessel, purpose-built in 2000 and lengthened in 2018 to enhance guest comfort and diving facilities. Designed with heavy steel construction and equipped with stabilizers, it ensures safe and smooth ocean crossings. The vessel accommodates up to 25 guests in 13 well-appointed cabins and suites, each featuring individually controlled air conditioning and private ensuite bathrooms.
Facilities & Meals
The Nautilus Explorer boasts a spacious dive deck with a large water-level platform, facilitating easy entry and exit for divers. Guests can relax on the sun decks or unwind in the freshwater hot tub. The main salon and separate dining area feature large windows offering panoramic ocean views. Meals are freshly prepared daily, blending North American, European, and Mexican cuisines, with homemade soups, baked goods, and a variety of entrees to cater to diverse dietary preferences.
Activities
Beyond exceptional diving, guests can enjoy the onboard hot tub, socialize in the comfortable lounge areas, or partake in evening presentations and slide shows. The vessel also offers internet access and satellite phone services, ensuring connectivity even in remote locations.
Staying Connected
The Nautilus Explorer is equipped with satellite Wi-Fi, allowing guests to stay in touch with friends and family or handle light work responsibilities while at sea. Satellite phone services are also available, ensuring connectivity even in remote regions.
We Think . . .
The Nautilus Explorer seamlessly combines luxury accommodations with top-tier diving facilities, making it an excellent choice for divers seeking both comfort and adventure. Its well-designed spaces, attentive crew, and access to premier dive sites ensure a memorable liveaboard experience.
The Nautilus Explorer operates primarily in the eastern Pacific, offering diving expeditions to renowned locations such as Socorro and the Sea of Cortez. These areas are celebrated for their rich marine biodiversity and unique underwater encounters.
How to Get There
Guests typically fly into major hubs like Los Cabos International Airport (SJD) in Mexico. From there, the Nautilus team arranges transfers to the departure point, ensuring a seamless journey to the vessel.
Premium Suite
- Emerald Suite: Once the owner’s private quarters, this spacious two-room suite features a separate bedroom and lounge area. It includes a full-size bathtub in the ensuite bathroom and large picture windows that offer breathtaking ocean views.
Superior Suites
- Three Superior Suites: Located on the wheelhouse deck, these suites offer generous space, large windows, desks, wardrobes, and private ensuite bathrooms with showers.
Staterooms
- Eight Staterooms: Found on the lower deck, six staterooms are equipped with side-by-side beds (one double and one twin), while the remaining two feature larger beds and extra storage space. All staterooms include ensuite bathrooms with spacious showers.
Triple Stateroom
- One Triple Stateroom: This budget-friendly cabin includes a double bed on one side and a bunk bed on the other, along with a private ensuite bathroom. Please note that space is limited in this compact option.
Diving Location Features
The Nautilus Explorer provides access to some of the most exhilarating dive sites in the eastern Pacific, known for encounters with giant manta rays, various shark species, dolphins, and vibrant marine ecosystems.
Dive Services
The vessel features a newly expanded dive deck with a large water-level platform, individual gear storage, rinse tanks, and a spacious camera table. Nitrox is available for enriched air divers, and the vessel is rebreather-friendly. Experienced dive guides accompany all dives, ensuring safety and enhancing the underwater experience.
Dive Sites
- Baja Ultimate Whales (Jan–Apr): Combines swimming with whale sharks, snorkeling with sea lions, a 3-night expedition in the Sea of Cortez, and sightings of humpbacks, blue whales, and dolphins. Topped off with a private flight to San Ignacio Lagoon for unforgettable gray whale interactions.
- Orcas in the Sea of Cortez (Apr–Aug): Encounters with multiple pods of orcas that actively choose to interact, with peak sightings in July and August.
- Ultimate Whale Shark Adventure (Jun–Oct): Swim with whale sharks in a pristine bay of the Sea of Cortez. Chance encounters with orcas, finbacks, and sperm whales add to the excitement.
- Sea of Cortez (Jul–Nov): Diverse year-round marine life with mega pods of dolphins, mobula rays, visiting orcas, and superb summer/fall diving with warm water and great visibility.
- Loreto / La Paz (Jul–Nov): A relaxed diving itinerary across calm seas with up to 4 dives daily, playful sea lions, and chances to see orcas, pilot whales, and sperm whales. Includes beach walks, kayaking, and desert excursions.
- Mexico Sardine Run (Oct–Dec): Intense pelagic action as the Pacific explodes with life during the sardine run, featuring snorkeling and freediving supported by liveaboard and panga boats.
Live Availability and Pricing
Nautilus Explorer Luxury Liveaboard Extras Payable Locally
| Optional Extras | AUD | USD | |||
| Port fees (USD cash) | 35 | USD | | | 35 | |
| Nitrox per Trip | 120 | USD | | | 120 | |
| Full gear hire inc. computer | 325 | USD | | | 325 | |
| This resort's prices are in USD. The AUD prices shown are based on the current exchange rate. The price paid in AUD will be based on the actual exchange rate at the time any payments are made. | |||||
| Important Information | |||||
| Special payment and cancellation terms apply for this operator. | |||||
| EXTRAS payable at time of booking (as of October 2024) | |||||
| 5% Mexican VAT on cruise price | |||||
