A valid passport is required. After your travel arrangements are made, we will ask you to complete a Searcher Passenger Form. That information is required for us to report to US Homeland Security and to complete your Mexican tourist visa. You will receive this stamped Mexican tourist visa after our immigration clearance stop in Ensenada on Day 2. This visa will suffice for your stay in Mexico and is also required to board your flight home.

Please make your travel arrangements to San Diego to start the tour. We recommend that you arrive to San Diego the day before your tour departs in case of weather delays. Check our “Suggested San Diego Services” and “What to do in San Diego” for ideas on hotels and local attractions. The San Diego airport’s (Lindbergh Field) airline code is SAN. Before booking non-refundable flights, contact us to verify that the tour is a confirmed departure.

Searcher is scheduled to depart from Fisherman’s Landing in Point Loma. Please be aboard by 8 p.m. You may board Searcher earlier in the day to leave luggage. If you drive to San Diego, you may leave a vehicle at Fisherman’s Landing in an Ace Parking lot which costs $8 per day. Fisherman’s Landing is about 15 minutes by taxi from the airport or train station and is located at the intersection of North Harbor Drive and Scott Street in the Point Loma area. Your first included meal is breakfast on Day 2. There are several restaurants within walking distance to Fisherman’s Landing for dinner before the orientation. Please check our “Suggested San Diego Services” for ideas about our nearby attractions.

Searcher will arrive at Cabo San Lucas in the early morning on Day 12. You should arrange for a flight out of Cabo San Lucas (also called Los Cabos or San Jose del Cabo, airline code SJD) for noon or later since the airport is about an hour from the dock. We arrange shuttles from the boat dock to the airport for $30 per person (US dollars are accepted). If you choose to stay in Cabo for the day, you can arrange for airport transportation on your own. Airlines for flights home or back to San Diego include US Airways, Alaska, Aeromexico, Continental, Delta, and American. If you stay on in Cabo San Lucas, see our “Hotels in Los Cabos” for ideas on where to stay.

We suggest you purchase travel insurance in case of the unexpected need to cancel your tour. Our recommended product is found here: www.travelguard.com/drinsure/. Once the tour has started, all money paid to Searcher Natural History Tours is nonrefundable.

The tour price does not include: ground/air transportation costs, the snorkel with whale sharks (weather dependent), meals not specified in itinerary, costs for emergency medical situations during the tour, costs associated with travel delays due to weather or other unavoidable events, trip insurance, early arrival or late departure due to airline schedules, or gratuities for crew. We reserve the right to charge a fuel surcharge if the price of marine diesel fuel rises unexpectedly. This will be determined in advance of the tour.We are often asked for guidelines on gratuity for Searcher crew. An average is 10% of the trip cost and can be left aboard with Captain Art. You may wish to tip the Mexican skiff drivers in Laguna San Ignacio–$30 (US dollars accepted) per passenger is average.

Prepare for travel aboard ship to relatively remote areas, far from US-style medical facilities or pharmacies. You are invited, but not required, to participate in activities such as whalewatching in small skiffs, snorkeling and swimming, hiking in remote areas, and traveling aboard a moving vessel. We try to accommodate all levels of ability in these experiences, however we suggest you discuss this tour and the activities with your physician to make an informed decision about whether this tour matches your fitness level. Please inform us of any medical conditions and dietary needs in advance so we can do our best to make you comfortable during your tour.