Ditch the all-inclusive and, while everyone is hangover and recovering from a Spring Break night, get to know the real Baja California Sur with these small trips from Los Cabos. Did you know that just a couple of hours away there’s a place where you can swim with whale sharks?
- Boat ride to El Arco
In Cabo San Lucas, go to Playa El Médano and take a ‘panga’ (local word for small boat) to El Arco. The ride along this rock formation takes about 45 minutes and ends with a stop at Playa del Amor. Here, in the ‘middle’ of the ocean, you can bring your lunch, rent a parasol and enjoy the beach with the Sea of Cortés on one side and the Pacific on the other.
- Shopping at Mercado Orgánico
On Saturdays (from 9am to 3pm) this local market in San José del Cabo offers a good variety of organic food (both raw and prepared), hand made toiletries, home decor and hippie looking souvenirs.
If you go, eat in ‘Las Cazuelas del Don’. It’s a family business that serves delicious casseroles with various ingredients. They also have a proper restaurant in the city.
- Swimming with Whale Shark
If you are in for a thrilling experience, rent a car and go to La Paz (2.30 hrs drive). There you can take a boat into open sea and swim alongside the largest fish ever known while he eats. You can read our experience and tips here.
- Kayaking in Balandra
If you are around La Paz, after swimming with the whale sharks, you can drive away from the town center into Balandra. This bay is home to beautiful white sand beaches, clear turquoise ocean and an important mangrove forest.
The best part is that you can walk through the entire bay because of its waist-height sea level (I’m 1.60m). Just be aware of stingrays- that’s why we opted for the kayak.
- Releasing turtles at dusk
A short hour drive will lead you to Todos Santos, a small picturesque town filled with art galleries and quirky shops.
After spending time walking through its streets, go at five o’clock in the afternoon to Las Tunas Sanctuary and watch the release of Olive Ridley, Black and Leatherback turtles. To know the exact dates, follow ‘Tortugueros Las Playitas’ on Facebook. They usually post at noon if they have hatchlings.
- Snorkeling in Cabo Pulmo
Cabo Pulmo is the only coral reef in the Gulf of California and for that reason it has been declared a Natural World Heritage Site.
During this snorkeling tour you’ll be able to see the coral reef and different species of fish, including a school of jureles, plus a chance to swim with sea lions and turtles.
- Whale watching (and touching!)
If you have time, a five-hour drive to Puerto San Carlos will lead you to one of the most memorable experiences of your life. Here, the ‘watching’ is more like petting a grey whale.
But hurry up, they arrive in November to mate and have their calves, and begin their journey back to Alaska in April.
