La Paz
Exploring La Paz and going on a Sea Lion Snorkel Tour
MEXICO
La Paz was the top destination on our list when planning our visit to Baja California in Mexico. It is a stunning destination that offers a plethora of activities for visitors to enjoy, such as pristine beaches, crystal-clear waters, and abundant vibrant marine life.
We pre-booked a Sea Lion Snorkel tour and found that La Paz is a paradise for exploring the underwater landscape. Snorkeling or diving in the Sea of Cortez is an absolute must when you visit La Paz as it has an underwater world filled with colorful corals and fish species.
To get to La Paz in Baja California we travelled on the Mexican Star ferry with Baja Ferries. The website listed the trip from Mazatlán to La Paz as 12 hours however we found with the loading and unloading time it was closer to a total of 16 hours. The sailing left Mazatlán at 4:00 pm and we were instructed to arrive 3 hours early in order to have our paperwork checked and load our vehicle. It took about 2 hours to load the vehicle and get on the vessel after we arrived 3 hours early.
We highly recommend purchasing your ferry tickets a few months in advance as there are usually only 2 or 3 crossings a week and the cabins get booked up quickly. Although it is not mandatory to book a cabin, we do recommend it if you want to be able to get some sleep.
The cabin boasted four single beds, a television, and a private bathroom with a pleasant shower. Adult ferry tickets were priced at $1850 pesos each, while children over 3 years old were charged $925 pesos each. Additionally, the cabin incurred a cost of $2400 pesos. Transporting our minivan across the sea amounted to $6365 pesos.
Although the trip was not inexpensive, we found the ferry to be clean and accommodating. Included in your ticket price was a plate of simple Mexican food. The food was surprisingly flavorful and filling. The sailing across was smooth sailing and we were able to sleep the whole journey across to La Paz.
After arriving in La Paz we embarked on a boat tour to explore Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida. Known for harboring one of the largest sea lion colonies in the vicinity of Baja California, Isla Partida delighted us with numerous sea lions basking on the rocks. Some even ventured into the water, joining us for a memorable swim.
The tour company we went with was called Alonso tours and cost $95 USD per person. The tour started at 10 am with about 12 people on a quick speed boat. The boat ride from La Paz to Isla Partida was about 2 hours long. Along the way, we spotted a big pod of dolphins jumping out of the water all around us. When we arrived at the sea lion nursery, we were eager to put on our snorkel gear and jump into the chilly water to swim with the sea lions.
I was so excited to see these majestic animals, I didn't mind the cold water at all! Right away a sea lion pup swam over to check us out. Then a big male sea lion swam straight at me! WOW! Very quickly 20 minutes was up and we were back on the boat.
We then headed to a beautiful beach where we were provided a very delicious picnic lunch. I did some more snorkeling before heading back to town and got back to La Paz at 4 pm.
To get a great feel for the city we took a stroll along the Malecon. This is a very scenic waterfront promenade where you can admire stunning and unique statues and of course the La Paz letters!
Just north of La Paz we did the Cerro de La Calavera trail. The trail is a choose your own adventure as there are many different braided trails that all make it up the hill to the rock formations. The trails wind their way up with some loose rocks but we eventually made it to the viewpoint and Aliya had a blast running around and exploring.
The two beaches we visited in La Paz were Playa Balandra and Playa El Tecolote which is about 5 minutes north of Playa Balandra. Due to the popularity of Playa Balandra they limit the amount of vehicles into the area and have two entrance times for visitors.
We arrived for the 8 am entrance and enjoyed the views and shallow water that allows you to walk all the way across the bay. The officials then have the morning visitors leave at noon and then let in the afternoon visitors. We then drove up to Playa El Tecolote and enjoyed viewing the abundant marine life and found the beach to be less windy than Playa Balandra.
Personally we found Playa El Tecolote to be the better beach to visit as we could stay there all day and there were numerous restaurants and water activities available.
We were absolutely blown away by La Paz and its beautiful beaches. There's so much wildlife in the clear blue water! If you make it to the southern area of Baja California it is a must stop and be sure to book a tour to get up close and personal with the wildlife! Happy exploring!
