Day Trips from Los Cabos — Todos Santos, La Paz, Whale Watching & East Cape

Los Cabos anchors the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez. The landscape changes dramatically within an hour of driving north — desert scrubland gives way to colonial towns, turquoise bays, and one of Mexico’s most biodiverse marine environments. Day trips here are as much about the drive as the destination.

Todos Santos

Todos Santos sits approximately 80 kilometres north of Cabo San Lucas on Highway 19, a smooth one-hour drive through desert and Pacific coast views. The town was declared a Pueblo Mágico in 2006 and has since developed a reputation for art galleries, boutique hotels, and a relaxed creative community alongside its agricultural heritage of sugar cane and mango orchards.

The town centre is compact and walkable. The main gallery strip runs along Calle Centenario and Topete, where you’ll find established Mexican painters, ceramicists, and sculptors alongside the inevitable craft shops. Hotel California on Calle Benito Juárez — which claims to be the inspiration for the Eagles song (a point of some dispute) — operates as a functioning hotel and restaurant open to non-guests for lunch. The pool courtyard is pleasant and the lunch menu runs to approximately USD 18–30 per main.

El Triunfo, a 19th-century silver mining town approximately 30 kilometres east of Todos Santos on the road to La Paz, makes a logical addition. The old mine chimneys and Baroque church give the town a haunted quality, and a handful of small restaurants have opened around the central plaza in recent years. The Museo de la Música is an unexpectedly good regional history museum housed in a renovated mine building.

La Paz and Whale Shark Snorkelling

La Paz, the capital of Baja California Sur, lies approximately 2.5 hours north of Los Cabos via Highway 1. The drive follows the spine of the peninsula through desert landscapes, passing the mining ghost towns of the Sierra de la Laguna foothills.

The city itself has a long malecón promenade fronting the Sea of Cortez and a compact historic centre with good restaurants and a different pace from Los Cabos. Jacques Cousteau called the Sea of Cortez around La Paz “the world’s aquarium,” and the marine biodiversity here substantiates that claim.

From October through April, whale sharks congregate in the warm shallow waters near La Paz. Snorkelling excursions depart from the La Paz marina and cost approximately USD 80–120 per person including wetsuit, snorkel equipment, boat transport, and a bilingual guide. You are not permitted to use fins near the whale sharks, and SEMARNAT regulations limit the number of swimmers per animal — reputable operators follow these rules carefully.

Isla Espíritu Santo, a UNESCO World Heritage island 25 kilometres offshore, hosts year-round colonies of California sea lions at Los Islotes. Boat tours combining sea lion snorkelling with kayaking and snorkelling over reef cost approximately USD 90–130 per person. Full-day tours from La Paz are available through operators bookable via Viator and GetYourGuide.

Some Los Cabos-based operators offer combined transport and tour packages from Cabo for approximately USD 150–200 per person, saving you the logistics of driving to La Paz independently.

Whale Watching in Magdalena Bay

Magdalena Bay (Bahía Magdalena) on the Pacific side of Baja is one of the premier whale watching locations in the world during the grey whale breeding and calving season from January through March. Pregnant grey whales migrate from Arctic feeding grounds to these protected shallow lagoons to give birth, and the bay produces one of the most accessible whale encounters on earth — grey whale mothers are known to approach small boats and allow physical contact.

The bay is approximately 3 hours northwest of Los Cabos by road (via Ciudad Constitución). Most visitors book a full-day tour from Los Cabos that includes transport, a boat trip in the lagoon, and lunch — prices typically run USD 80–150 per person depending on group size and operator. Tours through Viator and local Cabo operators such as Cabo Expeditions run this route throughout the season.

Outside of January–March, the bay loses its whale population but remains a productive birding location. The season window is narrow, so confirm whale activity with operators before booking if travelling in the shoulder months.

East Cape Beaches and Cabo Pulmo

The East Cape road northeast of San José del Cabo follows an increasingly rough track through dramatic desert and coastline towards the town of Los Barriles and Cabo Pulmo. This is Baja’s least-visited coastal stretch — remote, largely undeveloped, and home to arguably the most pristine marine environment in the region.

Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park: Cabo Pulmo sits approximately 1.5 hours from San José del Cabo via Highway 1 and a dirt road. The marine park protects the only living coral reef on the west coast of North America, and the recovery story of the reef since commercial fishing was banned in 1995 is remarkable. Snorkelling directly from the beach delivers encounters with bull sharks, manta rays, and large schools of fish at a density few reef systems match. Local dive operators based in the small village — including Cabo Pulmo Divers — offer guided dives from approximately USD 70–90 per two-tank dive.

Playa El Tule: North of Cabo Pulmo, Playa El Tule is a long deserted beach accessible via an unpaved road. No facilities, significant swell — unsuitable for swimming but spectacular for walking.

A high-clearance vehicle or 4WD is recommended for exploring beyond the main highway. Roads are passable in a standard car in dry season but can be unpredictable.

The Land’s End Arch and San José del Cabo

If you’re based in San José del Cabo, a boat trip to Land’s End — the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula where Pacific and Sea of Cortez waters meet at the famous Arco rock formation — takes about 45 minutes and costs approximately USD 25–40 from the Cabo San Lucas marina. Glass-bottomed boats operate from the marina throughout the day.

San José del Cabo’s art district (Zona Hotelera) and the Thursday art walk (approximately November–June, 5–9pm) give the town a distinct character from Cabo San Lucas. The colonial centro and mission church are pleasant for a morning wander before heading east towards the East Cape.

Getting There

• Todos Santos: Self-drive via Highway 19, ~1 hr from Cabo San Lucas; rental cars from approximately MXN 700–1,100/day
• La Paz: Self-drive ~2.5 hrs via Highway 1; or shuttle/tour USD 150–200 including whale shark excursion
• Magdalena Bay: Organised tour from Los Cabos USD 80–150 (January–March only)
• Cabo Pulmo: Self-drive ~1.5 hrs via Highway 1 + dirt road; high-clearance vehicle recommended
• Land’s End: Glass-bottomed boat from Cabo San Lucas marina USD 25–40

All prices are approximate as of 2026.