Cabo Expeditions takes whale watching in Baja to a new level. For a few weeks each year, Baja California Sur is a magnet for migratory whales of all sizes and shapes. Whale watchers are hard put to choose where to go in this brief window of opportunity. Now Whales of Baja makes it possible to have it all.

Gray whales travel the farthest, for the sole purpose of breeding. They travel 5,000 miles from their Arctic feeding grounds to protected Pacific lagoon complexes on the west side of the Baja peninsula. There’s nothing there for them to eat. Hundreds come to the lagoons just to mate and give birth. They’ll head back to the Arctic in late spring. Whale watching in San Ignacio Lagoon is a magical experience, especially if a “friendly” gray approaches your boat.

You’ll travel around 400 miles with Cabo Expeditions on this comprehensive survey of Baja’s renowned whale species. On the east side of the peninsula, the harbor of Loreto on the Sea of Cortez will be our base. From there we’ll loop north to San Ignacio Lagoon for a day of gray whale interactions and a night of catered camping in cabanas or safari tents.

Cabana camping is “glamping” in a private cabin, with a big bed on a hardwood floor above the sand and your own sink with running water. This is carefree camping; you’ll be well fed and looked after by our attentive crew.

We’ll return for three days to explore for blue whales. They and their cohorts feed in the waters surrounding the five desert islands in the preserve. You are likely to see not only the largest animal that ever lived on earth, the blue whale, but other species completely new to you.

You could see a sperm whale in the vicinity, a pilot whale, a fin whale, a Bryde’s whale, a minke whale, false killer whales and more: the nutritious plankton soup that is the Sea of Cortez draws vast numbers of marine mammals, cetaceans and pinnipeds, dolphins and sea lions.

We’ll head south toward Land’s End for whale watching in Cabo San Lucas, where everyone’s favorite acrobats put on a show for the opposite sex. Humpback males, flashing their distinctive long white fins, come to Cabo for the girls. Breaching, snorting. bubbling and blowing, the action thrills whale watchers—dedicated and novice alike.

The humpbacks go back home to the Arctic too. Where the blues go, nobody knows. Some stay around all year, but the humpbacks and gray whales of Baja head north to feed.

You’ll come on this expedition for the whales, of course. But you could leave entranced by the dramatic geology, diverse bird and reptile life, and bizarre desert plants that endure in this remote and rugged landscape. This is not just a Baja whale-watching excursion, but an exploration of the natural riches that are Baja’s heritage, led by knowledgeable Cabo Expeditions guides.

Two itineraries are available: LOR-CSL Starts in Loreto and ends in Cabo San Lucas. CSL-LOR starts in Cabo and ends in Loreto.

Itinerary

CSL-LOR
Day 1 – Arrival in Cabo San Lucas, hotel check-in (Hotel)
Day 2 – Breakfast, whale-watching #1, lunch, whale-watching #2, dinner (Hotel, B, L, D)
Day 3 – Breakfast, depart for La Paz, sightseeing along the way, lunch in La Paz, depart for Loreto, sightseeing along the way, check-in/free time, dinner (Hotel, B, L, D)
Day 4 – Breakfast, zodiac whale watching around the islands. The Loreto Marine Park established by Loreto citizens and The Nature Conservancy, encompasses five islands, big and small—Del Carmen, Danzante, Coronado, Catalina, and Montserrat—and the waters around them, rich with biodiversity. (Danzante Island is where three ancient tribes—Cochimi, Guaycura, and Pericu— gathered for days of dances entreating rain gods.) Lunch on the beach, afternoon whale-watching, back to hotel (Hotel, B, L, D)
Day 5 – Depart for San Ignacio Lagoon after breakfast, orientation and check-in, lunch, whale-watching #1, happy hour, dinner (Cabana, B, L, D)
Day 6 – Breakfast, whale-watching #2, depart for mission town of San Ignacio, lunch in town, sightseeing, depart for Loreto, check-in/free evening (Hotel, B, L)
Day 7 – Departure from Loreto

LOR-CSL
Day 1 – Arrival in Loreto, hotel check-in (Hotel)
Day 2 – Depart for San Ignacio Lagoon after breakfast, orientation and check-in, lunch, whale-watching #1, happy hour, dinner (Cabana, B, L, D)
Day 3 – Breakfast, whale-watching #2, depart for mission town of San Ignacio, lunch in town, sightseeing, depart for Loreto, check-in (Hotel, B, L, D)
Day 4 – Breakfast, zodiac whale watching around the islands of Loreto Marine Park. Lunch on the beach, afternoon whale-watching, back to hotel (Hotel, B, L, D)
Day 5 – Breakfast, depart for La Paz, sightseeing along the way, lunch in La Paz, depart for Cabo San Lucas, sightseeing along the way, check-in/free time, dinner (Hotel, B, L, D)
Day 6 – Breakfast, whale-watching #1, lunch, whale-watching #2, free afternoon/evening (Hotel, B, L)
Day 7 – Departure from Cabo San Lucas