Baja California in july / August with a 7 years old kid ?

[kalani80]

Hello,

We are 3 : my wife, my 7 years old daughter and I.

We live in Paris.

We are searching for our next destination for July or august.

What we are looking for ? Snorkeling with big animals (dolphins, sea lions, manta rays, whale sharks…) , a couple of easy dives for me (again to see big animals including sharks), hot water, comfortable accommodation, nice beaches and good food J and maybe try to surf small waves with my daughter ;-)

Note: my daughter already did snorkeling with turtles and dolphins last summer but the sea was calm.


So, it seems that Baja California could meet these expectations.

Do you think that is is a good idea or would you recommend another destination?

If we go to Baja California, it would be for 2 weeks => Which itinerary would you recommend and which activities in each place?

I read a couple of posts and articles. So far, I short listed the following spots :

• La Ventana => Snorkeling tour (including a small colony of sea lions) + a day to visit Balandra bay
• El pescadero : beach and surf
• Loreto => A day to visit Coronado island but it is far away from la paz. Is it worth it?

Are there any good spots for snorkeling directly from the beach?

Thank you for your help.

 

[Manuel Sam]

I cannot help you with El Pescadero or Loreto - I have never spent time in either place.

But I would suggest that you consider staying in La Paz instead of staying in La Ventana. There are many more options in La Paz for lodging, restaurants, and diving and snorkeling operators. You mentioned Balandra Bay. It is about 20-30 minutes from the Center of La Paz. From La Ventana, probably close to one hour and a half.

Also, unless you are planning on renting a car, getting around in La Ventana for just about anything - stores, restaurants, etc. - is not always easy walking distance, much less for a 7-year old. At least in la Paz, even without a car, if not within resonable walking distance, it is easy to get a cab or Uber.

In La Paz, you can easily arrange snorkeling or diving by boat to see sea lions at Los Islotes, possibly mantas in La Reina, and possibly Hammerheads at El Bajo., If early July, there is still a chance to catch the schooling mobulas. Dolphins, whales and even orcas are in those waters, but they are totally unpredictable as far as when and where.

 

[kalani80]

Hello ,

Thank you Manuel Sam.
I think that it would be almost mandatory to rent a car with a kid.
I suggested La Ventana because I read very good reviews about an operator that is located here and I thought that tours would be less crowded than from La Paz.
But you are right about accommodations, restaurants, etc...
Do you have any recommandations for snorkeling / diving operators from La Paz?

Thank you again.

 

[Chavodel8en]

An FYI. The breeding sea lion colony at Los Islotes - generally reached from La Paz, and often included in tours of Isla Espiritu Santo - is highly recommended for snorkeling / diving. However, during the summer months, it is off limits - to allow for breeding and pupping. There is a smaller bachelor sea lion colony at San Rafaelito. Its not quite as fun, bc there are no babies or big bulls there.

 

[Manuel Sam]

An FYI. The breeding sea lion colony at Los Islotes - generally reached from La Paz, and often included in tours of Isla Espiritu Santo - is highly recommended for snorkeling / diving. However, during the summer months, it is off limits - to allow for breeding and pupping. There is a smaller bachelor sea lion colony at San Rafaelito. Its not quite as fun, bc there are no babies or big bulls there.

I do apologize. The above about the closure of los Islotes in the summer is true. In addition to San Rafaelito, I have snorkeled and dived in La Reina, but it is also a much smaller colony.

More to follow.

 

[Manuel Sam]

Do you have any recommandations for snorkeling / diving operators from La Paz?

If you search thru this Mexico forum, you will find many dive operator recommendations. Do not go only by what I recommend.

In La Paz, I used The Dive Gurus once to go out for snorkeling with mobulas. Their dive center is in the Palmira Marina about 10 minutes north of the center of La Paz by car. I was happy with them.

Most recently, at the recommendation of a local diving friend, I used a private dive guide called Marco Villegas. While they do not have a brick and mortar dive center, he can provide all gear in addition to boat, tanks, weight beltsand his guiding service. We boarded the boat from the shoreline of the Cortez Marina, which is where tyhe Marea Hotel is. I was also happy with him

Worth noting that to park at either of these marinas, you have to pay a fee of about 25 pesos/hour.

 

[Manuel Sam]

If you still opt to stay in La Ventana because of the highly-rated local dive operator and because it is more peaceful and less crowded as compared to the very urban setting of La Paz, it is still a good choice. I stayed there for 8 days in May 2022, and for me, it was an excellent trip with many encounters with the big schools of mobulas, dolphins and two types of whales. I went out with a charter operator that is based in Cabo San Lucas so I cannot tell you about the local dive operations and how crowded their boat(s) might be.

Regardless, I do want to offer a few pointers that may be helpful to you based on my past experience:

1. Rental cars: When you search the internet, the information provided by most rental agencies is not very candid about insurance charges. Once there, the agents will tell you that third-party liability is required by the government…and it is NOT included in the price of your reservation. That could very well be true, but to make matters worse, many agencies bundle this third-party liability coverage into a "special" total coverage package. This so-called "special" package can add up to over $60 US/per day, so suddenly, the nice $20/day rental that you picked on the internet becomes a $80/day rental. This happened to me when I rented from Enterprise in 2022. In 2023, I rented from Avis, and they at least offered 3-4 different tiers of coverages, starting at $30 US/day for the lowest tier of coverage, which presumably covers the third-party liability.

It is also worth noting that when I opted for this lowest tier of coverage, AVIS required a deposit (charged to a credit card) to warrant against possible damages. The amount of the deposit varies according to the tier of coverage that you choose. With my lowest tier of coverage, it was $4000 US. This charge was then reversed when I returned the car with no damage.

It therefore, follows that, it is imperative that you put the six eyes of your entire family to work to inspect every square cm of the car, take video and/or photos of the entire car, and make sure that you show every scratch/nick and dent to the agent. This is no different than if you were renting anywhere else, but with $4000 at stake, it becomes more critical to pay attention.

2. Road Signs…..they are there to point you towards major cities/towns but not so much for small towns or villages. For example, if you are looking for road signs for La Ventana, you will not find any until you are about to arrive there. As for signs with street names that you saw on Google Maps? In Cabo San Lucas or La Paz, yes; in La Ventana, they did not exist. Therefore, regardless of where you end up going, I strongly recommend that you have GPS on your cell phone – either by having international service or by buying a SIM card once you arrive in Mexico.

More to follow.

 

[Manuel Sam]

3. Lodging: In La Ventana, I stayed at the Villa Paraiso Hotel. It was nice and at ~$80 US/nt for an ocean view room (it was the called the "Titanic" room , it was not too expensive. It had a kitchenette equipped with a small refirgerator and a microwave. I liked that it was at pretty much at the same ground level as the street. But it might be a bit small for a family such as yours.

There are newer and better rooms going downstairs down the cliff that leads to the beach below, but your knees may not love it if carrying luggage or dive gear. At the time of my stay in May 2022, there was no restaurant on the premises.

In La Paz, I have stayed at both the Hotel Catedral and the Hotel Hblue. Both are centrally located, have free parking on the premises and offer free breakfast. Catedral is a bit nicer and therefore a bit more expensive.

4. Shopping for Food and Basic Necessities. If you decide to stay in La Paz, you can find plenty of places there to shop for bottled water, fruit, beverages, snacks, and whatever else your family might need.

But if you decide to stay in La Ventana, I suggest making a shopping run after you pick up your rental car to stock up on basic necessities like those listed above, because you are not going to find too many options or variety in La Ventana. From the SJD (Los Cabos) airport, you can find a Soriana supermarket on the right about 7 km south on Highway 1 heading towards the city of San Jose. They take credit cards.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.

 

[kalani80]

Wahoo! Thank you very much for all the tips !
Yes, I agree, car rental insurance are never clear. Some said that all is covered when you pay with a VISA PREMIER card but some said the opposite...

I also read for los islotes that is closed for snorkeling with sea lions during the summer. That's why I had in mind to try swimming with the smaller colony -> Perhaps it would be less intimidating for a 7 years old kid?

Hotel catedral is the one that I also listed ;-)

 

[Scubagolf]

Other issues aside, be aware that July and August can be very hot in La Paz, with daytime highs often exceeding 100 degs F, and a higher heat index. We have been to both La Paz and Loreto in the late summer time and the heat index was 110+. We were either in the water diving or in the swimming pool.