Baja California Sur Travel Guide (Cabo, La Paz, East Cape)

The first time I flew into Cabo I made every rookie mistake. I stayed on the Médano strip, ate at the loudest place I could find, and spent a small fortune on a sunset cruise I couldn't really see because the boat was packed. I didn't leave the city for four days. I told myself I'd "done Baja."

I hadn't. Not even close.

Baja California Sur is two completely different vacations stitched together by one excellent highway. The southern tip is the resort engine — Cabo San Lucas, San José del Cabo, the marina, the nightlife, the all-inclusives. Drive ninety minutes north and the whole peninsula opens up: empty East Cape beaches, the Sea of Cortez clear as gin, La Paz with its quiet malecón, sea lions on Espíritu Santo island, and the surf town of Todos Santos clinging to the Pacific side.

This page is the front door to everything I've written about Baja. Start here, then dive into whichever piece matches your trip.

Why I keep coming back

The honest answer is that no two trips have looked the same. One year it was a friend's bachelor weekend on Médano Beach. Another year my wife and I rented a casita in Buena Vista, didn't see another tourist for five days, and snorkeled with bull sharks at Cabo Pulmo. Last winter I drove the East Cape Road in a beat-up Jeep with a roof rack full of camera gear and chased gray whales in Magdalena Bay.

You can do Baja loud or you can do Baja empty, and both are real. The trick is knowing which version you actually want before you book the flight.

Cabo vs La Paz vs East Cape

Quick version, since this is the question I get asked most:

Cabo San Lucas is the party. El Squid Roe, Médano Beach, the marina, the booze cruises, and El Arco at Land's End. If you want a buzzing resort vibe and a 20-minute Uber from the airport, this is it.
San José del Cabo is Cabo's quieter older sibling, 30 minutes east. Art walk on Thursdays, Flora Farms in the foothills, and a mellow beach town pace. I almost always stay over here now.
The East Cape — Los Barriles, Buena Vista, Cabo Pulmo, all the way up to La Ribera — is where Baja gets real. Dirt roads, off-grid casitas, the best snorkeling in the Sea of Cortez. Slow, hot, and worth it.
La Paz is a working Mexican city on the Sea of Cortez, two and a half hours north of Cabo. Balandra Beach, Espíritu Santo island day trips, sea lion swims, and a malecón at sunset that makes you forget there's a Marriott anywhere on the peninsula.
Todos Santos is the Pacific-side surf town with the Hotel California, the galleries, and the whales cruising past Playa Los Cerritos. Easy day trip from Cabo or La Paz.

If it's your first trip and you only have four days, I'd split them: two nights in Cabo or San José, two nights in the East Cape or La Paz. Don't try to see all of it.

I broke this question down in more detail in La Paz vs Cabo: which side of Baja should you pick?.

Best time to visit (whale season included)

Baja has two seasons that matter: dry-and-perfect (November through May) and hot-and-empty (June through October).

December–April is high season. Whales are in the bays, the air is dry, the water is cool but swimmable. You'll pay for it. Book early.
May and November are my favorites. The whales taper off but the snorkeling at Cabo Pulmo is excellent, the crowds thin out, and the light is incredible.
August–October is hurricane window and brutal humidity. Hotels are cheap, but a lot of East Cape camps close down.

Whale watching deserves its own paragraph. Magdalena Bay, on the Pacific side, is where the gray whales calve from January through March — the friendly ones that nudge your panga. In Cabo proper, the humpbacks show up December through April and you'll see breaches from the beach. I wrote a whole guide on whale watching in Baja because the where matters more than the when.

Getting around

Fly into SJD (Los Cabos International). Don't fly into LAP (La Paz) unless you're starting in mainland Mexico — the connections are painful.

If you're staying inside the Cabo corridor, an Uber or hotel shuttle is fine. The minute you want to see anything else — Todos Santos, the East Cape, La Paz — rent a car. Highway 1 is well-paved and easy. The East Cape Road from La Ribera south to San José is dirt and beautiful and I'd only do it in a 4WD.

A note on rentals: the insurance markup at the SJD counter is the most aggressive I've seen anywhere. Buy your collision coverage in advance through your card or a third party and bring the printout. The agents will still try.

What to eat

Baja is a fish taco peninsula. Don't overcomplicate it.

The classic is Ensenada-style — battered white fish, shredded cabbage, crema, salsa — but in the south you'll see grilled mahi and shrimp tacos just as often. My short list:

Las Tres Vírgenes in San José del Cabo for a fancy night out
Flora Farms in the foothills above San José for the farm-to-table garden lunch
Sunset Mona Lisa above Cabo for the El Arco view at sunset (book the early seating)
Tacos Gardenias in Cabo for cheap shrimp tacos that ruin every other shrimp taco
Anything from a roadside stand in Los Barriles. Trust the line.

I went deeper in the Cabo restaurants I'd send my best friend to.

Recent stories from Baja

The articles below are everything I've written about Baja so far — Cabo first-timer mistakes, the Cabo Pulmo snorkel I'd drive two hours for, the 5-day Cabo-to-La Paz road trip itinerary, and where I actually take photos when I'm down there. Pick the one that matches your trip and start there.