Baja, the whole boat to yourself: whale sharks, sea lions, and dinner in Todos Santos

La Paz, Todos Santos

1. 7:15 am1

   Malecón pickup and the operator's briefingLa Paz

   Season first: whale sharks are in the bay roughly mid-October to mid-April, but it does not open on a date — CONANP opens it at half capacity only once six animals have been logged three days running, and full capacity at ten. Check the week before, and do not book flights around a guarantee. Inside the sanctuary every boat gets a two-hour window, maximum five swimmers in the water at a time, snorkel only, three metres of distance, no touching, no fins over the tail.

2. 7:50 am2

   Sanctuary bracelets at the CONANP kioskLa Paz

   A paper wristband, about 150 pesos per person per day, cash pesos, sold at the kiosk and not by the operator. No bracelet, no water — the inspectors do check on the boats. Buy it for the number of people actually swimming, not the number on board.

3. 8:30 am3

   Private panga in the whale-shark zoneLa Paz

   This line is where the money goes and it is the whole point of the day. On a shared boat you take your turn among ten strangers and get maybe four short entries. Chartering the panga means the captain can sit off the aggregation, read which animal is vertical-feeding rather than cruising, and put two of you in front of it repeatedly for the entire window. Wear the wetsuit even in February — the bay runs about 21°C and you will be in and out for two hours. Leave the GoPro pole at home; the observers will make you stow it.

   8 min by train or taxi · 4.0 km
4. 11 am4

   Sea lion colony at Los Islotes, Espíritu SantoLa Paz

   Forty minutes north once the whale-shark window closes, and a separate national-park bracelet again — buy both in the morning. The colony closes to swimmers for roughly June to August while the pups are born, so this pairs naturally with whale-shark season. Outside that, the juveniles come to you and chew on fins; the bulls stay on the rock and you stay off it.

5. 1:15 pm5

   Beach lunch at Ensenada GrandeLa Paz

   Ceviche and cold beer off the back of the boat on a beach with nothing on it. There is no shade and no water on the island — this is why the crew brought a tarp and four extra litres.

6. 4 pm6

   Over the sierra to Todos SantosTodos Santos

   Seventy-five minutes on Highway 19, down the Pacific side. Leave La Paz by four to be on the coast for sunset. There is no Uber in Todos Santos and taxis dry up after ten, so arrange the return with the same driver before you get out.

   11 min by train or taxi · 7.0 km
7. 5:30 pm7

   Sunset at Playa Los CerritosTodos Santos

   The one genuinely swimmable beach on this stretch — the coast north of town has a rip that drowns people every year, and the beaches by the Hotel California are for looking at, not entering. Beginner surf lessons run about 50 dollars for a group hour and boards rent for 20 at the shacks behind the point. Sunset here is the reason people move to Todos Santos.

   10 min by train or taxi · 6.4 km
8. 7:30 pm8

   Dinner at JazamangoTodos Santos

   Javier Plascencia's garden restaurant: wood-fired oven, adobe walls, and a menu built mostly from what came out of the huerta that morning. Book weeks ahead between December and April. It is a ten-minute drive out of the centre on a dirt road with no lighting — this is the taxi you arranged earlier. Sit outside; the whole design is for it.