The Mexican Baja California Sur is our playground. Our family friendly adventure tours take us all around the peninsula.
From Todos Santos to Coroscos Hamlets, La Paz, Canyon Treks, Hot Springs, Coral Reefs and more – all of our family friends tours are designed to take you to breathtaking locations where you can experience Mexico and her people at their most authentic.
Todos Santos – The Magic Village
Todos Santos is a quaint oasis and town on the Pacific Coast. An hour north of Los Cabos on the Tropic of Cancer. Due to antique buildings and its legacy as wealthy sugar cane producer Todos has been declared a “National Heritage Site” and designated as a “Magic Village” by the Mexican Government. It is also an “Artist Colony” with between 20-25 local galleries and artist workshops for you to visit.
And it is magic. Here you will find eccentric coffee shops, a wide range of international and authentic Mexican cuisine, everyday regional fare, and organic vegetarian cafes. We also have a unique collection of privately owned boutique hotels, upscale restaurants, artisan markets and craft shops, jewelry shops and a diverse range of other artistic flavored shops. The Todos area is host to organic micro farming, fishing, ranching, fruit orchards and you name it.
Coroscos
We have met a few locals that will show you how life was and largely still is in their little isolated oasis and combined towns of 350 people. Cobblestone streets and adobe homes are the norm and some are crumbling. You will meet Victor, you will visit his uncle and aunt at their ranch and you will meet the local winemaker.
You may already have read about the ranch activity and cheese making endeavor from rounding up the goats to milking to making quesadillas over the fire. But we and our clients love Coroscos on its own for its completely peaceful atmosphere in the mountains under the stars. Walking through the little sugar cane fields and the vineyard and stock corals and abandoned buildings and stone streets and jails, we translate a living history as Diego describes his own life along with the history of Coroscos and its daily 1850s life.
East Coast Buddhist Mountain Retreat
Tselgar West is one of 7 Dzogchen centers around the world. It is all alone up in the mountains with its own water source, oasis, garden and untouched vistas.
The main buildings consist of a rustic kitchen, which you will help out in a bit, the worship temple and an open air roof over the dance area where the Dance of the Vajra is practiced on a mandala representing the dimensions we experience and the elements.
La Paz – The Pearl by the Sea
“A small city of 220,000, the ocean front part of La Paz is small town Mexico with a beach flavor, with unique small city nightlife, a university student influence, national tourism, a charming Malecon, and a beautiful Colonial area all mixed together. This is where you will spend your evenings and this is where I fell in love with the Baja California Sur for the second time.” – Kevin
The whale sharks live here because the weather here is great during our cold Canadian winter months. The water is warm in the sea of Cortez. Isla Espiritu Marine Reserve is incredible. Nearby Balandra Bay is a swimming, kayaking paradise.
Our translator is available to accompany you during Salsa lessons, a visit to the whale museum, during informative talks or around town. As per request. We’re pretty sure that you are going to want to speak Spanish and talk to the locals and other tourists you will meet. And you might want to ask someone to dance?
Cabo Pulmo
Cabo Pulmo is a tiny hamlet of about 80 expat and local Mexican families. Surrounded by undeveloped desert and a stunning mountain range, the pristine beaches of Cabo Pulmo Park give way to a shallow bay that cradles one of only three living reefs, the only hard coral reef in North America. What Cabo Pulmo lacks is people.
After a tenacious fight by this small population the entire bay is now protected from sport and other fishing. A fully recovered reef it is teeming with marine life and home to humpback whales, snorkeling, diving, pristine beaches, kayaking and peacefulness.
The hamlet offers only a few family run operations including snorkeling and whale watching tours, diving, and a few cabana owners. We ourselves will show you the free snorkeling spots and hidden beaches so you can focus your expenditures on humpback whale watching if you like. A couple of these sites will require a 20 to 30 drive out on the sand roads and an incredible 15 to 25 minute walk to the snorkeling site where you will likely have the small bay to yourself, or almost to yourself. We supply the snorkeling equipment that you will need.
Las Palmitas Beach
This is where we go from Todos Santos to be with god’s creation. This untouched oasis requires a short 10 minute walk to enter and has zero facilities. It is isolated and features crashing waves, rock points, semi wild horses, a rich Palm Oasis and pure natural beauty. You will visit here while you are in Todos Santos.
Cerritos Surf Beach
Also near Todos Santos. this is the number one surf beach of the Baja. You will want to bring the boogie boards and maybe visit Justina nearby to make blankets on the same day (See Activities with Friends). This popular beach is fun and you can do some people watching here as well. The pictures again speak for themselves.
Balandra Bay
You’ve now enjoyed the Pacific beaches. Balandra is the icon of the Sea of Cortez and this is where you will want to kayak. This end of the road bay is nature’s swimming paradise and the definition of the color turquoise. We will bring you here in the afternoon of the whale shark adventure. Balandra is famous for its beauty, protected shallow waters opening up gradually to a wider bay, little mushroom rock, snorkeling and kayaking. You may want to visit twice if we can make time and depending on your flexible itinerary.
Desert Hot Springs and Cool Pools
Where there is water there is life and this applies doubly in a few deep watered canyons in the Baja. We would like to take you to our springs with their natural swimming hole and mini water slide. It is an hour and 25 minute drive straight inland into the peninsula’s desert. A few hundred meters from here we will show you the natural thermal pool.
Once again, you might meet a few people there but then again you may not. But you will meet Don Braulio and if you can speak some Spanish he might tell you some stories. Braulio was born on the little desert ranch that includes the pools and springs. His grandparents squatted there 3 generations ago and until last year they weren’t bothered by the government and made no changes to the natural site.
Isla Espiritu
This site is a 5 to 6 hour visit by boat. It is a UNESCO Protected World Heritage Site and Marine Biologist research area. It is uninhabited except for the local species including blue footed boobies and the Glamping expeditions and kayakers that are stationed there.
Two coral reefs, the largest sea lion colony of the Sea of Cortez, sea birds, unique geologic features and landmarks, a bay for the turtles, completely untouched tiny beaches. Snorkeling and lunch on the beach.
Lopez Mateos – Grey Whale Sanctuary Inlet
In Lopez Mateos we are pleased to work with the local fishing cooperative. They are proud of their controlled interaction with the grey whales and also of their management, supervision and caretaking of the fish, lobster and other marine species. This includes the spawning grounds of the Marlin species. They’d like to tell you about how they do things and show you a bit of their town. You may even have a visit to the canning plant.
- One of 3 principal bays of the Grey Whale Mating season
- Home to whale festival in February
- Home to numerous species of migratory birds
- Play in the sand dunes or camp on them on the other side of the Bay.
- Small fishing village with 600 inhabitants
- Highly regulated fishing and lobster industry
Sierra Laguna Biosphere
About a 25 minute drive inland from the coast you encounter the Sierra Laguna Mountain Range and strange phenomena. In these mountains there is a high altitude natural aquifer that holds the rainwater from the August, September monsoons. The result is a beautiful and incredible diverse mixed deciduous, tropical, and pine forest high above the desert. Our guests will have access to one of only a handful of licensed guides who can take you hiking or camping in the area.
It is a hike in to access the Biosphere, so please allow 4-5 hours to walk in. We may have mules available to lighten the load, or ride, depending on availability.
Hexagon Caves and Coroscos Hikes
There are two hikes that can be included at Coroscos. The hexagon caves overlook a large arroyo (seasonal river) and mountain countryside, an unforgettable yet in some ways easy hike. The other hike/walk through the oasis takes you through the village out skirting farm plots, palm oasis, to ancient cave painting and to the spring. Diego is again there to explain everything with our translation.
