La Paz
La Paz travel guide
Sunsets over the Sea of Cortez, Balandra and Espíritu Santo's sea lions
Baja California Sur's laid-back capital on a west-facing bay, the base for Isla Espíritu Santo, whale sharks and the beaches of Balandra and El Tecolote. November to April is dry and warm; give it three or four days to fit in the boat trips. Prices are moderate, and many passports enter visa-free.
The capital of Baja California Sur lies on a wide, sheltered bay facing west across the Sea of Cortez, which is why it is one of the few places on Mexico's east-facing coasts where the sun sets over the water. Hernán Cortés landed here in 1535, but the city that grew up later is a relaxed, low-rise government and port town rather than a resort.
What brings people is the sea. Isla Espíritu Santo, all red cliffs above turquoise coves, lies an hour or so offshore, with a sea lion colony at Los Islotes at its northern tip. From roughly October to April, whale sharks gather to feed in the bay. The beaches north of town, Balandra above all, rank among the finest in Baja.
In town, the Malecón runs about five kilometres along the waterfront, and at sunset everyone seems to be out on it, walking or cycling or eating. Inland a few blocks, the small historic quarter is built around the cathedral.
Cabo San Lucas is two hours south by road yet feels like another country. Many travellers end up preferring this end of the peninsula. The beaches are quieter here, and La Paz still works as a Mexican city first.
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Top things to do in La Paz
Boat trips, beaches and the bay are the main event; the town itself is for sunsets and seafood.
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Best time to visit La Paz
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Almost no rain, highs of 25 to 32 C and nights of 12 to 17 C; whale sharks feed in the bay and the water is clear for boat trips.
Still dry but hot, with highs of 35 to 38 C; mornings on the water and siestas in the afternoon.
Highs near 38 C, humid nights of 25 C and the year's rain, about 80 mm in September, sometimes from passing tropical storms.
La Paz holds Baja's best-known carnival in the days before Lent, with parades along the Malecón; hotels on the waterfront fill quickly that week.
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Getting there
LAP taxis, Baja Ferries into Pichilingue and Aguila coaches from Los Cabos
La Paz's Manuel Márquez de León International Airport (LAP), on the south-west edge of town, has flights from Mexico City and the mainland and from Los Angeles on Alaska Airlines. Baja Ferries dock at Pichilingue, and Aguila coaches run from Los Cabos. Buy a ticket at the taxi counter inside the terminal for a shared shuttle van or a private taxi; the ride downtown takes around 20 minutes, and car rental desks (Alamo, Budget, National, Thrifty) are in the hall. Many visitors fly into Los Cabos (SJD) instead for more choice: Eco Baja Tours runs vans of seven to nine seats from SJD to the Aguila terminal in La Paz, and Aguila's own coaches take about 2 hours from Cabo San Lucas and 2 hours 30 minutes from San José del Cabo. From the mainland, Baja Ferries sails overnight from Topolobampo near Los Mochis in about 8 hours and from Mazatlán in about 12, taking cars as well as passengers. Ferries dock at Pichilingue, about 30 minutes north of the city, where taxis wait.
- LAP to the Malecón
- Ticketed taxi or shared van, about 20 minutes
- From SJD
- Eco Baja Tours vans or Aguila coaches, about 2 hours 30 minutes
- Baja Ferries
- Topolobampo about 8 hours, Mazatlán about 12 hours
- Pichilingue port
- About 30 minutes north of town by taxi
- Agree the fare before getting into any taxi, and confirm it is not per person.
- Book the ferry cabin in advance if you want to sleep; the cheapest tickets are reclining seats.
Where to stay
Malecón rooms with a bay view, the Centro grid or the Costa Baja marina
The Malecón is the obvious La Paz base, with bay-view hotels and restaurants, bars and the Aguila terminal on foot, though weekend nights near the clubs are loud. The Centro around the cathedral and market is cheaper, and Costa Baja marina, on the Pichilingue road, has pools but needs a car. Budget travellers and campers head for the beaches: legal paid campgrounds sit near town, and overnight camping at El Tecolote is a long-standing Baja tradition.
- Malecón
- Bay views and sunset walks; club noise on weekends
- Centro
- Cheaper rooms near the cathedral and market; no sea view
- Costa Baja and the Pichilingue road
- Marina resorts close to the beaches; car needed
- El Tecolote
- Beach camping with Espíritu Santo on the horizon; basic facilities
- From July to October, book a room with reliable air conditioning; nights rarely drop below 24 C.
Getting around
Biking the five-kilometre Malecón, taxi sitios and the beach bus
The Malecón (Paseo Álvaro Obregón) is the spine of La Paz, and walking or cycling its five-kilometre waterfront path, with bikes for hire along the front, is the nicest way to get around. Taxis gather at corner sitios with modest in-town fares, and a beach bus runs north. Uber also operates and spares you the negotiation. City buses run, but routes are hard to follow for a short stay. For the northern beaches there is no regular city bus; Aguila has run a seasonal beach service from its Malecón terminal out to Pichilingue, Balandra and El Tecolote, about 25 km away, so check the current timetable. A rental car makes the most sense for the beaches, Todos Santos and Magdalena Bay. Rental rates are low, but insurance is often compulsory and expensive, and some agencies hold a large deposit on your card.
- Malecón
- Walk or cycle the waterfront path
- Taxi sitios
- Corners such as Revolución and Degollado; fix the fare first
- Uber
- Available across the city
- Aguila beach bus
- Seasonal service to Balandra and El Tecolote; check times
- Arrive at Balandra early; it has limited parking and visitor numbers are controlled to protect the lagoon.
Know before you go
What makes La Paz worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- Wading across the shallow lagoon at Balandra, where clear water barely reaches your knees and the mushroom-shaped rock stands on the shore.
- Sea lions at Los Islotes, the rocky islets off Isla Espíritu Santo where young pups swim around visitors in the water.
- Sundown on the Malecón, watching the light drop behind El Mogote, the sandy peninsula across the bay.
Good to know
- There is no public bus to most of the beaches outside Aguila's seasonal service; plan on a rental car, a taxi or a tour.
- El Mogote is a protected wetland, so keep to marked areas and do not drive on the dunes.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in La Paz, month by month
La Paz is dry and sunny most of the year, hot in summer and pleasant in winter, with storms in late summer. Tap a month for averages.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for La Paz (Servicio Meteorologico Nacional, via Wikipedia).
Espíritu Santo by boat, Balandra's shallows and a malecón sunset
Spend your first La Paz morning on a boat to Isla Espíritu Santo, a protected desert island of red volcanic cliffs and white-sand coves, about four hours there and back from the marinas or Playa El Tecolote. The highlight is snorkelling with the sea lion colony at Los Islotes, where the young ones come close to investigate.
Between October and April, add a morning in the bay to swim with feeding whale sharks on a licensed tour.
Afternoon. Back in town, walk up from the Malecón to the cathedral of Nuestra Señora de La Paz and the Museo Regional de Antropología e Historia, which covers the cave paintings, missions and pearl-diving past of the southern peninsula.
Evening. Join the town on the Malecón as the sun sets behind El Mogote, and have shrimp tacos at Bismarkcito on the waterfront or a drink at Tailhunter, three floors high with a view over the bay.
Day two. Drive or take a taxi to Balandra early, before the parking fills. Wade across the shallow lagoon, climb the low hills for the view down over the bays, and find the mushroom rock. Continue to El Tecolote, a longer beach with palapa restaurants and Espíritu Santo on the horizon. On the way back, stop at Pichilingue or El Tesoro for a calm final swim.
With a third day, drive an hour to Todos Santos on the Pacific coast for its galleries and surf beaches, or, from January to March, make the long trip to Magdalena Bay for the grey whales.
Chocolate clams, stingray machaca and shrimp tacos on the malecón
Seafood rules in La Paz, supplied by the bay and the Sea of Cortez, and the best meals are simple. Start with tacos de pescado and de camarón, battered and fried crisp in corn tortillas with cabbage, cream and your own salsas; Bismarkcito on the Malecón is the local institution, then try chocolate clams and stingray machaca.
Start with tacos de pescado and tacos de camarón: battered fish or shrimp fried crisp and folded into corn tortillas with cabbage, cream and salsas you add yourself. Bismarkcito, on the Malecón, is the local institution for them, though check the price before agreeing to any special combination.
Look for almejas chocolatas, the brown-shelled chocolate clams of the region, eaten raw with lime and salsa or baked. Southern Baja also has its own machaca de mantarraya, shredded stingray cooked with tomato, onion and chile, which is used in tacos and empanadas. Ceviche and seafood cocktails are served everywhere, often with crackers in place of tortillas.
For something cheaper, Hot Dogs El Güero on 16 de Septiembre is a downtown favourite, and Taquería Mi Jardín on Ignacio Allende does tacos the locals swear by. Esperanza's on Lerdo de Tejada and La Esquina del Chef on Independencia are other centro favourites.
To drink, try damiana, a sweet herbal liqueur made from a shrub that grows wild in Baja California Sur, often mixed into margaritas. In the evening, El Parnazo on 16 de Septiembre has a deck looking over the bay, and the cafés along the Malecón stay busy late.
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How we research our La Paz travel guide
La Paz's ferries, flights and Espíritu Santo tours are checked against the official La Paz website, UNESCO's listing for the Gulf of California islands and the city's Wikipedia record, with entry rules from the Instituto Nacional de Migración.
Last updated . Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of La PazInstituto Nacional de MigraciónUNESCO World Heritage Centre
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting La Paz.
Getting there
Buy a ticket at the counter inside the terminal for a shared van or a taxi; the drive to the Malecón takes about 20 minutes. Rental car desks are in the hall.
Aguila has run a seasonal beach bus from its Malecón terminal; otherwise take a taxi or a tour. Go early, since visitor numbers are limited.
Timing & weather
About 8 hours from Topolobampo near Los Mochis and about 12 from Mazatlán, both overnight. Ships dock at Pichilingue, 30 minutes north of town.
Roughly from October to April, when they feed in the bay. Go only with licensed operators, who follow limits on group size and time in the water.
About two hours on the direct service; the local service stops more often and takes longer.
The best time to visit La Paz is Nov to Apr. Dry, sunny highs of 25 to 32 C, plus whale shark season in the bay.
- Winter and spring: November - April (Almost no rain, highs of 25 to 32 C and nights of 12 to 17 C; whale sharks feed in the bay and the water is clear for boat trips)
- Early summer: May - July (Still dry but hot, with highs of 35 to 38 C; mornings on the water and siestas in the afternoon)
- Storm season: August - October (Highs near 38 C, humid nights of 25 C and the year's rain, about 80 mm in September, sometimes from passing tropical storms)
July is the warmest month in La Paz, with average highs of 38°C, and January the coolest, with lows of 12°C. September is the wettest month, at about 81 mm of rain; April is the driest. La Paz is dry and sunny most of the year, hot in summer and pleasant in winter, with storms in late summer.
General
A colony of California sea lions. Boat tours stop there so you can snorkel near the rocks while the playful young ones circle around.
Yes, from January to March in Magdalena Bay on the Pacific side, a long day trip via Puerto San Carlos; many tours include lunch.
Often, yes, with lime and salsa, though many places also grill them in the shell. They are a large clam with a glossy brown shell, harvested in the Sea of Cortez.
In the days before Ash Wednesday, usually in February or early March, with parades and concerts along the Malecón.
The bay opens to the west and north-west, so from the Malecón the sun drops behind the El Mogote sandbar and into the water, unusual on this side of the peninsula.
The Malecón (Paseo Álvaro Obregón) is the spine of La Paz, and walking or cycling its five-kilometre waterfront path, with bikes for hire along the front, is the nicest way to get around. Taxis gather at corner sitios with modest in-town fares, and a beach bus runs north. Uber also operates and spares you the negotiation.
Visa & documents
Tourist stays in Mexico are visa-free for citizens of the US, Canada, the UK, the EU and many other countries. Immigration officers decide how many days you can stay (up to 180) and stamp your passport or issue a digital record. Holders of valid US, UK, Canadian or Schengen visas may also be exempt.
Health & safety
Most tourist areas are visited without problems, but violent crime linked to organised crime is high in some states. Governments advise against travel to parts of several states. Petty crime and scams occur in tourist areas.
