A custom tour offers an opportunity to experience a kaleidoscope of life-memorable activities along the shores of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula: petting baby whales, tasting fine wine at a local vineyard, exploring the outstanding natural scenery of the region, and visiting local points of natural and cultural interest—with an option to fly low in a small airplane to fully absorb the striking presence of this desert landscape.
Our travel partner offers in-depth insights to this remarkable region of Mexico, underpinned by close-knit working relationships with local community service providers. Choose from set date tours, or request a custom itinerary to suit your dates and travel preferences.
Whale watching season in Mexico
The Grey Whales journey from the icy waters off the coast of Alaska to arrive at the warmer coastal lagoons along the Baja California peninsula during the month of January.
- The breeding season is short and advance planning is essential.
- Peak viewing begins in late January.
- The whale watching season ends in late March.
The coastal lagoons near Guerrero Negro are located on the 28th Parallel, virtually halfway between the northern and southern reaches of Mexico’s Baja region.
Mexico’s Baja peninsula is a narrow but very long tract of land, so to make the best use of time, our associate recommends that visitors fly at least one-way.
Planned tour: As part of your tour package, your tour transportation, accommodations, most meals, and all assistance services will be provided to ensure that your time is spent absorbing the experience and not concerning about the travel logistics.
Set-date itineraries take a picturesque road trip to Guerrero Negro and fly back from there on a small private aircraft to an air strip in Ensenada, with ground transportation to San Diego. Your party may be combined with other parties on ground transport during these set-date tours.
Custom itineraries are formed according to your party’s schedules, interests, and transportation preferences. A custom tour offers full flexibility and ground transportation is exclusively assigned to your party on custom itineraries.
Accommodations. Hotels chosen for the tour are attractive local hotels and inns, and all rooms have private baths. They provide comfort amidst the natural scenic locations where they are situated. You can expect excellent service with friendly and attentive staff, and the water and food are safe.
A unique tour in an extraordinary location that will create lifelong memories for you and your party
These tours, carefully crafted by a highly skilled tour operator based in Baja and working hand-in-glove with local indigenous communities in the region, offer one of the most awe-inspiring travel experiences available in Mexico.
The highlight of tour is being in the company of the grey whales and their baby offspring. Many dream of meeting a whale and feeling its majestic presence nearby, and this tour opens an opportunity for you and your family and friends to realize that encounter in a way that respects nature and the whales themselves as they frolic in the natural habitat where they arrived to give birth to their progeny.
Highlights of the Tour
Your tour will be composed of a series of activities that will bring you close to the rugged and breathtaking beauty of Baja’s deserts—a place that provokes inward contemplation and provides inspiration for our senses.
You can join a set-date group tour, or request a no-obligation quote for a fully customized tour to suit your party’s schedules, interests, and travel preferences.
In all cases, knowledgeable and passionate English-speaking guides will provide detailed insights and narratives about the natural history and the local culture as you travel through and absorb this remarkable experience.
Extraordinary whale encounters
The coastal lagoon area off the coast of Guerrero Negro is one of the best places in the world to meet and encounter with gray whales. You may have the chance to see mothers with their newborns; some whales encourage their offspring to frolic with the humans and you may even touch them during carefully-managed encounters.
Birdwatching in Baja
Guerrero Negro is also known one one the world’s ornithological hotspots, as the region provides a vast natural and unspoiled habitat to host migratory birds as they meet and mate among its pristine estuary ecosystems and isolated salt flats.
Iconic garden, ancient caves and a salt mine
Hike and wonder among the whimsical granite boulders and boojum trees of Cataviña, an iconic garden of cacti and hidden cave paintings. A guided tour into the largest salt mine in the world is also possible; this a remarkable experience that leads you in to a pearl white landscape of mountains composed entirely of salt rock.
Wine tasting tour
You’ll be passing through the heart of Valle de Guadalupe, one of Mexico’s top and most renowned wine producing regions. The tour offers an option to visit one of the great vineyards of the region where you will take lunch, taste from a variety of fine wines produced on the estate, and have an opportunity to buy some wine to take home with you, directly from the producer.
Active touring on foot and water
Depending on your timescale, interest, and physical ability, local hikes can be included as well as kayaking in the local lagoons. This can include a hike along coastal volcanoes with a wonderful view of surrounding wetlands.
Visits to local points of interest
Itineraries also include visits to local cultural centers, museums, and other local community centers, reserves and local initiatives to help you gain deeper insights into the local culture and its people.
Local restaurants and eateries
The tour will include visits to hand-picked places to eat, including popular local restaurants and quaint local eateries, with fresh oysters and other seafood being one of the local delicacies due to the proximity of the ocean and the Sea of Cortés. Special dietary arrangements can be accommodated with advance notice.
Small airplane travel
Small aircraft fly lower and slower than commercial jets. The tour operator offers an option to climb aboard a small aircraft to return to Ensenada and in doing so encounter a bygone era of air travel, when the experience was valued over speed.
The ~300-nautical mile (two-and-a-half hour) flight offers passengers a birds-eye view of the areas you explored on ground, including majestic mountains that rise-up from the vast desert landscapes to the east, and the foam and spray of the inspiring and powerful Pacific Ocean to the west.
Optional Road Cruise northward
If you would prefer not to fly back to Ensenada, you may opt for a Land Cruise back north, with a side trip to visit the Sea of Cortés. This land cruse return option adds one or two nights to your timescale and itinerary.
Typical 6-day itinerary
Tours typically last six days and begin and end in San Diego, California; or in Tijuana, Mexico.
| Day | Activity Summary |
| One | You’re met in San Diego, cross the border to Mexico and spend some time in Tijuana before journeying south to Valle de Guadalupe. Optional wine tasting. |
| Two | Travel south to the San Quintin nature reserve. Hike alongside coastal volcanoes and wetlands. Visit an Oyster farm. Journey south to El Rosario for an overnight stay there. |
| Three | Journey further south to visit the whimsical granite boulders and boojum trees of Cataviña, an iconic garden of cacti and hidden cave paintings. Afternoon road trip south to Guerrero Negro with a rest stop at a nature sanctuary. |
| Four | Whale watching in the morning, possible second visit in the afternoon. Evening sunset tour with optional swift dip into a cool, pink-hued, and naturally salted lake. |
| Five | Early morning whale watching tour, lunch at the hotel, and a guided tour of the world’s largest salt mine. |
| Six | Return to Ensenada flying slow and low in a small airplane to take in the region from above. You’ll be driven from Ensenada to San Diego by road. Alternatively, you can take a Road Cruise back to San Diego, with one or two overnight stops. |
Baja whales and nature tour prices
These carefully designed tours to visit the whales in-season, combined with other local attractions in the Baja region, are offered on set-dates with a preset itinerary or via a customized quote to suit your own dates (season runs from January to March), activity interests, transport options, and tour timescales.
- Six-day tours are priced from US$1,920 per person.
- Make a request for dates in 2024/2025 and receive a no-obligation quote from our travel associate.
Make a Baja Whales & Nature tour request
Complete the request form below and our Baja travel associate will be in direct contact with you to share a detailed itinerary for set-date tours or provide a no-obligation quote for a customized tour.
