Active Pursuits

Whale-Watching in Baja: A Primer

Few sights inspire as much reverence as close contact with a whale in its natural habitat. The thrill of seeing one of these giant inhabitants of the sea up close is a life-changing event for many people, and few places in the world can offer as complete an experience as Mexico's Baja peninsula. The various protected bays and lagoons on the Pacific coast are the preferred winter waters for migrating gray whales as they journey south to mate and give birth to their calves.

While the entire Pacific coast of the Baja peninsula offers opportunities for whale sightings, the experience is particularly rewarding in the protected areas of the El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve, where a large number of whales can be seen easily. This area encompasses the famous Laguna Ojo de Liebre -- also known as Scammon's Lagoon -- close to Guerrero Negro, Laguna San Ignacio, and Bahía Magdalena.

Because these protected waters offer ideal conditions for gray whales during the winter, the neighboring towns have developed the necessary infrastructure and services to accommodate whale-watchers. Avid eco- and adventure-lovers seem to follow their own migratory patterns and arrive at these shores between January and March to gaze in awe at the gentle cetaceans.

Should I Take a Tour or Hire a Boat? -- You'll often get a better deal if you head down to the local pier to hire a local panga operator. Expect to pay anywhere from $45 to $60 per person for a day trip with a local guide (plus a tip for good service). An organized tour can run almost double that price, but the services and respect for the whales that come at a higher price tag are worth it in most cases. It's always a good idea to check for licensed, experienced operators (they must have photo-ID credentials showing they are licensed tour guides) who know how to approach the whales with calm, caution, and respect for the environment. The most important thing about whale-watching is to enjoy it while practicing guidelines that ensure both your safety and the safety of the whales.

What You'll See

Gray whales are the favorite species for whale-watchers because they tend to swim and feed mostly in coastal shallows, occasionally resting with their abdomens on the bottom, while their close relatives prefer to frequent the deeper realms of the ocean. Whale-watching in one of Baja's lagoons can be truly exciting -- at times, gray whales appear to be on all sides, displaying the full spectrum of typical whale behavior.

Watchers might be showered with a cloud of water from a whale spouting (clearing its blowhole) or might witness an enormous male spyhopping -- lifting its head vertically out of the water, just above eye level, to pivot around before slipping back into the water. Perhaps the most breathtaking spectacle of all is a breach, when a whale propels itself out of the water and arches through the air to land on its back with a splash. These gray whales are known to be so friendly and curious that they frequently come up to the whale-watching boats and stay close by, sometimes allowing people to pet them.

To be close to these magnificent creatures is a privilege. Above all, respect their environment and their integrity as inhabitants of the marine world.

The Bay of La Paz Project: Saving the Sea of Cortez

Although the best whale-watching is in the Pacific, it's the Sea of Cortez that once inspired Jacques Cousteau to call it the "world's aquarium." Apart from gray and humpback whales -- plus remarkable pelagic and reef life -- divers have spotted blue whales and even orcas in this extraordinary body of water, also known as the Gulf of California. Sadly, marine populations have declined between 70% and 90% since the 1960s and, until now, nothing has been done to ensure that future generations will have fish in the sea.

SeaWatch, a La Paz-based organization dedicated to exposing and stopping destructive fishing practices in the Sea of Cortez for the past 15 years, has launched a public awareness campaign in Southern Baja to stop commercial fishermen from wiping out reefs and snaring hammerhead schools in nets. The Bay of La Paz Project, under the auspices of SeaWatch and three NGOs (Niparajá, the Billfish Foundation, and Pro-Natura), hopes to limit commercial fishing in various high-pressure areas over time, thereby allowing fish populations the chance to reproduce. If you would like to know more or find out how you can help, visit www.seawatch.org or call tel. 503/616-4421.

Which Town? Which Tour?

Regardless of where you decide to stay in Baja, you most likely will find tours to the whale-watching areas of Bahía Magdalena and the lagoons of Ojo de Liebre and San Ignacio. If you want to center your visit on whale-watching, the best places to visit are Guerrero Negro, San Ignacio, Ciudad Constitución, Puerto San Carlos, and Puerto López Mateos.

While the above-mentioned towns have basic facilities, Loreto may actually be the wisest base to choose; it has a well-developed tourist infrastructure and a number of lovely hotels and restaurants. From here, whale-watching cruises along the Pacific coast are easily accessible. The trips take you by road to Bahía Magdalena, where you board a skiff to get up close to the gentle giants. En route you get a chance to view the spectacular desert landscape; guides offer a wealth of natural and historical information. Locally based Arturo's Sport Fishing (tel. 613/135-0766; www.arturosport.com) offers excellent daylong excursions from $120 to $200. Another is the U.S.-based Baja Expeditions (tel. 800/843-6967 in the U.S., or 612/125-3828 in La Paz; www.bajaex.com), which runs multiday cruising and camping excursions in Magdalena Bay starting at $1,495 per person.

Guerrero Negro sits on the dividing line between Southern and Northern Baja. It has a modest but well-developed tourism infrastructure in an otherwise industrial town (it's the site of the world's largest evaporative saltworks). Despite the industrial nature of the town, the lagoon where gray whales calve and spend the winter has remained safe and has witnessed a remarkable comeback of this almost-extinct species. This is partly because the salt produced in Guerrero Negro is shipped from an offshore artificial island, built away from the whale area, and also because of the designation of the area as part of the El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve in 1988.

San Ignacio is a small town built by the Spaniards in the middle of a palm oasis and is full of Jesuit history. It is the ideal point of departure for Laguna San Ignacio, 74km (46 miles) southwest of the town. The San Ignacio lagoon is an excellent spot for whale-watching because it is common for whales in this area to approach the small whale-watching boats, occasionally coming close enough to allow you to touch them.

Bahía Magdalena is another spot preferred by wintering gray whales. Two towns on the bay's shore offer whale-watching tours. Puerto López Mateos, on the northern shore, is the closest town to the whales' calving areas. Accommodations are limited to a few modest hotels and restaurants, but several boat operators offer tours. Flying tours on Baja-based airline Aereo Calafia (tel. 624/143-4302; www.aereocalafia.com), fly from Cabo San Lucas -- a 75-minute flight -- to Magdalena, where you board a panga and spend 3 hours watching gray whales and humpbacks loll around the coastal lagoons before returning the same day. This tour is $440, including air transportation, the tour, and lunch.

Puerto San Carlos offers a more developed tourism infrastructure, with well-appointed hotels and restaurants, trailer parks, travel agencies, a bus station, and other services. To arrange a tour, try Viajes Mar y Arena, Puerto La Paz s/n (tel. 613/136-0076, 136-0599, or 137-8093). From Los Cabos, the ultimate whale excursion to Puerto San Carlos can be found on BookCabo.com (tel. 624/142-9200; www.bookcabo.com). Operated by Ocean Riders, this tour offers luxury bus transportation from San José del Cabo to San Carlos, where lobster dinners await in your 2-night stay at the quaint Alcatraz Hotel. The next morning entails cruising around the bay observing the whales and, hours later, lunching on Margarita Island. The cost is $750 per person with double occupancy and $126 for kids 3 to 10 years old.

Ciudad Constitución, the largest of the three towns, is 61km (38 miles) inland. It has a well-developed tourism infrastructure, with tour organizers that offer daily whale-watching tours during the season.

Getting There -- To get to Puerto López Mateos, take the only road going west from Loreto for about 121km (75 miles). When you arrive in the town of Insurgentes, turn right and continue 2.4km (1 1/2 miles) to the Puerto López Mateos exit. Turn left and continue 34km (21 miles) to Puerto López Mateos. To get to Puerto San Carlos, take the same road west to Insurgentes, and then drive south about 24km (15 miles) until you reach Ciudad Constitución. From Ciudad Constitución, take the exit marked PUERTO SAN CARLOS, and continue the remaining 63km (39 miles) to town. Both routes are well paved and maintained.