13 Best Beaches in Baja California Sur

While Baja California, the northern state on the Baja Peninsula, is home to some nice beaches, you'll find the very best in the state of Baja California Sur. It occupies the other half of the peninsula, with the famous Los Cabos area, which includes Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo at its southern tip. 

While Los Cabos is the most popular tourist destination and offers beautiful stretches of sand, there are many beaches outside of the area worth considering for your Baja getaway. In fact, some of the most highly rated are within a 30-minute drive of my home in La Paz. The beaches along the Pacific coast are generally not the best for swimming, but attract many surfers who come to ride the powerful waves. On the Sea of Cortez side, the water is calmer and more Caribbean-like, making it better for swimming and snorkeling. 

With so many great options, if you can't decide where to land, you might even consider a beach-hopping vacation in Baja.

The most famous beach in Cabo San Lucas, Lovers Beach (Playa del Amor), is bordered by the Pacific with its powerful waves on one side and the calm waters of the Sea of Cortez on the other. To get there, you'll have to catch a water taxi from the marina or Medano Beach, but that's all part of the adventure. Along the way, you can look down into the remarkably clear turquoise water to see colorful fish while sea lions bask in the sun on the rocks that rise above it. Just before you reach the beach, you'll see the famous limestone arch, or El Arco, which is part of the series of rock formations known as Land's End. When you reach Lovers Beach, you can soak up the scene while relaxing on the golden sands and enjoy swimming or snorkeling on the calm side, in the Sea of Cortez. 

Medano Beach is the most lively in Cabo, located at its heart, where you'll find lots of vendors selling a variety of items like silver jewelry, sombreros, t-shirts, and blankets. You can hop on one of the water taxis to Lovers Beach, go parasailing, and rent watersports gear like kayaks, paddleboards, and wave runners. There are some famous venues right on the beachfront with tables on the sand, like The Office and the Mango Deck Restaurant and Beach Club, making it a popular party spot. This is one of the best beaches for swimming, so if you want to avoid the crowds, just take a dip in the aquamarine waters of the roped-off swimming area. 

Chileno Bay Beach is a good option for swimming for those who want a quieter experience without a lot of vendors or partiers. It's about 20 minutes away from the downtown area at the beginning of the Hotel Zone, or Tourist Corridor, with lifeguards on duty during the peak tourist season between December and April. While there are no bars or restaurants here, you will find palapas for relaxing in the shade. Bring your own food and drink for a picnic, perhaps taking advantage of the opportunity to snorkel in the crystal-clear water. Around the rocks toward the south end of the beach, you'll often find all sorts of fish to admire, like butterfly fish, parrotfish, and angelfish, along with moray eels and the occasional stingray or sea turtle.

Central Beach, or Playa Central, is the main beach in La Ventana, a small fishing town along the  Bay of La Ventana on the Sea of Cortez side, about 40 minutes from La Paz. It's surrounded by spectacular desert with cactus forests and mountains, while the water is a brilliant shade of turquoise, creating an impressive scene for photographs. The bay is particularly renowned for wind sports, attracting many kitesurfers and windsurfers due to the consistent winds from November through April. You'll find many kitesurfing shops and schools offering instruction for those new to the sport.

Visitors who come between May and October can expect the bay to be calmer for swimming and snorkeling, although temperatures are sizzling this time of year, and there is a higher risk for tropical storms during the latter half of that period. No matter what time of year you visit, you'll find several restaurants and accommodations nearby that make La Ventana an ideal vacation destination. 

Like Chileno, horseshoe-shaped Santa Maria Beach is in the Hotel Zone, providing a spectacular place to toss down a beach towel and soak up the sun or relax beneath the shade of a palapa in between snorkeling. It's one of the top spots in the area for exploring the underwater world as part of a protected marine sanctuary.  In the winter, you'll have a good vantage point for watching humpback and gray whales. The downside is that many outfitters dock their boats here for snorkeling tours, which means it can get quite busy. If you arrive earlier in the morning, you'll find that it's much more peaceful, and you'll be more likely to find a palapa available. 

If you're up for a fun adventure, visit remote Punta Arena while staying in nearby La Ventana, about a 35-minute drive away, which includes a stretch of bumpy, unpaved road. It's worth the effort to get there (no four-wheel drive necessary), as it offers an incredibly tranquil atmosphere with rarely more than a handful of visitors. A long strip of powdery white sand strewn with seashells and a lighthouse at the tip, there are no facilities, so you'll want to bring an umbrella for shade and plenty of water. In between relaxing with the breathtaking view, you can enjoy some of the area's best snorkeling. Between mid-April and July, with May and June the peak time, stick around until dusk for the chance to be treated to an extra-special show with mobula rays leaping as high as six feet out of the luminous turquoise water. 

Just over 90 minutes from San Jose del Cabo Airport, south of Cabo Pulmo National Park on the East Cape, Los Frailes is a true hidden gem where the desert meets the Sea of Cortez. A secluded, untouched paradise, you'll be far from the crowds while enjoying soft sands and calm, crystal-clear blue waters. It's a top spot for snorkeling thanks to the rocks at the northwest side of the bay, with the chance to spot tropical fish like parrotfish, trumpetfish, and angelfish, sea turtles, and manta rays. From November through April, keep an eye out for humpback whales and whale sharks. 

Los Frailes is known for its natural beauty and is only sparsely developed, with limited facilities like barbecue pits, palapas, and toilets, so you'll need to bring your own supplies. There are restaurants a short drive away in the town of Cabo Pulmo, along with some vacation rentals, rustic beach resorts and hotels.

On the Pacific side of the Baja Peninsula, about an hour's drive north of Cabo San Lucas, Los Cerritos is one of the most popular beaches as it's one of the few where you can find an area with more gentle waves for swimming. It spans nearly three miles, making it good for a variety of activities, including a section for beginning surfers, while the more advanced can hit the waves near the cliffs at the west end. Surfing lessons, surfboards and SUP rentals are available too. All you have to do is walk onto the beach to see surf instructors and other vendors set up right on the sand. In between time in the ocean, sunbathing, beachcombing, and sandcastle building are all popular. 

Development has been rapid in recent years, which means you'll now find some eateries right on the beach serving everything from traditional Mexican and fresh seafood to burgers and pizza. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays, there's a beachside farmer's market selling local produce, baked goods, surf-inspired art, handmade jewelry, and more, with live music that can be enjoyed while you shop.

Located just north of the charming colonial town of Todos Santos, La Pastora is also on the Pacific side, best for surfing with powerful waves attracting the more experienced seeking an uncrowded break. But non-expert surfers will find plenty to love. This long stretch of soft, golden sands is ideal for peaceful strolls with few others around. It's also perfect for quiet contemplation, enjoyed with spectacular ocean views and watching a colorful sunset at the end of the day. Between December and April, baby sea turtle releases take place around an hour before sunset, and you can often see both humpbacks and gray whales, with the peak time from mid-January through mid-March.

This area is largely undeveloped, but there is a beachfront bar and restaurant, along with the luxury Villa Santa Cruz boutique hotel with rooms that are just steps from the sand. 

Balandra Beach has become one of the most famous beaches in Baja, and even all of Mexico, often ranked among the country's most beautiful stretches of sand. As it's no longer a well-kept secret and it's protected by a conservation zone, access is free but regulated, with visitors limited to two daily windows: 8 a.m. to noon or 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Those who visit on a weekend or between December and April should plan to arrive early, ideally by 7:30 a.m. to avoid disappointment.

The "beach" is actually a series of beaches tucked into coves that surround a magnificent bay with turquoise water so calm and clear it looks like a vast swimming pool, with the main beach at Balandra lined with a number of palapas for shade. The soft, ivory sands are backed by rocky hills that can be climbed for a panoramic view over it all. As the water is so shallow, you can swim or walk across the sandy bottom to reach the beach's iconic mushroom-shaped rock formation. 

There are no bars, restaurants, or shops, although a food and drink vendor will occasionally set up here. It's best to bring your own supplies, including plenty of water. Or, head to Tecolote, the next beach on the list, which is only a few minutes away and hosts multiple beach bars and eateries. 

Tecolote is just around the bend from Balandra, and as it's not nearly as well known, you can easily find a parking spot to enjoy the long stretch of sand and the calm cobalt water for swimming and a wide variety of watersports. Boat tours to the uninhabited island of Espiritu Santo, popular for snorkeling with sea lions, depart from here as well. 

There are several eateries right on the beach serving fresh seafood that can be enjoyed with cocktails or chilled beer, various watersports rentals like wave runners and paddleboards, and vendors selling souvenirs, hats, and the like. If you walk to the end of the beach near the rocks, you can often find a peaceful spot for sunbathing with few others around. 

The main beach in downtown Loreto is a beautiful stretch of sand with a boardwalk that runs alongside it. It's a place to enjoy all sorts of beach fun, including tossing a Frisbee, hunting for seashells, swimming and snorkeling, with the water typically calm and safe even for families with little ones. It's the perfect base for those who want to enjoy lots of time at the beach while being close to shops, bars, and restaurants downtown. 

There are a couple of hotels that will put you steps from the sand too, including the hacienda-style La Mison Loreto Hotel. Another big benefit of staying right along the seafront is that you can wake up to an epic sunrise that looks as if Mother Nature took her paintbrush to the sky.

Bahía Concepción is one of the largest and most breathtaking bays in Baja California Sur, renowned for its surreal aquamarine waters and white sandy beaches with little development, including Requesón. The closest town of size is Mulege, which offers hotels ranging from budget-friendly to upscale, about a 40-minute drive away. Camping areas are available right at the beach for those who want to spend most of their time surrounded by nature. Either way, the water is clear, warm, and shallow, ideal for swimming, and when the tide is low, you can even walk on the sandbar out to a small island. Kayaking and snorkeling are popular activities too.