Baja California Sur: a 10-day itinerary between La Paz, Loreto and Los Cabos

Baja California Sur lends itself perfectly to a loop: land in La Paz (or in Los Cabos, better connected internationally), drive the legendary Transpeninsular Highway Mex 1 north to Loreto, then head back south to Todos Santos, Los Cabos and Cabo Pulmo before returning the car. Expect around 1,200 km in total — a very reasonable average of 120 km per day, leaving plenty of time for beaches, boat trips and villages.

The route is paved for almost its entire length and traffic thins out as soon as you leave the Los Cabos–La Paz corridor. Two local golden rules: never drive at night (free-roaming cattle on the road, no lighting) and fill up whenever you see a station on the long desert stretches of Mex 1. The occasional military checkpoints are routine — open the boot, smile, drive on.

La Paz deserves three nights. On the menu: the malecón at sunset, the beaches of the Pichilingue peninsula and above all Balandra, arguably Mexico's most beautiful bay — access is capped by time slots, so arrive early. Book a boat day to UNESCO-listed Espíritu Santo Island too: turquoise coves, frigatebirds and the sea lion colony at Los Islotes (swimming right up to the sea lions is regularly suspended to protect the colony, but watching from the water or the boat remains superb).

From October to late April, La Paz is also one of the few places on Earth where you can swim with whale sharks in a bay governed by strict rules: limited boat numbers, mandatory permits, designated zones. This is no small business for the region: a study by Cisneros-Montemayor, Sumaila, Kaschner and Pauly published in 2010 in Marine Policy already valued global whale- and marine megafauna-watching at over two billion dollars a year, highlighting the particular potential of coastal countries like Mexico (study on Google Scholar: scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Cisneros-Montemayor+global+potential+whale+watching+Marine+Policy).

Between La Paz and Loreto, Mex 1 crosses 350 km of cardón cactus desert before tipping into the Sierra de la Giganta, where the road snakes above the Sea of Cortez — the stretch between Ciudad Insurgentes and Loreto is the most spectacular on the peninsula. Allow 4.5 hours of actual driving, more with photo stops.

Loreto, first capital of the Californias, is best explored on foot: the 1697 Jesuit mission, a shaded plaza, a peaceful seafront. The next day, take a snorkelling trip to Coronado Island (crystal-clear water, white volcanic sand beach) or drive up to San Javier mission, tucked into the mountains at the end of a paved but narrow mountain road. In January–March, a day trip to Puerto López Mateos or Puerto San Carlos on Magdalena Bay, over on the Pacific side, brings you close to the grey whales that come here to calve — one of the most moving wildlife spectacles on the continent.

Back in La Paz, cross to the Pacific side on Mex 19: 80 km of straight road to Todos Santos, a “pueblo mágico” of former sugar warehouses reborn as galleries, cafés and boutique hotels. The vibe is cooler and windier than on the Sea of Cortez side — a jumper for the evening is welcome in winter.

The beaches here are stunning but dangerous for swimming (violent currents): swim at more sheltered Playa Cerritos, 15 minutes south, and settle for admiring Playa La Cachora or Punta Lobos, where fishermen haul their pangas up onto the sand. From December to March, humpback whales cruise offshore, visible from the beach.

The final highlight: Cabo Pulmo, a marine national park whose coral reef — the northernmost in the eastern Pacific — has seen its biomass explode since fishing was banned in 1995. You reach it from La Ribera on a road whose final stretch is a dirt track, perfectly driveable in a regular car in dry weather; go slowly, washboard guaranteed. On site: a tiny off-grid village, diving and snorkelling amid schooling jacks, turtles and giant groupers.

For the last night, two options: sleep in Cabo Pulmo itself to enjoy the site at first light, or head back towards San José del Cabo if your flight leaves from SJD airport. If you return the car in La Paz, allow 2.5 hours on the direct inland shortcut via San Antonio. One final insurance tip: in Mexico, local third-party liability is non-negotiable whatever your credit card promises — our dedicated article on renting in Mexico dissects this classic counter trap.