Forget Cabo, go to La Paz instead!
I think that is what we called one of our Youtube videos whenever we visited La Paz and we stick by that! La Paz is on the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula but on the eastern side facing the Sea of Cortez. Here you will find some of the most amazing beaches with none of the party scene associated with Los Cabos.
How to Get to La Paz
La Paz does have an international airport so a flight into La Paz is possible, though we have found that those are usually quite pricey. Another option to get to La Paz is to fly into Cabo and take a shuttle bus using Eco Baja Tours. This is an affordable option (around $400 pesos or $20 USD) per person that will take you straight into downtown La Paz in around 2 hours.
What to Do in La Paz
♦ Playa Balandra-- Playa Balandra is as shallow as the eye can see and is perfect if you are looking to relax in the sun--or shade! There are free, public palapas lining Playa Balandra that provide some nice shade from the warm sun. There is also a food truck offering water and all sorts of snacks for sale. Playa Balandra is about 30 minutes outside of town but there are plenty of Ubers and taxis as well as a public bus that runs every hour.
♦ Visit the Most Beautiful Beach in the World-- Playa Ensenada on Isla Espirítu in La Paz Baja California Sur is an absolute gem! The Isla Espirítu area is protected as part of the Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna - Islas del Golfo de California and is an important eco-tourism destination. It was declared part of a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1995. Ensenada Grande beach, on Isla Partida, was voted the most beautiful beach in Mexico by The Travel Magazine. How did we get to Isla Espirítu? We used a local tour company called Punta Baja. We were not working in collaboration with Punta Baja- but we would highly recommend them. They had great prices and excellent service. You can find all of their tours here: https://www.puntabaja.mx
♦ Walk along the Malecón-- La Paz is so much more than pretty beaches- it has an incredible boardwalk (malecón) area as well. Here you will find tons of street food, people exercising, and from here you can also witness an amazing sunset or two right from your AirBnb! Don't miss out on some delicious ice cream during our sunset stroll. Bonus: we even saw dolphins jumping and playing right there in town!
♦ Find More Beaches!--There are a number of incredible beaches in this part of Mexico, none of which seem to have the crowds like other beach destinations in Mexico. Here is another one of our favorites:
Where to Eat in La Paz
♦ Tacos Estadio-- Tacos Estadio has some of the best fish tacos we have ever eaten! These are by far the best fish tacos we have eaten in Mexico. You may hear that Ensenada has the best fish tacos...but the people that tell you that must not have eaten at Tacos Estadio! Two or three tacos will be plenty. I ordered 4 and struggled to finish the last one!
We don’t have too many food recommendations for La Paz because we ate here for lunch every single day! Address: Guillermo Prieto 1320, Zona Central, La Paz
♦ Tosti Elotes (street food)-- La Paz might not be known for any particular type of street food- but you would be remiss not to try some of the interesting snack and food options for sale on the boardwalk. If you see a guy selling street corn (elotes) or anything to do with tostito chips- head there immediately! Street corn + chips = Amazingness!
♦ Hotel HBlue--We don’t normally eat dinner at hotels, but for Hotel HBlue we made an exception. Although the breakfast buffet was lacking a little, the dinner options at Hotel HBlue were very tasty and quite affordable. We're totally boring and chose to eat at the hotel each night..it was THAT good!
Where to Stay in La Paz
♦ Hotel HBlue-- This midrange hotel is in a great location, has free breakfast, excellent dinner, and was very clean! They had a great happy hour every single day as well as an awesome rooftop area! Click HERE to book Hotel HBlue. Address: Aquiles Serdan 2042, Zona Central, La Paz
♦ AirBnb-- There are so many incredible options on AirBnb in La Paz! Here are a few of our recommendations that are in awesome locations--right near the Malecon and the waterfront! Click HERE for our AirBnb recommendations in La Paz.
If you are looking for a beach destination with pristine water and zero crowds (who isn't!?), then La Paz, Mexico is the perfect destination for your next trip to Mexico! Feel free to email us at kinetickennons@gmail.com with any other questions about your time in La Paz!
Until next time, Have Less. Do More. Be More.
