If you’re looking for the best time to go whale watching, not just in Los Cabos, but around Baja California Sur (BCS), the months to target are January, February and March. It isn’t the entirety of the season. However, during these months bucket-list travelers have the best chance to see blue whales in Loreto, gray whales in several locations along the Pacific Coast and humpbacks and other species in Los Cabos.
Whale watching in Loreto
This targeted schedule, it must be noted, is only because of the brevity of the blue whale season in Loreto, which lasts from January through March. But if you’re going to go whale watching, don’t you want to see the largest creature ever to have lived on Earth? These 200-ton cetaceans can weight as much as 33 elephants and are also quite mysterious and shy.
The shyness is understandable. By the middle of the 20th century, blue whales had been hunted almost to extinction. They’ve since been protected internationally and enjoy a double layer of national protection in Mexico, where the largest known population group of the species comes to breed each year. Not only are there strict guidelines for the sizes of boats that can approach them, the number of passengers they can carry and the distance they must maintain from the whales, but their breeding grounds are within Bahía de Loreto National Park.
Other whale species can also be seen in Loreto, but the blue whales are the primary attraction.
Whale watching in Los Cabos
The humpback is king in Los Cabos, where the whale-watching season runs from mid-December to mid-April annually. Yes, many of the same species of whales seen in Loreto can be seen in Los Cabos as they make their way to shallow water coves and bays around the state to breed; beaked, bryde’s, fin, gray, minke, orca, pilot, sei and sperm whales, to name a few.
But the humpbacks are the most commonly seen locally and that’s good for tour operators. Why? Because 40-ton humpbacks engage in some incredible behaviors, most notably breaching for epic splashdowns. No, this is not to put on a show – although it is awe-inspiring – but rather is a communication device that other whales can hear. The bigger the splash, the further the message travels.
Of course, that’s not the only way whales communicate. They also have a language with syntax and grammar, achieved through clicks and vocalizations. Often called whale songs, these languages are specific to species, with accents varying regionally. If you’re interested in this fascinating aspect of whale behavior, choose a tour that offers hydrophones so you can listen in.
Gray whale watching on the Pacific coast of BCS
Gray whales are the main attraction on the Pacific Coast side of BCS, thanks to three primary breeding spots: Bahía Magdalena, Lagunas San Ignacio and Ojo de Liebre, the latter two of which are within the protected Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve.
It was reported last year that gray whale numbers had increased significantly in the Vizcaíno Reserve during a single year, a very positive sign. Even better, a greater rise has been generally noted in the Pacific gray whale population, which has climbed by 33% since 2022. Over 19,000 gray whales are estimated to be in the Pacific now, with some 25,000 gray whales being born in BCS alone over the past three decades.
That’s great news for this remarkable species, which makes what is thought to be the longest mammalian migration, traveling from Arctic summer feeding grounds to warm winter breeding grounds in BCS, where they remain from late December to April each year. In fact, a gray whale holds the record for the longest whale migration, traveling over 14,000 miles round-trip between Russia and Cabo San Lucas in 2011.
Gray whale watching in Magdalena Bay
Crispin Mendoza, also known as the “Whale Whisperer,” is the godfather of whale watching in Magdalena Bay, having begun taking out tourists as far back as 1970. That was two years before the first whale-watching protections were put in place by the Mexican government. Today, his family-owned company, Magdalena Bay Whales, remains one of the best local tour operators.
Whether it is simply 50 years of positive interactions, gray whales are often extraordinarily friendly in BCS. It is the breeding season after all, with plenty of 2,000-pound newborn bundles of joy, and it probably helps that while these whales are in their breeding grounds they’re safe from predators like orcas, who avoid such shallow water. However, that doesn’t make it any less special when these enormous creatures approach pangas and invite interactions.
It’s not something that can be scripted or expected. But it does happen occasionally, making experiences in Magdalena Bay and the Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve far more intimate than those in Los Cabos or Loreto. But all rate as bucket-list adventures.
Whale watching in the Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve
Vizcaíno, a federally protected biosphere reserve since 1988, is an amazing place, and not just because of the whales. With over 9,800 square miles, it’s the largest wildlife refuge in Mexico (indeed, in all of Latin America) and a sanctuary for a wide variety of species, from desert foxes and the peninsular pronghorn antelope to endangered sea turtles and 192 different kinds of birds.
During the winter months, though, gray whales and their calves are the focus of most visitors. Of course, it bears noting Magdalena Bay and other BCS sites aren’t exactly Los Cabos when it comes to resort and lifestyle options. Neither is Loreto, for that matter, but at least it has the superb Villa del Palmar at the Islands of Loreto resort and world-class golf at TPC Danzante Bay.
However, some adventure companies offer package deals, with whale-watching excursions in Los Cabos and Pacific Coast lagoons like San Ignacio. Baja Expeditions’ Ultimate Whales package, for instance, is an eight-day trip that starts from Cabo San Lucas after an afternoon of whale watching, then proceeds to La Paz for swimming with whale sharks and continues on Laguna San Ignacio in the Vizcano Biosphere Preserve for camping and gray whale encounters. Then, it’s back to Cabo.
Naturally, such packages are expensive. But you aren’t obliged to book your own hotels or motels along the way. Everything is taken care of, from hotels, yachts and glamping to food and drinks— unforgettable moments, too.
Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.
Source: Mexico News Daily
