BAJA: Ocean Safari, whales, dolphins, sharks, mobula rays
Baja California is one of the places with the most diverse marine life on this planet. Snorkel with dolphins, mako sharks, blue and hammerheads. Swim with huge schools of mobula rays, killer whales, and sea lions
Location
Duration
Price
Baja California
8 days
2450 USD
Available dates:
APRIL 12 - APRIL 19, 2024 - SOLD OUT
APRIL 25 - MAY 2, 2024 - SOLD OUT
APRIL 14 - APRIL 21, 2025 - 6 SPOTS LEFT
Reach out for more info
About this Trip
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Guests: max 6 people
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Duration: 8 days
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Boat: day trips on small private speed boats with shade
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Number of full days in the water: 5 full days on private boat + 1/2 day kayaking
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Food: breakfast every day + snacks during the boat days
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Conditions: outside temperature: 25°C, water temperature: 16-22°C
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Skill requirement: Good swimming skills
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Pick-up location: SJD (San Jose del Cabo) airport / La Paz (LAP) airport
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Accommodation: High-standard hotels (4*) in La Paz and Cabo San Lucas. Rooms for 2 people. Single room available upon request.
Price includes::
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Airport transfers
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7 nights of accommodation with breakfast
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5 days (6 hours every day) of ocean safari
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1/2 day of kayaking in Balandra Bay
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Professional guides for the entire expedition who will share with information about the animals, their behaviour and their importance for the ecosystem
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Snorkeling equipment
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All transfers during the expedition
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Album of professional underwater photos of you and your interactions with the animals
Expedition Highlights
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Swimming in a large colony of seals, meeting their curious pups
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Snorkeling with with the world's biggest aggregation of harmless Mobula rays
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Swimming with wild dolphins
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Swimming with mako sharks, blue sharks, and hammerhead sharks
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Encounters with humpback whales
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Encounters with blue whales, the biggest animals in the world, with their calves
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Listening to beautiful whale songs
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Snorkeling with orcas
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Watching a variety of bird species
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Information about the ocean and animal behavior from professional expedition guides
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Traveling to 4 locations in Baja California rich in marine life
ITINERARY:
Day 1:
La Paz- Meeting, briefing, and accommodation
We will pick you up at the selected airport and take you to your hotel in La Paz. In the afternoon/evening, we will go over information about the interactions that await you in the following days. The expedition will begin the following morning.
• Accommodation: hotel, La Paz
Day 2
La Paz - Sea lion colony snorkeling
On this day, we will spend time on a boat with stunning scenery along the coast of Baja California. We will swim in a large colony of sea lions and play with their curious pups. During this season, whale sharks, the largest plankton-eating fish in the world, come here, and if we're lucky, we'll also snorkel with them. We will enjoy lunch on a white sandy beach in a beautiful blue lagoon, and on the way back to the port, we will observe rare birds, dolphins, and other marine life in this area full of sea creatures.
• Accommodation: hotel, La Paz
Day 3, 4
Cabo San Lucas - Sharks
In the morning, we'll depart from the port, find the best spot to meet the sharks, and start luring them toward our boat. Sometimes, it may take 20 minutes before the sharks arrive, while other times we may need to wait longer. While waiting, we may see whales and large fish such as wahoo. Once the sharks arrive, we'll jump into the water. Throughout your time in the water, two professional guides specializing in shark behavior will be with you. The most likely species we'll encounter are the mako shark and the blue shark. The mako shark is the fastest shark on our planet and can be recognized by its smooth torpedo-shaped body and very strong muscles attached to its massive tail. Blue sharks are interesting open-ocean predators with a beautiful dark blue back and bright blue sides. It's not uncommon for both of these sharks to approach the boat at the same time, and you'll be able to observe their fascinating behavior and dynamics between them.
• Accommodation: hotel, Cabo San Lucas
Day 5
La Paz - Balandra
After intense experiences in the past few days, today we'll visit Balandra Bay, which houses one of the most beautiful beaches in Mexico. The Balandra Bay area is on the UNESCO World Heritage list and its shallow turquoise crystal-clear water is surrounded by dusty pink mountains, offering a beautiful view of the Baja California coast. We'll explore this beautiful rugged beach on kayaks.
• Accommodation: hotel, La Paz
Day 6
Cabo Pulmo - Whales
This day we will drive to the Cabo Pulmo Nature Reserve. It is a small coastal town on the east coast of Baja California and is one of the most beautiful examples of the successful transformation of a rustic fishing village into a sustainable tourism destination. Cabo Pulmo is a so-called Hope spot - a place where animals can breed and stay without danger. Since 1995, when it began to be protected, the number of living organisms has increased by a staggering 420%. In season we can look forward to encounter blue whales, humpback whales, dolphins, and huge tornadoes of fish, some of which have been famously photographed here. Cabo Pulmo is proof that ocean conservation makes sense, and you can look forward to seeing what the ocean can look like when treated with respect - stunning and full of life.
• Accommodation: hotel, La Paz
Day 7
La Ventana - Mobula Rays and Whales
At this time of year, huge schools of Mobula rays gather near the shores of Baja California, numbering thousands of individuals. We'll spend both days going to La Ventana. where we'll hop on a boat and spend the day searching for them, watching their acrobatic jumps out of the water, and looking for the best opportunities to swim with them. Hundreds of rays leaping out of the water and slapping against the surface of the ocean are one of the most amazing natural spectacles on our planet. On these exploration trips, we'll also be searching for killer whales that live and hunt in these waters. Our chances of seeing them are higher in this season as they hunt Mobula rays here. The waters of the Gulf of California are full of life, and we'll look for every opportunity to swim with the amazing wild animals we'll have the chance to encounter.
• Accommodation: hotel, La Paz
Day 8
End of the expedition
Transfer to the airport or to your next accommodation in this area.
GALLERY
On this expedition, we will enjoy the incredible diversity of marine life in the waters around Cabo San Lucas and La Paz on private boats for our small group. Your guides for this expedition will be professional animal behavior experts with over 10 years of experience.
We will start the expedition in La Paz, a beautiful city located on the coast of the Gulf of California. From there, we will head to Espiritu Santo Island, about an hour's drive with a view of the stunning, unspoiled rocky coastline of Baja California. At Espiritu Santo Island, we can swim in the largest sea lion colony in the Sea of Cortez and snorkel with their playful pups. At this time of year, the giant whale sharks also swim through here, and if we're lucky, we can swim with them too. All of our encounters are based on respect for the animals, and our guides will explain everything about their behavior and body language. Before jumping into the water, we always make sure that our presence does not bother the animals.
For the next day, we will move to Cabo San Lucas, and this day will be devoted to meeting sharks. The period at the end of April and beginning of May is ideal for interactions with curious blue sharks, fast mako sharks, and possibly even hammerhead sharks. You will be able to swim with these fascinating top predators of our oceans. During this unforgettable experience, two experienced professional guides with expertise and many years of experience with sharks will be in the water with you, taking care of your safety and comfort. The guides will also share valuable information and their knowledge about shark behavior and their importance to the health of our oceans.
Our next destination will be the Cabo Pulmo Hope spot, a very special place where we will look for the biggest animals of our planet, the majestic blue whales. Seeing these animals in the wild is an unforgettable experience. The size of these animals is truly breathtaking. We will also have a chance to freedive and snorkel among the biggest jackfish tornadoes here, a beautiful natural phenomena of hundreds of silvery fish creating a "tornado effect" and a perfect opportunity for amazing photos.
The last two days of our expedition, we will seek out various animal encounters in the crystal-clear waters and dramatic scenery along the coast of the Gulf of California. Huge schools of Mobula rays, numbering in the hundreds, gather in these waters every year. We will swim with them, admire their graceful formations, and watch their acrobatic jumps from the boat. We will also search for orcas, dolphins, humpback whales with their calves, and sea lions. When we see these animals, we will enjoy close encounters with them.
We have been dedicated to the protection of oceans and sharks for 8 years, and our goal is to raise awareness of their beauty and how we can coexist with them. For sharks, we humans are the biggest threat, yet a healthy ocean cannot exist without sharks, and we cannot live without the ocean. Our activities for ocean protection are funded by expeditions like this, and your participation significantly helps us move our vision forward.