Last Updated on February 19, 2026
When I planned my whale watching trip to Baja California, I tried to figure out which would be the best places to go to see the grey whales during their migration (February and March are the best months to have a successful whale encounter).
My research brought up three lagoons that the grey whales like to hang out in:
- Magdalena Bay / Bahia de Magdalena
- Laguna San Ignacio
- Lagunar Ojo de Liebre
Magdalena Bay was the furthest south of the three, and since I was traveling north from La Paz, naturally, it made the most sense for me to stop there first. The two villages closest to Magdalena Bay that have whale watching tours are Puerto Chale and Puerto San Carlos.
Puerto Chale is a little closer to La Paz (178 km / 110 miles) – around 2 hours and 15 minutes by car; Puerto San Carlos is 267 kilometers / 166 miles) from La Paz – around 3 hours and 15 minutes by car, or 4 hours 15 minutes by bus (970 MXN).
I opted for Puerto San Carlos, because I couldn’t really find any hotels in Puerto Chale, when I looked online, but San Carlos seemed to have a few options for accommodation. I went to Puerto San Carlos without booking a tour in advance – all I had booked was my guesthouse.
As soon as I arrived in the village, I made my way over to a couple of places I’d bookmarked on Googlemaps that offered whale watching tours. My hotel had already messaged me via Booking.com prior to my arrival, notifying me of their whale watching tour the next morning, but they didn’t send me any further details and I wanted to compare the various options.
Magdalena Bay Whale Watching came highly-rated, but at MXN2,200 (just under US$130), it was a lot more expensive than the other providers, and the tour itinerary seemed to be the same. My second stop was Friendly Whale Watching Tours, at the Hotel Vista MagBay. Jacibe, the owner, was very welcoming and answered all my questions in detail. It also helped that she spoke English at native level. The price was similar to what my hotel had quoted me (MXN1,600 / around US$93). I felt like I was in good hands here, so I went with Friendly Whale Watching Tours.
The next morning, I woke up at 6am, even before my alarm went off, because I was beaming with excitement about this dream finally coming true. I would see the grey whales! At least if I wanted to believe the signs I’d seen all over town, promising a “100% whale sighting guarantee“.
The boats were already outside the hotel when I arrived – they are put on boat trailers and you board the boat long before you reach the water. Once everyone’s on board, the boat is being pulled down to an area on the edge of town by a large vehicles where the boats are launched right into the water.
Whale watching in Magdalena Bay – tips & practical information
Choose your tour company wisely
When you shop around for whale watching tours, make sure to get all your questions answered.
How long is the tour? What’s included in the tour? How many people are on the boat? Does the captain speak English? If you have special needs / requirements / wishes, can they be fulfilled?
Generally, it seems like all the tour providers operator similarly. There don’t seem to be a lot of English-speaking captains, so if you don’t speak much Spanish, make sure to ask for an English-speaking captain. My Spanish was good enough to understand our captain, who did not speak English.
Choose a company with decent boats
Ask the company you’re booking with what their boats are like. I noticed a big difference between the boats that had open-front canvas tops, offering shade the entire time, and the boats without any shade canopy. If you find yourself on the latter, that means you’ll be fully exposed to the sun for six hours – I personally was grateful that we had shade the entire time we were on the boat.
Check buses and hotels in San Carlos
If you, like me, travel by bus, check the bus times before booking your accommodation and make sure tickets are available for the days you’re planning to visit.
The same goes for accommodation – since there is a limited number of hotels, it is important to check that there’s availability. For my first night in San Carlos, I snagged the last room at the posada.
Keep your expectations low
Even though there seems to be a 100% whale sighting guarantee between January and March, I recommend keeping your expectations low. A woman who was staying at my hotel told me that she was a bit disappointed about her whale watching tour, since weather conditions weren’t great (there were strong winds, the sea was very choppy, and it was overcast. Apparently, the whales don’t come up to the surface as much as they do when the water is calm and the sun is shining, and so they didn’t have as many whale encounters as she was hoping for.
I lucked out, because I went on this tour in perfect weather conditions, the water was pretty calm, it was sunny, and the whales felt very social.
Be realistic about the tour
On the topic of expectations: be realistic about what this tour is going to entail. Don’t expect six hours of whales hanging out right by your boat! There’s a lot of time spent just waiting, trying to find whales, waiting for them to approach the boat, trying to find more whales, waiting around, and riding around in the boat. If this doesn’t sound appealing to you, this tour might not be for you.
Dress warm
When I arrived in San Carlos, I was sweating. It was seriously hot! But a woman who’d gone whale watching that morning told me that out on the water, it was freezing. And she was right – the wind was fierce, and the boats head out into the bay (and back) with a very high speed. I wore a long-sleeve zippie, a vest, a scarf, and I had also packed my lightweight down jacket, just in case.
Don’t forget the sunscreen
As I mentioned above, there are two types of boats. If you’re on a boat without a canvas top, you’ll definitely need to reapply sunscreen throughout the day, so don’t just apply it in the morning, but pack it in your daypack. But even on a boat that offers shade you’ll need sunscreen.
What to pack for your whale watching tour
Snacks
Even though all the tours offer snacks throughout the day, they all seem to offer only cookies and other pre-packed sweet treats, chips, and water. If you prefer fresh fruits, nuts, energy bars or something to drink other than water, make sure to pack it. Six hours on the boat is a long time. I also recommend eating something before the tour, or you may get very hungry after a few hours.
Camera equipment & a safety anti-drop strap for your phone
Pack all the camera gear you have! I used my Nikon Coolpix P950 compact digital camera with a 2000mm zoom, my underwater camera (on a strap or a handle grip), your phone, and a power bank (I took so many videos and photos that my phone ran out of battery faster than usual!) and most importantly, a lanyard / anti-drop strap for your phone. Trust me on that: you may get so excited when a whale sticks its head out of the water right in front of your boat that you’ll drop your phone in the ocean!
Even with a tight grip, it can happen that another boat rams your boat, causing you to drop your phone, or the whale to nudge the boat, or another passenger in their excitement getting too close to you and maybe bumping into you.. there are too many things that could go wrong here, and six hours out on the water is a long time. You don’t want to lose the photos you take of this once-in-a-lifetime-experience!
Jacket & bikini
That might sound contradictory, but in the morning I definitely needed a jacket, and I only ever felt warm when the sun was fully out. Every time the sun was hiding behind the clouds, I got cold! However, by midday it did warm up enough for the girls to shed their layers. On the way back to San Carlos, we stopped at a secluded beach on Isla Margarita, where it’d be possible to go for a dip if you’re brave enough (the water is quite chilly here in February – but it depends on where you’re from, I guess.)
Toilet paper / some napkins
I don’t know what it’s like on other boats, but our boat did have some sort of camping toilet in the back. I personally did not use it, but with five women on my boat, it was only a question of time until someone needed a “toilet break”. Our captain came to the front while she was doing her business in the back (to give her as much privacy as was possible on a small boat), and then we went on our merry way. If you think you’ll need to use the toilet during the 6-hour tour, pack some toilet paper or some napkins.
Sunscreen
As mentioned above, six hours out on the water is a long time, and you’ll probably want to re-apply sunscreen at some point.
Dramamine / other seasickness remedies
If you’re prone to seasickness, definitely take some medication precautionary. Especially the long rides out into the bay and back are not comfortable, the waves are intense in some places, and people do get nauseous when the ocean is a bit rougher. I’m not sure if you can buy them in San Carlos (stores are very limited), so I’d pick up seasickness medication in La Paz or bring it with you to Mexico.
How much time to spend in Puerto San Carlos
Most people seem to spend only one night in Puerto San Carlos – typically the night before the whale watching trip, since it starts at 7am. I wouldn’t have wanted to drive for hours (Loreto and La Paz are both around 3 hours from San Carlos) after spending more than 6 hours on a boat. Keep that in mind when you book your accommodation.
Two nights was plenty though, since there’s not that much to do in the village. I spent the afternoon walking all over San Carlos, exploring the village, the bay, had a frappe at Ola’La Coffee, sorted through the hundreds of photos I took on the tour and re-watched the videos I took with my phone.
How to get to Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur:
By bus
Autobuses Aguila runs one bus per day from La Paz to Puerto San Carlos, currently leaving at 2:05pm, and arriving in San Carlos at 6:20pm. Check the website for the current schedule and price. In February 2026, a ticket was 970 MXN.
Alternatively, you can take any bus that travels up and down Highway 1 to Ciudad Constitucion (note that on the Buses Aguila website, this stop is written “Cd Constitucion”). From Ciudad Constitucion, there’s only one road to Puerto San Carlos, and you could hitchhike there (takes about 1 hour).
The bus from Puerto San Carlos to La Paz leaves at 7am and arrives in La Paz at 10.50am.
By car
If you travel to Puerto San Carlos in your own vehicle, take the turnoff to Puerto San Carlos in Ciudad Constitucion.
There was no shortage of available parking spots when I visited San Carlos.
Organized Magdalena Bay Whale Watching Tours
It is possible to book Magdalena Bay Whale Watching Tours from Cabo San Lucas (overnight), La Paz (a 10-hour tour), and from Loreto (an 8-hour tour).
Where to eat in Puerto San Carlos
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Where to stay in Puerto San Carlos
