BCS POI Checklist

Baja California Sur is a lot more than its coastline. Between La Paz and Los Cabos, the peninsula holds old mining towns, a cloud-forest biosphere reserve, natural hot springs, and a "Pueblo Mágico" art town, alongside the beaches and islands most visitors come for. This checklist runs the full range — some of these are stops on a charter, others are land excursions worth building into a longer Baja stay. Where it's useful, we've noted which is which.

La Paz City and Bay

Isla Espíritu Santo and Los Islotes — A UNESCO World Heritage island archipelago north of La Paz, with dramatic volcanic coves, some of the most photographed beaches in the Sea of Cortez, and the Los Islotes sea lion colony at its northern tip — full details in our marine life guide.

Playa Balandra — Covered in detail in our destinations guide, but it belongs on any Baja checklist: a protected bay of shallow turquoise water and the iconic Hongo (Mushroom Rock), best experienced by boat to bypass the land-side entry restrictions.

La Paz Malecón — The city's waterfront boardwalk, stretching several kilometers along the bay with sculpture installations, restaurants, and one of the best sunset views in the region. It's the natural starting and ending point for a La Paz-based charter, and worth an evening walk on its own.

El Mogote — The long sandy peninsula sitting directly across the water from downtown La Paz, separating the bay from the open Sea of Cortez. It's a short boat ride from the malecón and a genuinely different world from the city — windswept dunes, quiet beaches, mangrove-lined channels, and, in season, the closest access point to the La Paz Bay whale shark zone.

Cerro de la Calavera — "Skull Hill," a short but steep hike just north of downtown La Paz, named for the skull-like sandstone arches eroded into its southern face. The trail starts behind a gas station in the Palmira area and climbs to sweeping views over the Bay of La Paz — a favorite local sunset spot, easy enough to fit into a single evening.

The Old Silver Road (La Paz to San José del Cabo, The Inland Route)

Sierra de la Laguna Biosphere Reserve — A UNESCO-recognized mountain range running down the spine of the peninsula, home to a pine-oak forest ecosystem that feels nothing like the desert coastline below it. It's the source of most of the region's natural springs and canyons, including the two stops below.

El Triunfo — A beautifully preserved 19th-century mining town about 45 minutes from La Paz, once the most populous settlement in Baja California Sur during its silver and gold boom. The skyline is dominated by La Ramona, a 19th-century smelting chimney (long, though unconfirmed, attributed to Gustave Eiffel) beside the town's bright yellow mission-style church. Two small museums — the Museo Ruta de Plata and the Museo de la Música — round out a walk through its restored cobblestone streets.

San Antonio — El Triunfo's smaller, quieter neighbor a few minutes further down the road, another former mining settlement from the same 19th-century silver boom, with its own worn colonial character and far fewer visitors.

Cañón de la Zorra (Sol de Mayo Waterfall) — A genuine desert oasis: a roughly 35-to-40-foot waterfall spilling into a clear granite pool, reached via a short, steep hike from Rancho Ecológico Sol de Mayo outside the town of Santiago. It's one of the most photographed natural spots in Baja California Sur precisely because it looks implausible in person — swimming allowed, and worth the entrance fee charged by the ranch.

Santa Rita Hot Springs — A cluster of natural thermal pools near Santiago, shaded by native palms and fed by mineral-rich spring water. It pairs naturally with a visit to the nearby waterfall, and makes for an easy half-day loop out of Santiago.

San Bartolo — A small, spring-fed oasis town along the highway between La Paz and Los Cabos, known for a freshwater stream running through the middle of town and roadside stands selling mangoes, bananas, and homemade sweets. A good stretch-the-legs stop if you're making the overland drive.

The East Cape

Cabo Pulmo — Covered in depth in our destinations and marine life guides: one of only three living coral reefs on the west coast of North America, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the most remarkable marine conservation stories in the world.

La Ventana and El Sargento — Sister towns on the East Cape, about 45 minutes from La Paz, known internationally as one of the best kiteboarding and windsurfing destinations in North America thanks to consistent winter winds. Just outside El Sargento is Playa Agua Caliente, a genuinely unusual beach where geothermal water seeps up through the sand — visitors build small rock pools along the shoreline to soak in naturally hot water, feet from the Sea of Cortez.

Los Barriles — Another East Cape town with a strong kiteboarding and sportfishing culture, more developed than La Ventana with a wider range of restaurants and services, and a good base for exploring the East Cape corridor further south toward Cabo Pulmo.

Todos Santos and the Pacific Corridor

Todos Santos — An officially designated Pueblo Mágico on the Pacific side of the peninsula, built around a well-preserved 19th-century sugar-mill-era town center. It's become a genuine art and culinary destination — galleries, boutique hotels, and farm-to-table restaurants — while keeping its historic core intact. It's also home to the vintage Hotel California, whose totally unofficial but somehow enduring association with the Eagles song has made it a landmark in its own right.

Punta Lobos — A working fishing beach just south of Todos Santos, where local pangeros launch and return with the day's catch each afternoon — an authentic, unstaged slice of Baja fishing culture, and a reliable spot for photographing pelicans and sea lions hauled out on the rocks.

Playa Los Cerritos & Hacienda Cerritos — One of the most popular surf beaches on the Pacific side near Todos Santos, with consistent, beginner-friendly breaks and a handful of beachfront restaurants — a good contrast to the calm Sea of Cortez water most charters spend their time on. Also features Hacienda Cerritos, an authentic Mexican mansion, now a hotel on the beach's overlook.

Los Cabos

El Arco and Land's End — The signature image of the entire region, covered in full in our destinations guide: the granite arch marking the meeting point of the Pacific and the Sea of Cortez, accessible only by water.

Estero de San José — A freshwater and saltwater estuary behind the beach in San José del Cabo, and a genuinely excellent birdwatching spot — home to well over 200 recorded bird species along a shaded walking path, a quiet contrast to the resort corridor just beyond it.

San José del Cabo Historic District — The original town center of San José del Cabo, with a restored colonial plaza, mission church, and an active gallery scene that hosts a well-known Art Walk each week during the winter season — a good half-day stop for guests who want a break from the beach.

Getting to These Places

Some of this list — El Mogote, Balandra, Espíritu Santo, El Arco, Cabo Pulmo — is directly reachable by boat and fits naturally into a charter itinerary. The rest sits inland or along the highway, and is better handled as a land excursion before or after your time on the water. If you're building out a longer Baja stay around your charter, our team can help coordinate transportation and guides for the inland stops as well.

Reach out to our team to start planning your itinerary.