Blue Whale Watching in Loreto (Baja California Sur, Mexico): everything you need to know

We met the blue whale, the largest animal on the planet, in Loreto on our one month trip through Baja California Sur! Do you want to do it too?

In this guide you will find everything you need to do the blue whale watching activity in Loreto with practical information about the best season to go, prices, who to do it with, how many days, whale watching rules and even where to sleep to make your experience as special as ours was.

Check out our complete guide to Baja California Sur if you are planning a trip to the area.

Basic facts for blue whale watching in Loreto

How to get there: Loreto has an international airport, although you also have the La Paz airport (4h30 away) and the Los Cabos airport (6h30 away). We recommend you to use flight comparators such as Skyscanner and Kiwi and be flexible with dates to get the best possible price. More info here

When to go: January to March (although it depends on the year). The best season is usually from mid-February to mid-March. More info here

How many days: If you want to have more chances to see blue whales in Loreto, or if you want to enjoy this wonder several times, it is advisable to make several sighting attempts on different days.

Rules: Whale watching is happily regulated in Mexico. In the case of blue whales in Loreto, NOM-131-SEMARNAT-2010 applies. At Randomtrip we always advocate animal welfare over human entertainment. More info here.

How to do the sighting: In a boat tour of several hours with authorized operators. More info about the tours here.

Who to do the tour with: It is important to choose a responsible company. At Randomtrip we recommend Arturo’s, with whom we did a whale watching tour. More info here.

How much it costs: From 2100 pesos (about 115 USD) for the 6-7h shared tour with Arturo’s. More info here.

Weather: The weather during blue whale watching season is usually cool/cold at night and in the early morning, and sunny/hot during the day.

What to bring: Sun protection (sunscreen, sunglasses, cap/cap…), a windbreaker for the cold at dawn and on the fast boat rides, cameras (smartphone, GoPro, professional camera…), water (preferably in a refillable bottle). More info here.

Where to sleep: In Loreto, base from which to do this tour as well as others in Loreto Bay National Park. More info here.

Language: Most tourists tend to be from the United States, so it is common for both Spanish and English to be spoken, although most captains only speak Spanish.

Currency: MXN ($) Mexican Peso (1$ equals 20$ MXN approx.). Check the updated exchange rate here

Where is Loreto?

Loreto is located in central-eastern Baja California Sur, Mexico. It has an international airport, and is a 4h30 drive from La Paz airport, 6h30 from Los Cabos airport, 1h50 from Mulegé, 1h50 from Ciudad Constitución and 1h30 from Ciudad Insurgentes.

Here you can see a more detailed map with the location of Loreto in relation to other points of interest such as La Paz, Los Cabos (Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo) or Ciudad Insurgentes:

How to get to Loreto

The airports in Baja California Sur are the following:

• La Paz airport, 4:30 hours from Loreto
• Loreto Airport
• Los Cabos Airport, 6h30 from Loreto

Depending on your goal when visiting Baja California Sur (if you are coming for several days or if you are coming exclusively to visit Loreto) we recommend you to choose the most suitable airport for you, use flight comparators such as Skyscanner and Kiwi and be flexible with the dates to get the best possible price.

Once in Baja California Sur, the easiest way to get around is by car (owned or rented), so you can have the freedom to move around at your own pace and avoid wasting a lot of time getting around. In our case, we rented a car at the Los Cabos airport, where we landed, for our one month trip through Baja California Sur .

The other options are private transportation or public transportation, although the times are longer and the combinations are worse. In this case, Autobuses Aguila connects the main cities of the peninsula between Los Cabos and Tijuana.

Best time to see blue whales in Loreto

The best time is usually between mid-February and mid-March, although it is possible to see blue whales from January to the end of March, depending on the year (remember that we are talking about wild animals in their habitat). Here we explain why.

Blue whale season in Loreto

The “official” blue whale season in Loreto runs from January to March, but it is important to understand that we are talking about a free-ranging migratory species. Blue whales usually start arriving in Loreto in January and begin to leave for the cold Arctic waters at the end of March.

During all this time it may be possible to see blue whales, although the “peak” (when there are more whales) is usually between February and March.

This can vary from year to year, so there is no way to predict it exactly, but it is best to avoid the shoulders of the season (January and even early February and late March) to have a better chance of seeing them.

In our case, with the main objective of whale watching, we visited Baja California Sur from February 7 to March 7 and managed to see whales at all the points in Baja California Sur where we did whale watching tours.

Best time of the day to see blue whales in Loreto

Based on data and statistics, there is no best or worst time of day for blue whale watching in Loreto: it is possible to see them at any time of the day.

Whether we can see them, whether they are closer or farther away, more curious or less curious, whether they come closer, depends on a multitude of factors: the whales themselves, luck, the state of the sea, the weather, etc.

If you get seasick on the boat, ideally you should take a pill before, and choose the tours that leave earlier, since the sea is usually calmer, although as everything depends on the day.

RandomTip: An important thing to keep in mind before you go whale watching is to adjust your expectations! Remember that just the fact of being able to see them is a gift of nature (it is the wonder of seeing wild animals in the wild, the feeling that you won the lottery) and it is always the whales that choose whether to get closer to the boat or not (and never the other way around).

Information and curiosities about blue whales

Here are some facts about blue whales.

• Blue whales are the largest animal on the planet. They can weigh up to 180 tons and measure 29 meters long. Their tongue weighs as much as an elephant, their heart is the size of a car and their veins are so wide that a person could swim inside them.
• Blue whale calves are already huge, measuring up to 8 meters and weighing up to 2.5 tons. The calves consume about 500-600 liters of milk per day and put on about 90 kilograms each day.
• Blue whales are generally a migratory species, although not much is known about their routes and it appears that there are blue whale populations that do not migrate.
• Blue whales feed mainly on krill (a type of crustacean) and other small organisms such as small fish and plankton. In order to feed, they introduce large quantities of water, which they then expel by filtering the food thanks to their baleen plates. Yes, blue whales have baleen and not teeth.
• Thousands of blue whales were hunted during the 20th century, bringing the species to the brink of extinction. Although hunting has been banned since the 1960s and the population seems to be recovering, the species remains endangered to this day.
• They are called blue whales because underwater, they appear light blue, although in reality their mottled skin is a grayish-blue color. Some have a yellowish hue on their belly.
• Blue whales are believed to live up to approximately 80-90 years.
• Blue whales are present in all oceans except the Arctic.
• To communicate with each other, they emit very loud sounds (among the loudest among animals), which travel thousands of kilometers in the ocean.
• Killer whales are the largest and only known predator of blue whales. The other major threat to blue whales is people (unfortunately illegal whaling persists, although other causes of blue whale deaths are ship strikes and fishing nets).

If you want to learn more about blue whales, as well as the rest of the whales, sea turtles, the vaquita, etc., don’t miss the Whale Museum in La Paz.

Blue whale watching rules

Mexico is a country that, fortunately, has a strong regulation and protection of whales, so whale watching activities must follow certain rules and the boats must have the corresponding official permit.

In the case of blue whale watching in Loreto, the rule that applies is NOM-131-SEMARNAT-2010 (if you are curious, you can read it here) in conjunction with the Loreto Bay National Park Management Plan (which you can read here). Here is a summary of the rules:

• The vessel/captain must have official authorization and carry the flag (distinctive) visible on the vessel.
• In the presence of whales, the maximum speed is 5 knots (9km/h), decreasing to 2 knots (4km/h) when entering the observation zone. The boat should always go at a slower speed than the slowest whale and avoid accelerating or decelerating abruptly.
• Maximum 4 boats with each whale or group of whales. If other boats wish to observe the same whale or group of whales, they must wait at a distance of 240 meters.
• The maximum distance that the boat can approach the blue whale is 100 meters, avoiding approaching whales with calves.
• The approach to the whale or group of whales must be made diagonally, from the rear side, and the vessel must sail parallel to the whale or group.
• If the whale or group of whales stops, the vessel should remain with the engine running and in neutral position.
• Maximum 30 minutes with the whale or group of whales.
• If the whale or pod exhibits evasive behavior, the vessel(s) should immediately move away.
• During whale watching it is forbidden to:
  • Harass (“Act that interferes with the natural behavior of whales, as well as forcing physical contact with them”) or harm whales.
  • Dispersing whales
  • Interfering between mother and calf, or approaching whales that are mating or calving
  • Engage in other activities such as fishing, diving, swimming, etc…. (i.e. it is strictly forbidden to jump into the water in the presence of whales).
  • Use other vessels (jet skis, kayaks, etc.).
  • Throwing waste into the sea
  • Catching or collecting wildlife, as well as bringing it in.
  • Carrying pets on board (except guide dogs).
  • Feeding whales
  • Towing objects or dragging ropes, nets, hooks, etc.

Are blue whale watching rules adhered to in Loreto?

In our experience, most of the companies do comply, and it is clear that the people involved (most of them are fishing captains) have respect for the animals and good intentions.

It is important to contract the tours with authorized operators, with good reputation and that you can verify that they comply with the rules. It is also very important that you read the rules, and give a warning and/or report to the authorities in case of non-compliance, and even share them with other people on the same boat, who may not know what the rules are.

In our opinion, it should be mandatory to have a guide on board (a biologist) to ensure that the rules are followed, explain to the people who are doing the tour what they see, and call attention in case someone does something wrong or tries to pressure the captain.

How is the blue whale watching tour in Loreto?

Since these are wild animals in their habitat, there is no way to know for sure whether you will see blue whales or not, in which area they are or anything like that, so it is important to adjust your expectations.

In the Loreto tours, the boats go out to the areas where whale watching is allowed, and they sail in search of a sign of the whale (usually the blowing), an event that can take minutes or hours (you have to be patient). There is also communication between captains to warn when they see some.

When a whale or group of whales is detected, the boat sails towards them up to the maximum distance allowed. Once close, if the whale is moving, the boat may accompany it in parallel from the maximum distance allowed, and if it stops or approaches the boat, the boat must stop and leave the engine in neutral position.

How long the encounter lasts and what happens during the encounter will depend exclusively on the whales. During this type of encounter, the boat must remain with the engine on and in neutral, without moving, and can stay there until the blue whale or group of blue whales decides to move away.

Keep in mind that even if you are lucky enough to have one of these magical encounters happen, it may only last a few seconds, so you will most likely spend the several hours of the tour seeing one or a few more blue whales farther away, so once again, adjust your expectations!

Observable behaviors of blue whales

These are the most common behaviors of blue whales at the surface that you will see during the tour:

• Blowing: when they come out to breathe, they emit a blowing sound that can reach several meters high and be seen from far away.
• Breaching: they take a large part of their body out of the water vertically and fall on their back, generating a large splash. Unlike other whale species such as humpback whales, it is very rare to observe a blue whale doing this type of breaching.
• Spyhopping: they only stick their heads vertically out of the water, observing their surroundings. This is a very rare behavior to see in blue whales.
• Slapping: they hit the water with their fin or tail, generating a splash.
• Fluking: usually indicates that the blue whale is going for a deep dive, so if we see the tail it means that the whale is leaving and it will take a few minutes to resurface.

How long does the blue whale watching tour last?

It depends on the tour, the company and the price. Arturo’s tours, with whom we did our blue whale watching trip, last about 6-7 hours.

How many people go on the boat?

It depends on the tour, the company and the price: there will always be a captain and the corresponding number of tourists up to the maximum number of places on the boat, which is usually a maximum of 20.

On the tour we did with Arturo’s the panga had capacity for 4 people and the captain.

How much does the blue whale watching tour in Loreto cost?

The price depends on the company you go with, the duration, the type of boat used, the number of people, etc. …. In the case of Arturo’s shared daily tours start from 2100 pesos per person (about 115€).

Since it is an activity with wild animals in their habitat where the main thing is that they are respected and that it is done under the current regulations, we recommend that you do not look for the cheapest operator, and that you do a little research on who you are going to do it with and their position regarding the welfare of these animals.

Recommended company for responsible blue whale watching

Based on what we indicated, fortunately the activity is regulated and you can only do the tour with authorized boats. Given that even then there are boats that do not comply with the rules, the most important thing is that you choose well with whom you are going to do the tour, and that you express when the tour starts your intentions to make a responsible sighting and following the rules.

In our case we did it with Arturo’s and we can recommend them because in the tour we did, the captain respected the rules at all times. It is a local company, which has been doing the activity in these waters for years and whose objective is to respect and help in the conservation of the blue whale (as well as the rest of the fauna present in the area).

Our blue whale watching experience with Arturo’s

After booking the activity with Arturo’s (in our case a combined blue whale tour and visit to a beach in Isla del Carmen), they tell us to be at 10:00 am on the agreed day at the marina in Loreto to do the activity. In addition to sending the location on Google Maps, they also provide us with instructions on how to get there easily so we don’t get lost.

Our captain was already waiting for us next to the Loreto blue whale statue, so we boarded the boat and set off for the National Park. The sea was super calm, like a plate, which facilitated the sighting, and our captain warned us that we were in luck because he was just been warned that a blue whale was already there, so we sail straight to the area.

After a few minutes of sailing we saw other boats in the distance and, suddenly, a whale blow. Compared to the blows of gray whales and humpback whales that we had seen in the previous weeks, in this case the blow was much louder, really impressive. After a while we saw the whale fluking, which means that it was going to the bottom and we won’t see it again for a few minutes.

Our captain invited us to relax while we continue searching, but after a few minutes we spotted another one, of which we only see a small part of the body when it came to the surface to breathe . We kept on spotting, although it seemed that the ones we saw do not show their tails much when they came to the surface.

Half an hour later, one of the blue whales surfaced very close to another boat, which allowed us to better understand and appreciate its enormous size (the piece of body we saw when it surfaced was larger than the boat next to it, 12m long!) We were a bit envious of how close they were being seen from that boat, as the blue whale literally passed underneath it.

Immediately after, the blue whale sticks out its tail, giving us a beautiful picture of its tail with Coronado Island in the background.

We continued seeing more blue whales with this dynamic for a couple of hours. The truth is that after seeing the humpback whales, which delighted us with a lot of their spectacular jumps, and the gray whales, which come very close to the boats, the sighting of the blue whale becomes less spectacular, although it is still worth it for being the largest animal on the planet.

The captain asked us if we wanted to continue searching for blue whales or if we wanted to go to Isla del Carmen, so we chose to go to Isla del Carmen. We were taken to a bay on the island, Puerto Balandra, where we could relax on the beach, took a swim (the water was cool!) and snorkel. After a while, we let the captain know we were readt to our way back to Loreto.

Get inspired by the stories of our visit to Loreto

You can see the Instagram stories about our blue whale watching tour in Loreto in our featured Loreto stories at this link. By the way, do you already follow us on Instagram?

Things to see and do in Loreto

Besides seeing the blue whales in Loreto, there is much more to see and do in Loreto. Here are the main plans, you can see more in our complete guide to Loreto:

• Visit other islands of the Loreto Bay National Park, such as Coronado Island, where you can see dolphins, sea lions, swim in the beach and snorkel.

• Take a stroll through the historic center of Loreto and its malecon.

• Trekking through one of its canyons, such as Tabor or Mesquite.
• Visit the beautiful beaches of Bahía Concepción and the town of Mulegé.

We will tell you in detail everything you can see and do in Loreto in our complete guide to Loreto.

Where to stay in Loreto

In Loreto you should ideally stay in the center and near the Malecón. At Randomtrip we stayed at HospedArte (from 70 USD/night) and we liked it very much. Simple and comfortable studios, very well located (we walked to the Malecon and downtown) with a place to park our rental car, a mini kitchen to prepare breakfast and some chairs and table outside to rest a bit and dry towels in the sun.

In addition to ours, we recommend other accommodations from people we met on tours of Baja California Sur who recommended where they had stayed (or were staying) in Loreto, for you to see and choose depending on how much you want/can invest per night. All are ideally located, some closer to the historic center and others to the malecon:

• Depa del Carmen (from 54 USD/night): simple one-bedroom apartment, comfortable, clean and in an excellent location.
• Casas Centro Loreto (from 64 USD/night): houses for two to four people in the center of town
• Buganbilias Suites (from 119 USD/night): fully equipped studios in the center of Loreto
• Lofts Loreto (from 140 USD/night): one or two-bedroom apartments close to everything you need
• Villas Santo Niño (from 134 USD/night): studios and apartments with 1 or 2 bedrooms, from 2 to 6 people, very nice, very well located and with swimming pool.

• Hotel Rosarito (from 147 USD/night): a small charming hotel in the center of Loreto, with nice rooms and swimming pool.

• Hotel 1697 (from 158 USD/night): in the heart of Loreto square, this hotel is one of the most central in the city. It is also surrounded by gastronomic options and the few nightlife options in the area.
• La Misión Loreto (from 219 USD/night): looking for a suite with sea views to surprise someone? Look no further. This 5-star hotel with 2 pools and 3 restaurants is located next to Loreto’s boardwalk.

If none of these accommodations convince you, take a look at all these in this link and remember that the prices we mention are approximate and change according to the type of room and the season.

Best restaurants in Loreto

These are the restaurants we tried and recommend in Loreto:

• Dory Luz: typical Mexican dishes at a very good price in a family restaurant. From breakfast, tacos, burritos, flautas, sopes and quesadillas. Delicious.

• Bajamar: tacos, ceviche, fish and seafood right on the boardwalk
• El Calorón: delicious tacos and tostadas in front of the sea (also on the boardwalk).
• Gorditas Gordibuenas: as the name suggests, to eat excellent gorditas in Loreto.
• Asadero Super Burro: known as the best burritos in Loreto (roast beef, chicken or arrachera burritos).
• Marquesitas Food Truck (Maré Lindo Loreto): as we missed the famous Yucatecan Marquesitas (between a waffle and a crepe, filled with sweet or savory), when we found this food truck in the middle of Miguel Hidalgo Avenue in Loreto, we were thrilled.

• Alma del Sur: burgers, salads, sandwiches, beers and margaritas.

• Mezzaluna: pizzas, fresh pasta, empanadas and milanesas with a wine list of Baja California wines and craft beers.

Recommendations for visiting Loreto and watching blue whales as a responsible tourist

At Randomtrip we always advocate animal welfare over human entertainment so here are our recommendations for this activity, based on our experience:

• Adjust your expectations: If you go in the season we recommend at Randomtrip, you are likely to see blue whales, but there is no guarantee of seeing them or how far away you will see them as it depends 100% on them.
• Increase your dose of patience: On our tour in Loreto, we saw several blue whales but 95% of the time we saw the whales far away so most of the time is spent in contemplation and waiting. You never know what nature is going to give you that day but remember that just being there is a privilege.
• Never ask the captain to get any closer. The captains know the rules by heart, they know the boat and the bay like the back of their hand, the changes in the tides and the wind and they have been observing the behavior of the whales for years so listen to them and do not force them to break the rules. If the whale wants to approach your boat, it will and in fact it does many times in this unique place in the world. Unfortunately, even though there are regulations to abide by, sometimes captains, in order to please clients, give in to forcing some rules because of client pressure. Don’t do it and remember to always put the welfare of the animal before your entertainment.
• Be responsible with waste and resource management: Remember the unique and special environment you are in, don’t throw absolutely nothing into the sea and bring a reusable water bottle to avoid buying single-use plastic bottles.

Checklist: what to bring for whale watching in Loreto

Here is the list of products that we believe you should bring for this blue whale adventure:

• A  reusable water bottle like one of these to carry water with you all the time and void single-use plastic.
• Water proof dry bag like this one, very useful to keep your photographic equipment, cell phone and wallet safe from getting wet on the boat (whales sometimes blow near the boat or even hit the water with their fin or tail near the boat, and water can reach the boat).
• A neck gaiter like this one to protect yourself from wind and cold
• Sun screen: the sun is strong in Baja California Sur so it is a must to take care of your skin. Always look for a Coral Friendly Sunscreen, i.e. one that protects your skin without harming marine ecosystems by avoiding ingredients such as oxybenzone and octinoxate, which are harmful to corals. Nor that it has been tested on animals.
• A hat or a cap (like this one) and sunglasses to protect yourself from the sun
• Windbreaker waterproof jacket: like this one. On the boat, depending on the conditions, it can be a bit chilly, so the ideal is to wear a windbreaker to protect you from the cold, the sun, and the water if it splashes.
• A phone lanyard: due to the wind and sometimes the jumps of the boat, it is advisable to have some protection for your smartphone so that you do not drop it (either inside the boat or at sea).
• A floating sunglass strap: as with the smartphone, it is advisable to have something similar for the glasses (we witnessed a couple of cases of people who had their sunglasses “blown” into the water and could not recover them, plus it is plastic that pollutes the sea).
• A good camera to register your adventures. At Randomtrip we carry a Sony ZV-E10 and a Gopro Hero12 Black (for underwater pictures)
• A Power bank: taking so many pictures will drain your batteries, so it’s always a good idea to carry a good powerbank. At Randomtrip we travel with these 2 (Anker 20000 mAh and  Anker 10000 mAh), which allow us to charge both our phones and our cameras.
• First aid kit: In our first-aid kit there is always a medicine against seasickness (such as biodramine for seasickness on boats), antibiotics, anti-diarrhea medication (and a probiotic to recover more quickly), antihistamines, painkillers and antipyretics and, of course, travel insurance. If you hire your travel insurance with IATI using this link you will get a 5% discount

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If you travel to Loreto in the same season as the blue whales (first quarter of the year), be sure to take the boat trip to Loreto Bay to live this experience. And if you do it or have any questions, let us know in the comments!

Anatomy of a Farewell, photos by Randomtrip (All rights reserved)

Disclaimer: Arturo’s allowed us to live this blue whale watching adventure and visit Isla del Carmen in exchange for reporting our experience here on the blog, but all opinions and information expressed in this post are our own.