La Paz - BCS, Mexico

La Paz is the largest cruising hub in Baja, if not Mexico as a whole. Its a well protected bay within a bay, close to some of the most beautiful marine environments you can imagine, and has everything you could probably need for provisioning and care of your boat.

There are a multitude of marinas, boat yards and chandleries to choose from, and an active boating community which can pretty much find you any part or service you can imagine.

The town itself is safe, with a beautiful malecon complete with cycle and running track which goes all the way up and down the coast.

There are all the big grocery chains, plus a farmers market, and a bunch of specialty stores.

Where to stay

I typically anchor out in the bay, but if we need easier access to shore, we tuck into one of the 5 or so marinas.

Marina Cortez

We moor up against the outer wall (C Dock) which is pretty good value, especially if you are spending a week or more there. You'll get water, but no electricity which is the only down side.

They happily receive packages, and they have showers and bathrooms ashore. Access is well controlled, and security are on the ball.

Marina De La Paz

Marina La Paz are a lot more than just a Marina in La Paz, they play an important role in the local community, not just for cruisers, and provide a multitude of services such as a dinghy dock that those anchored out in the bay can use, laundry and a bunch of other business on their premises, and are all round nice people.

The marina is in good shape, and monthly rates are affordable. They fill up fast however.

The Anchorage

There is a huge anchoring space just outside the marina entrance, there are strong tides, which can create havoc for boats moored too close together. When the wind picks up, it can be quite uncomfortable when you are beam on to the wind, with the boat surfing over its anchor.

There's also a lot of derelicts in the anchorage which have a habit of coming loose in bad weather, but there's also a huge community who do generally take care of one another and try to avoid anything too bad happening.

Other Marinas

Marina Palmira located about half way down the channel is a bit more expensive, but does have daily shuttles into town.

Marina Costa Baja is the only real hurricane hole in La Paz, with slips nestled right up into the foot of the hills there.

Abaroa have slips, probably the cheapest in town, but the facilities and docks reflect that.

Marina Fonatur located further into the bay have slips in the standard Fonatur setup, I've never been in with the big boat, which involves what looks like quite a narrow and awkward channel with what appears to be wrecks from boats which have dragged from the main anchorage further down littered around the entrance.

Trips from La Paz

La Paz is a great base for exploring souther Baja, both on the coast as well as in lnland.

Whale Watching

In February, regardless of where you are in Baja, make sure you head up to see the whales in Magdelena Bay, you can rent a car from La Paz for the two hour drive.

Whale Shark Tours

The whale sharks visit the other side of the Mogote, and you can organize a panga tour from any of the agencies ashore. You need to visit with a tour, so don't expect to be able to rock up with your dinghy and go partying with wilbur the whale shark.

Sea Lion Tour

The sea lion colony at the north end of the islands is a popular destination for a day trip, similarly to the whale sharks you should be part of a licensed tour to snorkel with them. Tours here usually take in most of the islands for lunch, which can be a good way to get to know the islands before you visit in the big boat.

Pueblos Magicos

El Triumfo, la Ventana, Todos Santos and a bunch of other small towns are a nice easy drive from La Paz. Making a few days of it to tour the souther peninsula is a nice way to see some of Bajas sights, and get off the boat for a while.

You have a bunch of options for anchoring in la paz, you can anchor just about anywhere out of the channel in 15-20ft.

We tend to avoid anchoring in and around the marina entrance, or off the Malecon just for the sake of a quiet life. In fact we tend to go over to the further end of the Mogote where there's less traffic, less derelicts, and more space.

When anchoring in la paz, be mindful that there can be strong currents and thermals which means your anchor will be resetting 4 times a day at a minimum. There's pages and pages of waffle about the la paz waltz, but the short answer is give more room than you normally would between you and other boats.