San Carlos - Sonora, Mexico

San Carlos is a cute little town on the pacific cost of the Sea of Cortez. The bay makes an excellent natural harbour with excellent protection from almost all weather, and there are excellent activities both onshore and in the water nearby. The town itself is very much focused on tourism, and there are plenty of eateries, good provisioning options, a small chandlery and hardware store.

San Carlos can be a hard place to leave, the large natural harbour provides excellent protection, and it's easy to while away the days in here waiting on good weather for a passage.

Ashore you can hike up to Tetakawi, from the marina, follow the road north, away from town, and you'll see the car park about a mile or so from the bay on the left. It's a generally easy trail with a short steep section towards the top, you'll go through a small rocky cave and pop out on the west side with an exhilarating view out over Lala cove.

You can also hike out by passing the fish market at the end of the bay, parallel to the main highway but inland from it, and hike up into 'Scorpion Canyon' and a few other arroyos which make for a nice trip out. If you are feeling bold you can continue up the end of the arroyo and link back to the right which will take you into the gated ranch community at the other side of san carlos, it's quite a trek, but its a nice day out.

There is also a waterfall and canyon hike at Nacapule, it's a way out of time and makes for either a long hike, starting at Ley, you hike out passed the air strip and continue on, there's some signs, and you'll have to pay a small fee and fill in a guest book prior to going into the canyon proper.

In the water there is plenty of snorkeling (Try around Martini Cove) and diving nearby, as well as a sea cave at the end of the point.

For provisioning there is a Ley, and next door to it, Carne Santa Rosa - which has excellent meats, as well as some kirkland produce. See our detailed guide to provisioning in the sea of cortez for more information.

There are a plethora of local restaurants, we like the pizza from Tortugas, as well as ceviche from El Rey.

The Fuel dock in Marina San Carlos is some of the cheapest fuel in the Sea Of Cortez, their dockage fee is 5% which is lower than pretty much everywhere else. You can get gas just up from Ley if you need propane refilled.

Rancheros hardware store stocks pipe, electrical stuff and fittings as well as lumber, some of which is suitable for use on a boat. Sherwin Williams stocks 3M adhesive and sealant. Star Marine has a small selection of marine parts including cleaning products, fixtures and fittings. Hydraulicos del Pacifico in Guaymas is an excellent source for many things especially those plumbing related, if they don't have them, they usually know who does.

San Carlos is also a good place to haul out, see our guide to Hauling Out in the Sea of Cortez.

Anchor in the middle of the bay, in around 20ft. When entering, watch out for the isolated rock marked by a small light, usually working.

The bay starts to shallow just before the marker bouys for the Marina Entrance. We look to anchor somewhere close to this, in around 15-30ft. It shoals pretty quick, so do watch your depth.

Holding in San Carlos is not great, so make sure your anchor is well set, and be prepared for a lot of wind shifts. In addition to the tide, the wind tends to shift between the main entrance and getting blown in behind Tetakawi, which can be a problem if you have a danforth style anchor.

San Carlos can be deceiving, whilst its extremely well protected from the swell, isolated squalls can wreak havoc in here, usually resulting in a lot of broken moorings, dragging anchors and general carnage. Make sure you are well dug in if you expect bad weather and keep an eye out for boats anchored up wind of you.