Great Whales of Mexico’s Pacific Coast

Sail down the Baja peninsula in search of cetaceans, seals and seabirds for the whale adventure of a lifetime.

This voyage heads along the west coast of Baja California and offers the best opportunity for close-up encounters with whales anywhere in the world. In San Ignacio Lagoon, about halfway down this bony finger of desert land, you can gaze eyeball-toeyeball with female grey whales and their newly-born calves, an experience like nothing else on Earth.

And this is just one highlight of a trip that takes us from San Diego in California more than 1,000 kilometres south following the route taken by grey, humpback and blue whales on their annual migration from northern feeding grounds to warm-water locations where they mate and give birth.

Our first stop is Isla San Benito, where we hope to find rare Guadalupe fur seals and northern elephant seals, one of the world’s largest pinnipeds, with the heaviest weighing more than 2 tonnes. Here, some females are nursing pups, while males compete for territory and the right to a harem.

From there, we carry on to San Ignacio Lagoon and the affable grey whales. There’s no need for us to approach them, they come to us – quite why they're happy to interact in such an intimate way, no one quite knows. Whatever the reason, you’ll surely never forget the experience of watching the world’s friendliest 30-tonne leviathans rub themselves against your dinghy.

A few hundred kilometres further south are the nutrient-rich waters of Magdalena Bay. Offshore we hope to encounter blue whales – the biggest animals that have ever lived.

As we reach the bottom of the peninsula, we come to Cabo San Lucas, and head to Gorda Banks, where there's a good chance of seeing humpbacks, which come here to mate, indulging in their spectacular breaching behaviour.

For our finale we continue onto the Sea of Cortez for two days of exploration, where there's the possibility of other cetacean species including sperm, Bryde's and fin whales. There may also be the opportunity for snorkelling and encounters with California sea lions. Finally, there's a good chance of seeing whale sharks before heading home.

Day 1: Depart UK for San Diego. Day 2: Board the MV Searcher & depart after dinner.

Day 3: Sail past Islas Todos Santos.

Day 4: Isla San Benito for northern elephant & Guadalupe seals.

Days 5-6: San Ignacio Lagoon for close encounters with grey whale.

Day 7: Offshore Magdalena Bay for humpbacks, dolphins, turtles & sharks.

Day 8: Cabo San Lucas to see possible humpbacks breaching.

Day 9: Los Islotes for possible whale shark encounters.

Day 10: Isla Cerralvo in the Sea of Cortez.

Day 11: Depart Los Cabos for return to London overnight via Phoenix.

Day 12: Arrive UK.

12 days, from £7,395 (incl. flights) £6,795 (excl. flights)

Departure date: 15 Mar 2024

Embark/Disembark: San Diego/Los Cabos (Mexico)

Vessel: MV Searcher, a 28-metre motor cruiser with room for 24 guests

Tour Leader: Chris Breen

For the extraordinary opportunity of unparalleled interactions with grey whales, plus the chance to see blue, fin and humpbacks.

ཀྵ Close-up and personal

ཀྵ Unique wildlife encounters

ཀྵ Suitable for most ages

ཀྵ Warm climate

ཀྵ Incredible seascapes

ཀྵ Grey & blue whales

ཀྵ Northern elephant seals

ཀྵ Guadalupe fur seals

ཀྵ California sea lions

ཀྵ Nesting ospreys

Whale watching, bird walks, snorkelling, island landings

There’s no other voyage like this! While searching for multiple cetacean, pinniped and seabird species, we spend two full days in San Ignacio Lagoon, hoping to interact with Baja’s friendly grey whales – an experience like no other.

Helen Bryon, Wildlife Travel Consultant & Tour Leader