Category

Visiting Baja

Food, Drink and Accommodation

LOCAL

Food & Drink

Harker Board Co

HarkerBoardco. Restaurant Bar & SUP shop, is the first Stand Up Paddle Board company in La Paz.

“La Terraza” is an area overlooking the ocean, perfect to appreciate the beautiful bay of La Paz while tasting your favourite foods or a drink (IPA is a speciality here).

Large screens broadcast major sporting events. There’s Wi Fi and a great atmosphere. They offer Eco Adventure tours, rides and equipment sales.

Nomada Organics & Gourmet La Paz

Nomada Organics y Gourmet is a conscious eatery tucked away in La Paz’ center. This woman-owned café & shop specializes in vegan and vegetarian food. They use organic ingredients from local vendors that you can eat in or buy in the shop to cook at home. Buddha bowls, hotcakes, juices, lemonades and even kombucha smoothies made by the owners themselves, this is a spot to get energized.

Capuchino Cafe: Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurant

If you find yourself face to face with an enormous blue monkey mural, you’ve found Capuchino Café. The mural is painted by Ulises Martínez, an Oaxacan artist who specializes in larger-than-life, brightly colored animal paintings. Capuchino is home to some of the best plant-based food in La Paz. They claim to have the ‘best vegetarian burger in all of La Paz,’ and I’ll back that claim, but even more impressive is their dedication to sustainability; supporting the local La Paz organic market, helping with beach-cleaning campaigns, refusing to use plastic, styrofoam or straws, and working with social organizations around the city to raise funds for local projects through their ‘Combos with a Cause’ initiative.

Hambrusia

Right by the Malecón, Ambrosia is traditional Mexican with pizzazz. Take the cornerstone of Mexican street food, the taco. In Hambrusia, these deceptively simple stuffed tortillas become a canvas for culinary experimentation, with the fusion of typical and nontypical flavor combinations and textures. The results are colorful taco brews like octopus-and-beef and, for vegans, baked beet-and-gorgonzola or shitake-mushroom-and-onion-rings. And Hambrusia don’t stop there, from their beet tartare to the famed fish-of-the-day with capers and parmesan cheese, they’ve truly got style when it comes to cooking.

Nemi

Nemi is fairly new to the restaurant scene but in their case age doesn’t match wisdom. Nemi was born with skill and flavor en masse, conducted by chef Alejandro Villagomez, (previously a sous-chef at one of Mexico’s best restaurants, Pujol (n° 12 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list)). Inspired by Villagomez’ love for tradition, Nemi has an avant-garde edge too, focusing on contemporary Mexican cuisine and a daily changing menu of fresh seafood and vegans and vegetarian food. Their grilled asparagus with cheese and squash blossoms has become one of my go-tos.

NIM Restaurant & Restaurant Azul Marino

This one comes highly recommended by TripAdvisor, but don’t let that put you off. With an eclectic mix of international and contemporary Mexican dishes, these sister restaurants are probably the most popular local meeting and eating spots in la Paz. Run and managed by two sisters who travelled, studied and completed their culinary skills in many of the more sophisticated cities of the United States it produces an exquisite menu and expert service.

Odayaka

Simply the best and most original freshly prepared a la carte Sushi and Sashimi around. Ten minutes drive along the coastal road heading south out of la Paz, Odayaka is found in the quiet but exclusive Marina Puerta Cortez, formerly Costa Baja.

 La Miserable Mezcaleria

“Para todo mal, mezcal, para todo bien, también.” (For all evils, mezcal, and for all good as well)

This is the slogan of mezcal. And La Miserable is the number one spot for the experience. The bar has an extensive selection of mezcal from all over Mexico, and its staff are always happy to take customers on the traditional journey. They offer mezcal cocktails, as well as poured neat, and have a tasting option for when you want to explore a world of agave flavors. La Miserable also serves a few dinner options, which you can enjoy in their outdoor patio along with your drink, such as their special Saturday-only pozole, a Mexican stew dish, which can be veganified if asked.

El Minero Bar and Restaurant

Located in the old gold and silver mining village of El Triunfo in the mountains of Baja California Sur, Mexico about an hour’s drive from La Paz and Todos Santos, El Minero features a few signature items such as homemade sausages, fresh seafood, paella, artisanal cheeses, homemade condiments and old-fashioned draft root beer floats. They also offer a selection of draft Baja Brewing beers, quality wines, tequilas, mezcals and house cocktails, including two types of margaritas.

Hambrusia

La Marinera fresh fish restaurant.

Oliva Merida

Mostly an Italian menu with freshly made pastas and a great view of the malecon.

Posada de las Flores

Located on the second floor.

Doce Cuarenta Coffee Shop & Eats

The best coffee shop in town.

Accommodation

Cactimar, Off-Grid Eco-Ranch Bungalow

A 30-minute drive out of the city will lead you to Cactimar, an ecological ranch, hidden in amongst the coastal dunes and flanked on all sides by giant cacti, wildlife and overlooking the blue waters of the la Paz bay. Its bungalows overlook an isolated beach, from where, if you’re lucky, you might catch sight of whale sharks and dolphins without even having to leave your room. Cactimar allows visitors to enjoy the unspoiled landscape of the Mexican coast up close with minimal impact on the flora and fauna of the area. Besides providing you with an experience of living in the Mexican desert the French couple offers horseback rides across sandy dunes and along solitary beaches, as well as equipment for snorkeling, kayaking and parasailing.

Rancho Ancón

Rancho Ancón is a spectacular house, anchored on top of a hill, halfway between La Paz and the town of La Ventana. The Rancho is only accessible by car, as it’s a 20-minute drive away from either one of these cities. However its isolated location is actually one of the house’s strongest characteristics. It transforms the hill into a remote private island, with a spectacular view that stretches out into endless blues and greens, to La Ventana, and beyond that, across the Sea of Cortez and Isla Cerralvo. With a mountain-view patio BBQ, well equipped kitchen, capacity to easily sleep 6, and a perfect WiFi connection, this is a wonderful place for small groups and families.

Casa Esterito

This unassuming, inexpensive little hostel at the far end of town might be one of the more interesting socially alive places to hang out. Found in one of the older fishermen districts of La Paz, which is still relatively untouched by the newer developments, Casa Esterito’s young travellers and local staff make for enthusiastic conversation and unrivalled local tips. Miguel, an alternative tourism student at the university here, and former freedive student of mine, was to a large degree, builder and creator of its Casa Esterito’s eclectic style and has infused it with a great vibrant energy.

The Mantarraya Outpost

The Mantarraya Outpost is a bed-and-breakfast located in the center of La Paz. It’s just a few blocks away from the Malecón, La Paz’ large waterfront walkway with uninterrupted views of the sunset, statues by Mexican artists celebrating the sea life and the town, and an array of popular restaurants and bars. Luisa, the host in charge of the Outpost, prepares freshly-squeezed orange juice, fruits, eggs and tortillas, the typical hearty Mexican breakfast, for guests every day. The Outpost consists of three quiet guest bedrooms, plus a private garden area for visitors to lie in hammocks and relax in the outdoors. It’s an intimate, home-like experience in the very heart of La Paz.

Casa Marysol

Casa Marysol, is a more upmarket (and urban) accommodation option bang in the center of La Paz. It’s literally a one-minute walk away from the Malecón, which means you can taste the salty sea air and watch the sun setting against the ocean from your bedroom balcony. The white-and-blue villa contains two bedrooms (each with a private bathroom and balcony), a roof deck, parking space and a backyard patio adorned with desert flora, a pool, a jacuzzi and a BBQ. Despite its many amenities, Casa Marysol is not without an eco conscience. The owner, Monica, has built rainwater capture basins for the house, in order to reduce water waste. She also uses only non-toxic cleaning materials and provides reusable grocery bags and recyclable bins for visitors.

Posada Flores Boutique Hotel

Located only a few blocks from the very heart of la Paz, this boutique hotel is a treat for the design-minded. Keeping in line with the colonial character of the older residential area of La Paz, Posada Flores has a luxury ambiance with the classic modernism of a traditional Mexican hacienda. Its rooms are a creative combination of artesanal stonework, hardwood beams, and careful detail given to the choice of furniture and decor. If you want to finish your evening with a good mezcal and an unrivalled sunset you couldn’t find a much better location.

Freediving Spots

LOCAL

Freediving Spots

As a freediving enterprise concerned about ethical practices for conservation we offer the most conscious non-invasive interaction with some of the most graceful giants of the sea. https://www.mantatrust.org/mobula-birostris

The Sea of Cortez and la Paz

Named, ‘the aquarium of the world’ by Jacques Cousteau, la Paz lies on the southern shores of the Gulf of the Sea of Cortez, made famous by Steinbeck’s, ‘ The Log from the Sea of Cortez’. Once the pearling capital of the americas and its major industry through till the beginning of the 20th Century, for the best visibility, and clear, warm waters the most rewarding months for freediving in the Baja are from August to November.

Isla Espíritu Santo’s sea lion colony

Probably the most visited dive location in southern Baja, visitors will often encounter turtles feeding in one of the northern bays plus a breeding area specific to one type of mobula (small manta). The winter months, in particular from February to September is the time when the large whales – greys, Humpbacks and Blue – are most seen, although there are also resident transient Orcas around for most of the year.

Isla Cerralvo

Isla Cerralvo (also referred to as Jacques Cousteau Island) is the familiar local name for the 25 mile long desert island in the Mexican UNESCO Biosphere reserve. It’s more than a 2hr boat ride from la Paz and its sharp desert shores make it even more beautifully remote as a freediving spot. About 3 miles off the north shore of Cerralvo there is a rocky outcrop called la Reina, with a small sea lion colony which has gained popularity again in the last couple of years because of the giant pacific mantas.

The sunken ships of la Paz

Some of the shipwrecks are settled in the shallower waters and serve to create new marine environments, even artificial coral reefs. My favorites are the C59, which lies on its side about 18m along the south western coast of Espiritu Santo Island; and the ‘Fang Ming’, famous for its resident turtles. It lies in 25m of water, with the shallowest mast visible from the surface at 5m. You can find it off the Roca Ballena midway along the western coast of Espiritu Santo about an hour’s panga ride 45 minute from la Paz .

Getting Here

LOCAL

Getting Here

International Direct

San Jose del Cabo (SJD) is the local airport for most of the international arrivals from the USA and Canada. SJD sits between San Jose del Cabo or Cabo San Lucas and it is a 15 to 20 minute ride into any one of those two towns or a 3hr drive from la Paz.

Buses connecting the airport to la Paz and Cabo san Lucas or San Jose del Cabo.

From Cabo it’s best to take a taxi or Uber. From la Paz there is an hourly airport shuttle, a smaller bus which has usually only 5 or 6 people travelling at any one time, is efficient and comfortable and costs about $40 USD each way.

Domestic arrivals: La Paz

When arriving from mainland Mexico, or across the Border Xing airport bridge from California to Tijuana the best airport to fly into is the Aeropuerto Internacional La Paz, (LAP).It has no international flights, but is an efficient easy place to arrive and only a short 20 minute drive from downtown la Paz. At the airport you can get a shared communal shuttle taxi to anywhere in town for a small fee. There is no Uber facility to the airport because of the taxi unions strength here but on your return from la Paz heading home, Uber is an option.

For local flights check the local airlines for tickets to la Paz or to Cabo. General search options such as Skyscanner, Google Flights or some of the other cheaptickets online, they might not show these tickets at all. However, they are as cheap or might have cut price offers and have a varied schedule that you might integrate independently with your main international arrival to avoid a long haul layover at the airport.

Aero Mexico
Volaris
Calafia Airlines
Viva Aerobus

Get In Touch

Maria-Teresa Solomons
La Paz, B.C.S.
Mexico
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +52 612 157 2004