Adding the sea lions to your whale shark trip in La Paz
Many visitors to La Paz leave with two animal stories instead of one. The whale sharks feed close to town, while a colony of sea lions lives on rocky islets at the far end of Espíritu Santo. Seeing both takes a little planning, and we think two separate days work better than one.
Two very different swims from one town
The whale shark swim stays close to home. Boats work the shallow, green water off El Mogote, a short ride from the Malecón, and you are usually back in town within a few hours.
The sea lions live much farther out. Their colony sits at Los Islotes, a cluster of rocky islets at the north end of Espíritu Santo, and reaching it takes a full day on the water.
The two experiences feel nothing alike. One is a calm, slow encounter with a huge animal at the surface, while the other is busy and noisy, with young sea lions darting around you in clearer water.
Espíritu Santo and the colony at Los Islotes
Espíritu Santo is a large, uninhabited island northeast of La Paz. It is protected and forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage site that covers islands and protected areas in the Gulf of California.
The residents of Los Islotes are California sea lions. You hear the colony before you see it, a chorus of barking from the rocks, with big males guarding their stretch of shoreline and younger animals in the water.
The pups and juveniles are the stars. They tend to be curious and playful around snorkelers, circling and blowing bubbles, while the adults are best given plenty of room. The colony is protected, and the guides set the limits on where you can swim.
What a day at the islands usually looks like
We do not list a sea lion tour on this site, so treat this as a general picture. Most Espíritu Santo trips leave La Paz in the morning and spend the day along the island's coast before heading back in the afternoon.
The ride to Los Islotes is long by local standards, and the open water beyond the bay can be choppier than the shallows off El Mogote. Days usually mix a snorkel near the colony with beaches and coves along the way.
Check what each listing includes before booking, since food and wetsuits vary between operators. The packing list for a day on the boat covers the windproof layer you will want on the ride home.
Why we left the combo tours out
Some operators sell a single day that bundles the whale sharks with the sea lions, often adding Balandra beach on the way back. On paper that looks efficient, especially if your time in La Paz is short.
In practice these are long days with a lot of time on the boat. The combos we found also had very few reviews, so we had too little evidence to recommend any of them, and we left them off the site.
A combo day also puts every egg in one basket. If the wind blows or the sharks keep away, you lose both highlights at once, with no second chance built into the plan.
A short whale shark swim that leaves the afternoon free
Mexico Travel Adventure's boats leave from the Muelle Fiscal on the Malecón. The swim lasts about 3 hours, counting the whale shark area and the ride back to land. Swimmers go in groups of five with a marine biologist guide, and the snorkel gear and water are provided.
Two days give you rest and a backup
Splitting the trips over two days turns the weather from a threat into a scheduling question. If the wind closes the bay on your whale shark morning, you can swap the two days around or move one later in your stay.
It also gives your body a break. A morning in a wetsuit followed by a full day on open water is tiring, and a rest day between them means you enjoy the second trip instead of enduring it.
Our page on what to do when a trip is cancelled covers refunds and new dates in detail. The short version is to book the whale sharks early and keep a spare morning free.
A simple plan for a short stay
With three nights in La Paz, an easy order is whale sharks on the first morning, a free afternoon on the Malecón, the island trip on the second day and a spare third morning for anything the wind postponed.
- On day one, the short Muelle Fiscal swim, from ~$123, then a slow afternoon in town
- On day two, take the full-day boat trip to Espíritu Santo and Los Islotes
- On day three, keep a spare morning for a rebooked trip, or a taxi to Balandra if all went well
If you prefer a longer whale shark trip with more explanation, Eco Migrations' biologist-led swim, from ~$187, runs about 4 hours and includes a full wetsuit. It scores 4.9 from 40+ reviews on GetYourGuide.
Timing both for the winter months
The whale sharks set the calendar. They gather in the bay roughly from November to April, and outside that window the operators stop running the swims, so plan the pair of trips inside those months. Our guide to the season goes month by month.
Winter water feels cool on a long day in and out of the sea, and the island trip spends more time exposed to the wind. A full wetsuit makes a big difference, and nervous swimmers will find tips in our page on first-timers and children in the water.
Prices vary by date and partner, and the whale shark swims are side by side in our comparison of the three tours. If you want the background on the sharks before you go, read why they gather off El Mogote.