whale shark in La Paz Mexico

La Paz Whale Shark Tour

  • Swim with whale sharks
  • November to May

Two and a half hours north of Los Cabos is the city of La Paz.

From November to April the beautiful tranquil bay of La Paz is home to a population of Whale sharks. They are the largest fish in the ocean and an awesome animal to swim with. They are a docile and placid shark species: only feeding on microscopic sea life that lives in the water.

Like a big baseball glove the bay of La Paz collects this sea life as it moves with the currents of wind and ocean: here these gigantic fish come to feed for most of the year. It’s still much of a secret to visitors who land in Cabo, only just a couple of hours by car !


Tour details Price & booking

Tour Outlines

For those who have enjoyed this tour can hardly believe it’s possible to interact so easily with these majestic whale sharks, It’s unforgettable!


What's inclued

  • Official Whale Shark Guide
  • Private boat
  • Snorkeling equipment
  • Private Transportation
  • Lunch, Snack & Refreshments
  • Go Pro footage ** ON REQUEST (groups of 3+)

Schedule

Leave Cabo San Lucas at 6am.

Two hour boat excursion to see the whale sharks.

Ceviche lunch provided at the beach and other snacks offered throughout the day.

Return back to Los Cabos between 4pm and 6pm.

Departure

From Cabo San Lucas

Duration

10 Hours

Price & Booking

Swim with whale sharks

Price in USD | Cash discount available

Private Day Trip from Los Cabos

$ 1200 USD

From 1 to 4 persons

Includes: transportation to Marina La Paz with your Cabo crew, 28ft- 30ft panga, expert captain, official whale shark guide, premium equipment, blankets.

SJD/ Tourist Corridor Area pick-up: extra $40 each way

2 hour drive Cabo – La Paz

3-4 hour boat ride | lunch provided

Languages: Spanish, English and French

Book now

Private Day Trip from Los Cabos

$ 1500 USD

For 5 - 10 persons

Includes: transportation to Marina La Paz with your Cabo crew, 28ft- 30ft panga, expert captain, official whale shark guide, premium equipment, blankets.

SJD/ Tourist Corridor Area pick-up: extra $40 each way

2 hour drive Cabo – La Paz

3-4 hour boat ride | lunch provided

Languages: Spanish, English and French

Book now

Private Panga Rental in La Paz

$ 900 USD

1 -10 persons
Total Boat Price

Includes: boat captain, official whale shark guide , basic equipment, snacks, refreshments

$300 deposit paid
$600 in cash on arrival

Meet the crew at Marina La Paz

3 -4 hour boat ride

7am meeting time

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Cancelattion policy

Cash payment and bookings by phone are eligible for 5% discount, call the office for info.
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Tour Info and Requirements

Hotel pick ups :

Hotel pick ups include all hotels in the Cabo San Lucas area up to Hacienda Encantada and all those on the Pacific side.

If you are coming from the Corridor or San Jose del Cabo please meet at the tour center by 6am or we can pick you up $40USD each way.

Included Lunch :

If you have allergies we can request an alternative – just let us know!


Snorkeling Reviews

Tripadvisor reviews Facebook reviews Google reviews

Best dive shop in Cabo San Lucas

We spent an entire week diving with Felipe. Our trips were fantastic, and customer service was amazing from the entire dive shop crew! We dove Cabo San Lucas, Gordo banks, Cabo Pulmo, La Paz, and did the mobula snorkel and dive. Every…

By Joy on TripAdvisor

6 days of diving

Perfect...what else can I say, attention to detail and saw everything we could have wished for while diving!!! Bull sharks, whale sharks, hammerheads, turtles, the elusive octopus, nudies, large schools of fish, sea lions that compete with cirque du soleil, cow nose…

By G Bernier on TripAdvisor

Perfect 3 tours!

Booked 3 separate tours with Cabo Private Guide & from start to finish the year we’re fantastic! We took a private whale shark tour, a scuba trip & a snorkel/whale shark tour...all three were perfect. Communication was great from booking up to…

By JanetMacht on TripAdvisor

Exclusive diving

Laura (owner) was very kind and obliging with the planning and execution of a 6-day-14-dive week for my buddy and I. Her team of private guides (thank you Antonio, Jenny & Felipe) is professional, experienced, knowledgeable and respectful of the environment and…

By Stéphane F on TripAdvisor

La Paz whale shark !

Laura and everyone at Cabo Private Guide were incredible and went out of their way to make sure we had an amazing experience. We were able to customize the La Paz whale shark tour to our liking and even added a stop…

By Harnoor S on TripAdvisor

Blue water tour and whale shark swim

We booked a private tour for whale shark and blue water tour. It was by far the most educational and wonderful tours we have ever experienced! Antonio was our tour guide for whale sharks. On time for pick up. Fernando's (captain) wife…

By Angelia S on TripAdvisor

Amazing - Snorkel & Scuba Experience

Laura and Antonio were great! Laura is always quick to respond to my questions, and helped me set up the best culminating experience for our trip to Cabo. Antonio was an amazing guide and host as he spent the entire day with…

By texasmom79121 on TripAdvisor

Sea lions, whale sharks, and manta rays!

My husband, our teenaged daughter, and I travel pretty regularly and spend a ton of time in the water. Let me start by saying that the sea lion and whale shark tour that we went on with Jenny, Alejandro, and Fernando was…

By krjminor on TripAdvisor

Blue water tour and whale shark swim

We booked a private tour for whale shark and blue water tour. It was by far the most educational and wonderful tours we have ever experienced! Antonio was our tour guide for whale sharks. On time for pick up. Fernando's (captain) wife…

By Angelia S on TripAdvisor

Awesome tour with great company.

An amazing day with an amazing tour business. Exceptional service. Jenny (snorkeling guide, driver, photog, tour guide and a fabulous British accent) is great. Friendly, knowledgable & fun. Swimming with whale sharks and swimming and playing with seal lions was a bucket…

By Joe S on TripAdvisor

Cabo Private Guide is our #1 recommendation!

We went on an all day guide to La Paz from Cabo San Lucas. Transportation, guide, captian... everything was fantastic. Our preferred dates were not initially available and we so appreciate Laura working to get the dates to work. Snorkeling with the…

By Not quite Aggies on TripAdvisor

When is the Whale shark Season in La Paz ?

The official season runs from October 1st to April 30th.

You might want to avoid planning your trip a few weeks into the season and also a few weeks before the season ends, as opening depends entirely on when the whale sharks leave and then return again to the area.

In October to early December you can expect to enjoy slightly warmer water conditions. See what the fall months look like around Baja California.

The height of the season in terms of population numbers is November – March.

The area is regulated and only 14 boats are allowed to enter the whale shark area at a time . This is a really great way to reduce human impact while swimming with the sharks in their natural environment. Because of this limit, during busier times such as Thanksgiving week, Christmas and Easter you can expect a slight wait before being allowed into the area.

But not to worry! If we are held up half an hour or so you can take advantage of a short walk along the seafront, or we can take the boat out at the same time for a tour around the bay and try and spot dolphins, rays and interesting birds. You can also decide to mix this activity with a snorkeling with the sea lion or a diving excursion in La Paz to avoid waiting before the shark encounter.

 

Details of our bespoke La Paz whale shark tour

If you are staying in Cabo San Lucas we can pick you up from your hotel very early. If you’re further away we can pick you up for an additional cost.

La Paz is a 2 hour drive away from Cabo. Along the way we will stop for an optional burrito and coffee!

Our boat and crew will meet us at La Paz marina, from where all our La Paz tour and excursion leave. Once we depart, it takes 20 minutes to reach the whale shark area and then we spend 2 hours inside the allocated zone. We often find the whale sharks by looking at where the other boats are, or the experienced captain searches for a fin breaking the surface, or we can see the slight shadowing at the surface. It takes practice!

If we see other boats with a shark we wait our turn to swim. Sometimes we find many sharks, sometimes we only find one at the end of the tour. It’s very rare not to see any, but it has happened.


Price & booking

Frequently Asked Questions

The official season runs from October 1st to April 30th.

The optimal time to spot Whale shark, is probably between November to March  when the shark population is the most important in La Paz.

La Paz is a 2 hour drive away from Cabo san Lucas.