Your first glance at this week’s ratings for Baja California Sur might make you think that the state just doesn’t cut it for year-round or seasonal living. Of the five places we rate, four are in the twos on our one-to-five scale. The state’s tourism superstar, Los Cabos, only comes in with a humble 4.0. This place must have problems, you might conclude.
But spend some time here and you’ll see that there are tangibles and intangibles not captured in our attempt to convey the essence of Mexico living: attributes that reveal Baja Sur’s raw beauty, frontier spirit and micro-destination personalities. There are superlatives about the state that just don’t stand out in our rankings. That’s okay. Tens of thousands of desert-meets-the-sea lovers will attest to how Baja Sur living is unlike the rest of Mexico. It always has been.
From colonial outpost to tourist’s dream
Just as the Baja Peninsula broke away from mainland Mexico some two million years ago, any discussion of Baja Sur living today must grapple with whether living near the tip of a remote desert can be a sustainable choice. It’s Mexico’s least populated state, has the country’s longest coastline, the greatest amount of protected area and the most uninhabited islands. The state is mostly jagged mountains and barren coastal plains with almost no surface water. The Spanish and their evangelizing orders only gained a tenuous foothold in the 18th century, leaving a legacy of 16 outpost missions. When it became a state in 1974, Baja Sur was home to a mere 128,000 residents.
But no one would cast Baja Sur as insignificant today. It’s one of three states in Mexico that attract the lion’s share of international visitors. Los Cabos’ hotels have the highest average daily occupation rate in all of Mexico, and its two coasts are biological miracles and the wellspring for the one activity that unites Baja Sur culture: fishing.
Starting with the Climate criteria of our ratings, Los Cabos bakes in the summer and has experienced almost annual hurricane or tropical storm disruptions in the past ten years. Slide up the west coast to the village of Todos Santos and Pacific cooling helps some. To the east, summers are sweltering in Cabo del Este and La Paz. Head north to Loreto and you’ll embrace a temperate fall and spring, bookended by winter chills and summer sweats. Sea temperatures around Loreto range from 68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit (20 to 30 Celcius). Not really four seasons, but a semblance of variety.
Los Cabos has the best air Connectivity for getting back home or to mainland Mexico. Loreto and La Paz have limited domestic and very limited seasonal international flights.
Baja Sur is sprawling. Long distances separate its resorts and cities, but it’s scenic driving as you move from Los Cabos up to La Paz or on to Loreto. Medical Care can also present challenges. You’ll likely find a doctor you love, but Baja Sur isn’t known for specialized medicine or tier-three hospitals.
Los Cabos
Los Cabos living draws the most attention. The destination is now a hit for vacationers across the United States and there are even seasonal non-stop flights from Europe. Not so long ago, there were three geographically defined zones of Los Cabos: colonial and quiet San José, the tequila-drenched cruise port and fishing marina of San Lucas and a corridor of swanky resorts and golf courses linking the two.
Today, with over 350,000 residents and a freeway-like artery between San José and San Lucas, the lifestyle distinctions from place to place have been blurred. It’s a dollarized economy and any semblance of affordable living is long gone. But there’s truly world-class golf, dining, sportfishing and desert and ocean living that nowhere else in Mexico can match.
Todos Santos
You’ll experience a very different vibe in trendy Todos Santos, a 45-minute drive up the Pacific coast from San Lucas. One of Baja Sur’s prettiest colonial mission settlements, Todos Santos is today a hub for organic farming and a surfer and artisan’s grove. The village ambience looks likely to eventually yield to development pressures leaking up the coast from Cabo; however, it’s still a town that maintains a sense of place, neighborly relations between Mexican and newcomers, and some fairly sophisticated lifestyle amenities, including dining, wine shops, galleries and cool bars
La Paz
La Paz may come closest to combining natural beauty with a local community vibe that reflects truer Baja traditions. The city is a leading destination for sustainably embracing the great outdoors in a city and regional gateway to the incomparable Gulf of California, augmented by the municipality’s whale-inhabited lagoons, serrated mountains, mining towns, fishing villages and austere European missions. But beware: Cabo-fication is underway as Baja Sur lovers get priced out of southern tip real estate.
The state capital, La Paz is also a commercial port for fishing and mainland ferry connectivity and is home to what may be Mexico’s most enchanting malecón, which stretches for a little over three miles (five kilometers). Historic sites are just blocks from the city’s playful boardwalk and its plentiful seafood dining, bars, public art, piers and cycling and jogging paths. A cohort of high season expat residents unite around volunteering, beach days, house parties, the open-mic music scene and soft eco-adventure outings to nearby islands or up into the mountains and the charming mining town of El Triunfo. It’s the good life for desert living with jaw-dropping white sand beaches a short drive from downtown.
Points south of La Paz
Heading south from La Paz, you’ll find coastal villages like El Sargento and adjacent La Ventana, which face the breathtaking La Ventana Bay. This area has been proclaimed the “home of the wind” for its consistent shore breeze that attracts wind and kite surfing enthusiasts from around the world. Sportfishing, diving, the Rancho Cacachilas Adventure Club and yoga and meditation centers make La Ventana one of the area’s up-and-coming micro-destinations.
Further south are Los Barriles and next-door Buena Vista. This is where pioneering sportfishing camps put the East Cape on the map years ahead of Los Cabos. Sportfishing is the main anchor, especially for Marlin and dozens of feisty gamefish species. Los Barriles is 65 miles south of La Paz, off Highway 1.
Loreto
Loreto is another choice that can work for village-seeking, nature-loving northerners who don’t really care about connectivity, Costco or mainland Mexico cultural icons. With a population of under 20,000, Loreto is another of Mexico’s second-tier planned resorts that never caught on. Today it forges ahead in one of Baja’s most scenic settings, known for its sportfishing, nearby islands and affordability.
Loreto faces the Sea of Cortez and three remarkable desert islands. A flat seafront plain is backed by the scenic and wild Sierra de La Giganta. It’s one of Mexico’s most dramatic coastal settings, home to Baja’s original mission settlement vestiges of 17th century architecture.
The village spreads westward from the seaside boardwalk that extends along a rock jetty and includes Loreto’s sportfishing marina. The malecón is ideal for walking, cycling and some wildlife viewing. Imposing Isla del Carmen dominates views toward the Sea of Cortez.
Nopolo and Loreto Bay
These cities are considered an alternative to living in town. Just three miles south of the city and separated by the Loreto Airport, this area has evolved to become a residential retirement development with over 600 homes and 18-hole golf, but not much commercial development. An active HOA has saved the development coming out of bankruptcy some years back.
Wherever you choose to settle across Baja Sur, your constant companions are broad vistas, clear desert air and starry nights. Who could have a problem with that?
The ratings
A full breakdown of our rating system can be found here.
What did we get right? What do you disagree with? Let us know in the comments.
You can see more of our Where to Live in Mexico 2024 series here, including ratings for Yucatán, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo and Baja California.
Author Greg Custer lives in Mexico. He’s worked for over 40 years in international tourism, educating travel advisors around the world about Mexico and other Latin American destinations. He helps folks explore Mexico for living at www.mexicoforliving.com.
