Itinerary

Day 1 ~ Arrival
After arriving in Loreto guests will be met by an English speaking Tofino Expeditions representative and taken by airport vans to the hotel.  Your trip guides will meet the group at 8 PM at the hotel’s lobby for an orientation and discussion of trip details.  Supper this evening is on your own and our representatives will be pleased to offer suggestions as well as directions to Loreto’s many good restaurants. The hotel is happy to store your extra luggage in a secure room while you are out kayaking.

DAY 2 ~ Isla Carmen
The group meets outside the hotel at 7:00 AM to board the van for the short drive south to our launch point near Puerto Escondido. As we near our destination, the peaks and hanging valleys of the Sierra Giganta tower above the coast road. South of Puerto Escondido the mountains drop straight into the sea and the highway turns inland. The group is met by the guides who have prepared the double sea kayaks for departure. A comprehensive sea kayak instructional session is presented while we enjoy a continental breakfast served on the beach. After an introduction to the art of kayak loading we set course across the channel to Carmen and our first campsite located on the white-sand beaches of Punta Baja. After settling into camp and having lunch, the balance of the day is devoted to orientation, kayak technique instruction, and snorkeling. In the early evening we’ll enjoy our first beach “Happy Hour” with margaritas and botanas (snacks) followed by a gourmet Tofino Expeditions’ dinner as the sun sets over the peaks of the Sierra Giganta.

Day 3 ~ Isla Carmen — Punta Baja
The white-sand beaches of Punta Baja are gorgeous and some of the most photogenic in the park. This location is ideal for spotting Blue whales in the channel between Isla Carmen and Isla Danzante. We’ll spend the day paddling the shoreline, visiting snorkeling coves and keep an eye out for telltale whale spouts offshore. When a whale is spotted we can paddle out for a closer look at these largest of all whales. Later in the afternoon before happy hour there will be a guided naturalist walk through the desert to observe the diversity of plant and animal life in this intact Sonoran desert environment.

Day 4 ~ Isla Carmen ­— Arroyo Blanco
Wake up to the calls of wintering song birds from the bushes behind the beach. After breakfast we’ll break camp and paddle north along the dramatic east coast of Isla Carmen stopping along the way to snorkel in some of the many coves. Our destination is the deep bay and white beach of aptly named Arroyo Blanco.

Day 5 ~ Isla Carmen ­— Arroyo Rojo
The sight of the sun rising out of the Sea of Cortez starts the day. We’ll continue exploring north on Carmen’s eastern shore keeping watch for both whales offshore and some of the many Osprey that make their nests on the cliffs overlooking  the sea. Lunch is at the equally aptly named Arroyo Rojo (red) and there will be time after to swim and relax before the paddle back to camp.

Day 6 ~ Isla Danzante
Today we have an early start for the paddle south for the crossing to Isla Danzante.  Our route will take us around the northern tip of this fortress-like island and into the picture perfect Honeymoon Cove where we’ll stop to swim, snorkel and have lunch. Later in the afternoon we’ll paddle south along the coast of Danzante to our campsite at Punta Arena where we will have an unobstructed view of the sun setting behind the Sierra Giganta.

Day 7 ~ Ensenada Blanca and Loreto
After breakfast, and perhaps a final swim, we load the kayaks for the relatively short paddle to our takeout point at Ensenda Blanca where we will be met by Tofino Expeditions’ van and local transportation.  We’ll celebrate our return with a classic lunch of fish tacos at El Rey de Tacos (the king of tacos).  Tofino Expeditions’ guides, after extensive research, have decided that “El Rey” has the best tacos in Baja.  After checking back into the hotel there is time to shower and explore this rustic old mission town.  This evening there is an optional no-host group dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 8 ~ Fly Home
After check out from the hotel it’s time to meet our ground transport service for the trip to the airport in time (2 hours before flight time) for the return flight to Los Angeles.

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