How to Swim With Whale Sharks in La Paz, Mexico
La Paz, Mexico might be the best place in the world to swim with whale sharks. From October to March, sharks migrate to the bay here, so excursions to spot them are just a short trip from shore. Find out how to add this unforgettable experience to your bucket list and learn about local efforts to keep it sustainable.
The first time I heard of La Paz, it was in the context of whale sharks. I was lamenting about how difficult they are to encounter in Belize, and another traveler piped up, “Why don’t you just go to La Paz?” My first thought was, Bolivia? For many travelers, Mexico’s La Paz might fly under your radar, too!
Located on the Baja California Peninsula, La Paz, Mexico is about 2.5 hours north of the resort hotspot of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. The town faces a calm bay, and is a destination for fishing, nature experiences, and relaxed beaches. One of its main attractions is whale sharks, which migrate here during the winter months.
Are you dreaming of seeing these gentle giants in the wild? I’ve got all the tips you need to help check this once-in-a-lifetime experience off your bucket list!
Short on time and looking for tours to swim with whale sharks in La Paz? Check out these snorkeling tour options with great ratings and easy online booking:
- From Los Cabos/Cabo San Lucas: All-Inclusive Sailing & Swim with Whale Sharks Tour
- From La Paz: Whale Shark Swim Adventure | Whale Sharks & Sea Lion Colony Private Tour
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In this Guide to La Paz Whale Sharks
When Is Whale Shark Season | La Paz Whale Shark Tours | Gear for Your Excursion | What to Expect | Photo Tips | More Things to Do in La Paz | Getting to La Paz | Where to Stay
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About Whale Sharks
Soooo… Are They Sharks or Whales?
Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are the largest type of shark, and the world’s largest fish alive today. The “whale” part of their name refers to their massive size: when full grown, they measure 18-33 feet in length!
Although their size can be imposing, they are filter feeders. This means that they don’t have big teeth to bite you with! Instead, they can filter more than 1585 gallons of water an hour through their gills. A whale shark’s teeth are so tiny that they can only eat small shrimp, fish, and plankton by using their gill rakers as a suction filter.
You might have seen photos of whale sharks feeding with a wide open jaw. Their mouths can stretch up to four feet wide as they filter the water! But when swimming with them, you’ll always stay at a safe distance alongside the animal.
Each whale shark has a unique pattern of spots, similar to human fingerprints, which allow individual sharks to be identified.
Where Are Whale Sharks’ Habitats?
With the exception of the Mediterranean Sea, whale sharks can be found in all temperate and tropical oceans around the world. Most migrate thousands of miles to different feeding grounds. But moving is slow going, as they move at speeds around 3 miles per hour.
Why Do Whale Sharks Visit La Paz?
The La Paz Bay is protected from the Gulf of California and Sea of Cortez by a small sandbar and isthmus known as El Mogote. In the winter months, upwellings from deeper waters cause blooms of zooplankton. Juvenile whale sharks migrate from the Sea of Cortez to feed here.
When is Whale Shark Season in La Paz?
October through March is the primary whale shark season, when the warm water of the bay is filled with plankton. The whale sharks migrate here to feed. I visited in late November and had to the chance to see several sharks during our outing.
Whale Sharks Under Threat
Many sharks are accidentally caught in fishing gear, while others are caught deliberately for their fins, which are a delicacy in Asia. Their ocean home is also in danger from climate change, which affects their habitats and food sources. As filter feeders, they are especially at risk due to plastic pollution, which could cause entanglement or be ingested.
La Paz Whale Shark Tours
Half-day morning snorkeling excursions leave from the La Paz pier or marinas in La Paz. At the pier known as Muelle Fiscal, you can find operators offering walk-up tours each morning. However, it’s better to book ahead of time with a reputable company for your whale shark adventure.
La Paz has made efforts to regulate whale shark tourism and make animal encounters here sustainable. The number of tour boats in the bay are limited at any one time. For this reason, I recommend booking a tour that leaves early at a set time and doesn’t have to wait to fill the boat.
Patrol boats control entry of tour boats to the bay, authorizing each via radio to enter. If your tour departs late, you might face a wait to be permitted to enter the bay.
There is also a limit on the number of snorkelers permitted to observe any one animal: 4-5 snorkelers plus a guide. The patrol boats also observe activity in the bay, approaching tours randomly to ensure the limit is adhered to and that snorkelers and tour operators are behaving responsibly.
Marine Biologist or Whale Shark Researcher Guide
Another reason to book ahead of time with a reputable company is to have an experienced bilingual guide. Many are marine biologists or researchers and can give you up-to-date information on local conservation efforts.
La Paz and Los Cabos Tour Operators To Swim with Whale Sharks
To see whale sharks or swim with them, you can book with are several tour operators in the region. Keep in mind that only snorkeling tours are offered. It’s not possible to scuba dive with the whale sharks (or necessary, since they feed near the surface of the water).
From La Paz: Whale Shark Swim Adventure | Whale Sharks & Sea Lion Colony Private Tour |Reduced Group Whale Shark Snorkel | Red Travel Mexico | Whale Shark Mexico
From Los Cabos/Cabo San Lucas: All-Inclusive Sailing & Swim with Whale Sharks Tour
Gear For Your Excursion
Tour companies will generally provide snorkel gear (mask, snorkel, and fins), as well as a wetsuit (shortie or a full suit depending on the time of year). In the winter months, water temperature can dip into the low 60s. If you snorkel often, I recommend buying your own mask and snorkel so you don’t have to breathe through a community tube. 😉
If you wear glasses, prescription dive masks aren’t much more than a regular mask and will really help you see more under water! You can order them here from Amazon and only need to select your prescription (not send a copy of the doctor’s script).
What to Bring for Your Whale Shark Tour
Reef-friendly sunscreen, a towel, and dry clothes to wear after your encounter, especially in the colder months.
I always travel with a dry bag or dry backpack to beach destinations, to keep sand and water away from my phone, camera, etc.
Swim with Whale Sharks in La Paz: What To Expect
Each tour boat will have a captain and a guide. After leaving from the pier, it’s a short ride (about 20 minutes) into the bay. During the trip your guide will share information about whale sharks and review the rules of interacting with them.
Generally, you should stay at least 6 feet from the head and 10 feet from the tail. Before your boat can enter the area near the sharks, the captain will radio the guide boat for authorization.
Then the captain begins looking for whale sharks! They are expert spotters. After locating one the captain will stop a safe distance away. If your group has more than 4 snorkelers, you will alternate turns in the water with the guide.
If you haven’t snorkeled from a boat before, here is what to expect. You’ll put on all your equipment and sit on the edge of the boat, then enter the water feet-first over the side. Your wetsuit will give you added buoyancy in the water, so you probably won’t need a life jacket (although your boat should have them available).
You’ll be able to watch the animal in the water as it feeds. Sometimes they spin around in a vertical position, with their mouth close to the surface of the water.
You’ll need to stay on the side of the shark, away from the head and the tail. Eventually, the shark will swim away, and you’ll climb back into the boat using a ladder at the back. (You can hang on while you take off your fins and toss them into the boat.)
It’s a humbling and incredible experience to be floating in the water next to such a large and gentle creature! I still recall how thin their gills seemed as water flowed through, and how wide their mouths opened.
I especially loved seeing the pattern of their spots. As they swim past, you really feel small next to the world’s biggest fish.
Getting Photos and Video of Your Whale Shark Encounter
Some excursions might offer photos as part of your tour. I have both a simple underwater camera and a GoPro for underwater photography. I think that the GoPro is better for video, but you can also use it to take photos and isolate individual frames of videos as photos.
The GoPro screen is difficult to see underwater and it’s easy to change modes without realizing it (I have several time lapse videos from one snorkeling spot in Honduras, when I meant to take regular video!). So if you want a larger viewscreen, you might do better with a camera. I have an Olympus TG-6 water proof camera and a GoPro Hero 10 Black.
You can also use an inexpensive waterproof phone pouch for basic photos and videos.
Be sure to get all your photo gear ready right away on the boat ride. You’ll want to be able to jump in the water as soon as you spot a shark!
More Things to Do in La Paz
On our way back, a few dolphins swam alongside our boat, so keep an eye out for more creatures on your whale shark expedition! Other travelers have reported seeing giant manta rays and turtles.
Nearby is the Sea of Cortez, which Jacques Cousteau once referred to as the “aquarium of the world.” It’s possible to take day trips here to the protected biosphere of Isla Espiritu Santo, where you can swim with tropical fish and a colony of playful sea lions. I recommend staying a few days or seeing if you can find a tour that includes both.
- Craving more La Paz adventures? Check out this full day trip to Isla Espiritu Santo!
Just outside the city, visit Playa Balandra, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Balandra Beach has a calm protected bay where you can wade forever in water no deeper than your waist.
Have I convinced you to spend a week in La Paz yet? It’s a quiet town and feels quite safe and welcoming. The small downtown area is full of restaurants, shops, and bars as well as tour agencies.
The locals are friendly, and it seems everyone – locals and tourists alike – turns up on nice evenings to stroll along the Malecon seafront promenade.
Getting to La Paz
La Paz has an international airport, Manuel Márquez de León (LAP). It’s most common to find flights here from within Mexico, though, and it’s usually less expensive to fly into San Jose del Cabo (SJD) about two and a half hours south.
If you’re staying in Cabo San Lucas or San Jose del Cabo (known collectively as Los Cabos), it will be easiest to join a guided day trip or book a private excursion to get to La Paz for the day.
However, it’s an easy drive to rent a car from the airport in Los Cabos and and take a road trip to the cities and beaches of Todos Santos and La Paz. In La Paz, I recommend staying at a hotel along the Malecon (seafront promenade) close to the pier. Or for a longer visit, La Paz has resorts perfect for a relaxing getaway.
You can also get to La Paz via bus. From San Jose del Cabo Airport (SJD), you can take a direct private bus to the station in La Paz, which is near the pier. Or you can catch a bus from the terminal in San Jose del Cabo.
Check flights to La Paz (LAP) | Check flights to Los Cabos (SJD)
Recommended La Paz Hotel Stays
La Paz offers accomodation options from luxury beach resorts to inexpensive B&Bs and hostels. During holidays, rooms can fill up, so I’ve included several options below at a range of price points!
- Hotel Catedral La Paz: Top-rated budget stay with rooftop pool and parking, close to the pier and marinas. Expedia | Booking.com
- Casa Kootenay: Affordable B&B with rave reviews for thoughtful touches and attentive service. Booking.com
- Posada de Las Flores: Charming boutique hotel with views of the bay from the rooftop terrace and restaurant. Expedia | Booking.com
- Casa al Mar: Suites with space for up to 4 in a prime location, with the option to include breakfast. Booking.com
- Costa Baja: Midrange beachfront resort outside town with stunning sea and mountain views. Booking.com
- Hostel Esterito: Inexpensive dorm beds, private rooms, and long term stays at the quiet end of the Malecon. Booking.com
- Playa La Paz: Luxury hotel stay near Caimancito Beach with rave reviews for location, amenities, and beach Booking.com
- Orchid House: Luxe 5-star resort on Playa El Coromuel, some suites with jetted tubs on the balcony. Booking.com
Save These La Paz Whale Shark planning Tips for later!
This article contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I might earn a commission, at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support in this way! Learn more in my Disclosure Policy.
