Loreto - Sea of Cortez
Apr 19th, 2005, 04:56 PM
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Loreto - Sea of Cortez
Just returned from 10 days in the Loreto area, where we did a combination of hotels and camping. Here is a quick summarization. Anyone wanting more info, just ask.
Flew directly into Loreto on Alaska Airlines (Eugene - SFO - Loreto). Shuttled to our hotel by C&C Shuttle.
Hotel - Hacienda Suites - around $70 USD. This is a nice looking two story hotel with pool and very pleasant open lobby and restaurant/bar area. Rooms were comfortable, clean, and air-conditioned (although the bed was very firm - hey, it was good for my back!). Proprietor "Ana" speaks English and was super helpful in making reservations for us in Los Cabos.
They did a huge load of my laundry for $5.
Hacienda Suites is about 20 minutes walk to the Plaza, where the Mission and best shops are. We felt safe, day and night, walking this distance. It's flat but lots of broken sidewalks and unevenness. Interesting local shops along the way.
Locals were very polite to us. Say 'hola' to anyone of any age, and they will stop a moment and say 'hola' back.
Loreto is right on the beautiful Sea of Cortez, and is still rather small and undiscovered. I fear this will not long be the case, as virtually every other American or Canadian we ran into there spoke of how relaxing and unspoiled it was, and what a great place it would be to invest in, or build a vacation casa.
Food is excellent and a great bargain. There's also decent tourist-shopping, geared toward Mexican jewelry and handicrafts.
But I think most people just come here to relax or as a jumping off point for fishing or kayaking. We kayaked for 6 days on the nearby islands (Carmen and Danzante). The water is spectacular. Anyone wanting more info on this aspect of our trip, let me know.
Fave restaurant: Cafe Ole (this is one of those bargain places where an enormous amount of delicious food is prepared in a small open kitchen. Order at the counter and then sit outside under the shade of umbrellas and pretty soon everyone you've met in the past day or so passes by and chats for a spell.) Typical meal for two: plate of fresh cut fruit (banana, mango, pineapple, melon), 3 fish tacos plus rice and beans, two coffees and two huge glasses of the best fresh-squeezed OJ you can imagine. Cost about $8 US.
I already miss it.
Carla
Flew directly into Loreto on Alaska Airlines (Eugene - SFO - Loreto). Shuttled to our hotel by C&C Shuttle.
Hotel - Hacienda Suites - around $70 USD. This is a nice looking two story hotel with pool and very pleasant open lobby and restaurant/bar area. Rooms were comfortable, clean, and air-conditioned (although the bed was very firm - hey, it was good for my back!). Proprietor "Ana" speaks English and was super helpful in making reservations for us in Los Cabos.
They did a huge load of my laundry for $5.
Hacienda Suites is about 20 minutes walk to the Plaza, where the Mission and best shops are. We felt safe, day and night, walking this distance. It's flat but lots of broken sidewalks and unevenness. Interesting local shops along the way.
Locals were very polite to us. Say 'hola' to anyone of any age, and they will stop a moment and say 'hola' back.
Loreto is right on the beautiful Sea of Cortez, and is still rather small and undiscovered. I fear this will not long be the case, as virtually every other American or Canadian we ran into there spoke of how relaxing and unspoiled it was, and what a great place it would be to invest in, or build a vacation casa.
Food is excellent and a great bargain. There's also decent tourist-shopping, geared toward Mexican jewelry and handicrafts.
But I think most people just come here to relax or as a jumping off point for fishing or kayaking. We kayaked for 6 days on the nearby islands (Carmen and Danzante). The water is spectacular. Anyone wanting more info on this aspect of our trip, let me know.
Fave restaurant: Cafe Ole (this is one of those bargain places where an enormous amount of delicious food is prepared in a small open kitchen. Order at the counter and then sit outside under the shade of umbrellas and pretty soon everyone you've met in the past day or so passes by and chats for a spell.) Typical meal for two: plate of fresh cut fruit (banana, mango, pineapple, melon), 3 fish tacos plus rice and beans, two coffees and two huge glasses of the best fresh-squeezed OJ you can imagine. Cost about $8 US.
I already miss it.
Carla
Apr 19th, 2005, 06:05 PM
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Carla, thanks for the trip report, sounds like a great time.
I have been interested in Loreto, because a lot of sea kayak trips leave from there. Can you tell me more about your kayaking - did you go on your own or with an outfitter? What did you see in the way of wildlife? Did you do any snorkeling?
I have been interested in Loreto, because a lot of sea kayak trips leave from there. Can you tell me more about your kayaking - did you go on your own or with an outfitter? What did you see in the way of wildlife? Did you do any snorkeling?
Apr 19th, 2005, 06:53 PM
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Hi Rumrita (great name - btw)
Although we have our own expedition-style kayak and have kayaked and camped alone, we decided to go on a group tour in Baja because of the lack of fresh water and the complications of bringing our own kayak on the plane. We went with an outfit called Sea Kayak Adventures (seakayakadventures.com). It was a 7 day adventure, 5 of which we camped.
SKA's tours are entirely self-supported (meaning there is no support boat bringing in water or ice, and you have to really participate in setting up the camp at each site).
We saw whales from a distance (it was toward the end of their stay) and saw many bottle-nose dolphins (like Flipper!) playing in the waves, many many manta rays. My husband snorkeled and saw eels and pufferfish and some other brightly colored tropical fish. The bird life is really amazing! Brown pelicans that dive spectacularly, prehistoric looking frigate birds soaring overhead, oyster sippers with bright red beaks, and varieties of gulls, heron and osprey.
We also saw a few scorpions and a tarantula, although no one was bothered by them. The jellyfish (many varieties) were also interesting and rarely a problem. Our guide kicked up a stingray at water's edge.
We really enjoyed the group aspect - I guess every group is different - and the guides were a lot of fun, too, and very well-informed about the geology and plant and animal life. There's amazing cacti there, btw.
The kayaking was moderately strenuous and went at a good clip, probably a little faster than we would have preferred. But they didn't go any faster than the slowest person (sometimes that was us!) We like to stay along the shore and observe nature.
The food was excellent - I couldnt believe how complete the meals were, or how much I ate.
Anyhow, if you go, I highly recommend going a day or two early and staying an extra day or two at the end - you will want to relax and see Loreto.
There are hotels closer to the Plaza/Mission/heart of town area, including a boutique hotel that ran $140 per night.
Carla
Although we have our own expedition-style kayak and have kayaked and camped alone, we decided to go on a group tour in Baja because of the lack of fresh water and the complications of bringing our own kayak on the plane. We went with an outfit called Sea Kayak Adventures (seakayakadventures.com). It was a 7 day adventure, 5 of which we camped.
SKA's tours are entirely self-supported (meaning there is no support boat bringing in water or ice, and you have to really participate in setting up the camp at each site).
We saw whales from a distance (it was toward the end of their stay) and saw many bottle-nose dolphins (like Flipper!) playing in the waves, many many manta rays. My husband snorkeled and saw eels and pufferfish and some other brightly colored tropical fish. The bird life is really amazing! Brown pelicans that dive spectacularly, prehistoric looking frigate birds soaring overhead, oyster sippers with bright red beaks, and varieties of gulls, heron and osprey.
We also saw a few scorpions and a tarantula, although no one was bothered by them. The jellyfish (many varieties) were also interesting and rarely a problem. Our guide kicked up a stingray at water's edge.
We really enjoyed the group aspect - I guess every group is different - and the guides were a lot of fun, too, and very well-informed about the geology and plant and animal life. There's amazing cacti there, btw.
The kayaking was moderately strenuous and went at a good clip, probably a little faster than we would have preferred. But they didn't go any faster than the slowest person (sometimes that was us!) We like to stay along the shore and observe nature.
The food was excellent - I couldnt believe how complete the meals were, or how much I ate.
Anyhow, if you go, I highly recommend going a day or two early and staying an extra day or two at the end - you will want to relax and see Loreto.
There are hotels closer to the Plaza/Mission/heart of town area, including a boutique hotel that ran $140 per night.
Carla
Apr 20th, 2005, 05:09 AM
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Glad to hear you liked Sea Kayak Adventures, that's the outfitter we've been looking at. Haven't yet booked due to scheduling problems at work
We live on the East Coast so it's hard to arrange travel to get to Loreto and back in only one week. Good to hear from you that if we do a two week stay, Loreto area is a great hangout.
How far away is Los Cabos? Do you think it s it worth splitting the extra week between Loreto and Los Cabos?
We live on the East Coast so it's hard to arrange travel to get to Loreto and back in only one week. Good to hear from you that if we do a two week stay, Loreto area is a great hangout. How far away is Los Cabos? Do you think it s it worth splitting the extra week between Loreto and Los Cabos?
Apr 20th, 2005, 05:29 PM
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Re: Splitting the extra time between Loreto and Cabo.
Actually, that's sort of what we did. We flew into Loreto, but out of Cabo San Lucas. There's a bus station right in Loreto (actually, directly across the street from the Hacienda). The buses are "first class" (better than Greyhound). Seats recline, it's air-conditioned and they show a recent movie in English to pass the time. The only drawback was the terrible bathroom on board - only for dire emergencies! However the bus stops every couple of hours for about 10-15 minutes, so it wasn't a problem. Bus fare was about $35 US. It's a rather long ride (8 hours or so) but we really enjoyed the view and stopping in these really out of the way places.
We chose San Jose del Cabo to stay in, rather than Cabo San Lucas. We had two reasons: 1) SJdC is much less touristy, but still very much a huge difference from Loreto and 2) SJdC is much closer to the Airport than Cabo is.
We stayed at The Grand Baja, which was beautiful (like going to a nice hotel on the Kona Coast, waterfalls, nice grounds, lovely pool, right on the beach, etc). But it was a good 30 minute walk to town, so if we returned, we'd stay right in San Jose del Cabo. SJdC has a really very pretty Plaza with shopping and great restaurants.
Keep the questions coming, I'm having fun here.
Actually, that's sort of what we did. We flew into Loreto, but out of Cabo San Lucas. There's a bus station right in Loreto (actually, directly across the street from the Hacienda). The buses are "first class" (better than Greyhound). Seats recline, it's air-conditioned and they show a recent movie in English to pass the time. The only drawback was the terrible bathroom on board - only for dire emergencies! However the bus stops every couple of hours for about 10-15 minutes, so it wasn't a problem. Bus fare was about $35 US. It's a rather long ride (8 hours or so) but we really enjoyed the view and stopping in these really out of the way places.
We chose San Jose del Cabo to stay in, rather than Cabo San Lucas. We had two reasons: 1) SJdC is much less touristy, but still very much a huge difference from Loreto and 2) SJdC is much closer to the Airport than Cabo is.
We stayed at The Grand Baja, which was beautiful (like going to a nice hotel on the Kona Coast, waterfalls, nice grounds, lovely pool, right on the beach, etc). But it was a good 30 minute walk to town, so if we returned, we'd stay right in San Jose del Cabo. SJdC has a really very pretty Plaza with shopping and great restaurants.
Keep the questions coming, I'm having fun here.
Apr 21st, 2005, 07:44 AM
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pics from our trip to Loreto can be seen at: http://profiles.yahoo.com/jerroldstevens then click on Photos, and then Loreto
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