Baja California Whale Watching Kayak

Guerrero Negro · Mexico

Easy7 daysNorth America~£900 est.

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Overview

Every winter, grey whales complete one of the longest mammal migrations on Earth - Arctic feeding grounds to Baja California's Pacific lagoons - to calve in the warm, protected water of San Ignacio and Magdalena Bay. What happens next has no parallel anywhere: "friendly" whales approach the small pangas by choice, mothers pushing month-old calves up to the gunwales to be touched. No feeding, no baiting; the behaviour began with a single curious whale in the 1970s and her descendants continue it. Days alternate panga sessions inside the strictly regulated whale zones with sea kayaking the mangrove shorelines for pelicans, dolphins and coyotes patrolling the tideline; nights are desert camps where whale blows carry across the water in the dark. January to March is the season, with mid-February to mid-March the peak for mothers and calves. The lagoon camps are remote - fly to Loreto or drive the long desert road via Guerrero Negro - and visitor numbers inside the El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve are capped, so book licensed operators months out. Mornings on the water are surprisingly cold, so take windproof layers. A week with camps, pangas, kayaks and meals runs about £900 before flights.