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Want to see whales in Los Cabos? Go snorkeling at Santa Maria Beach, Cabo San Lucas. Seriously!
But let’s start this fishy-sounding tale from the beginning…
Coz the whales are just the bonus.
You’ll also see tons of tropical fish too. And that’s why you go to Santa Maria Beach. For fabulous snorkeling!
And we’re going to share how to get there and go snorkeling on your own, whether you should take a snorkel boat tour (or not), and exactly where the best place is to snorkel at Santa Maria Bay.
Santa Maria Beach, Cabo
There’s not a ripple stirring the sea.
The water is so clear, we can spot tiny iridescent blue fish (damselfish?) at least 50 feet away, darting about the reef.
We love scuba diving in Cabo in October when the water is bathtub-warm. But even this January day (winter in Los Cabos, when daytime temps can sometimes be in the low 70s F.), the sea is warm enough for snorkeling.
So that’s what we’re doing – snorkeling in Santa Maria Bay in Cabo. Bumping fins with schools of colorful reef fish, feeding bread to large clouds of yellow porkfish that swirl around us, and loving every moment!
Tip: As you face the water from the beach, the best snorkeling is at the far end by the rocks to your right (in front of the beach club for local residents).
Santa Maria Bay snorkeling
Santa Maria Beach, Cabo San Lucas, is one of the three top places to snorkel in Los Cabos.
The beach (“Playa Santa Maria” in local lingo) is also one of the best beaches in Los Cabos. The coarse golden sand beach is pristine!
Having arrived early (around 9:00 a.m.), we almost have the bay to ourselves. And good news, there are palapas that we can plop down under for some welcome shade when the sun begins to burn brighter.
Look, there are whales!
Later, drying off in the sun after more than an hour in the water, we spot the whales. They’re about 100 feet away from us on the beach.
At first, we see only plumes of spray.
And then – we see the slick round humps of humpbacks as they swim on the water’s surface.
And tails!
Admittedly, we’ve seen closer-up views of whales in Cabo on whale watching tours.
But these whales are totally unexpected. And they just keep spouting and finning and showing us a whale of a time. A nice way to finish off a glorious morning of snorkeling…
Snorkeling at Santa Maria Beach your own way
Here’s the key.
We didn’t take a tour to go snorkeling at Santa Maria Beach. (If we had, we’d be sharing our views of Captain Nemo with up to 100 other eager snorkelers jumping off their catamaran or sailboat.)
No, if you want pristine conditions, the best way to go snorkeling here is to do it on your own.
Each year we visit Cabo, we make a point of returning to Santa Maria Beach to snorkel. We enjoy it so much, we often end up going several times each trip.
Get to the beach early though.
The first of the snorkel tour boats arrive around 10:00 am. Often by 11:00 am, there are some five snorkeling tour boats anchored in the bay. The snorkelers from the boats don’t usually swim to the beach though.
Tip: If you want to snag one of the four new thatch palapas at Playa Santa Maria, Cabo, you must there by 9:00 am. Otherwise, be sure to bring your own beach umbrella for shade.
Facilities at Santa Maria Bay, Los Cabos
Toilets and showers:
The public beach facilities have been spiffed up recently.
When you arrive at the parking lot to the beach, you’ll notice a big clean new bathroom building, with flush toilets and change rooms. Outside the bathroom, there are outdoor showers, so you can rinse off the salt water and also rinse off your snorkeling gear.
There’s now also a new paved walkway from the parking lot to the beach.
Montage Los Cabos:
If you haven’t been to the beach in a few years, you will no doubt be surprised to see a large new hotel there.
There’s no stopping development in Cabo (which just keeps getting bigger and better!), and a new Montage Los Cabos hotel has been built on the shores above the beach. It opened in November, 2018.
The low-rise hotel is quite tasteful though, and blends in with the landscape. It has beach chairs and umbrellas for guests set up in a middle section of the beach.
You can have lunch at the Montage Los Cabos if you reserve in advance. Marea, the hotel’s stylish open-air beachfront restaurant, serves fresh seafood, Mexican food and burgers. But you can’t just walk up from the beach and access the hotel restaurant as a non-guest. (We asked.) You need to drive around to the front of the hotel and enter through the lobby to have lunch at the hotel restaurant. (Obviously you’ll want to wear suitable clothing, not just a wet bathing suit!)
Read our reviews of the best Cabo hotels! Best Boutique and 5-Star Hotels in Cabo San Lucas
Beach club for local residents:
At the far end of the beach from the public parking lot, you’ll see a chi-chi beach club, usually empty! It’s for the exclusive use of local home-owners. So it’s off limits if you don’t have privileges.
Tip: Bring your own snorkel gear, water and food or snacks, as there’s no gear rental stand or readily-accessible public restaurant/bar.
Getting to Santa Maria beach, Los Cabos
By car:
Drive along the Corridor highway connecting Cabo San Lucas with San Jose del Cabo to Km 12 (8 miles east of Cabo) and look out for the “Playa Santa Maria” sign, indicating the turn-off toward the ocean. Follow the road for about 1/4 mile to the paved parking lot.
By bus:
It’s easy to to hop on the bus if you don’t have a car. While we usually go in a rental car, we have taken the bus. It’s not a “first-class bus” like we took for longer distances when visiting Mexico’s colonial towns. But it’s very inexpensive, and not a hardship, if you’re feeling a little adventurous.
Buses will stop along the Corridor highway if you flag them down. Tell the driver you want to get off at Santa Maria Bay for snorkeling. There’s a bus stop on the side of the highway there.
Snorkel tour of Santa Maria Bay
What if you want to take a snorkeling tour by boat? We get that. You may not have a rented car, and you may not want to take a taxi or the bus.
We recommend this kayaking-and-snorkeling tour of both Santa Maria and Chileno Bays – we’ve done this tour and really enjoyed it! (The kayaking makes the tour that much more fun.)
Recommended reading: 25 Epic Things to Do in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Santa Maria Beach, Cabo San Lucas: Map
See below for the location of Santa Maria Bay.
Essential things to pack for Cabo
1) Cute and comfy sandals – Do your tootsies a favor and check out these fab travel sandals for both men and women that we’ve sussed out!
2) Good camera – You won’t want to miss those great beach shots or pics of the iconic Arch and its sea lions! We love our Sony A600 mirrorless camera – it’s small enough to throw in your purse or backpack, but it takes awesome photos.
3) Beach gear – Cute and flattering bathing suit? Big-brimmed sun hat? Good sunglasses? (We’re a fan of Ray-Bans). You’ll need these for the beach and pool.
Pssst! If you make a hotel booking or purchase through our site, we’ll earn a small commission (at no cost to you). Thanks!
Other Cabo tours
Sometimes it’s nice to pre-book tours so you don’t have to worry about planning what to do when you get there. Here are some other good Cabo tours…
Recommended reading: Los Cabos Travel Guide to an Awesome Holiday!
More Cabo water sports inspiration!
Check out these other posts of ours…
Photo credits: 1, 4, 5 and 6 Andrea Norrie, Janice’s sister-in-law
Is Santa Maria Beach also known as Santa Maria Bay? I ask because many years ago we snorkeled and swam in what I thought was Santa Maria Bay (we have pictures very similar to those you posted, so I think it is the same place), but now I see that there is a huge new resort (Montage) seating atop of the mountain on Santa Maria “Bay”, and I am wondering if it is the same place or not. Thanks for clarifying, if possible.
Yes, there’s no stopping development, and the new Montage Los Cabos has opened up on Santa Maria Bay (which is the same as Santa Maria Beach).
Depending on your point of view, it’s a bad news/good news scenario. The bad news – expect more people on the beach. The good news – the finished hotel looks better than the unfinished construction site which marred the landscape for years. And there’s now a classy new restaurant you can visit for lunch :-).
(We’ll update the post to reflect this. Thanks!)
In your article you state Santa Maria Bay is one of the three best places to snorkel in Cabo San Lucas. What are the other two? Thanks.
Oh, sorry, we should have mentioned the other two! They are Pelican Rock at Land’s End (take a water taxi to get there, or you can kayak over) and Chileno Bay (if you go on a snorkeling tour, both Santa Maria and Chileno are often included – but of course, you’ll have lots of other snorkelers with you).
We are in the beginning stages of planning a trip to Cabo for spring 2018. I am trying to figure out whether to stay in Cabo St. Lucas or San Jose Cabo. We like it quiet but still easy to get around without a car. Can Maria beach be accessible by a bus from San Jose Cabo?
Yes, there are buses that travel the Corridor between San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, stopping along the way (just let the driver know where you want to get off). We’ve taken the bus back and forth several times. Have fun planning your trip!
have you been snorkeling in Cabo in March? we are going in March 2017. Tried the snorkeling tour during our first trip and was very disappointed. Since the guides bait the fish, all we saw was gray striped fish (not sure of their name).
We haven’t gone snorkeling in Cabo in March – mostly October/November and December/January. Maybe try going snorkeling on your own, make it a bit of an adventure – and perhaps you won’t be quite so disappointed as you might be if on a “snorkeling tour.” You can find some good snorkeling around Pelican Rock by the Arch too. Take a glass bottom boat for a tour of the Arch and to see the sea lions, then get dropped off on the teeny strip of sand still in front of Pelican Rock, do some snorkeling and then hail a boat to go back. That’s a fun morning (and not as expensive as a tour). Enjoy your Cabo holiday!
Cabo is so close to where you are, no doubt you’ll get to explore it soonish :-).
Such vibrant, gorgeous colours and the beach to yourselves – that’s the way to do it! I’m hoping to go snorkeling next month in the Caribbean, if I see half as many fish as you did I’ll be happy.
The Caribbean waters are so gorgeous – and warm! No doubt you’ll have a great time regardless of how many fish you see :-).
I think I will go with the bus :) Really amazing place to dive
The bus is a good choice :-). We haven’t dived there, but know that divers go there – we can imagine all the little underwater canyons would make it a great place to dive too.
How incredible that you saw whales on your trip! Is the sea quite calm for snorkelling, I generally like to have my footing in the water?
The water at Santa Maria beach is perfectly calm – smooth as glass :-). You’d feel quite comfortable here. You can even see fish as you wade in when standing just waist-deep.
This is so beautiful! I want to visit this place in Cabo soon.
There aren’t too many swimmable beaches in Los Cabos so thanks for sharing your secret.:-)
Those photos are absolutely amazing! What kind of camera did you use?
Yes, riptides and wave conditions make many of Cabo’s beaches unsafe for swimming, whereas Santa Maria beach is great for this (with the added bonus of offering some nice snorkeling too). And do we know what kind of camera Janice’s sister-in-law has? (She took many of the photos.) A smallish one, that’s as far as we know! Not a good answer, but the best answer for now :-).
Have you snorkeled in Hawaii? I’d like your opinion of if it’s better snorkeling here or in Hawaii. Thanks for the tips though.
Yes, we have snorkeled in Hawaii – in Maui with sea turtles and off the Big Island with wild dolphins and also at night with manta rays. They are different experiences.
We probably wouldn’t plan a trip to Cabo just to snorkel, unless you visit in October and go to Cabo Pulmo (a marine sanctuary) or Los Islotes near La Paz (to snorkel with sea lions), or go snorkeling with whale sharks in the winter season in La Paz (and we’ve written about these experiences on our blog). But if you happen to be visiting Cabo, it’s definitely worth going snorkeling. It’s a fun thing to do there (along with golf, hiking to a canyon waterfall, sailing, etc.).
Where are the canyon waterfalls?
Are you talking about Fox Canyon near Santiago, about an hour from San Jose del Cabo? There’s a great hike there to a freshwater pool at the base of a 40-foot waterfall.
Oh the snorkeling looks incredible! And those little blue fish are just beautiful. That’s so lucky that you happened to see whales, it’s always exciting when sightings like that happen out of the blue.
It was totally unexpected to see whales – so yes, all the more fun :-).