Here's my little takeaways and advice for seeing the cute desert town of Todos Santos in Baja California. Just about 75 minutes north of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Todos Santos is a quaint, chilled, but pricey pueblo mágico that is an easy escape from the resorts and party in the cities.
Todos Santos is a huge spot for expats, particularly “snowbirds” trying to escape American winters, and it has a big art scene that reminds me a lot of the vibes in San Miguel de Allende (another major Americanized place). If you are visiting from Mexico, it is gonna come out pretty expensive as most people are using US dollars here. For Americans, it is a cheap flight away and you will probably find the costs of everything to be relatively affordable. I guess it’s all about perspective.
WHEN TO GO
If you need to know one thing, the high/low season is everything in Todos Santos! Winter is when it is busiest and when the waves are the best. Summers are super hot and slow. I traveled here with my dad in mid September, when the hot summer was cooling down, and it was a total ghost town! We stayed in a nice hotel and had a hard time finding meals and coffee given that a lot of places were closed for the season or had limited hours. I am not one to complain about having a place off the tourist track, but it was weirdly quiet and abandoned on the days we went….
Additionally, the end of summer, August-September, was prime hurricane season and we nearly dodged two hurricanes on the Baja peninsula the few days we were there. And to my SURFERS, I had hoped to get good waves near Todos Santos because I knew it was a good season for waves in San José del Cabo and the Eastern Cape, but unfortunately the hurricane messed it up for us so I didn’t get to properly surf the waves in this region as I hoped! For more on surfing Baja, be sure to also check my San Jose del Cabo experience.
HOW TO GET THERE
Unlike most of my destinations I highlight on my blog, you will want a car for this one! While there are lots of buses between San José del Cabo, Cabo San Lucas, and La Paz, everything there is to do here really requires a car, whether it’s because of the long distances or the desert terrain to get there. My dad rented us a car for a couple a days from the Cabo airport which is probably your best best.
WHAT TO DO
Alas, here are some of the top things I would recommend based on my couple of days in Todos Santos area.
1. Visit Hotel California. This is allegedly the Hotel California that the Eagles sang about, but we didn’t find the abandoned, simple facade to be such a lovely place while we were there…. Unfortunately it was also closed for renovation while we were in town! Regardless, you have to at least make a stop while you’re passing through to get a pic and visit the museum in case it’s open.
2. Stroll through Todos Santos’ streets. They are super colorful and clean, you can enjoy the views by the main church, “Todos Santos” letters, and pop into art galleries if they are open. Todos Santos doesn’t feel like a typical Mexican pueblo to me, but I like a lot of the details with the cacti, murals, and papel picado that make this a pretty combination of Mexican and American influences. Lots of opportunities for pretty pictures and photo shoots.
3. Catch the sunset at Punta Lobos. You’ll have to drive about 15 minutes from the town center to this beach which is mostly a couple hundred fisherman, a small beachside resort, and some big blue beautiful waves. It didn’t look particularly surfable to me (steep sandy beach and big closing out waves), but I’m sure there is a surf scene here depending on the season. Instead, I would recommend you do the 15 minute hike up the Punta Lobos trail for a beautiful view of the sunset from above. Just make sure to bring a light in case it’s dark on your way down so you don’t slip on any cacti or rocks.
4. Go surfing at Cerritos Beach. Again about 15 minutes south of Todos Santos, the village of Cerritos is home to some beach shacks, Airbnb, surf rentals, and that’s about it! We rented boards for the day from one of the guys on the beach for 300 pesos each ($20 USD). This is a fair price but it wasn’t so fun that the waves weren’t working for us a day after the hurricane. I’ve heard it’s a beautiful point break and friendly beginner surf spot when it’s more clean, so I will definitely be back to do it justice!
5. Get some yummy food and drinks. I mentioned that most the places were closed down while we were in town, but we really loved grabbing our morning coffee and pastries at Taller 17 and having lunch and artisanal beer at Todos Santos Brewing Company.
All in all, we spent about 48 hours in Todos Santos and decided to spend the rest of our long weekend down south in San Jose del Cabo because the waves were much better for us at that time and this was supposed to be a surf trip! I am glad I hit Todos Santos and it is a great getaway from a trip to Cabo, but not exactly gonna be the best for your backpacker budget :) Thanks to my Pops for sponsoring and traveling with me on this trip!
