Where:
Villa del Palmar, Loreto Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Located on the south end of Loreto Bay, about 30 minutes outside the town of Loreto, which is about 5 hours north of Cabo San Lucas in Baja California Sur. The resort is the only property in the surrounding area, which means you don’t need to worry about neighbors. The property has security and only allows resort guests, employees, and paying day visitors.
What:
Adventure resort on the Sea of Cortez, nestled at the foot of the mountains, on a golf course, with pools (in the shape of a sea turtle), restaurants, bars, a club, an option for a beach bungalow, and literally some of the happiest employees I’ve met. Can be all-inclusive or not, all the rooms come with kitchen facilities to prepare your own meals.
Activities available:
- Kayak
- Paddle board
- Whale watch tour
- Hike
- Golf
- Snuba
- Snorkeling
- Beach parties
- Pool parties
- Dinner on the beach
- Tennis
- Full Spa
Best time of year to go:
Any time! The water is cooler in the winter months, whale season is January-April, September sees less tourists and warmest water, but any time of year is great to be here.
Price range:
Rooms start at $131 per room per night, all-inclusive starts at $212 per person per night (based on double occupancy), and the bungalow starts at $295 per room per night. (These may change depending on the season).
Recommended for the best adventure:
Without a doubt, stay in the beach bungalow! Instead of staying in a room, you have an option to stay in your own space, a beach yurt, complete with a front porch opening up to the ocean, a grill, and a side yard. Don’t worry, you won’t be sacrificing any comfort to stay in this South African-decorated, air-conditioned bungalow, it has state of the art furnishings and will knock your socks off, especially when this is your front yard:
Length of trip:
Depending on the length of your trip, you could stay here for several days and combine it with a 4-day trip with RED Travel Mexico to Magdalena Bay to play in the sand dunes under the stars and work with sea turtles. You could have yourself one amazing 10-day adventure by putting these together. If you have even more time, throw in a visit to La Paz where you can swim with whale sharks, snorkel with sea lions, day trip to Todos Santos for a cocktail at the Hotel California and surf lessons at Cerritos. You can thank me later.
My personal experience and thoughts:
From the first minute I set eyes on this resort, I did not want to leave, and I still dream about going back. After spending the morning whale watching, we pulled up to the resort in the boat and walked to shore, where we were treated to breakfast. The buffet was enough to satisfy every craving we had, including traditional Mexican dishes, American food and fresh juice smoothies.
We went for a little hike up to a lookout point, from which we saw a humpback whale right there in the bay. Then it was time for a paddle, so we took out some paddle boards and went out to the snuba boat, where we got to try snuba for the first time (watch my video). We hit the hot pool to warm up before indulging in fish tacos, chocolate clams, and Cucumber Serrano Pepper Margaritas for lunch. I even had time to steal a salsa dance with one of the pool bartenders before our precious time was up.
It’s definitely a place I will go back to, and that can’t happen soon enough.
