Walk through a long sand bar while turquoise water surrounds you. Once you visit you’ll understand why many people say Balandra Beach is the most beautiful beach in all of Mexico! Just outside of La Paz and a couple hours of Cabo, this area is a must visit for any trip to the Baja Peninsula!
I have now visited Balandra Beach four times in just two years because I love it so much! I have hiked there on numerous occasions and taken a boat there as well. So, I want to help you see one of my absolute favorite spots in all of Baja Mexico.
Read my detailed guide on everything you need to know about visiting Balandra Beach. Get tips on how to get there, what to do, and why you need to add it to your bucket list! I hope you fall in love with Balandra like I did. 💕
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Balandra Beach Travel Information
What is Balandra Beach?
Playa Balandra is often known as the most beautiful beach in Mexico located on Balandra Bay off the sea of Cortez. However, there are actually seven beaches along this stunning turquoise bay with the most famous being Balandra Beach.
This beach is well known for having very low tides where you can walk through crystal clear waters. At high tides the water only reaches chest height and at low tide, you can easily walk throughout the water. It’s the perfect place to spend a day enjoying the water, lazing on the beach, or snorkeling around the coves 🤿.
Cacti covered mountains 🌵 surround these beaches and make for a stunning landscape. Balandra Beach became a Natural Protected Area in 2008 to preserve the area. So, you can read more about how to visit this gem below!
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How to Get to Balandra Beach
There are a few ways to get to Balandra Beach:
- You can drive in
- Taking a boat or tour to the beach
- Hiking to it
By Car 🚙:
Now, if you choose to go by car, then you will want to get up incredibly early. Cars line up at 6 am, because they limit the amount of visitors to 450 a day. However, the beach is still very crowded despite the limits on entry, with 225 people there at a time.
They let cars in until capacity and then those visitors can stay from 8 am- 12 pm. After that, they close the beach until 1 pm, when they let in the next set of cars for the hours of 1-5 pm.
By Boat 🚤:
Tours will boat you into the beach, but they usually go to the more secluded beach to the right. They usually can stay outside of the designated hours that cars have to follow.
There are a lot of tours that have Balandra options including including whale shark tours and Sea Lion tours. We did a whale shark tour with a boat to Balanda and it was great way to see the beach. But, hiking is my favorite way to get there!
There Are SO Many Great Tours to Balandra Like This One:
Why Hiking is the Best Way to Get There
Hiking to Balandra is the best way to get there because you do not have to deal with the crowds from the road 👎🏻. You’ll get to see the vibrant waters in the area, hang on the beaches, and get great views over Balandra.
Once you hike from Playa Tecolote, you’ll actually see a number of different beaches that you can hang on. I usually choose to stop at the beach that is just before Balandra. In my opinion, it’s just as beautiful and it is more secluded. Plus, you can easily walk from that beach to the official Balandra Beach.
During busy times, they may limit trail access but you can always walk through the water at low tide to get there. So, look up low tide before you go and bring waterproof clothing for your trek!
How to Get to the Trail
Getting to the trail to Balandra is easy once you have the directions in. The trailhead is actually located at Playa Tecolote 📍, which is a beach near Balandra. Playa Tecolote is about 30 minutes from downtown La Paz or 2 hours from Cabo.
To get to the trailhead, you’ll drive down the main road towards Tecolote. Once you get to the sandy area, you’ll see turnouts to the left. Follow the roads to the left until you see an abandoned building. Turn left there and you’ll see a larger parking area for the trail!
Packing Guide for the Balandra Beach Hike
If you decide to do the hike to Balandra, then you’ll want to have sturdy shoes, a bathing suit, and waterproof layers. I have hiked in sandals, but I don’t recommend it because it’s fairly rocky and they will get stuck in your shoes. Instead, you could bring a change of shoes if you wanted.
We like to set up camp on the second beach and then take turns walking through the water over to Balandra Beach. But, if you don’t have a larger group, you may need to walk over with all your stuff. Go during low tide to keep everything dry or hike over the cliffs if it’s open!
Packing List for Balandra Beach
- Comfortable Hiking Boots or Sneakers
- Day Pack
- Water Reservoir
- Waterproof Layers
- 1-2 Liters of Water
- Bathing Suit
- Snorkel
- Towel
- Snacks and Food
- Book or Things to Do
- First Aid Kit
- Sunscreen
- Bug Spray
- Satellite phone
- Camera Clip
Where to Stay near Balandra Beach
If you want to be close to Balandra Beach, then the best place to stay is La Paz. La Paz is beautifully situated on the bright blue Sea of Cortez. Take a tour to see whale sharks, enjoy the beaches, or swim with sea lions. There’s tons to do in this city and it’s the perfect place to stay for a while.
If you are in a van or a camper like me, then you can stay for free on Playa Tecolote, which is right next to the trailhead for Balandra!
Best Hotels in La Paz:
Balandra Beach Hike Details
Quick Hike Info
Distance: 2.4-3.8 miles
Elevation: 450 feet
Type: Out and Back or Loop
Length: 2-4 Hours (depends on your pace, breaks, and weather)
Difficulty: Moderate (It is steep in parts and rocky with slippery sections)
Brief Trail Description
Once you park at Playa Tecolote, you’ll immediately make your way up a steep rocky path. There is a fence, but you simply walk around it and continue up the path. It’s a few hundred feet up so it’s a bit tiring.
Once you get to the top it will come around to gorgeous views of the Sea of Cortez and the beaches below. You’ll continue for another half mile or so until you see the overlook area with panoramic views of the water and beaches.
From there, I recommend going down to the beach on your left. It’s the beach just before Balandra and a great place to set up for the day! You can walk through the calm waters over to Balandra or choose to continue up the hills again to Balandra.
I recommend stopping there or continuing all the way past Balandra to a great viewpoint over the beach!
Final Tips for Visiting Balandra Beach
If you are traveling to Baja California, then you cannot miss visiting Balandra Beach! I highly recommend hiking there to avoid the crowds and get space to yourself or driving super early for a spot early in the day. But whatever way you get there, you will absolutely fall in love with the incredible waters of Balandra Bay.
Let me know in the comments if you found this guide helpful!
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This was SO helpful! I hope I can visit this beach when I go in June!
I hope you can too! It’s so incredible
Oh my gosh, this beach looks incredible! Definitely adding this to my list.
You will love it!
Hello Lita,
Thank you for your blog and all the useful infos about the area. My partner and I are leaving in a week for Baja, and will be staying in La Paz for a few days. Balandra beach is on our list, but we would much prefer to not spend 45 minutes in the car rental and be limited to a time slot. I was hoping to get a couple more info from you since you did the hike. We were thinking about driving to Playa Tecolote and leave the car there on the main beach for the day, hike to Playa Balandra from there. Is that how you did it? I have read in some posts on other blogs that they can close the trail, is there a hard closure with agents patrolling the area? In that case, and if the tide is low, are you allowed to get to Balandra Beach in the water, or will there be official agents stopping you from coming on the sand on Balandra Beach because you didn’t come via the official parking lot during one of the two time slots? We wanted to hike from Playa Tecolote to Balandra, rent a kayak there for a couple of hours, and then hike back to Playa Tecolote to have food there since there are so many restaurants. What do you think? Thank you. Isabelle
Yes, that’s how I’ve done it everytime. I’ve hiked there on three separate occasions. That being said, I have heard of them closing it occasionally, I would check the reviews on Alltrails to see the latest news. It’s the Playa tecolote to Cerro balandra hike. But, I always walk from the beach before through the water to get to Balandra. You will still have to get the kayak during the time slot, because they do close access during that time between periods even if you are hiking there.
Thank you for your reply Lita. I am excited about our little trip and visiting Balandra beach and other places.