Looking for a fun adventure in Baja, Mexico? We took a trip on the open ocean to go snorkeling in La Paz, Mexico with sea lions with Fun Baja, it was so amazing to swim with the sea lions at Isla Espiritu Santo!
Snorkeling with sea lions in La Paz!
It was a fabulous day in La Paz, Mexico, and my sister and I were determined to tackle an awesome excursion that would blend the fabulous ocean and its natural wonders. We stayed at the Costa Baja Resort, which has its own little ocean and boating access tucked away in a beautiful marina. They linked us up with Fun Baja Tours, a knowledgeable, adventure tour company that took us snorkeling in La Paz, Mexico, right in the Sea of Cortez!
Swim with Espiritu Santo sea lions in La Paz
With only a half-day available before our departure, we chose the infamous Isla Espiritu Santo snorkeling tour. This island is known for its rich marine life, it is untouched and only accessible by boat. The island is surrounded by underwater coral reefs and has tons of colorful fish, a sea lion colony, and if you’re lucky, you’ll see sea turtles, dolphin pods, and manta rays.
Also, as soon as we jumped in the water to snorkel, the sea lions came right in and swim with us! It’s no wonder that the island has been declared as a UNESCO world heritage site for its unique biosphere.
Snorkeling with sea lions in espiritu santo island
The trip begins with a boat ride across the Sea of Cortez to the famous Isla Espiritu Santo. Bask in the sunshine as you coast through the ocean by the natural deserts, home to only the local wildlife. It takes about 45 minutes to get there, the ride was a little bumpy due to weather conditions, but we were briefed by the crew, enjoyed a few snacks, took in the scenery – what’s to come is well worth the wait!
We arrive at the island and marvel at the sea lion colony, there are so many of them! They have really taken over the little island of Los Islotes off of the coast of the big island, it’s their home.
I spotted a mama and baby sea lion lounging on the rocks, such a beautiful and natural sight!
An awesome La Paz Mexico snorkeling tour
When our group of boats arrived, the sea lions jumped right into the water off of the rocks and started circling our boat, they were excited to see us! We had a group of divers that went in first, so it was time to get those wet suits on and those snorkels ready! Don’t I look attractive? Haha!
This playful sea lion cane right up to us and swam all around us pretty fast, I guess they’re used to people around them snorkeling in La Paz, Mexico. They love to play, so they’d come and try to nibble on our flippers and wet suits! My underwater photos aren’t the best, I used this underwater smartphone case, which worked for the time being. I really need a waterproof sports action camera!
Taking a break on the Fun Baja Tours boat
Here we are, taking a break from swimming on the edge of the boat. We definitely don’t have the stamina that the sea lions do!
I really want to make sure you all see what I saw underwater, so I am going to make a video and add it to this post soon!
After snorkeling, we were taken to a beach on a secluded island for lunch, the water was turquoise! There, we had plenty of sandwiches, soda, Mexican beer, and time to swim, kayak, and explore the beach. This was the perfect stop on the way back to the marina, we had such a great time!
Swim with the Baja California sea lions on a snorkeling tour in La Paz!
Fun Baja Tours did a fabulous job, they offer a variety of scuba, snorkeling with whale sharks and sea lions, whale watching, day trips, and more tours each day. I highly recommend this company, they are knowledgeable about the wildlife and make sure that humans are very gentle to all of the animals and terrain that we came in contact with. Swimming with sea lions was so much fun, enjoy your tour of Isla Espiritu Santo and snorkeling in La Paz, Mexico!
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Snorkeling with Sea Lions was our favorite activity in all of Baja Sur! We also swam with whale sharks, dived with bullsharks, and saw the whales from close (all amazing tours!) but nothing beats the playfulness of the sea lion pups! Awesome tour, Baja is amazing!