Top Ten Places to Encounter Whales

Baja California extends off the southern tip of California. Some think of it as an appendix. I think of it as a come-hither finger (you just gotta turn the map upside down). Baja is a sparsely populated region, wild and arid. Sea kayaking along its coast is an exercise in ecstasy.

More than 20 species of cetaceans spend time around Baja. Grays breed and calve in the lagoons along the Pacific. Bahia Magdalena is a center for gray whale observation. Humpbacks and blues breed in the Sea of Cortez; Bahia de los Angeles is the center there. If you're the kind of person who prefers to remain on shore, the Cabo San Lucas at the peninsula's southern tip is a good spot to observe passing whales and have your feet firmly planted on the ground.

Just the Facts

What you might see there: Gray whales, humpbacks, blues, fins, Bryde's whales, seis, minkes

Viewing options: Shoreline, boat