Report: 1000+ miles down Baja Peninsula on a Road Scholar bus to see whales!!

We did a whale watching trip in Baja years ago with Lindblad in January. We flew there from Phoenix and then were bussed to our ship on the Pacific coast. The ship then sailed into the Sea of Cortez where we sailed among the islands. It was amazing seeing the whales and their babies so close up. They often followed us. So a different option but any chance to see the whales and their babies is a wonderful experience.

@Suki - I will check that out because, as soon as I saw my whale, I became determined to take another whale trip in the future. It was just truly incredible.

Thanks for posting Valerie. I've been following along on your blog. I bet the moments with whales were thrilling. I was in Monterey, CA last week & saw a mom grey whale with a calf. Hope the calf survives the cooler waters. You hadn't yet posted about your whale experience & I was thinking of you.

Wow, what a fantastic trip Valerie! I love seeing the whales! And you had the whole experience of the trip and the food, too!

Last year we took the Pacific Foundation catamaran sailing trips two times from Lahaina, Hawaii. They are very careful with the whales and stop the boat if the whales are near. The whales are very curious, and some of them kept circling our boat. One came straight up and touched the edge of the boat next to my foot. I could have easily touched it, but of course, left it alone. The toddlers always look like they’re getting used to their tails, flopping around so cute!

Thank you! I'm waiting to put up one more whale video...I don't have it yet but our Road Scholar guide is supposed to send it to me. It's (hopefully) me with a whale that came to visit our boat in San Ignacio lagoon!

The whales down here are incredibly interactive...they're so intelligent...we've heard some fantastic stories from the naturalists at the whale sites.

Valerie!! What a wonderful time you guys had! You know I love reading about your experiences and I like that you give pros and cons. I know how you research so know you were ready for the bus time. The one-nighters are hard on me as well...just prefer slower travel as you all do.

Thanks so much for linking your blog and for posting here!

@pam! Thank you:) Ron protests the bus time but even he fell in love with the whales!!!

Thanks for posting this!
I ran across that RoadScholar program, and some others involving Baja California fairly recently and was intrigued. Might have to my list of possibilities.
I'm doing the RoadScholar San Diego trip next month, my 6th.

@LIZinPA - I highly recommend the trip!! It's a great overview of all of Baja! And they take us to the whale museum in LaPaz, which is so well-done. It's a tiny museum with so many whale artifacts and a great group of biology guides.

That sounds like a wonderful trip!

Just to clarify, Valerie is talking about Gray whales. They migrate from Alaskan waters to give birth and raise the babies in these few lagoons on the Pacific side of Baja California until they are big enough to make the northbound migration to Alaska in late spring. Some will give birth further north as Deborah mentioned in Monterey Bay but that is an "accident" possibly due to warmer water temperatures from el nino causing them to leave late from the Arctic. I believe they will continue to migrate south to the Baja lagoon with the babies, Monterey Bay and the open ocean have too many predators (orcas) to safely raise the babies. Once in the Baja lagoons there are really no predators and the moms feel safe enough to allow interaction with boats and people. Yes, you can actually touch the whales. It is totally up to the whales if they want to allow it, some won't come close enough. Some will stay right up at the edge of the boat for an extended time. I know for a lot of people who have done whale watching with humpbacks and orcas it sounds wrong, but it is very well controlled and limited and it really is a unique experience.

I love the idea of the Road Scholar trip with all of the Baja culture, but if you want a shorter whale specific trip I highly recommend Baja Discovery. 5 day trip starting in San Diego. They fly the group in small charter planes from Tijuana to the lagoon and you stay in canvas tents for 3 days of 2x day whale boat trips. Great food made by two ladies from the local town and it is an incredibly relaxing trip.

I'm so happy for you! As someone who loves marine life & especially whale watching I get it. Must be incredibly thrilling. I loved seeing our little guy & the marine biologist on board did say they would continue on their journey South. They absolutely have to for the calves survival.

Look forward to more photos & videos! I hope to make the trip myself in 2025.

Syd above gives a great description of the hows and whys of the gray whales in Baja! We finished our whale adventure today down in La Paz at the whale museum here - https://www.museodelaballena.org/.

This is one awesome museum. We had a tour guide with us - a youngish biologist. He spoke great English and boy did he give compelling information. They had all kinds of whale specimens from carcasses they’ve recovered. Some were full organs and other body parts, preserved in liquid.

Sounds like a great trip, albeit a bit faster than you like. I love whales!🐳

Thank you, Tammy:)