Sailing Tips 1.1. Sea of Cortez traveling North from Cabo San Lucas to La Paz MAY 2016
Cabo San Lucas
Skip Cabo unless you have tons of $$$, love lots of big hotels, party every day or are under 25. We heard that diesel is super expensive there and that they charge a fee just to tie up to the fuel dock. They even charge for anchoring apparently.
Puerto Los Cabos/ San Juan del Cabo
Fuel dock, starboard at long dock after a hotel. $ 3.80 per gallon.
Very new marina built in 2010, very nice, resort like, with beaches, landscaping, swimming with dolphins. Quiet expensive, $1.60 per foot, paid $58 a night for our 37′ Alberg.
Cell phone reception. Best wifi at the office and restaurant.
Several restaurants are on the property, we tried only ‘The Container’ next to the office. Nicely situated overlooking the marina, very good drinks, fresh and good food, good service, happy hour 2 for 1. Not too expensive.
Provisions in town, 5 miles away, taxi $35 round trip or take the bus. There is a Oxxo (like 711) behind the boat yard next to the marina, they even sell good tomatoes and avocados.
Bahia Los Frailes
Large bay with inconsistent rings of 50′, 45′, 30′ and 20′ shelves.
Fisher men have a camp with pangas on the beach and their nets are right in front of their camp taking up the part of the bay with wider shelves up until the N rock. The S part of the bay has very narrow shelves.
Sandy bottom, easy anchoring, some surge.
Very pretty bay with cone shaped mountains surrounding it, a nice long beach and several large vacation homes.
Easy dinghy landing on the beach.
Low cell phone reception.
Bahia de los Muertos
Large beautiful bay with a large shelf of 30-15′, anchor W of the mooring balls. Somebody advised us not to take mooring balls in Mexico without setting your own anchor, because sometimes they break free.
Very clear, turquoise water, can see the anchor from the boat.
Sandy bottom, easy anchoring, little surge, minimal swell.
Easy dinghy landing on the beach
Restaurant ‘1535’ on the beach, medium prices, good food, drinks so lala, open from 8 am – 8 pm.
Low cell phone reception. Cell reception and wifi at the restaurant.
La Paz
Diesel at the first marina, Costa Baja, when entering the La Paz channel.
We chose the Marina de la Paz for their laundry mat and own desalination plant for their drinking water.
Close to the Promenade Malecon and center of town.
Family like atmosphere. Good Mexican/American Restaurant on the property.
Cruisers Club on the property, meet Mo-Sa around 9 am for coffee. Chandelery across the street. Bill Lee, watermaker services, at Marina la Paz. National Park Permits (most islands in the Sea belong to the National park) and fishing permits, good for the year printed on the permit, if you intend to fish available at an office next to the laundry at Marina de La Paz .
Chedauri, Sam’s Club, Walmart, Home Depot and several famers markets and plenty of boat services available.
Good medical and vet services (Dogtor House).
Please note that different weather conditions make a big difference for anchorages. Also there is personal preference. This is what worked for us.
We traveled here in summer of 2016.