I love Mexico. One of our most recent guidebooks is on Mexico. I find myself constantly looking for any excuse to return.
Last week, I found that excuse: two free round-trip tickets from Los Angeles to Loreto. There are a ton of specials run by Villa Del Palmar, the hotel where I was staying. Give them a call to see what they can do for you!
Located in Baja Sur near Puerto Escondido, Loreto and its nearby islands have jaw-dropping scenery with hardly any tourists.
For five beautiful days, I lounged on deserted white-sand beaches, swam with whales in the open ocean, cooked clams purchased from a local fishing village, and practiced my espanol.
Planning a trip to Loreto? Here’s a breakdown of how to spend a perfect week in paradise.
Take a tour with Wild Loreto
I took my best friend on this trip, and our days were spent mostly on tours with Wild Loreto, which were incredible. We snorkeled, saw whales and dolphins, lounged on deserted beaches, and enjoyed the stunning scenery. There’s not a whole lot going on as far as night life in Loreto, so spending our days as active as possible gave us time at night to just relax.
Also, they feed you. The food and drinks at a resort like Villa del Palmar add up, so taking a tour that includes food was particularly great.
Our favorite, food-wise, was the San Javier Mission tour, where we ate chilequiles, quesadillas, beans and cheese at a local restaurant.
If you’re looking for fun in the water, definitely go to Coronado Island. The beach is incredible!
Top Tour: Wild Loreto’s Island Hopping Tour. Our guide was incredible and let us experience what we were looking for: whale watching and snorkeling. We even jumped in the middle of the ocean and snorkeled with whales and dolphins! Unorthodox, and kind of terrifying, but freakin’ amazing!
Try Stand Up Paddle Boarding
Villa del Palmar lets guests take out kayaks or stand up paddle boards for free. So naturally, we did! Stand up paddle boarding was really fun, just make sure you know how to turn around before you head out! We couldn’t figure it out and had to jump in and swim back to shore with our boards.
Kayaking is also awesome, and if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, take out a mountain bike and go for a bumpy dirt road ride to a nearby town.
Eat Fresh Seafood
The resort is located close to a small fishing village called Ensenada Blanca where you can buy fresh seafood every afternoon around 2 p.m. Some of our new friends rode their bikes over there, but we took the free shuttle into the small town of Loreto and found a tiny seafood restaurant called Las Conchas where we bought a bag of 10 chocolate clams (local delicacy) for only 15 pesos… or $1.
Since all of the rooms in Villa del Palmar have kitchens, we were able to cook our clams with garlic and butter and eat them with pasta and they were absolutely drool-worthy.
Work on Your Tan
Girl, you know you want to! Relax at the pool (there are five at Villa, plus a hot tub) or spend your time at the beach. Just be sure to block up before you burn! The sun here is really, really hot.
Work on your Sunset Photography
I mean honestly, does a place this gorgeous need to have beautiful sunsets too? It’s practically overkill.
Lucky for you, these gorgeous sunsets and sunrises give you the perfect time and space to play around with the settings on your camera and the filters on your Instagram to capture the scenery. I spent a while each evening on my balcony marveling in the sunsets. If you’re staying at Villa del Palmar, try to stay in building 2– it faces the sunset, the ocean and the pool directly. Gorgeous!
There you have it!
