The Best Grey Whale Experience in Baja California

One of the coolest aspects of Baja California is the abundance of whales! Many different species of whale including Blue, Humpback and Grey Whales migrate to the warm waters of Baja California to give birth to their babies. One of the most popular whales to see are the Grey Whales who migrate to 3 lagoons along the pacific coast of Baja California. The lagoons, Ojo de Liebre, San Ignacio Lagoon and Magdalena Bay are the three best spots to see the Grey Whales in Baja California. Guerrero Negro is the town near Ojo de Liebre lagoon and it is the best place to see Grey Whales! The grey whales are so friendly that they will swim up to the boat so that you can pet them or even get lucky and give a kiss. 

Key Information for Grey Whale Watching:

Where: Ojo de Liebre Lagoon near the town of Guerrero Negro

When: End of December to end of March

Why: Grey whales are super friendly and this is unlike any other whale watching experience you will ever have

What tour: Mario’s Tour – super professional, informative, eco conscious and rewarding

Cost: roughly $55 USD and the tour takes about 4-5 hours from door to door

Ojo de Liebre Lagoon is the Best place to see Grey Whales in Baja California

Ojo del Liebre is the largest lagoon that the grey whales migrate to in order to give birth to their babies. Roughly 2,000 whales come to the warm waters of this lagoon each year. This makes it the perfect place to whale watch and get up close to the magnificent grey whales. Guerrero Negro is the town that is closest to the lagoon. It was founded as a salt mining town in the 1900s. There are plenty of hotels as well as campgrounds to accommodate your stay. We stayed at Marios campground which was perfect because they also facilitate the whale watching tour. 

Ojo del Libre Lagoon vs. San Ignacio Lagoon and Magdalena Bay

I think the pros for visiting Ojo de Liebre lagoon are that the number of whales that come here each year are much higher than the other lagoons. There are a lot of options for the tours. From Guerrero Negro you can book a tour with the 3 companies permitted in the lagoon. We went with Marios Tours and I couldn’t recommend enough! The other option is to drive to the lagoon yourself and take a tour with the local “fishermen.” It turns out that the bay is split into 3 areas. The local fishermen are permitted to operate tours in zone 1, which is the section of the bay farthest from the mouth. In zone 2, the middle, it is not permitted for any tours because this is where the whales give birth. In zone 3 is where the 3 whale watching companies are permitted and this is the area closest to the opening into the pacific ocean. 

San Ignacio Lagoon is another great option. I personally thought that San Ignacio is a much cuter town to spend time in than Guerrero Negro. It has a lot of charm and some really cool camping spots. I’ve heard the whale tours were great there as well. I think the only con would be that there are a lot less whales that come to this lagoon each year because it is much smaller

Magdalena Bay is the third place that the grey whales migrate to. I think the biggest con is how long it takes to get to the whales. Some people we met said that they had to spend 1 hour driving on the boat to get to the area where the whales are. In comparison it was about 10 minutes for our tour in Ojo de Liebre Lagoon.

How to Book a Whale Watching Tour in Guerrero Negro

I really loved our experience with Marios Tours. We showed up to their office/campground the day before we wanted to do the tour. We were able to choose between the 8 am or 11 am departure. The cost of the tour was $55 USD pp and we could pay with credit card.  Marios Tours was super convenient for us because we were also able to camp at Marios campground. There are a few other providers in town to book a tour with and you can also drive to a section of the lagoon if you want to see a different section of the lagoon. We had no problem showing up and booking for the next day when we arrived in late March. If you plan to visit during the peak times (February) I would recommend making a reservation in advance.

Read Next: 41 Things to do in Baja California

My Experience with Marios Tours

I give Marios Tours a 10/10! The value for money was fantastic and we not only got to pet and see so many whales, but they also put a huge emphasis on education as well. It was very convenient to book and every step was well organized. I felt that they operated in a safe and environmentally friendly way.

Pre-Departure

They requested we arrive at 730 am for the pre departure information session. I really enjoyed this aspect of the tour because we got to learn all about the Grey Whales. Did you know that Grey Whales are Mexican? At 8 am we loaded onto a shuttle and set out for the lagoon. It is about 40 minutes drive from Guerrero Negro to the lagoon. I was really impressed that our guide spent this time telling us all about the town of Guerrero Negro, the salt mines, and history of the area. It was really informative and interesting to learn more about the area. Once we arrived at the boat launch we were given life vests and boarded the panga boat. Each boat fit about 10 people and we were pretty much 2 persons to a bench so it was not overcrowded.

Whale Watching Experience

From the dock the captain drives quickly out to the deeper area of the lagoon where the whales are. Within minutes we started to see whales on the horizon. The driver would head towards a whale and then just stop and wait for the whale to approach. The unique thing about Grey Whales is that they are super friendly and want to come say hi. Most of the whales we saw were either by themselves or a mama with her baby. They would swim near the boat and say hello and then usually swim under and on their way.

Eventually we got a friendly pair that spent a good 20 minutes saying hi and coming right up to the boat. We were all able to touch the whales and get plenty of selfies. It was incredible to see how massive they are and it was so adorable to see the “small” babies next to their mums. I was blown away by how many close encounters we got with the whales. The most magical part was getting to look closely into the eye of the whale.

In total we were on the water for about 2 hours. Towards the end of the time they passed out lunches to us (fruit, ham sandwich, cookie and juice). We got to enjoy our meals on the boat while we watched more whales. I didn’t want to leave, but I felt like we had a really good amount of time on the water. Back on land we were picked up by the shuttle and returned to the starting point around 1230 pm. 

Why you should make sure to see the Grey Whales in Baja California

This is a once in a lifetime experience and I highly recommend trying to see the Grey Whales in Baja. It is unlike any whale watching tour in the world. This is a whole new experience with the whales coming up to the boat and being able to touch them. Not to mention the whale is usually bigger than the panga boat! I will never forget being about to look into the whales eye and touch their soft, velvety skin.