Baja California Expeditions

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25.29° S -112.129° E

Discover the Wild Beauty of Baja California

With its pristine coastlines and vivid sea life, Baja California offers spectacular untamed wilderness. Sail aboard our nimble fleet into the biodiverse waters of the Gulf of California, home to more than a third of the world’s marine life. Enjoy thrilling opportunities for up-close encounters with gray whales and their curious calves on panga excursions in birthing lagoons. Spend days discovering vibrant marine life as you snorkel among playful sea lions or watch a pod of dolphins zip by your Zodiac. Then head ashore to hike amid shifting sand dunes and fascinating flora, from lush mesquite trees to monumental cardón cacti. Discover this awe-inspiring region—blissfully remote yet close to home.

Gray whales have the longest migration of any mammal, traveling 6,000 miles to and from Baja California where we encounter them in their birthing lagoons on the outer coast.

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Discover the Wild Beauty of Baja California

With its pristine coastlines and vivid sea life, Baja California offers spectacular untamed wilderness. Sail aboard our nimble fleet into the biodiverse waters of the Gulf of California, home to more than a third of the world’s marine life. Enjoy thrilling opportunities for up-close encounters with gray whales and their curious calves on panga excursions in birthing lagoons. Spend days discovering vibrant marine life as you snorkel among playful sea lions or watch a pod of dolphins zip by your Zodiac. Then head ashore to hike amid shifting sand dunes and fascinating flora, from lush mesquite trees to monumental cardón cacti. Discover this awe-inspiring region—blissfully remote yet close to home.

Gray whales have the longest migration of any mammal, traveling 6,000 miles to and from Baja California where we encounter them in their birthing lagoons on the outer coast.

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Expedition Highlights

Sail among pristine islands in search of rare endemic creatures. Encounter whales, possibly up close, for an experience that will never leave you. Snorkel with playful sea lions. Hike up arroyos blooming with life and discover medicinal plants. Get a slice of life in rural Baja towns. Kayak, hike, stand-up paddleboard, snorkel, and actively explore this incredible playground of wildness. 

  • Go where the action is and experience the biodiverse hot spots discovered by Lindblad over decades of exploring the region

  • Get close to wildlife while snorkeling with playful sea lions or aboard a Zodiac while cruising among whales or leaping dolphins

  • Discover pristine desert islands known to few and home to strange and interesting endemic species like the rattleless rattlesnake

  • Hike through land-of-the-lost landscapes in forests of giant cacti and bulbous red rocks smoothed by sea and wind over millions of years

  • Explore with a team that’s lived in the region for years and conducted research at many of the sites

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Our Ships in Baja California

National Geographic Sea Bird

National Geographic Venture

National Geographic Global Explorers Program

One of the most rewarding sights on an expedition is witnessing the gleam of discovery in a child’s eyes, whether they’re hiking desert islands or snorkeling with sea lions. Moments like these are abundant in Baja California—and they’re especially meaningful when complemented with the learning opportunities offered through our exclusive National Geographic Global Explorers Program for kids and teens 18 and under.

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Life On Board

Henry David Thoreau called it the "tonic of wildness." It’s what Baja California, with its beauty and wildness intact, gives you—a spirit lift. To compound this healthful effect, add the luxury of comfort to the privilege of being here—with a quality of shipboard life and a philosophy of wellness designed to relax and rejuvenate body, mind, and spirit.

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This Epic Baja Cruise Includes Ocean Kayaking, Beach Biking, and Whale Watching

Watching grey whales is an experience of a lifetime—and one of the best places to see them is off the coast of Baja California Sur. Read Travel + Leisure magazine's report from National Geographic Sea Bird in Baja California.

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Surprising Desert Isles in the Sea of Cortez

Exploring the Sea of Cortez by water alone would make for an incomplete trip. On land, an equally spectacular sort of enchantment awaits if one knows where to look.

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The History & Mystery of Baja’s Gray Whales

The planet’s largest creatures, whales spend the better part of their lives deeply submersed in their private watery world. But in Baja California, it’s a different story. There, in the warm protected lagoons, gray whales are equally curious about us as we are of them.

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Thrilling Encounters: Wild Life in the Sea of Cortez

Lindblad has been taking guests to Baja California, a UNESCO World Heritage Marine Site that Jacques Cousteau called “the world’s aquarium,” for 40 years. Naturalists have deep knowledge of wildlife habits and ship captains have the freedom to position vessels to maximize wildlife viewing.

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Discover Baja California

As one whale spouts in the distance, another spyhops up to take a look around, and yet another might breathe right behind you. You are afraid to turn in another direction because you might miss something. It is immensely exciting because there is so much going on!

Kelly Coursey Gray, Naturalist, February 14, 2022

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Ready for the adventure of a lifetime?

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1.800.397.3348

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Talk to an Expedition Specialist

1.800.397.3348

Call now

Make a reservation

Book Now

Sign up for our newsletter & special offers

sign up

FAQs

FAQs and key information

From climate conditions to water temperature to packing the right footwear, find answers to the questions Expedition Specialists get most often.

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(4) Baja California Itineraries

Baja California

California Coast

A Southern Migration: From the Channel Islands to Baja California

Duration

12 days
Dec

From

$9,444

Prices are per person

Highlights

Baja California

California Coast

A Southern Migration: From the Channel Islands to Baja California

Duration

12 days
Dec

From

$9,444

Top Highlights

  • Discover the incredible biodiversity of Channel Islands National Park, home to over 2,000 species including 145 endemics
  • Go behind the scenes and enjoy a private lunch at a boutique vineyard in the world-renowned Valle de Guadalupe
  • Explore the waters and experience the wildlife of peninsular Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve
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Special Offers

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Baja California

Baja California Holiday Voyage: A Living Sea and Desert Isles

Duration

8 days
Dec

From

$7,556

Prices are per person

Highlights

Baja California

Baja California Holiday Voyage: A Living Sea and Desert Isles

Duration

8 days
Dec

From

$7,556

Top Highlights

  • Spend your holiday season in search of large pods of dolphins, blue and humpback whales, and other marine mammals including sea lions and leaping mobula rays
  • Explore the sculpted desert shoreline by kayak, hike uninhabited beaches, and snorkel among fish and acrobatic sea lions
  • Take in the stunning hues of a Baja California sunset at a festive, holiday-themed beach barbecue
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Special Offers

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Baja California

Baja California: Among the Great Whales

Duration

8 days
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar

From

$7,120

Prices are per person

Highlights

Baja California

Baja California: Among the Great Whales

Duration

8 days
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar

From

$7,120

Top Highlights

  • Board local pangas to encounter California gray whales and their newborn calves up close in lagoons, and witness breaching humpbacks from the bow of our ship, or on Zodiac excursions
  • Hike desert islands and sculpted sand dunes, and look for a variety of wildlife
  • Snorkel with sea lions (conditions permitting) and search for superpods of dolphins amid the pristine coral reefs of Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park
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Special Offers

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Baja California

Wild Baja California Escape: The Whales of Magdalena Bay

Duration

6 days
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar

From

$3,750

Prices are per person

Highlights

Baja California

Wild Baja California Escape: The Whales of Magdalena Bay

Duration

6 days
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar

From

$3,750

Top Highlights

  • Search for gray whale mothers and their calves aboard Zodiacs and local pangas, delighting in up-close encounters
  • Kayak and paddleboard stunning mangroves, or beachcomb along endless beaches
  • Explore diverse landscapes, and ride a fat-tire bike along desert island terrain
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Special Offers

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The whale sightings were fantastic. Touching the gray whales was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Connie C.

Making a Difference

Lindblad Expeditions supports stewardship efforts in the places we explore, and one way we do that is through the Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic (LEX-NG) Fund. Traveler contributions to the LEX-NG Fund in Baja California currently support the Gulf of California Conservation Fund in its efforts to facilitate conservation and research projects across the region.

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Talk to an Expedition Specialist

1.800.397.3348

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Daily Expedition Reports

Follow Along
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Daily Expedition Reports

4/13/2024

Read

National Geographic Venture

Isla Las Animas and Ensenada Puerto Gato, Gulf of California

It’s difficult to capture in just a paragraph all of the fun of our jam-packed day here in the Gulf of California. We were treated to a windless ocean from dawn to dusk. We began the day snorkeling with hundreds of inquisitive Guadalupe fur seals, at a colony on Isla Las Animas that was only discovered in 2019; this was the first such visit for a Lindblad Expedition. The water was relatively warm and clear, making for a fabulous experience in the ocean. En route to our afternoon landing at Ensenada Puerto Gato the ship was accompanied by a superpod of common dolphins that were actively feeding in the productive waters of the Gulf. Hikes, swimming, kayaking, and paddleboarding were all on offer at our afternoon beach landing, in the setting of a beautifully rich red sandstone landscape. Phew, what a day!

Daily Expedition Reports

4/12/2024

Read

National Geographic Venture

San Jose del Cabo

Today we visited the southernmost Jesuit Mission site, San Jose del Cabo. Established in 1730 by father Nicola Tamaral, this picturesque town is now the capital of the municipality and offers an array of cultural and culinary options to our guests. We began with a visit to the Estero de Las Palmas, one of the most important refuges for migratory and resident birds, including three endemic species. Afterwards, we had the chance to explore downtown, enjoying some local delicacies as well as the company of the always-friendly local inhabitants. After returning to the ship, we continued sailing in search of wildlife.

Daily Expedition Reports

4/11/2024

Read

National Geographic Venture

Cabo Pulmo National Park

This morning we were awakened by the sweet voice of Expedition Leader Paula Tagle announcing that we had bottlenose dolphins off the bow of National Geographic Venture. The dolphins were mesmerizing and stayed with us until just before breakfast.   After breakfast we snorkeled inside the national park, swimming with horse-eyed jacks, a curious hawksbill turtle, and a myriad of colorful reef fish on one of the northernmost coral reefs in the northern hemisphere. Throughout the morning humpback whales came and went, offering us looks at their lives here in their breeding and calving grounds.   Our afternoon was spent looking for even more humpback whales off Gorda Banks. Several animals gave us distant breaches, but the humpback crowd was relatively quiet this afternoon. Just as the sun was setting a large pod of bottlenose dolphins came to the bow and showed off for us in the last rays of sunshine. We both started and ended our daylight hours in the presence of bottlenose dolphins, fitting tribute to the marine mammals here in the Sea of Cortez.

Daily Expedition Reports

4/10/2024

Read

National Geographic Venture

Isla San Jose and Isla San Francisco

Isla San Jose’s lowlands have a thick cardon cactus forest and many animals, as evident by the scat we found just above the beach from burros, sheep, and rabbits. The beach itself had many interesting items to examine and the water was clear and cool for swimming.   Isla San Francisco is distinguished by its massive salt flat in the middle of two pink and olive green striped rocky headlands. The salt flat has manmade trenches that capture water at high tide and allows for salt formation. This is then collected and used by a small community nearby.

Daily Expedition Reports

4/13/2024

Read

National Geographic Venture

Isla Las Animas and Ensenada Puerto Gato, Gulf of California

It’s difficult to capture in just a paragraph all of the fun of our jam-packed day here in the Gulf of California. We were treated to a windless ocean from dawn to dusk. We began the day snorkeling with hundreds of inquisitive Guadalupe fur seals, at a colony on Isla Las Animas that was only discovered in 2019; this was the first such visit for a Lindblad Expedition. The water was relatively warm and clear, making for a fabulous experience in the ocean. En route to our afternoon landing at Ensenada Puerto Gato the ship was accompanied by a superpod of common dolphins that were actively feeding in the productive waters of the Gulf. Hikes, swimming, kayaking, and paddleboarding were all on offer at our afternoon beach landing, in the setting of a beautifully rich red sandstone landscape. Phew, what a day!

Daily Expedition Reports

4/12/2024

Read

National Geographic Venture

San Jose del Cabo

Today we visited the southernmost Jesuit Mission site, San Jose del Cabo. Established in 1730 by father Nicola Tamaral, this picturesque town is now the capital of the municipality and offers an array of cultural and culinary options to our guests. We began with a visit to the Estero de Las Palmas, one of the most important refuges for migratory and resident birds, including three endemic species. Afterwards, we had the chance to explore downtown, enjoying some local delicacies as well as the company of the always-friendly local inhabitants. After returning to the ship, we continued sailing in search of wildlife.

Daily Expedition Reports

4/11/2024

Read

National Geographic Venture

Cabo Pulmo National Park

This morning we were awakened by the sweet voice of Expedition Leader Paula Tagle announcing that we had bottlenose dolphins off the bow of National Geographic Venture. The dolphins were mesmerizing and stayed with us until just before breakfast.   After breakfast we snorkeled inside the national park, swimming with horse-eyed jacks, a curious hawksbill turtle, and a myriad of colorful reef fish on one of the northernmost coral reefs in the northern hemisphere. Throughout the morning humpback whales came and went, offering us looks at their lives here in their breeding and calving grounds.   Our afternoon was spent looking for even more humpback whales off Gorda Banks. Several animals gave us distant breaches, but the humpback crowd was relatively quiet this afternoon. Just as the sun was setting a large pod of bottlenose dolphins came to the bow and showed off for us in the last rays of sunshine. We both started and ended our daylight hours in the presence of bottlenose dolphins, fitting tribute to the marine mammals here in the Sea of Cortez.

Daily Expedition Reports

4/10/2024

Read

National Geographic Venture

Isla San Jose and Isla San Francisco

Isla San Jose’s lowlands have a thick cardon cactus forest and many animals, as evident by the scat we found just above the beach from burros, sheep, and rabbits. The beach itself had many interesting items to examine and the water was clear and cool for swimming.   Isla San Francisco is distinguished by its massive salt flat in the middle of two pink and olive green striped rocky headlands. The salt flat has manmade trenches that capture water at high tide and allows for salt formation. This is then collected and used by a small community nearby.

Daily Expedition Reports

4/13/2024

Read

National Geographic Venture

Isla Las Animas and Ensenada Puerto Gato, Gulf of California

It’s difficult to capture in just a paragraph all of the fun of our jam-packed day here in the Gulf of California. We were treated to a windless ocean from dawn to dusk. We began the day snorkeling with hundreds of inquisitive Guadalupe fur seals, at a colony on Isla Las Animas that was only discovered in 2019; this was the first such visit for a Lindblad Expedition. The water was relatively warm and clear, making for a fabulous experience in the ocean. En route to our afternoon landing at Ensenada Puerto Gato the ship was accompanied by a superpod of common dolphins that were actively feeding in the productive waters of the Gulf. Hikes, swimming, kayaking, and paddleboarding were all on offer at our afternoon beach landing, in the setting of a beautifully rich red sandstone landscape. Phew, what a day!

Daily Expedition Reports

4/12/2024

Read

National Geographic Venture

San Jose del Cabo

Today we visited the southernmost Jesuit Mission site, San Jose del Cabo. Established in 1730 by father Nicola Tamaral, this picturesque town is now the capital of the municipality and offers an array of cultural and culinary options to our guests. We began with a visit to the Estero de Las Palmas, one of the most important refuges for migratory and resident birds, including three endemic species. Afterwards, we had the chance to explore downtown, enjoying some local delicacies as well as the company of the always-friendly local inhabitants. After returning to the ship, we continued sailing in search of wildlife.

Daily Expedition Reports

4/11/2024

Read

National Geographic Venture

Cabo Pulmo National Park

This morning we were awakened by the sweet voice of Expedition Leader Paula Tagle announcing that we had bottlenose dolphins off the bow of National Geographic Venture. The dolphins were mesmerizing and stayed with us until just before breakfast.   After breakfast we snorkeled inside the national park, swimming with horse-eyed jacks, a curious hawksbill turtle, and a myriad of colorful reef fish on one of the northernmost coral reefs in the northern hemisphere. Throughout the morning humpback whales came and went, offering us looks at their lives here in their breeding and calving grounds.   Our afternoon was spent looking for even more humpback whales off Gorda Banks. Several animals gave us distant breaches, but the humpback crowd was relatively quiet this afternoon. Just as the sun was setting a large pod of bottlenose dolphins came to the bow and showed off for us in the last rays of sunshine. We both started and ended our daylight hours in the presence of bottlenose dolphins, fitting tribute to the marine mammals here in the Sea of Cortez.

Daily Expedition Reports

4/10/2024

Read

National Geographic Venture

Isla San Jose and Isla San Francisco

Isla San Jose’s lowlands have a thick cardon cactus forest and many animals, as evident by the scat we found just above the beach from burros, sheep, and rabbits. The beach itself had many interesting items to examine and the water was clear and cool for swimming.   Isla San Francisco is distinguished by its massive salt flat in the middle of two pink and olive green striped rocky headlands. The salt flat has manmade trenches that capture water at high tide and allows for salt formation. This is then collected and used by a small community nearby.

Baja California is arguably the best place in the world to see whales in good conditions—humpback, gray, fin, blue, pilot—to name the most likely.

Sven-Olof Lindblad

Talk to an Expedition Specialist

1.800.397.3348

Call now

Make a reservation

Book Now

Sign up for our newsletter & special offers

Sign up

Talk to an Expedition Specialist

1.800.397.3348

Call now

Make a reservation

Book Now

Sign up for our newsletter & special offers

Sign up

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