In January, Johnny and I had the pleasure of visiting Todos Santos, Mexico with a couple of our friends for a much-needed escape from the New York winter.
I’ve been on lots of vacations in my day, but this trip was one of my favorites ever. We surfed. We sunbathed. We ate at least 1,200 tacos. It was the most relaxed I’ve felt in a long time, and I already have a growing list of things I want to do on my next visit.
If you’re thinking of visiting Todos Santos or looking for the perfect vacation spot in Baja California, I highly recommend it. Here are a few of the highlights.
Visiting Todos Santos, Mexico
Todos Santos is a small coastal town on the Baja Peninsula—that little arm that juts out of Mexico’s western side into the Pacific Ocean. It’s about an hour north of Cabo, which is where we flew in after connecting from the U.S. in Mexico City.
We rented a car in Cabo and drove the rest of the way from the airport. Although this isn’t something I’d typically do on vacation, renting a car is a good idea for visiting this area. It’s more remote than a destination like Cabo or Cancun, so having a car is a must for being able to fully explore it.
We stayed in an AirBnb in Cerritos Beach outside the village of El Pescadero. El Pescadero is about 8 miles south of Todos Santos. We originally aimed to stay closer to town, but ran into some double-booking issues when we were setting up our stay. The place we wound up staying was insanely beautiful and about a five-minute stroll to the Pacific Ocean, so I’m actually glad things worked out the way they did. It had a ground-floor patio where we ate homemade breakfast tacos and a rooftop terrace where we drank many beers. We fell asleep each night listening to the crashing waves.
Todos Santos is the perfect destination for you if you’re into the outdoors, surfing, hiking, culture, great food, relaxation and a slow pace. Todos Santos is not for you if you’re looking for the tequila-fueled party experience a la Señor Frogs. Don’t get me wrong—there’s plenty of tequila to be had in Todos Santos, it’ll just be served to you in the most perfectly crafted margarita at an open-air taco place instead of poured straight into your mouth by a waitress in a bikini top.
Playa Los Cerritos
Playa Los Cerritos, or Cerritos Beach, is a crescent-shaped, cliff-framed beach about a mile and a half off highway 19, which runs up and down Mexico’s Pacific coast. There are a handful of restaurants and small hotels dotting the beach, but it’s nothing like the typical oceanside town where every inch of sand is covered with beachfront property. I loved that there was so little development (although word on the street is that that may be changing soon).
We started every morning by making the short walk from our AirBnb down the bumpy dirt road to the beach, where surfers were camped out in tents and in the backs of vans waiting for sunrise.
If you’re interested in surfing—which is definitely a good reason to visit—you can rent a board by the day or week from one of the locals who set up shop on the sand. I sook a surf lesson one day and spent a couple more days going out on my own with a rented board, while my husband did a weeklong rental. My surfing abilities are the equivalent of Jerry Springer’s cha-cha skills on Dancing With The Stars, but it was still so much fun and a great workout to play in the waves.
We ate so many amazing meals in and around Playa Los Cerritos during our trip, but my favorite were the fish tacos at Barracuda Cantina a short walk off the beach. Honorable mentions include breakfast overlooking the beach at Beach Club Cerritos Surf Town and more fish tacos at Shaka’s Cantina.
Hacienda Cerritos
If you google ‘Playa Los Cerritos,’ 90 percent of the resulting images feature a gorgeous Spanish estate perched on the edge of the rocky cliffs at the north end of the beach (see the photos above). This is Hacienda Cerritos.
The property is stunning. There are arching ceilings, giant chandeliers, infinity pools overlooking the Pacific, a swim-up bar, the list goes on. We stopped in for sunset cocktails on the hotel’s terrace one of the first nights of our trip.
Not only is it the best spot in the area to watch the sunset, but about four months out of the year you can also spot whales jumping and playing in the foreground. We were there during one of those times, and the whole experience was surreal. The tequila may have been a contributing factor, but it truly took my breath away.
If you’re in the area, you can’t miss stopping by Hacienda Cerritos to take in the view. They also sell a day pass to the pool for something like $30.
Punta Lobos
North of Cerritos Beach before you reach Todos Santos, you’ll find Punta Lobos. This beach is where groups of local fishermen launch their fishing boats for the day, which we heard is fun to watch, but we came for the nearby hiking.
The trail begins slightly inland from the beach and winds gently up the cacti-covered hill toward the south. After about a 45-minute hike, you’ll reach a lookout point that offers some amazing views and photo opps.
The best part, though, is if you continue to follow the trail down the opposite side of the hill. It’ll lead you down the cliffs to a rocky inlet with the most crystal clear turquoise water I’ve ever seen. We climbed down at low tide and dove in to cool off. My phone almost took a dip as well, but thankfully my husband’s reflexes were quicker than the waves.
This is also a great a spot for seal sightings! We couldn’t see them super well without binoculars, but we could hear them barking and splashing as they played on one of the nearby cliffs.
After our hike and completely by chance, we stumbled on the most perfect, secluded beach bar called Pura Playa. It’s down a seemingly endless dirt road that to be honest, I don’t even remember why we were driving on. Suddenly, the road opened up to this open-air gem. The place was totally deserted and the handful of surfers in the water had the waves to themselves. This is the place I’ll forever daydream about when I think of Mexico.
Downtown Todos Santos
The funny thing about our trip to Todos Santos is that we didn’t spend a ton of time in the town itself. It’s adorable and charming and there’s plenty to see, but we spent the majority of our time at the beach and doing other outdoorsy things. It was just too beautiful outside to spend the day in a museum!
If you’re into culture, though, you’ll find a ton in downtown Todos Santos. The city was founded as a Spanish mission in the early 1700’s, and many of the historic buildings and churches remain. We had meals at the Hotel California (not the Eagles namesake, despite local lore) and La Catrina, both of which were very good.
This trip was utter relaxation and such a necessary break–both from the arctic freeze and the daily grind. If you’re thinking of planning a trip to Mexico, I can’t say enough good things about this area. I want to go back ASAP and see more of the Baja Peninsula! Have you ever been to Mexico?
