Wildlife Tours in La Paz: The 10 We Would Rebook

1.Adventure to Espiritu Santo Island: Snorkel with Sea Lions and Beach

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 661 reviews · 7 hours (approx.) · from $136Our pick

From La Paz, take a small boat to Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida with a marine biologist guide such as Lorenza, Omar, or Juan Carlos. Snorkel near Los Islotes, enjoy ceviche or a vegan lunch on a sandy beach, and look for dolphins, whales, mobulas, birds, and colorful fish. Sea lion access varies by season.

“We had the best time with our guide Lorenza and our captain Victor. We saw sea lions, sunfish, dolphins, and humpback whales, not to mention tons of tropical fish. The lunch was delicious as well. Lorenza was passionate about the sea life and provided interesting information along the way. Highly recommend! We will use MTA for future explorations for sure. Thanks for the memories!”

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2.Whale Shark snorkeling tour in a reduced group with local marine biologist

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 594 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $190

Meet MeXplore in central La Paz for a small-group whale shark snorkeling trip led by a marine biologist such as Angel, Carla, or Maria. You’ll receive a wetsuit, mask, snorkel, fins, safety briefing, and several surface swims, with snacks and GoPro photos included. The tour usually lasts about three hours.

“Our whale shark tour was canceled the afternoon before the trip, due to the harbor being closed due to wind. This is not the operators fault, however we found out cancelations are way more common than the operators will tell you, especially in January, February and March. Fortunately we found other tours and still had a great time. The area has a lot to offer other than awesome whale sharks!”

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3.Espiritu Santo Island Snorkel & Sea Lion Adventure

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 172 reviews · 7 hours (approx.) · from $145

From Marina Asipona in La Paz, you’ll cruise to Isla los Islotes to snorkel near hundreds of sea lions, then stop at Ensenada Grande for ceviche, sandwiches, drinks, and beach time. A local English-speaking guide, boat crew, snorkeling gear, and winter wetsuit are included. Guides such as Maritza, Gale, and Juan-Manuel are known for clear wildlife explanations.

“From start to finish this was a top notch trip. Emails before hand with details, plenty of wetsuits, fins etc, clean boat (with a toilet!) and a great host and driver. The scenery was fantastic. The water was very cold but doable (just doable for me as I hate cold water) . Can’t say we were surrounded by seals bur we certainly got up close with a few darting about under us. Great to see them move underwater and pop up near you. Lunch was on a beautiful beach with only a couple of other boats. We ate on the boat which was good as we had somewhere to sit…”

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4.Espiritu Santo Island: Snorkeling Sea Lion Adventure

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 167 reviews · 6 hours · from $133

Leave La Paz at 9:00 am in a shaded, cushioned boat for a small-group trip to Espíritu Santo Island. With guides such as Mateo, Omar, or Juan Carlos, you’ll snorkel near sea lions when conditions allow, visit reefs and bird colonies, eat fresh ceviche on a quiet beach, and return around 3:30 pm.

“Amazing. Snorkeling with the Sea Lions was amazing. Really nice lunch on a lovely beach (just our group) and on the way back we even saw one of the last wales swimming north. Great day!”

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5.Ocean Safari: Sea Lions, Mobula Rays, Dolphins, Orcas & Whales

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 85 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $179

From La Ventana, you’ll spend about five hours on a panga searching for mobula rays, dolphins, whales, and possibly orcas. Swim or snorkel only if you are a confident ocean swimmer. Guides such as Juan, Alejandro, and Andrea are praised for spotting animals and putting their welfare first. Lunch and snorkel gear are included.

“The captain and tour guide very helpful and good at finding animals in the ocean!we can see humpback whales, sperm whale, dolphins, mobula rays…So much fun!”

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6.La Paz Whale Shark & Sea Lion Snorkeling + Balandra Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 78 reviews · 6 hours (approx.) · from $250

Join Tuna Tuna Tours for a six-hour La Paz boat trip with a marine biologist, snorkeling near whale sharks and sea lions, and relaxing at Balandra. Guides such as Stephanie, Christian, Cristian, and Juan Carlos have helped guests spot animals, follow safety rules, and capture underwater photos and videos. Lunch, wetsuits, drinks, and gear are included.

“Snorkeling trip of a lifetime! My boyfriend and I have never done anything like that and we’re so glad we were able to. Maritza and Marco did an amazing job! They answered questions we had about the fish and areas we visited and did a great job taking care of us! We were able to get great views of the whales and sounds like we had a better system and actually got to spend more than the usual 5 minutes in the water than other companies with larger groups, we were a small one!”

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7.Espiritu Santo Island and sea lions

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 50 reviews · 6 hours (approx.) · from $131Best value

Spend about six hours cruising from La Paz to Espiritu Santo National Park, snorkeling near a sea lion colony, and relaxing on an island beach. Guides such as Cristian, Edwin, Magy, Ángel, and Manolo have led trips, with marine biology, local wildlife, lunch, drinks, and snorkeling gear included. Groups are capped at 18 people.

“Bi lingual marine biologist guide! Great boat captain! Super informative! Edwin the Guide towed our young kids along (even though they’re very good swimmers) on a life preserver while swimming with the seals. So pro!”

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8.Scuba Dive in La Paz: Sea Lions, Turtles, Fish Schools and Wrecks

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 47 reviews · 7 hours (approx.) · from $226

Meet at 8:30 am on La Paz’s Malecón for two guided scuba descents, usually near sea lion colonies, reefs or wrecks. Omar may help tailor the sites to your level and interests. Expect a small group of up to six, lunch on a beach, snacks and water. Equipment rental is extra, and certification is required.

“The scuba dive was awesome, shoutout to Omar for being such a great dive guide. We saw sea lions and hammerheads!! Truly amazing.”

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9.Gray Whale Watching Tour with Marine Biologist and Small Group

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 37 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $376

Travel from La Paz to Puerto Chale for three hours among migrating gray whales with marine biologist Valentina. This small-group tour carries no more than six people and includes hotel pickup, round-trip transport, boat time, snacks, drinks, and a fresh local seafood lunch prepared by the captain’s wife.

“Valentina was a tremendous source of knowledge for our whale watching experience and education. We were able to see countless gray whales involved in different behaviors and settings. It was a fabulous trip with safe drivers and boat captains.”

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10.Mobulas and Cetaceans Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 33 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $270

Set out from Playa Central in La Ventana with Apex Ocean Divers for a five-hour Sea of Cortez safari. Guides such as Nick use a drone to help locate mobulas, dolphins, and whales, while the crew keeps encounters calm and respectful. Snorkeling gear, wetsuits, lunch, and fruit are included. Pickup from La Paz or Cabo costs extra.

“Apex Ocean Divers was absolutely incredible! Nick was an amazing tour guide — with his drone he spotted mobulas, dolphins, and humpback whales, and the footage he captured was truly impressive. The interaction with the animals was handled with great respect at all times. It was simply an unforgettable experience!”

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