With flight prices being so darn expensive to visit the parts of Mexico we really wanted to see at the time, it forced me to look at spots that were more affordable to fly. I’m not super interested in going to Baja California, but I decided a low-key spot would be welcome. Since I had already visited the southern part of Baja California Sur, I decided to look elsewhere and decided on La Paz.
At first I was a bit nervous staying there since I knew cruise ships visit; however, I looked at the port schedule and saw they weren’t stopping often, and there weren’t a bunch of ships at the same time. I figured the cruise passengers would be easy enough to avoid.
Getting to La Paz
One of the first challenges of visiting La Paz is actually getting there from the international airport (SJD). One could fly to the La Paz airport from SJD, but that’s a bit more pricey than I wanted. There are some private shuttle companies, but the most reasonable one has a policy that if you miss the shuttle you reserved, you will have to buy a new ticket. There is a way of getting there by local buses, but it’s not an easy feat, and after a longish flight I’m not interested in going through a bunch of extra hassle.
In the end, I opted to hire a private driver. Generally, you can expect to pay about $100 USD for that ride. It’s about a 2-1/2-hour drive. So the higher price is a bit more understandable when you know they’re basically taking up at least 5 hours of their day, plus gas and tolls, to come get you and return to La Paz.
Do keep in mind, though, that for extra reliability and comfort, you’ll need to pay more. Our prearranged driver was late, and so we ended up having to wait for about 2 hours for her to arrive. This on top of the long drive to La Paz created a very long day for us. “You get what you pay for” may warrant paying extra for a more comfortable and less annoying ride. Or hopping on another flight.
The return trip can be done by shuttle more easily since you won’t have to worry about possibly missing it due to a flight delay, etc. We did ask our Airbnb host for a reference, and that driver was much better and charged us less as well.
Incidentally, if you’re going to La Paz and would like to use our driver, just shoot me an email through our contact form. He uses WhatsApp. I’ve shared his number with others, and they reported he was really great for them as well. They also used him for some day trips. It won’t be a fancy car, but it was comfortable, and he’s reliable and cool to visit with. He does speak little English, but they had no problems communicating with him even though they don’t speak Spanish.
Eating in La Paz
If you’ve been following this blog for at least a bit, you know food is a big part of my travels. So, naturally, I do have some recommendations.
Mercado Municipal General Nicolás Bravo: This is one of the fresh markets. As is common, you will also find food vendors outside as well as indoors in the kind of food court area. I tried a couple of different ones, and they were really good. You will not find tourist food here, which is something I really enjoy. Each time we visited, I rarely saw another foreigner.
Maria California: This ended up being our favorite restaurant. Everything tasted very fresh, and their coffee drinks were fabulous! We could actually go there just for their coffee. They had a great amount of different options on their menu. Great spot for breakfast or lunch.
Los Magueyes: Also known as Jose Magueyes. If you’re wanting a more festive atmosphere and perhaps foods you are more familiar with, this is a pretty good stop. Portions are quite large. It can get a bit on the loud side, but it wasn’t a problem for us to hear each other and speak normally. If you have some people who are more sensitive to noise with you, you’ll want to avoid this place.
Mc Fisher: Also known as Mac Fisher. You will likely find more tourists here, but don’t let that stop you. They had really great food and drinks, and service was top-notch. Their salsas were amazing, too, and it’s one of the few places in the world where I felt like one of their salsas was a bit spicy (which is something I LOVE).
Roticerias Jerico: This is a place that roasts chicken and ribs, and it was quite good. He’s spent a good amount of time in the US, so if you don’t speak Spanish that’s absolutely no problem. We found him entertaining to visit with, and his food was so good we got stuff from him at least a few times during our stay.
Generally speaking, avoiding any place along the malecón will be in your best interest. Not only to save money, but the food is often quite meh, especially for the price. However, I will say the ice cream/shaved ice place called Señor Raspado is worth it. They had some great options including some very traditional Mexican choices.
Activities in La Paz
Unfortunately, I can’t really offer any advice here. We were mostly there to chill out. I did explore some whale watching tours, but it was a bit too early in the season still. There is one that is led by a marine biologist who funnels the money into conservation efforts, and he was very honest with me when we communicated about the possibility of a tour, etc.
Walking along the malecón was often enjoyable. In the morning, it can be fun to see daily life, pelicans landing in their most ungraceful way. In the evening, you can enjoy some beautiful sunsets. We were there shortly after Christmas, and the area known as Explanada Malecón had some fun Christmas decorations.
If you’re traveling with children who have mobility challenges or other physical challenges, there is a fabulous park along the beach that is dedicated to differently abled children and had wheelchair-accessible rides, etc. It was kind of impressive since I haven’t seen many of these anywhere else in the world. So kudos to the local government!
The area around the cathedral and the Museo de Arte de Baja California Sur was also interesting to walk around. We didn’t go inside either buildings, but from what I saw online the museum looked quite promising if you enjoy art museums.
While walking around, look around at buildings because there is a lot of beautiful street art in La Paz.
Overall Impressions of La Paz
La Paz is a very large city, but if you’re near the coastline it’s very quiet. Actually, it’s probably the most quiet city we’ve been to in Mexico. We didn’t have tons of frequent fireworks, roosters in the morning, vendors going up and down the street playing music or making other noise, etc. Our place was like a block from a popular skateboard park, and they did play loud music at night, but it always got quiet at about around 10 p.m., so even that wasn’t an issue.
Is La Paz worth visiting?
If you’re looking for a sleepy area to just kind of chillax, this is a decent spot. I appreciated it more than San José del Cabo. Most tourists were Mexican nationals. Cruise passengers typically stay along the malecón so were very easy to avoid. It’s easy to experience the local culture.
Have you been? What was your experience?
