FAMILY BASE CAMP
Kayaking, Stand Up Paddle Boarding, Hiking, and Whale Watching on the Sea of Cortez
ADVENTURE TYPE
FamilyHikingKayakSUP
EXPERIENCE NECESSARY
No experience necessary
AGE MINIMUM
9
DESTINATION/LOCATION
Isla del Carmen, Baja Mexico
Trip Dates
Call for dates
Duration
5 days
Cost
$1,595
Highlights
- Take your family on an unforgettable adventure
- Kayaking, snorkeling, stand up paddle boarding all available
- Fewer camps gives everyone more time to play
- Kid-friendly staff helps keep children engaged
- Beautiful campsites and delicious meals
FAMILY KAYAK TRIP ON THE BAJA PENINSULA
To book your custom family base camp trip we do require a minimum of 8 guests. If your family group is smaller, consider flying down with favorite friends or extended family members to share the adventure of a lifetime. Just call us to discuss what dates work best for your group.
Most of Sea Trek’s trips are designed for people age 14 and up, and it’s expected everyone can keep up with the group. However, we realize that many parents want to give their children an appreciation of the outdoors, and a custom family base camp trip in Baja is an excellent way to do that while allowing a pace that works for your family.
The family base camp trip provides a little bit of everything: whale watching; kayaking; stand-up paddling; snorkeling. Rather than breaking camp and moving to a new location every day, family trips will stay at two of the best campsites on Carmen and Danzante. We have found that families get more out of the week if they are allowed to settle into a few places.
On Carmen and Danzante Islands, our kid-friendly staff will make sure that the children are as active as they want to be. They can go snorkeling, fishing, paddling, beachcombing, make sand castles or hang out. Parents can be off-duty or involved depending on their inclination at the time, and of course our staff provides food and drinks.
ITINERARY
Your adventure begins with a pre-trip orientation with your guides in the afternoon before launch day. We will communicate and coordinate in advance with all guests the time and location for a comfortable outside meeting at a convenient location in town. At this orientation session, our guides will explain the trip logistics in more detail and answer any questions you may have. Afterward, you are free to explore Loreto’s 300+ year old history and enjoy the charming shops and rich selection of restaurants.
We will pick you up from your hotel and transport you to our launching point. We will load all of our gear into a Mexican motorboat called a panga. We will then paddle, depending on conditions, to our first camp. Your guides will point out Los Candeleros Islands, small rocks jutting above the water that serve as a home to cormorants, boobies, and ospreys. After paddling along the coast of Isla Danzante, we make a second crossing to the northeast to Isla del Carmen. Keep an eye out for pods of dolphins or even a blue whale during the crossing. After setting up camp on Isla del Carmen, the afternoon is yours to spend as you wish. Stand-up paddle boards, snorkeling equipment, and relaxing chairs are all available.
After a hearty Mexican breakfast, it’s time for a day trip! We explore the coves around Isla del Carmen, and eventually make an afternoon stop at a secluded beach, which you are free to explore via hiking, paddle boarding, or snorkeling. Upon returning to camp for the night, your guides prepare a feast of yellowtail, herbed rice, mixed green salad and tortillas.
After two nights on Isla del Carmen, we’ll cross back to Isla Danzante in the morning to set up camp at a new location surrounded by massive rock formations. There’s more opportunity for exploration and meditation among these rocks, and another delicious meal as the sun sinks beneath the turquoise-colored waves
Another day on Isla Danzante will give you additional time to contemplate the natural beauty all around you. The waters of the Sea of Cortez are breathtaking, often appearing a light turquoise color, and the desert landscape is a sharp red, especially the cliffs and rocks that dot the island. Spend your time snorkeling, paddle boarding, or hiking to a promontory that gives you an excellent 360-degree view of the islands and Baja peninsula.
Today is our final crossing, back to the Baja Peninsula. The sun rises over the Sea of Cortez one last time, making fiery colors briefly appear on the turquoise-hued water. We’ll have breakfast, pack up, and paddle back to Puerto Escondido for the take-out, where a van will be waiting to take us back to Loreto and your hotel.
Your guides can help you arrange transportation so you show up at the airport on time. If you need to leave early to make a flight, you can leave right away. If you leave later, you can take some more time to explore La Paz before saying adios.
Destination
This trip begins at Loreto. Located on the lower part of the eastern gulf coastline, this town has long been a destination for people seeking a wilderness adventure.
While many people with the time and patience enjoy driving into Loreto from San Diego via Federal Highway 1, the easiest way is to fly into the nearby international airport. Alaska Air/Horizon flies directly to Loreto from Los Angeles, and AereoCalafia offers direct flights into Loreto from Tijuana. You can also try reaching the town by flying to La Paz or Cabo, and getting a connecting flight or other form of transportation from there. Contact us for more information on traveling to Loreto.
More Info
Accommodations
Hotel accommodations are not included in the trip package. You will want to book accommodations for at least the night before the first published day of the trip, and then again for the night of the last published day of the trip. On some trips you are welcome to fly out on the same afternoon that the trip ends, as long as the flight departs at 4 pm or later. For our confirmed clients, we are pleased to offer the services of our preferred Travel Planners, to assist with all of your flight and hotel needs. Although limited in number, visitors to Loreto have lodging choices that range from Luxury to budget. Our travel planner will assist you in determining lodging that fits your preferences. Our Travel planners are seasoned Baja veterans, and will help you find the best flight arrangements as well, so that your trip planning is smooth and efficient.
Packing List
You’ll be provided a detailed, official packing list upon reserving a trip with Sea Trek, but you may wish to keep the following list in mind while you prepare:
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JOIN THE ADVENTURE
Ages 9 years old and up. Please call for questions about kids under 9 years old.
If you have any questions feel free to contact us.+
READ SOME OF OUR REVIEWS
Three friends and I were dazzled by this group of professional, safety minded people. Advice is freely given by all and it is good advice. Amazing food – think fish caught and made into scrumptious meals like clams on the half shell and ceviche. Star gazing with stories about the constellations, going to sleep with the sounds of blue whales, jumping into the boats and racing to get in the middle of a school of dolphins who played in the wake. Kayak trips at different levels for those of us who are not as skilled but still want the adventure. It was all fabulous. I would recommend this trip to anyone who enjoys paddling, sleeping on the beach, and good company. As a group of over sixties, we felt well taken care of and safe. Keep up the good work, Sea Trek. You are a jewel.
- Trip Advisor
Sea Trek makes you feel welcomed and cared for as soon as you arrive in Loretto. Actually, as soon as you call them months in advance to ask about trip details. The kayaking is beautiful, the sea life swimming beside and below you – whales, dolphins, eels…. The food fresh and tasty, changing each day. An incredible, experience; easy to make the trip what you want… adventurous or relaxing, you choose… they make it happen.
- Trip Advisor
Our kayaking camping trip from Loreto Mexico was an amazing nature experience. Sea Trek did a great job with answering all the pre-trip questions from my wife and I. The trip itself from Loreto to the islands of Danzante and Carmen was rich in marine and bird life and seeing the blue whales (again and again!) was life altering. The guides were truly experts and a pleasure to be with whether in the water or on a day hike. The meals were yummy, often including a fresh catch of the day. And then there is that celestial night sky…..We want to go back!
- Trip Advisor
The Classic Island and Whale Watch tour was an incredible experience. The guides were pleasant, organized, knowledgeable, accommodating, and excellent chefs! Each individual in our group was asked what they were most interested in doing/seeing during the tour and our guides delivered. We have already recommended Sea Trek to friends and family.
- Trip Advisor
The guides were amazing; the scenery breathtaking; the food outstanding. Can’t say enough good things – I HIGHLY recommend it!!
- Trip Advisor
Seatrek provided a memorable experience! Joey Heusler, our guide, was extremely knowledgeable about whales and with the Seatrek staff, took us to Magdalena Bay, where we had two trips out to see the Gray whales with their calves, and then on to the Sea of Cortez for a four day kayaking and camping trip on the islands. We saw eight Blue Whales, including one passing right by our island camp! A first time for most of us. The food prepared by the staff was wonderful and everything was done for our safety and comfort. Could not recommend this trip more highly!
- Trip Advisor
We took the SUP option for paddling out to and around these beautiful islands in the Sea of Cortez. I was very glad we did, as SUPing is what we’re used to when paddling at home, and it provides a great vantage down through the clear water, a full-body workout, and for me more comfort than sitting. We definitely weren’t slowing down the group, and several others wanted to try it out from camp. It was easy to hop on the SUPs just to get a little morning exercise, to find the best snorkeling, and for an absolutely amazing Bioluminescence paddle.
This was a wonderful trip. And a side benefit was how pretty, friendly and easy Loreto is.
- Trip Advisor
Excellent food, excellent guides, excellent experience, excellent gear, excellent camping, excellent snorkeling, excellent camaraderie — everything was wonderful!
I had a great time! I feel like a new person! The whale watching was great, we also saw dolphins, pelicans and a variety of other animals. I highly recommend Sea Trek Baja trips for solo, couples and families — you will be thrilled that you did it.
- Trip Advisor
This was my 3rd trip with Sea Trek in Baja. My wife and I have gone twice and I went once by myself. I love this place. Beautiful water, desert mountains, cool wildlife and it is in Mexico, a warm and charming culture. Steve, the Baja Big Cheese, has a knack for picking awesome staff. These are the kind of people I wish I had here at home to hang out with. My only complaint is that the trip is too short.
- Trip Advisor
Words cannot express how wonderful this experience was. I went on the paddleboarding excursion with a friend in November. The weather was perfect! The paddling was amazing. The guides were helpful, knowledgeable professional and made sure that every camper got what they were expecting from the trip. We camped on the most beautiful beaches, snorkeled some beautiful spots, went fishing and diving and hiking. Such a full featured experience. I am changed forever. Can’t wIt to go back and do it again!!! Worth every penny!!!!
- Trip Advisor
I did a sea trek meditation retreat in Baja this season. From the very start all communication was timely, friendly and organised. Once I arrived in Loreto they were very accommodating. The kayaks were good kayaks and the guides incomparable. Cannot recommend Sea Trek and Baja enough. Thank you for helping making this experience the trip of a life time for me.
- Trip Advisor