5 hours in Playa Balandra, Mexico

Our favorite travels to Mexico usually include the South part of Baja. We visit Todos Santos frequently and have started to fly into La Paz opposed to the San Jose del Cabo Airport.

The main reason for La Paz is the ease of the airport and the lower cost.

This last trip to The Baja we spent most of our time in Todos Santos (hopefully our future home!) and I had a goal to not only relax but also explore the beaches of La Paz. We decided to take a 10pm flight home and utilize the extra time we had in the afternoon exploring the beautiful beaches we saw pictures of on the 'Gram. 

I hadn't set my toes in the Sea of Cortez for almost two years and even then I wasn't able to swim in the water because my family typically stays at Sunset Beach Hotel in the most Southern part of Cabo San Lucas. This part of Mexico has very rough waters and harsh crashing shore break. The hotel even has lifeguards that will ask you to move away from the water if they feel you are walking too close to the shore.

La Paz is about 2 hours north of Cabo and has always intrigued me.

The vibe I got while googling this town was "local and low key" which is great because I don’t like playing tourist. The way I like to travel is to pretend I am a local, yes, I try my best to speak the language and have a goal of learning a new word and phrase wherever we go. I also don’t bring heals or fancy clothes (I actually don’t own any heals which creates a problem when we are invited to a wedding LOL) and keep it as casual as possible.

My search for crystal-clear warm water landed us in Playa Balandra, which is about 30 minutes away from the La Paz airport.

There are a few little beaches that you can pull over at before you get to the famous Playa Balandra, which I highly recommend you do.

Playa Balandra was VERY busy. Upon arrival cars were lined up on both sides of the tiny street. We almost changed our plans in the moment but decided to power through. While looking for parking in the “parking lot” we questioned if we had forgotten a holiday, but in fact, it was just a regular Monday. Luckily, we found a close parking spot within walking distance to the beautiful beach and lugged most of our valuables with us because we couldn't see the car. 

TRAVELERS TIP: I’m pretty cautious about my valuables because I have had my bag stolen in Rosarito, Mexico. I do blame myself because I left my new Lululemon bag with so many great things (including my new Kate Spade wallet with my Passport, Global Entry Pass and Credit Cards) on the seat in plain view. That created more than a “stolen bag” situation. I had to try and figure out how to get out of Mexico without an ID. Needless to say, I learned a huge lesson and now I always, and I mean ALWAYS keep my passport on me. 

I’m currently loving the Lululemon Everywhere Belt Bag aka "fanny pack" and wore it constantly on our last travel.

It is by far the best purchase and best travel “bag” I have ever had.

I was able to keep my passport inside to pull out at a moments notice. I also had enough room for my cocokind chapstick, airpod earbuds and Sun Bum hand sanitizer (a huge MUST in Mexico.)

After a small walk and sifting to find a place to drop our gear, we planted on the white sandy beach with tons of people.

There were no waves and the water was as clear as a crystal quartz.

The water was a warm 85 degrees and the wind was blowing. I thought we might miss the flight because I wanted to stay in the bathtub-like water all day. We frolicked for a few  hours, played with the go pro in the water, and bought some delicious Mango with Chili Chamoy off of a local street vendor. If you have never had this Mexican treat you should most definitely try it. We love to have it filled with cucumber, mango, and pineapple and ask for extra Chamoy, which is a tangy, sweet and semi-spicy topping. The crowds of people started to give way around 5pm and we stayed until 6pm. 

The road back to La Paz town is actually a different road than you will take into the beach from the airport.

Don’t panic. This road is better and is the scenic route along the water. We stopped for a light dinner of seafood on the boardwalk before our flight departed. The restaurant was clean, kinda fancy and had a view of the water. The La Paz airport was a10-15 minutes away from the boardwalk restaurant and is extremely small so we had plenty of time to watch our final Mexico sunset from the outside of the airport, sitting on Will’s surfboard bag. 

My recommendation is to take the late flight, explore as much as you can because you never know when you will get the opportunity again.