When travels think of luxury in Baja California, the first thoughts are of Cabo and its resorts. All with good reason, as this part of Baja specializes in delivering a luxury experience to travelers. Yet with popularity comes population, or people, so for those searching a more tranquil escape consider Loreto.
The publeo magico (magic town) located on the Sea of Cortez coast nearly six hours from Cabo offers its own magic that includes a chance to make luxury part of the your Mexican adventure.
Luxury in Loreto
Luxury comes in different shapes and styles across the globe, but these 5 luxurious travel experiences will have you appreciating the lure of Loreto.
1) ABT Sailing – Catamaran
Sailing the five islands of Loreto Bay National Park allows for time on the Gulf of California with private access to island beaches, the chance to snorkel with sea lions, eat incredible fresh seafood coupled with unlimited drinks including inspirational blender based cocktails, and private dinners on remote islands. But the “Anything But Typical” (ABT) aspect really sets in when spending an overnight on a sailing adventure with the use of a private bath for all guests.
Incredibly all four equal sized bedrooms on board each had their own private bathroom and shower. All rooms were “en suite” making the stay more than just comfortable, but rather luxurious for all couples (or solo guests) in a group. Whether it’s one night or a week through these islands or even sailing for more Mexican adventures in La Paz, the luxury of a private bath at sea for everyone remains part of the lure of sailing in Loreto.
2) The TPC Danzante Bay Golf Course
Desert conditions, coastal mountain ranges and a remote location all make for a challenging environment to create a golf course, but Dazante Bay in Loreto crafted a masterpiece. The TPC golf course, already winner of best golf course in Mexico for 2020, provides striking images of the bay, the Islands of Loreto and the surrounding Sierra de la Giganta mountain range. In fact golfers can even see including a chance to see Blue Whales in the winter months when viewing the horizon.
Players are challenged constantly on the course, but the 17th par-3 hole perched high above the Sea of Cortez has already been labeled one of the iconic holes of golf. Even the miniature golf course is crafted on a perfect manicured grass with intense slopes creating putting challenges and family fun. The course is connected to the expanding Villa del Palmar luxury hotel property.
3) The Freshest Seafood
There is nothing more luxurious when talking cuisine than fresh local ingredients and for many, myself included, fresh seafood tops the list. There may have not be anything fancy about the town of Mulege but its proximity to Conception Bay and the chance to take El Burro Baja Tours offers a luxury culinary experience.
The pontoon boat and plastic chairs provides the basics with luxury focused on the freshness and adventure in the catch of the day such as the fresh queen clams and scallops just pulled from the sea – and pulled up by you if you dare.
I dared.
I put on the snorkel and fins and joined the guide to listen on instructions on how to find the clams when free diving 10-12 feet from the water (the scallops were much deeper at over 20-25 feet). Although a challenge I succeeded to raise up two clams to add to our catch. On the beach, the guide and captain prepared our feast filled with clams, scallops, oysters, and fresh caught Trigger Fish ceviche while I dove again, but this time into the cooler of Pacificos (beer) to enjoy living the luxurious life on our own remote island beachfront.
4) Discover an Oasis
Water remains a focus when taking a luxury travel and many dreams and destination choices are influenced by the water. Idyllic beaches, infinity pools, and sunset sails around the islands of Loreto all score high on the luxury travel scale. But discovering a dessert oasis showcases the real value of water from a necessity to a luxury.
When traveling the challenging desert landscape, after a stop to view ancient cave paintings, we crossed the mountains to arrive in the oasis of La Purisima. The small town, may not still be the boom town it once had during oil exploration days, but its oasis will always keep life here. Today it offers local tourism. My home for the evening was Las Cabanas de la Purisima where fresh tacos were served daily and also utilized their equipment for an excursion to SUP Paddle board the waters of this oasis.
5) Vineyards
The Mexican wine scene is much “hotter” north in the Baja peninsula. The Valle de Guadalupe just south of the (US) border continues to put Mexican wine on the map across the globe. But the luxury of wine runs through the Baja Peninsula and the setup at Mulege Wine is another place to experience the luxury of new world wine.
Located close to town of Mulege, and with the promise of ATVs for transport and fun, visitors can only rent the entire 3 bedroom place complete with a rooftop kitchen and grill above the vineyard tasting room. My only suggestion is to make sure they save you some of the local wine, it sells out quickly.
My trip to Loreto provided to be quite the adventure from coast to coast with plenty to see, do, and experience. But like all trips, there is an importance and making luxury part of the adventure and with these experience it is clearly part of the lure of Loreto. For more information, listen to the staying adventurous podcast, the Lure of Loreto or contact me directly for consultation directly with questions or for planning your itinerary via our Mexican Travel Consulting Services.
Stay Luxurious, Craig
Special thanks to ATMEX and Loreto BCS Tourism for the invite and hosting my travels in this region of Baja California Sur