Sea of Cortez

Travel Details - This Is Important!

Sailing Cruise Overview

• The trip begins with boarding the boat at Puerta Cortes Resort Marina (formerly Costa Baja), at 5 PM the first day.

• Enjoy no-host sundown cocktails at the Beach Club across from the boat, and a get-acquainted dinner together in the harbor.

• Spend the first night on the boat in the harbor.

• We depart the Marina by 10:00 AM the next morning, spend 6 days cruising the islands, and return to the Marina by about 4 PM on the last day. Dinner at the harbor or in town, spend the last night on the boat.

• The followqing morning, broom-clean the boat and off-load by 10:00 AM

Making Your Travel Plans, and some tips

Most questions will be answered here, but please contact us for any assistance you need.

1.   Generally, when flying from the US a flight to Cabo San Lucas (SJD) is easier than attempting to fly to La Paz (which usually involves connecting thru Mexico City). See no. 4 below for La Paz shuttle info.

***Southern CA residents often choose to fly from Tijuana (TIJ), Mexico, parking their car for the week at the CBX and crossing the border on foot over the bridge and into the TIJ airport. Volaris and Calafia are popular airlines. This is easier than it sounds. Contact us for any help you need.

2. Think about arriving a day or two early, and/or staying a day or two afterward. La Paz is low key, friendly, and the Malecon is a great place to spend time. Whale shark tours are available from numerous companies, and we did our own Whale Shark Tour with EspirituBaja.com. For local diving there is FunBaja.com and BajaAdventureCo.com located at the CostaBaja Marina.

3. Hotels. There are many, and we think the Costa Baja Resort is the best. It’s a short walk from where the boat is at the CostaBaja Marina. The Hyatt Place La Paz is also at the marina but is a longer walk to the boat, but, it’s less expensive and is a nice facility. The Hotel Marina at the Marina Palmira is a 10 minute cab ride from the Marina, and would be our third choice. Ask for an ocean view room. There are many more - check the reviews, as some can be pretty noisy on a Friday night.

4.   When flying in to Cabo, arrange in advance for a shuttle from the Cabo airport to the La Paz Malecon from EcoBajaTours (appx. 3 hour trip).  Visit the EcoBajaTours website to check their schedule and pricing, and book your shuttle.  You really need to do this in advance because they are often sold out on arrival day.  Seriously, do this in advance!  Once on the site:
·         choose round trip
·         select the departure point as Los Cabos Airport SJD
·         select the destination as La Paz (Peace) Malecon
Private car services are available, but they are very expensive. Car rentals are available, but you won’t need one in La Paz, where Uber and Taxis are available. EcoBaja will drop you off at the La Paz Malecon, about 3 miles from the marina.

The fares have been about $1090 MXN Pesos round-trip, and the exchange rate varies, but at $.045 USD to the Peso it is about $50 USD per person for the round trip. Make sure to get it right the first time, as changes are difficult, and they don’t offer refunds.

5.   Then, Uber or taxi to the Dream Yacht Charters base at the Puerta Cortes Resort Marina (appx. 3 miles).  Uber has made travel around town easy, and less expensive than the taxis. Taxis are on site at the La Paz Malecon bus depot where the EcoBajaTours shuttle stops.  Fare to the Costa Baja Resort Marina is appx. 120 Pesos.  Target your arrival time at the marina for 5:00 PM.

6. Pesos and tipping. The exchange on 10/19/22 was 1 USD = 20.12 Pesos. 1 Peso = .050 USD, so 100 Pesos is about $5.00 USD. Prices are better when you pay in pesos - the exchange really gets jacked up when you pay in USD. For example, you might hear the taxi driver say something like, “60 Pesos, or 5 dollars.” Well, 60 Pesos is about $3.00. ATMs offer the best exchange rate, and if your credit card does not add a 3% foreign transaction fee, use it as another way to get the best exchange. Tips should be about 10% max. When paying by card, you usually add the tip on to the paper check “la cuenta” before they run the card.

7. To get the address for the Marina and other details provided by Dream Yacht Charter, download La Paz Base Details Here. See below for aerial view of the marina and CostaBaja resort, and the location of Dream Yacht Chater where the boat is.