Grey whale watching in Guerro Negro
Whales are among the most majestic animals on the planet. There are several species of whales that can be spotted off of the Baja Peninsula, but the grey whale is the most common. A relatively small species compared to other whales, but when fully grown, they can reach sizes of over 50 feet (15 meters) and weigh over 70,000 lbs (31,750 kg). During the summer months they migrate North to feed in the nutrient rich waters of Alaska. In the winter, they journey over 6,000 miles (9,656 km) to the warm shallow waters of Baja Mexico to mate and raise their calves. The Ojo de Libre Lagoon in Guerrero Negro is a large lagoon with a small entrance which makes them particularly easy to find here. This makes Guerrero Negro one of the best locations for grey whale watching in the world.
The town of Guerrero Negro is located about half way down the Baja Peninsula on the pacific side. The settlement was built in the 1950’s to house the manpower that harvests the industrial size salt mines nearby. It is also a fishing village, but during whale season, the fishermen turn their eyes to grey whale tourism. Whales can be spotted in the lagoon from December through mid-April. If you want a close encounter with the whales and their young the best time to visit is mid-February through March. This is when the mothers encourage the calves to socialize with people in the boats. Most of the tours during this time period passengers are able to pet the whales.
There are three major tour companies in the area which are similar in price and length of tour. For more information about each individual company, visit their website.
We chose Malarrimo’s because they have been doing tours for the longest period of time, and had the best online reviews. The cost was $850 pesos ($45.50 USD) per person for a 4-hour tour. There were two departure times to choose from 8am and 11am. This included a 20-minute bus ride through the salt flats with a brief tour of the history of Guerrero Negro and about 3 hours on the boat.
We went during mid-January and were able to see about 20 whales. Some of them really close, but not quite close enough to pet. The boat captain was really respectful of the whales and approached them slowly and made sure to put the propeller in neutral when the whales were close. Overall, we felt it was a good experience and that the boat wasn’t upsetting the whales – they actually seemed interested in us. The boat captain also took us to see sea lions and a few osprey nests on the drive back. He didn’t speak much English but that was perfectly fine with us. Pointing at whales is pretty much universal!
This was both of our first times to see a whale in the wild, which made it a magical moment. Whale watching was one of the most exciting adventures we embarked on during our first two weeks in Baja, Mexico. We wanted to share this information with other travelers to help plan a trip to Guerrero Negro to experience the grey whales.
Please Note: The advice in this article is accurate as of February 1, 2020. The prices are variable could be subject to change. This article should only be used as a reference. Gator and Nuthin is in no way affiliated with Malarrimo’s Whale Tour.
