We’ve all been there. We have holidays, we want to dive them but, Alas! some of your friends or family are not divers, or maybe not as hardcore of a diver as yourself. So now you have carefully prepared these holidays for months and suggested cool places to visit to your pals, coincidentially, all of them are good diving places (of course). Now you just need to break it out to your people, that you are gonna spend half the time underwater, that is. Fortunately, we got you cover bud.

Loreto is a great place for outdoor activities, but algo historical tours and gastronomy. Check the following list!

Well OF COURSE, if the is good diving, there must be good snorkeling!

Now, if your people like water, but are not particularly keen on SCUBA, or maybe there are little kids, this is the perfect activity to keep everyone hapkpy and share the holidays together as you will most likely share the same boat.

In Loreto, many divesites are also suitable for snorkeling due the steep topography of the area. You wil find shallow reefs inmediately followed by drop-offs, pinnacles or nearby seamounts. On top of that, non-divers can also enjoy the turquoise bays and sandy beaches. Win-Win!

This is another activity from which Loreto is well known of.

Marine mammals are everywhere here. Dolphins can be seen in almost every trip you take in the Marine Park, there are so abundant that it’s not unfrequent to see several pods in the same trip. Common dolphins are bottlenose are the stars of the ocean and will often chase boats and gift us with their aerial shows.

During the winter season, all the large baleen whales come into the bay, including the humungous blue whale. Loreto is one of the prime destinations in the world to see these behemoths, as here is one of the few places on Earth where the come very close to the shore to breed and to feed. Humpbacks and fin whales are another great examples, the latter also visible during the rest of the year.

Orcas are also visitors of Loreto Bay National Park. Although still considered a rare sighting, truth is that they are reported almost every month. Cross your fingers.

Besides the cetaceans, there are of course the sea lions! These guys are fantastic to watch but also to swim with them. The local colony at Coronados island is only 30 min away from the marina.

With 5 islands and many islets, Loreto is a hotspot for kayakers and paddle boarders.

For those who just need a short trip near the beach, there are several companies that provide kayak and paddleboard rentals starting from the town’s beach, but some of them will also drive them to other places like Nopolo and Puerto Escondido. These two places are considered the best launching sites as they have coves and reefs nearby, and Danzante island at its closest. Besides that, there are great coves and beaches in the vicinity to rest or just bask in the sun.

Those who feel more adventurous will be able to enroll in day-long trips around the islands, sometimes taking weeks, where you cover large streches and will camp in the most neautiful coves.

Well, if you don’t know Loreto, then I must tell you all that is easily the most scenic area in Baja Sur. One of the main reasons for this statement is the proximity of the mountains to the sea. In some places, the mountains literally dive into the ocean. This means that canyons are literally on our backyard, some of them as close as 15 minute drive away.

There are hikes for all levels, but the most spectacular ones are usually the canyons. Tabor canyon and Mezquite canyon are two of the best examples as they offer steep walls and colorful landscapes. There is plenty of water too and some places require wading. These places are also great to find wild animals, like frogs, humming birds, lizards, wild horses and cows and a lot of dragonflies!

For those that want to take it easy, there are trails that are less abrupt and intense, like the Rattlesnake trail that overlooks Puerto Escondido and provides some of the best views of Danzante island and the bays.

If you visit the islands, there are some trails as well. Coronados has some of the easiest to walk, as they are marked and even, and will take you along the sandy bays. There is one that takes you to the summit, but that one is definitely more tiring. Danzante has short hikes to lookouts, and Carmen has an interesting walk into the salt mines and old town that use to support them.

This post could go FOREVER. For such a small place, Loreto teems with stuff to do.

Golfers will have a blast, as there are two full size golf courses, one in Nopolo and another in Danzante Bay (the latter received multiple awards).

Other populas activities to enjoy nature in comfort is doing ATV and horseback riding tours, either at the mountains or the shores. Mule or horse ridind are normally organize by the local ranchers, so you will get to know some traditional lifestyles and meet some of the most charming, hidden places in Loreto.

Birdwatching is big too, specially during the winter months when all the migratory birds arrive from the far north. Visit the local wetlands, shores and mountains and find a ridiculous biodiversity of feathery fellows. There a few guides that will take you on these tours.

Do you like nights more than days? Well, lucky you, you are in one the best stargazing places in the world. Just a few minutes from town you will enjoy perfectly dark skies, and normally very clear. You can just enjoy it by yourself, or you can contact the local “Loreto Space Nerds” (yeah, that’s their name. Look them up on Facebook!) and try to join them when they go out!