Land's End Whale Grounds whale watching tours
Waters in the Pacific Ocean off Los Cabos
Open water off Land's End where humpback and gray whales pass each winter, and where boats from Cabo San Lucas go out to look for them. It is an area, not a spot: the whales move every day, and a sighting is never certain.
- Grey whales, December to April
- Humpback whales, December to April
Marinas
When to see Land's End Whale Grounds
| Species | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grey whale | Seen | Seen | Seen | Seen | Seen | |||||||
| Humpback whale | Seen | Seen | Seen | Seen | Seen |
The darker mark is the months the source names as best. Months from visitloscabos.travel, sidof.segob.gob.mx.
Near Land's End Whale Grounds
Lover's Beach
Land's End (The Arch)
- Snorkeling
- Scuba diving
- Fishing
- Whale watching
Cabo San Lucas
A top luxury yachting destination, famous for its Marina Cabo San Lucas. It offers a vibrant nightlife, world-class fishing, diving spots, and the iconic Arch rock formation.
Medano Beach
Santa Maria Bay
Chileno Bay
Palmilla Beach
- Whale watching
San José del Cabo Whale Grounds
Open water in the Sea of Cortez off San José del Cabo, a short run from Puerto Los Cabos, where humpback whales pass each winter. It is an area, not a spot: the whales move every day, and a sighting is never certain.
Maps © OpenStreetMap
About Land's End Whale Grounds
A stretch of water, not a spot
Every winter humpback and gray whales come down the Pacific coast to the tip of Baja, and the open water off Land's End is where boats from Cabo San Lucas go to meet them. The shaded area on our map is an approximation of that water: south and west of the cape, beyond the zone closed around the Arch. It is not a line in law and not a fixed spot. Whales move from one day to the next, and the captain works the water wherever they are showing, sometimes closer to the cape, sometimes further out or round toward the Sea of Cortez.
The season
The federal government sets the whale-watching dates each year. For the 2025-26 season it set December 15, 2025 to April 30, 2026 for the protected area of Cabo San Lucas. Humpbacks are the whales seen most often, gray whales pass too, and dolphins sometimes join a boat on the way. They are wild animals, so no trip can promise a whale, and some mornings pass without one.
The rules on the water
The port and the water within 2 km of the Arch are closed to whale watching, as is a strip 1 km wide off Punta Ballenas, so the search starts beyond them. Mexico's whale-watching standard, NOM-131-SEMARNAT-2010, keeps a boat longer than 10 metres at least 80 metres from a humpback or a gray whale and 120 metres from a blue or fin whale. No more than four boats may stay with one group, for at most 30 minutes, and no one may swim with the whales. Only boats with a SEMARNAT authorisation may run whale-watching trips.
Getting out by boat
The grounds start a short run from Marina Cabo San Lucas, past the Arch and out of the bay. On a yacht of your own, how long you spend with the whales is yours to set inside the rules, and the morning can end at anchor in the bay for a swim. We'll confirm the plan and the boarding point when you book.
What to bring
A light jacket for the cool mornings, a hat, sun cover, and binoculars or a camera with a long lens. Mornings are usually the calmest time on open water.