TODOS SANTOS, MX
So Todos Santos, — a very popular place in southern Baja. You are properly away from the craziness of Cabo San Lucas, and at the same time away from the untamed wild of the majority of the peninsula to the north. If you have been driving down from the States, congratulations, you will now have arrived at what I would consider proper civilization. The southern tip of Baja. Todos Santos is a unique place, it close enough to Cabo San Lucas and the San Jose del Cabo airport that it will attract proper tourist interest. Cabo San Lucas is obviously extremely touristy. But when you make the trip up here it will feel different. Todos Santos feels more real. — More like Mexico. Although it has been significantly gentrified in recent years. it is still packed with charm. You will see gringos riding around on rented bicycles with helmets, and retirees walking around with guidebooks, but that's all good and well. It's a place worth visiting, and with a place worth visiting that tends to happen. There will also be a small backpacking scene here. Most of the backpackers who come to Baja will come through here, — likely after realizing how miserable Cabo San Lucas can be. There is a hostel here, a really cool one actually. I have the logo tattooed on my left thigh. There are really stunning beaches within spitting distance of town. There's nice restaurants, a nightlife should you choose to seek it out, and you are within driving distance of a bunch of other destinations on the southern tip of Baja worth seeing. I would, in essence, highly recommend this place to anyone. It's quaint, a nice little pueblo magico (Mexico's distinguishing label for historically preserved towns), with lots to do, lots to see, and finally, if you have been traveling down by car, a social life.
Todos Santos is located in the southern part of the State of Baja Sur. It's on the bottom of the peninsula, or as I call it, the southern tip of Baja. It's close to an international airport which is San Jose Del Cabo (SJD) which makes access extremely easy. The drive from the airport is only about an hour and fifteen minutes, which is outstanding considering you are in Baja California. This is the main reason why there is such a tourist attraction to the city.
Todos is located right on the water, however the main part of town will require a bit of a walk or drive to get down there. Main town isn't exactly beach front, but in no way is it far. The bright side of this is that it keeps the beaches relatively uncrowded.
Todos is also located about 30-45 minutes from Cabo San Lucas, which is where you can find all of your first-world comforts. There's a Walmart, Mcdonald's, — whatever you want, you can find there.
If you are driving down from the North, you will go through La Paz first. You will continue on the 1 as you exit La Paz, and then get onto highway 19. The signs are easy and noticeable. It shouldn't be hard to find your way here. Especially if you just use your phone or a map that you have previously downloaded. Can I say it more times? Download your maps!
HOSTELS, CAMPING, AND HOTELS (IF ANY)
The Todos Santos Hostel is where I spent all of my time here. It's a small, family-run hostel that has a camping option as well. There is a large communal kitchen, and nice outdoor area with couches where everyone congregates. There's a family-like vibe when you are staying here — even a little bar that opens up randomly and myself and another guest just bartended. It's owned by an Italian couple who opened the place some years ago before Todos Santos really got hot.
It's a really nice vibe, you'll meet great people. — Will run you about $22 per dorm night. There is also camping here at the hostel for cheap, which I would recommend if that is your style of living or budget.
There will be literally no limit to your options to stay in the area. In the past few years there has been a big push of extremely nice boutique hotels popping up in the area. Think 'beachy boho-chic' vibes. — Desert-y, but ocean. These could run you 100s of dollars per night, and I wouldn't even know where to begin. The scene has grown out of the abundance of all-inclusive resorts in Cabo San Lucas. For people who want to witness the legitimate beauty of Baja, but aren't about tequila shots with people from Houston at 9 in the morning.
If you are looking for something like a boutique hotel, you will be able to find something amazing here. Picturesque. I will not be able to help. Plenty of travel blogger girls have written all about this "hidden Mexican desert gem". You can get great recommendations there.
For the rest of you, there are hostels here! It is the first time I have been able to say that since I started writing about Baja really. There are a few really nice options. I spent about 2 weeks in one, met some really lovely people and had a generally great time. It's not going to be the cheapest hostel stay of your life, but compared to the rest of the accommodation it's cheap. There's also some camping.
As a note, I wouldn't necessarily recommend wild camping. You have reached a civilized portion of the peninsula. With civilization, comes a higher chance that you will get robbed. Not a likely outcome, but it's a possible outcome nonetheless. Find someone to pay something, and you will be safer. If you want to wild camp, there's beaches all over the place you can do so.
A few hostels and camping options are below.
Now this place did not exist when I was there. But it looks nice and new, and is only the second hostel in the whole city. So if you are looking for a second option, this could be it. It looks nice, with dorms built in little wooden structures. Don't know much about this place but my only comment is that the location of Todos Hostel is better.
CAMPING
There are a number of camping options here in Todos. Check iOverlander and you can make your pick. I would recommend just camping in Todos Santos Hostel. I think it's like $5, and you will have some company as well. Some people to talk to. You can pull up your rig, van, whatever, or pitch a tent in the backyard as well. The photo is a 'glamping' option that they have at Todos Santos Hostel.
I wouldn't personally recommend wild camping here unless you have numbers, but it's up to you. Just find someone to pay a little, or just go for it. Your call.
There is a small town about 10 minutes south of Todos Santos called El Pescadero. There is beach camping here on Cerritos Beach that you will have to pay for. There will likely be lots of RV's though. That's okay, — remember what I said about wild camping in the area.
There's also a really cool vibe in this town in general. It's one of the best waves in the area, there's a few cool bars, a nice expat community, and some great-looking hotels if that's what you are into as well. I would carve out a day or two here if I were you.
EATS
Todos Santos has a pretty good, and for the most part pretty international food scene. There's a good option of street food style tacos, taco stands, and trucks as well as nicer sit-down places with food from all over the place.
There's a lot of tourism here (not overwhelmingly so) so the food scene represents that. You could be here for a while and be content with the food. I wasn't personally exploring many of the more expensive options, but those are apparently good as well. Below are some of the highlights, some I had, one I couldn't afford.
Restaurants
There will be a few "absolute musts" here. This is one of them. Outstanding fish tacos in a sit-down restaurant, in the center of town. Great for a group or just a dinner.
The best fish tacos we found from a truck in town. It's famous in town and delicious. A little blue truck on the side of the road, serving up delicious and cheap tacos.
Absolutely excellent. It's a little health foods store and cafe with a vibe-y/relaxing sitting area. You can buy hard-to-find healthy groceries, order smoothies, or delicious sandwiches. — Not super cheap.
A little local spot on the side of the road in town. Plastic tables and chairs, and those colorful plastic plates. Always a good sign. Quality for a good price.
Probably the most well-known spot in Todos. It's on the beach, north of town about 20 minutes. It's got great food and views, but is very expensive. — Wasn't in my budget.
Trendy little cafe at the north end of town. Good, but expensive food. Full of digital nomads working and ordering expensive coffee. — Nice spot though.
and many more...
Go explore. There are restaurants all over the place. I'm sure many new ones since I was there. Eating your way through a city can be one of the best places to figure it out anyways. Lots of great local options also.
NIGHTLIFE
Bars
There is nightlife in Todos Santos. It's not the craziest thing that you will ever experience. If you are looking for an insane night out, until 4 in the morning or even later, you are about an hour north from where you should be. Go to Cabo San Lucas for that one. Here in Todos, things are a little bit more mellow. A little quieter. Especially during the week. This isn't to say that you can't get yourself into a little bit of trouble. It's really the people you are around anyways.
We would do bonfires on the group with a big group, bring down all the booze we could carry and spend the evening around a fire. That's just alright with me. There's also some bars and places to go out and drink that are typically rowdier on the weekends. There's live music from time to time in some of the bars, and another nice place to go out is over in El Pescadero. There's a couple surf bars and restaurants over there that are nice if you either are staying there, or have a way to get yourself back at night.
A few things I found fun, and some recommendations on places to have some drinks are below.
Small little brewery restaurant and bar. It's a cozy little spot in town with good beer — typically live music depending on the night, and some pretty good burgers as well.
Another brewery spot in town. Good beer, and mellow atmosphere. Probably better for the afternoon beer stop.
One of those gringo bars that I must say I love to hate. Is that the saying? I don't know, I hate that I love? Well... whatever — it's a fun place — with TV's, stickers all over the walls, and old Baja expats lining the chairs of the bar. Fun place to get lost at the bottom of a beer.
This was one of the best places to go for late night, or relatively late night, in Todos. It's in this little food-court type thing. But it's open late, and people congregate here on the weekends drinking.
This spot is great. It's a food-court with different eating options. On the lower level, down the stairs at the back, there's a little cocktail bar that almost feels like a speakeasy serving up nice (not cheap) drinks.
This is over in Pescadero, near Cerritos beach. It's a big outdoor bar with tables on sand. It was a lively evening, and they had fire dancers, live music, and great food. They have events on the weekends.
SIGHTS
Punta Lobos is a nice little hike in the area. It's a few miles outside of town. It's kind of a long hike, but a beautiful place when you do reach it. You'll find yourself at a nice and secluded little beach and point. — Nice activity for the day.
Todos Santos is primarily a beach town. As a result, there are a number of beaches in the area worth visiting. They are really nice western-facing white sand beaches where you can see some pretty extraordinary sunsets. I'll outline a few of the beaches in the area that I would recommend checking out. To be honest though, the entire oceanfront outside of Todos Santos is a pretty cool beach. You can't really go wrong.
There are also a lot of places to see down in this area of Baja. Something might be less than an hour away, and technically be a sight to see if you are only going to Todos Santos, but it will have its own page. For the sake of Todos Santos I have just included the things to see, and the beaches in the immediate area.
I would say that this is the main beach in Todos Santos. It's right down from town, and it's possible to walk there. A lot of people will drive down, take a taxi or hitchhike though. It's a nice white sand beach with a freshwater river — estuary kind of thing there as well. Lots of local kids playing around in it. It will never be very crowded, and there's enough space for everyone.
Waves get big here though, and it can get rough near shore. If you're really bad at swimming, just be aware of this before getting in.
This is really a town of its own about 10 or 15 minutes south of Todos Santos. It's an amazing little spot. There's a beach, it will be crowded, which certainly detracts from the beauty of it, there's restaurants in the little town of Los Cerritos, and lots of surfers.
One of the better waves in Baja is right out front. This is the surf town of the area I would say.
One of the most popular things to do in Todos Santos is to witness the turtle hatching. This is popular all over Latin America, and the obsession over it all is a little bit ridiculous to me. Almost all of them are going to die anyways. But it's a popular thing to do here nonetheless. It happens at specific times of year (Dec/Jan and sporadically in Feb, Mar and Apr.)
It's at a beach to the north called 'Tortuguero'. I have linked the organization that protects the baby turtles, website.
This one is pretty unique and interesting. I never did it myself. It's a multi-day trek hike, but you get to a pretty amazing view by the end. It's called 'Sierre de la Laguna', and it's technically Sierra de la Laguna HP (High Point).
The name is the name of the mountain range, but the high point is relatively near Todos Santos. At 2,090 meters or ~6,900 feet, it's the highest point in the state of Baja Sur. You can drive a lot of the way, and then camp up top after hiking. I hear the views are spectacular.
LOTS MORE TO EXPLORE...
The area around Todos Santos is pretty much just beach for miles. If you want to go explore, particularly to the north, you can find yourself on empty picturesque beaches for miles. There's a lot more to see outside of the few things I have outlined here.
SURFING
The surfing around Todos for me was just okay. There are a few spots here, as well as one of the best big wave spots in the entirety of the southern State. But in general, the surfing for me was just fine. There's a few spots that are notable and well known that I will mention below. I wasn't overly blown away personally, but I still had fun. I'm sure when all the conditions are right (they weren't for me) then a lot of spots in the area have great potential. Who knows? Maybe I will have to go try it out again. But from my experience there are a lot other places to the North, or around the horn of Cabo that are more worth your time.
