Whale Watching San Jose del Cabo: the Group Tour from Puerto Los Cabos

What the whale watching San Jose del Cabo group tour covers

Two hours on the water, leaving from Puerto Los Cabos Marina on the San Jose del Cabo side of the cape rather than from the Cabo San Lucas marina. The founder of the operating company gives working away from the boat crowds as the reason for operating from this side. Price starts at $99 per adult and the rating is 5.0 ★ (271 reviews).

Humpback and gray whales are what the operator describes seeing: they come into the warm water of the Sea of Cortez each winter to mate and calve, and the listing puts the season from 15 December to 15 April. Mothers with calves and competitive males are the displays named most often, and a 2-hour slot gives the guides time to sit with one group and watch what it is doing instead of moving on.

A hydrophone goes in the water on this tour, which is worth knowing because it is the one thing that changes the sound of the trip. Permitted boats keep the engine running in neutral while a whale is stationary and may switch it off only to listen with a hydrophone. Distance is regulated too: boats close to roughly 60 to 80 metres depending on vessel size, no more than four boats stay around the same whale or group, and each one has 30 minutes.

Meeting times are generally 8:15 AM or 11:30 AM and they can change, so read the confirmation email the day before. Group tours run four times a week in mornings and afternoons, and the Friday sunrise departure is a separate trip rather than an early version of this one. Tour pictures come at no extra charge, water and cookies are ready on board, and private transportation is not included.

How the two hours go

1. San Jose del Cabo 120 min
   Out of Puerto Los Cabos Marina and east of the cape for two hours. The guides are multilingual marine enthusiasts and talk through the local area and the marine life of Baja while you look: blows first, then whichever behaviour the group gives you, from a raised fluke to a calf rolling alongside its mother. When a singer is close, the hydrophone goes in and you listen. Photos from the trip are shared afterwards at no extra charge.

What is included

Meeting point, pickup and cancellation

• Meeting point: the office at Puerto Los Cabos Marina, San Jose del Cabo, in La Playa just east of the historic centre. Most local hotels are 10 to 15 minutes away by taxi or ride-hail; red and yellow taxi vans work on the San Jose del Cabo side.
• Meeting times: generally 8:15 AM or 11:30 AM. Times can change, so check the confirmation email the day before you go.
• Pickup: private transportation is not included, so plan your own ride to the marina.
• Cancellation: the cancellation window is stated on the booking page. Read it before you confirm.
• Ages: infant 1 to 6, child 7 to 12, adult 13 and over.

Other whale watching trips from San Jose del Cabo compared

Four trips leave from this marina and the real difference between them is the time of day and the size of the group, not the water they cover. The group tour on this page is the standard morning option at $99; the small-group sunrise departure suits anyone happy to be at the dock in the dark; the 2 h 15 min trip at $120 runs longer; the sunset version at $105 takes the last light of the day.

Tour details from the operator's listing, checked 4 November 2026. Prices and times can change; the booking page has the current ones.

More ways to plan your visit

Puerto Los Cabos Marina

The San Jose del Cabo departure marina: where it is, how to reach it and what is around the docks.

The whale watching season

Season dates, who sets them and when sightings are at their most frequent.

Departure points in Los Cabos

San Jose del Cabo compared with the Cabo San Lucas marina docks, and how long the transfer takes.