When you first think of crystal clear blue water and beautiful beaches, most people’s brains go straight to the Caribbean. But wow, Balandra Beach in Baja California rivals the best of the best. It’s no wonder it was ranked one of the best beaches in the world.

The crystal clear, blue waters of Balandra Bay are breathtaking. The beautiful white sand beaches paired next to the bright blue water, coupled with the mountainous background covered in cacti in every direction, it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

When I tell you I was blown away by the beaches at Balandra Bay in La Paz….JUST WOW. This iconic location in La Paz is filled with incredible views from every vantage point.

Balandra Bay is made up of not just Balandra Beach, though the most famous, but several beaches in total. From the top you have Tecolote Beach, Playa Tecolotito, Playa Shiro, and then Balandra Beach – all of which can be accessed by a hiking trail connecting them all.

What really makes this beach so special, is that Balandra Beach is part of a protected area, so it remains an untouched beauty. You won’t find thousands of vendors, restaurants, and beach loungers here, like you would in many other popular Mexico beaches. It’s truly a special piece of paradise!

To keep it that way, make sure to always leave with what you brought in, remove all trash & overall, be considerate of this natural wonder. We want to keep it that way 🙂

Looking for more La Paz reccs? Checking out my full Destination Overview of La Paz or a deep dive into another popular La Paz destination with my Balandra Beach Recap.

What To Know Before Going To BAlandra Beach

How To Get To Balandra Beach

• By Rental Car
  • The easiest way to get to the beach is by renting a car. It’s not a bad idea to rent one for your entire trip in La Paz, especially if you plan to head to as Balandra Bay multiple times, as it’s not walking distance from town.
• By Local Bus
  • The cheapest way to get to the beach without a car is by jumping on the local Playa Bus, which leaves from the Malecon bus station every hour on the dot starting at 8 AM. At only 100 pesos (approx. $6), it’s an easy route that will stop at multiple beaches up the coast until you reach the Beach car parking area Balandra.
    • When leaving, you’ll have to walk a bit onto the street to catch the bus. They leave every hour at a quarter to the hour, with the last bus departing at 6:45 PM.
• Order a DiDi
  • Take a DiDi (Mexico’s Uber) directly to Balandra or Tecolote. Rides are fairly cheap from the main stretch of La Paz.
    • Keep in mind, service is not the best by the beach, so if you chose this method of transportation, I’d try to see if the driver would mind picking you up at the end of the day at a set time. Our drivers were all very open to this, and we set a time & price before getting dropped off.
  • You can download on the App Store or Google Play

What To Bring

• Food & Drinks
  • Since Balandra Beach is more remote, there won’t be food and drinks vendors set up. There’s a few vendors selling items as you arrive, but outside of that, there’s nothing else. If you plan to spend the day out on the beach, definitely plan to pack drinks & food for the day.
  • On the other side of the bay, just a hike away, is Tecolote Beach, which does have access to restaurants (& bathrooms). So you can stop before or after Balandra Beach to fuel up.
• Hat and/or Beach Umbrella
  • There are only a few of the beautiful palapas on the beach, and they go very fast, so be prepared to be out in the direct sun if you are not one of the first to arrive. You can always rent an umbrella from one of the vendors, too!
• Cash for Vendors
  • If you plan to order food, snacks or umbrellas from a vendor while waiting in line to access the beach, definitely bring some cash. There’s very limited service out here, so they cannot use the card readers.

Other Things To Be Aware Of

• ENTRY
  • There are two entry times you can access the beach – 8AM – 12PM and 1PM to 5PM.
  • To enter, there will be a car line that sets up in order of arrival, where you can buy food & drinks from local vendors while waiting.
  • It is possible to visit the beach during both time slots, but you would have to leave in your car, and re-enter the line for the second time slot.
  • The workers at Balandra do make sure all cars are out of the parking lot after each entry time ends.
• CAPACITY LIMITS
  • No more than 450 visitors and 80 cars are allowed to enter within each time slot – this has changed over the years, so I recommend arriving at least 30-minutes before the entry time to ensure access.
• COST
  • There is currently no entry fee for Balandra Beach, although there was a time where there was one. Make sure to keep cash on hand, if something does change.
• LOCALS DAY
  • The first Sunday of every month is reserved for locals only, and no tourists will be allowed entrance. Keep this in mind as you make your plans!

What to do at Balandra beach

Explore the Bay

The #1 thing you’re going to want to do here is just explore. There’s so many little coves, sandbars, and beaches to check out. Once you find a place in the sand for your things, get in the water! Since it’s a bay, the water is SO calm, and at the deepest level, really only comes up to your waist, pending the tide. Because of that, the water is a comfortable temp all year long!

It’s worthwhile to bring some snorkel gear, as the water is so clear, you can see everything. We even managed to see a pufferfish! But, beware of the stingrays – definitely do the stingray shuffle while walking around in the sand.

Words just cannot even explain how beautiful of a place this is. Pictures just about do it justice, but you’ll have to see this one with your own eyes to really embrace the magic of the place. It’s beyond beautiful, and with the limits on capacity, it doesn’t ever feel overly packed. With so many areas to explore, there’s plenty of space to find your own little pocket of traquility.

Hike to the Top of Balandra

There’s a short 10-minute hike from the parking lot area, where you can see Balandra from above – and let me tell you, you don’t want to miss this!!! I’d suggest doing it immediately after you park, that way you can spend the rest of the time laying on the beach & exploring the waters :).

Hike The Trail Connecting The Beaches Of Balandra Bay

If you’re looking for a bit more adventure, I’d highly recommend making the hike from Tecolote Beach to Balandra, to visit all the beaches that make up Balandra Bay.

You start the trail in Tecolote – the beach here isn’t as beautiful as the rest (still crystal clear water, though!), but there are plenty of seafood shacks lining the beach, so fuel up here before you start the journey. From there, you’ll follow the trail up the hills, and are able to descend down to each of the three beaches. Stop along the way for the most stunning photos. Your jaw will be dropped the entire way.

Playa Tecolotito

After walking down that gorgeous pathway, with cacti surrounding you in every direction, you’ll reach Playa Tecolotito. This beach is not the main attraction of the day, but definitely worth the trip down to explore for a bit. The view coming back up the hill is worth it alone to me! Spend a bit of time venturing to the right side of the beach, where you’ll find tidepools hidden within the rocky formations.

And seriously, don’t forget to look back on your way to the next beach – take in all the vantage points, because wow, they are stunning!!

Playa Shiro

But don’t you worry, the views do not stop, as you make the turn around and see Playa Shiro in the distance. Continue down the rocky path to get down to the beach.

This was actually one of my favorite stops, as there always tends to be less people at the other beaches on the way to Balandra. But, also, Playa Shiro has some of the calmest waters, with small, flowing waves that are perfect for swimming. If you enjoy spending time in the ocean, keep this beach in mind and spend some extra time here in the water, as Balandra Beach is much calmer, with barely any waves.

And, you made it to Balandra Beach!

Just around the rocky bend at the left side of Playa Shiro is the beauty of Balandra Beach. You’ll turn the corner and find the famous heart-shaped rock 🙂

I’ve gone both with and without a car, but if you plan to get a DiDi out to the beaches, make sure you have transportation scheduled in advance! Service down at the beach is also not very reliable, so keep that in mind, as well. We made friends with a DiDi driver when in town, so we were able to text him the time we needed to be picked up.

IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR OTHER DESTINATIONS TO EXPLORE IN MEXICO, CHECK OUT MY OTHER POSTS HERE!