Todos Santos

Why visit

The short answer: Todos Santos offers a side of Baja that the resort corridor does not. Where Cabo San Lucas runs on nightlife and water sports, Todos Santos runs on slow mornings, gallery walks, and good coffee. The town was built on sugar cane farming in the 1700s and 1800s, and the old brick and adobe architecture from that era is still standing along the main streets. Walking from the central plaza through the Calle Centenario gallery zone feels like a different country compared to the marina strip an hour south.

The art scene here is one of the more concentrated you will find in the region. Galleries showing painting, ceramics, and handmade jewelry open most mornings, and the town has enough of them clustered together that you can cover the core in a two-hour walk. Farm-to-table dining became the local shorthand years ago and it still holds: several restaurants source from small organic farms in the foothills just east of town, and the menus lean heavily on vegetables, local fish, and Baja wine. Prices at mid-range restaurants generally run $15 to $30 USD per person for a full meal.

One note on the Hotel California: the white stucco hotel and bar on the main drag is a real property, a good spot for a drink or a meal, and a legitimate Todos Santos landmark. The story connecting it to the Eagles song is popular local folklore, not documented fact. Worth a visit on its own terms; just go in knowing what it is.

Best beaches

Cerritos Beach (Playa Los Cerritos) sits about 7 miles south of town and is the beach most visitors come for. It is one of the few Pacific beaches in the Todos Santos area with a section genuinely safe for swimming. The left side of the beach tends to be calmer, while the right produces a consistent beach break that works well for beginner and intermediate surfers through much of the year. Swells build biggest in summer and fall, typically June through October, when experienced surfers find the most size here. A beach club operates on-site with rental chairs, basic food and drinks, and surfboard and bodyboard rentals that usually run $20 to $30 USD for a few hours.

This is an important distinction to understand before you plan a beach day: most of the Pacific shoreline near Todos Santos town itself has strong currents and shore break that make swimming dangerous. The town beaches are beautiful for walking and watching the surf, but they are not for getting in the water. Cerritos is the one beach close to town where casual swimming is possible. If you are traveling with kids or non-surfers who want to swim, Cerritos is your stop. For a broader look at swimmable options across the region, see our best beaches guide.

Beyond Cerritos, surfers with their own boards and the ability to read Pacific waves can find breaks at Playa La Pastora and Playa San Pedrito (also called Palm Beach), both north of town. These are remote stretches best reached with a rental car, and there are no services. They reward the effort with isolation and consistent swell during the right seasons.

Top things to do

Walk the historic center. The main streets, particularly Calle Juárez, Calle Centenario, and the area around Plaza Civica, hold most of the galleries, boutiques, and cafes. Budget two to three hours to cover the core zone without rushing. Several galleries carry work by both local Baja artists and international artists who have settled here. The restaurant scene punches above its weight: a handful of spots source ingredients from foothills farms east of town, and the fish is brought in daily from the Pacific. Dinner for two at a mid-range restaurant typically runs $40 to $70 USD.

For whale watching, the Pacific off Todos Santos sees humpback and gray whales during their migration from roughly mid-December through mid-April. Several operators run trips from Cerritos Beach during those months at around $65 to $100 USD per person. The open Pacific location often means good close sightings during active periods.

Explore the sugar mill district on the south end of town. The ruins and partially preserved structures from the 19th-century cane era are a 45-minute stop, free or donation-based, and most day-trippers skip it entirely. Surf at Cerritos if you have any interest in learning: it is one of the more forgiving beach breaks on the Pacific coast of Baja. Local surf schools typically charge $50 to $80 USD for a two-hour lesson with board rental.

Where to stay

Todos Santos is not a large-resort destination. The accommodation stock runs toward boutique hotels in historic buildings, small inns, and vacation rentals in and around the town center. A handful of properties have developed a regional reputation for design and service, with nightly rates at the better boutique options typically ranging from $150 to $350 USD. Budget travelers can find small guesthouses and rentals in the $60 to $120 USD range. For a full comparison of lodging options across the Los Cabos region by area and budget, the where to stay by area guide covers the tradeoffs.

Staying overnight in Todos Santos gives you the town at its best: the evening light on the painted facades, dinner without the hurry of needing to drive back to Cabo, and early morning before the day-trippers arrive. The crowds peak late morning and thin out by late afternoon. If you are making it a day trip from the Corridor or Cabo San Lucas, arriving by 9 or 10 a.m. gives you the town at its quietest.

Getting there and around

The drive from Cabo San Lucas runs about 60 to 75 minutes north on Highway 19 along the Pacific coast. The road is paved throughout. A rental car is the most flexible option and lets you stop at Cerritos on the way in or out without depending on a schedule. Rates from major agencies at Los Cabos International Airport (SJD) typically start around $30 to $50 USD per day for a compact, not including required liability insurance.

Organized day tours from Cabo San Lucas and the Corridor run regularly at $60 to $100 USD per person including hotel pickup, often with a stop at Cerritos. The tradeoff is a fixed schedule. There is no practical bus or shuttle service between Cabo San Lucas and Todos Santos, and Uber does not operate between the towns. Once in Todos Santos, the historic center is entirely walkable. Cerritos is about a 10 to 15-minute drive south of the plaza and requires a car or taxi.

Best time to visit

The peak season for Todos Santos runs November through April, which aligns with the dry, cooler months across Baja California Sur. Daytime temperatures in January through March sit in the low-to-mid 70s Fahrenheit, evenings cool off noticeably, and rain is rare. This is also when the Pacific whale migration is active off the coast, running mid-December through mid-April. If whale watching is a priority, December through March gives you the best window.

Surf at Cerritos is workable most of the year, but the bigger and more consistent swells arrive from the northwest in fall and early winter, and from southern hemisphere swells in summer. October and November often produce the best combination of swell size and manageable conditions for intermediate surfers. Summer months, July through September, are hot (daytime highs in the mid-to-upper 90s Fahrenheit), humid, and sit inside the Pacific hurricane season. Todos Santos is reachable year-round, but August and September carry the highest risk of tropical weather disruption. For a month-by-month breakdown of conditions across Los Cabos, see our Todos Santos day trip planning guide.