In this post, I’ll share everything you need to know about visiting Isla Coronado in Loreto, Mexico. This paradise island is home to unique wildlife, amazing snorkelling, postcard beaches and rugged desert scenery.
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About Isla Coronado
Home to beaches that belong in a travel magazine, rugged desert scenery and an abundance of wildlife on sea and land, Isla Coronado is one place you have to visit if you’re in Loreto!
While the beaches on the mainland around town are grey and rocky, Isla Coronado has powdery white sand and electric blue waters, with clarity like a diamond.
It was easily one of the best beaches we saw in all of Mexico, and it gives the Yucatan Peninsula a run for its money, with none of the crowds, noise or overdevelopment.
Isla Coronado is one of five uninhabited islands in the Loreto Bay National Park (Parque Nacional Bahia de Loreto). It is one of the smaller islands, but undoubtedly one of the most beautiful!
This marine protected area in the Sea of Cortez was declared a national park in 1996 and earned UNESCO World Heritage status in 2005.
This protection has allowed Isla Coronado and the other islands to remain completely untouched, with no development, rich biodiversity and breathtaking scenery.
The island has volcanic origins. Although it has been inactive for hundreds of years, you will see basalt rock around the island’s eastern side, and you can hike to the summit of the volcano.
The western side of the island is where you’ll find the pristine beaches, inside a sheltered bay.
Quick facts
- 🏝️ What? An uninhabited island in the Loreto Bay National Park, 30 minutes from the town of Loreto in Baja California Sur, Mexico.
- 🦭 Why? To experience the best beach in Loreto, see a sea lion colony and go snorkelling.
- 🚤 How? Take a half-day boat tour from Loreto to circumnavigate the island, snorkel and enjoy the beautiful beaches.
- 🐬 Who? Book our recommended tour here.
Where is Isla Coronado
Isla Coronado is the closest island to Loreto. You can actually see it clearly from the Malecon.
It’s about a 30-minute boat ride north from the marina in Loreto.
Generally, the ride is pretty smooth, but depending on the winds and swell, it can get a little bumpy around the eastern (ocean) side of the island.
If you’re staying in Nopolo or one of the other resorts south of Loreto, it’s best to drive to Loreto town and take the boat from there. Otherwise, it will be quite a long boat ride.
How to visit Isla Coronado Loreto
Being an island, the only way to visit Isla Coronado is via boat.
There are a couple of different options, depending on your travel style and the type of service and inclusions you’re looking for.
Option 1: Fisherman water taxi
A cooperative of local fishermen in the area offers tours to the island in their panga boats.
‘Tour’ is maybe not the right term, as it is more like a water taxi service.
Essentially, you go to the marina in Loreto and organise your tour directly with a fisherman or representative from the cooperative.
Sometimes they will want you to rent the entire boat, or other times if they know there are other customers interested in a tour on the same day as you, you can just pay your portion and share the boat.
We organised our tour directly with a local guy who approached us on the Malecon. Whilst we would usually advise against booking with these kinds of salespeople, in Loreto, it is actually the best way to do it.
We agreed on a time and he told us the price, and we took his number on WhatsApp.
The Loreto Tourism Board also has some details of local fishermen who offer tours on their website here. They list their WhatsApp number, and some have websites or Facebook pages.
We paid 800 pesos per person (around $45 USD).
The ‘tour’ includes the boat trip to the island, travelling around the eastern side to stop at the sea lion colony, looking for the boobie birds and other marine life, with a chance to snorkel if the conditions are right.
You’ll then get dropped off on the western side at the beautiful beaches, for free time to swim, sunbathe and hike. Your captain will return at an agreed-upon time, usually 2 hours later, and take you back to Loreto.
If your Spanish is good, this option will be similar to a tour run by a tour company. However, most of the captains speak minimal English, so you won’t get a ‘guided’ experience as such if you don’t understand Spanish.
They generally don’t include any extras like drinks or food, but most should have snorkel gear on board. Clarify this in advance.
Exploring Isla Coronado
Option 2: Comprehensive tour with tour company
If you want a more guided and organised experience, you can join a tour with one of the formal operators in Loreto.
This is a more structured experience, with a guide on board to share knowledge about the area, and everything included, like snorkel gear, lunch, drinks etc.
The experience will pretty much run the same way, with a trip around the eastern side of the island, looking for sea lions and boobies, as well as stops for snorkelling, before arriving at the beaches for snacks, drinks and free time to snorkel, swim, sunbathe or hike.
The best tour companies in Loreto are:
💡 Anyone who visits Isla Coronado needs to pay the fee to enter the Loreto Bay National Park. Your tour company might include this cost, but usually, you will need to pay in cash at the marina. It is around $5 USD, and you will be given a bracelet to wear.
Our experience
To give you an idea of what to expect on a tour of Isla Coronado, this is how our day went!
We organised a tour with a local fisherman and met at the marina in Loreto at 9 am.
We climbed aboard and headed out into the Bay of Loreto to start the 30-minute trip to the island. It was winter, so the boat ride over was very cold in the breeze, but the sun was shining!
Our captain didn’t speak much English, but it was a good chance to practice our Spanish.
He pointed out plenty of marine life along the way. We spotted a huge pod of dolphins, a turtle surfacing for a breath, and a humpback whale in the distance.
Once we reached the eastern side of the island, we could see the craggy volcanic rock meeting the sea.
We got closer to one of the rocky outcrops for a look at the sea lion colony, with dozens of sea lions lazing in the sun and floating in the water.
The water was quite rough and it was still very cold, so we didn’t snorkel (luckily we had snorkelled with sea lions in La Paz just a few days earlier!).
This area of the island is also where you can see the blue and brown-footed boobies. We got lucky to spot some of the brown-footed species.
We had a rough ride around the north of the island, before reaching the tranquil western side.
The water colour as we pulled into Playa Isla Coronado was electric blue, I couldn’t believe my eyes! It was so vibrant and so clear. Contrasted against the red-hued rugged desert mountains, it was an incredible scene.
Our captain dropped us off at the beach at 10:30 am and told us he would return at 12:30 pm to collect us. We had two hours free to spend how we liked.
We spent some time walking the trails to the southern tip of the island. Little signs pointed out different plant species and the trails were clearly defined, some sand, some gravel. We discovered some other beaches along the way.
We made it back to the main beach and spent our final hour sunbathing on the gorgeous white powdery sand and enjoying the water. There are a few palm-thatched palapas on the beach for shade, but in winter, we wanted all the sun!
Our captain came back for us, and just as we were pulling out of the beach, he asked if we would mind if he cast his fishing line. He obviously knew something we didn’t, and within seconds of the line hitting the water, he reeled in a huge fish!
We headed back to Loreto, pulling into the marina just before 1:30 pm. I wish I could have spent all day on that beach, but it was nice to be back in time for lunch!
The incredible blues of Isla Coronado
Things to do on Isla Coronado
- 🐬 Look for marine life: on the boat ride over, keep your eyes peeled! It’s common to see dolphins, turtles, rays (sometimes jumping out of the water) and whales during the winter months.
- 🦭 Swim with sea lions: if the conditions are right, you can jump in the water at the sea lion colony and snorkel with the playful sea lions.
- 🤿 Snorkel: depending on your tour and the conditions, you should have at least one more opportunity to snorkel from the boat. Once you arrive at Playa Isla Coronado, you can snorkel from the beach too.
- 🥾 Hike: there are well-made trails across the island. For an easy stroll, head south from Playa Isla Coronado. It’s also possible to hike to the volcanic cone at the summit of the island. It’s quite steep and takes at least 2 hours so you would want to coordinate extra time with your captain.
- 👙 Swim: the water is PARADISE! Unfortunately, the winter and spring months (November – April) can be quite chilly and not really ideal for swimming.
- 🌞 Sunbathe: even when the water is cold, the sun is usually shining in Loreto! Laze on the sand or under the palapas and enjoy the views. Just looking at the colour of that water is worth the trip.
Wildlife on Isla Coronado
There are so many animals on Isla Coronado, both above and below the water.
Here are some of the animals you might be lucky enough to spot:
- 🐋 Whales: during the winter months, you can get very lucky to spot whales on your way to and from the island. Humpbacks, blues, fins and grey whales are the most likely, but it would be incredibly lucky to see one. Blue whales usually hang out in the southern part of the bay.
- 🐬 Dolphins: it’s very common to see huge schools of dolphins on the trip to the island.
- 🦭 Sea lions: a huge colony lives on the eastern side of the island, you can see them sunning on the rocks and floating in the water. Conditions dependent, you can jump in and snorkel with them.
- 🐢 Turtles: we saw a turtle surfacing for a breath of air from our boat. You might see one underwater while snorkelling.
- 🐟 Rays: large groups of mobula rays are often seen in the Bay of Loreto, sometimes leaping from the water.
- 🐠 Tropical fish: the water is so clear on the western side of the island, you can see fish from the surface! If you go snorkelling, you will see colourful reef fish of all shapes and sizes.
- 🦆 Blue and brown-footed boobies: thought to be only found in the Galapagos, there are blue-footed boobies around Isla Coronado!
- 🪿 Other birds: pelicans, frigate birds, gulls and more live around the island.
Amenities on the island
There are NO amenities on Isla Coronado. It is pristine and undeveloped.
There are some very rustic latrines at Playa Isla Coronado. I’d suggest holding on if at all possible, they’re not very nice.
There are a couple of palm-thatched palapas with seats, but that’s it.
No restaurants, no food stalls, no bars, and no changing rooms.
I would take a natural beach like this over a developed Cancun beach any day of the week!
What to bring
- 👙 Swimwear
- 🧖🏽♀️ Towel
- 🤿 Snorkel gear (if desired and not supplied by your tour)
- 🧥 Warm clothes (in winter/spring)
- 😎 Sunglasses, sunscreen and hat
- 📸 Camera, GoPro or phone
- 💧 Reusable water bottle
- 🥪 Snacks or lunch (if not provided by your tour)
- 💰 Cash (to pay for your national park bracelet and tip your captain)
Isla Coronado Loreto: Final thoughts
Isla Coronado is a MUST VISIT when in Loreto.
It is the most beautiful beach in the area, and honestly, one of the best in Baja California Sur. It might even compete with Balandra Beach!
Not to mention the amazing marine life encounters, rugged desert scenery and unique birdlife you can also see on a tour of the island.
Be sure to check out our Loreto Travel Guide, as well as our 23 Things to do in Loreto for other activities to add to your itinerary.
MORE LORETO TRAVEL GUIDES
