Grey Whales and Glamping with Magdalena Bay Whales

We spent three nights in Magdalena Bay on the Pacific Coast of Baja, with the wonderful Magdalena Bay Whales, touching and kissing grey whales. In this post, I’m going to tell you all about what was without a doubt some of the best days of our lives.

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Grey whale watching in Magdalena Bay

It’s not often that I write a blog post like a story.

Usually, I try to make my posts structured and informative, to provide valuable information about a destination that helps you to picture yourself there. Rather than hear directly about our experience.

But the special few days we spent in Magdalena Bay, playing, touching and kissing grey whales warrants a story.

I think the only way to describe the once-in-a-lifetime experience you can expect to have if you visit, is to recount our own.

In this post, I’m going to tell you all about what was without a doubt some of the best days of our lives, grey whale watching in Magdalena Bay, with the local tour company Magdalena Bay Whales.

If you want some background context and practical information about Mag Bay and grey whales check out our grey whale watching guide. I cover all the logistical information like when to go, how to get there etc.

Once you’ve done that, come back, and read on for our special, unforgettable, life-changing experience!

🐋 Read all the logistical information about grey whale watching in Magdalena Bay first

About Magdalena Bay Whales

To give some context to our experience, I want to briefly introduce Magdalena Bay Whales.

They are a local tour operator, based out of Puerto San Carlos in Magdalena Bay. Offering grey whale watching tours for over 45 years, these guys are the original and best tour operators in the area.

They offer comprehensive single and multi-day tours, including accommodation, meals and transport if required. You can essentially build your own customised tour, based on your available time and budget.

The best part about Magdalena Bay Whales, and what drew us to them, was their island whale camp.

Located on the largely uninhabited Isla Magdalena in the bay, you get a remote glamping experience as well as magical whale watching. It was a no-brainer for us to combine these two experiences!

I’ll share more about our personal experience throughout this post, but some key things to know about Magdalena Bay Whales and their tours:

• They offer shared 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 or private 🧍🏻 tour packages
• 🛌 For multi-day tours, you can choose to stay at their hotel in San Carlos on the mainland or do glamping at their island whale camp
• 🏩 Their hotel is Hotel Isabela, which is a basic but lovely Mexican-style hotel, with clean rooms, private bathrooms and a lush garden palapa restaurant area
• ⛺️ Their island whale camp consists of glamping tents with cosy beds and camp showers, a communal palapa restaurant area with flushing toilets, and a gorgeous slice of waterfront real estate on Isla Magdalena
• 🌮 Meals are included in multi-day packages and they are AMAZING! The food at the restaurant at Hotel Isabela and the island camp was sensational
• 🚤 You get 6 hours out on the boat included in each day of your tour, to spend how you like. You can watch whales the whole time, or choose to explore other areas of the bay like the sand dunes and islands
• 🚐 You can add on transport from other cities if you can’t get yourself to San Carlos via rental car or bus

👉🏼 Get more information on the tour packages and accommodation options on their website here

Our experience

Day one

We made the drive from La Paz to the port town of San Carlos on the shores of Magdalena Bay.

It took about three and a half hours, on the well-maintained Highway 1. The road was straight and easy most of the drive, except for a few winding mountain ranges to pass through.

We arrived at Hotel Isabela, a property owned by Magdalena Bay Whales. We were greeted by their staff, who helped us secure our car before driving us to the dock where we would depart for Isla Magdalena.

We met our captain for the next few days, and before long we were whizzing across the glassy bay en route to Magdalena Bay Whales’ island glamping camp.

It took about 30 minutes, and the first thing I noticed was the mountains all over the island! I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that. They rose out of the bay, and the afternoon sun cast shadows in their contours.

As we got closer we could see white tents dotted across the hillside, and our eyes were instantly drawn to the two huge whale skeletons standing proudly above the camp.

We knew we were in for a special few days.

As we pulled up on shore, we were greeted by two staff from Magdalena Bay Whales, who welcomed us to camp and helped us with our bags. We wandered up the beach into the open-air palapa restaurant, which we would soon use as camp HQ.

The staff showed us to our tent, helping us with our bags for the short walk up a hill rising above the bay. We stood in awe at the incredible view we had!

The canvas tents sit above the ground on raised platforms with front decks.

Our tent was made up of one double, one single bed, and plenty of blankets to keep us warm at night. As well as a large bedside table, carpeted mats on the floor, a mirror, a bin, and the best part – two rocking chairs on our balcony to admire the incredible vista of the bay!

On the platform was also a small bathroom stall, with a camping-style freshwater shower and a camp toilet (for emergencies only!).

Our tent was so cosy, with plenty of space and everything we needed for a comfortable stay. Glamping at its finest, with no set-up required from us (the best kind of camping!).

‘Tienen hambre?’, are you hungry? was the first thing we were asked after returning to the restaurant.

The large open-air palapa is the heart of the camp. It’s where we would be eating, meeting our captain, hanging out post-tour, cosying up by the fire at night and chatting with the staff and other travellers.

(It’s also where we found the flushing toilets, a luxury for remote island camping!)

The menu came out and we were able to choose anything we liked for lunch, included in our tour. We both settled on a prawn dish, with a creamy chipotle-style sauce and rice.

We cracked open some beers to celebrate our arrival! Non-alcoholic drinks are included in the package, but the camp stocks beers, some wines and spirits you can purchase for a small additional fee (payment made back on the mainland post-tour).

The rest of the afternoon was free to spend how we liked around camp.

We decided to wander along the beach to explore the small town on the island. We didn’t know there was a community that lived here, but the staff explained there was a small fishing village, Puerto Magdalena, with a handful of full-time residents. Their community centres around fishing and whales, and we were welcomed by waves and friendly dogs.

It wasn’t long before the sun went down, and the temperature dropped. Being winter, it can get pretty chilly at night. But, the staff had lit a toasty fire and set up a table in the restaurant for us right beside it.

The night was spent chatting with the lovely staff, learning more about the whales and Magdalena Bay, and swapping stories about life in Mexico and Australia. It was a great opportunity to practice our Spanish, and we loved getting to know the staff.

Before we headed to bed, we made plans for the following day.

It would just be the two of us and our captain, and we had a maximum of six hours out on the water, which we could spend how we liked.

We had complete freedom to choose what time we wanted to have breakfast, and then head off for our first whale watching trip. We decided on breakfast at 7:30 am and leaving with our captain at 8 am.

We walked to our tent under a blanket of stars, and snuggled up in our cosy bed filled with excitement for our adventures the next day!

Day two

Our alarm was set for 6:30 am, so we could enjoy the sunrise. And wow, it did not disappoint!

As soon as I unzipped our tent and peeked out into the cool morning, the sky was on fire. The clouds were illuminated with all shades of pink and orange, and we sat in our rocking chairs wrapped in blankets until the sun poked up over the horizon.

Hot coffee was at our table before we could even sit down. We again had a range of menu options to choose from for breakfast, both Mexican and American.

I settled on some oats to warm me up, and Brayden went for a traditional option of huevos rancheros. Both were delicious, and we were fuelled up and ready for the day.

We jumped into the boat straight from the beach. And with our captain at the wheel, headed south to an area of the bay the grey whales are known to hang out.

It took about 30 minutes to arrive, and the morning sun was twinkling on the calm water.

As we neared, our captain slowed the boat, and it was just seconds before we spotted spouts of water shooting skyward from all over the bay!

Grey whales can spout over three metres high, and the mist hung in the golden morning light.

It wasn’t too long before we spotted more than a spout, and we could see dozens of whales calmly swimming around the bay, surfacing for a breath before diving down again.

We caught glimpses of their backs as they arched out of the water ready to dive, and their barnacle-covered skin peeking above the surface.

We spent the next four and a half hours cruising around this area of the bay.

Whale watching is simultaneously the most relaxing yet thrilling activity.

We enjoyed simply bobbing on the calm waters of the bay and soaking up the sunshine. At the same time keeping our eyes peeled for puffs of water shooting up from a blowhole, hearts racing whenever we saw one!

As soon as one of us had eyes on a whale, we would signal our captain and zoom off towards it, but always stopping short at a safe distance from the whale.

Our captain knew exactly where to position the boat, was completely respectful of the whales and had such great knowledge of their behaviour after years of experience.

Other boats came and went, but the maximum at any given time was only around ten in the entire bay. It didn’t feel crowded at all, and we were so impressed at how the boats and captains conducted themselves around the whales.

The whole experience was calm and relaxed. No one rushed at the whales, everyone respected their space and hung back and waited for the whales to approach their boat (which they do willingly!).

We have had other interactions with marine animals in different parts of the world that left us regretting our choice to participate, but we didn’t feel like this at all with Magdalena Bay Whales.

It was clear from watching our captain how much love they have for the whales, and how much enjoyment they still get from seeing and interacting with them – day after day!

Throughout the day we saw dozens of whales. Some cruising past at a distance, others coming quite close to the boat and swimming around and underneath us.

However, none of them were feeling particularly curious and playful.

Our first day of whale watching came to an end, and we didn’t have the opportunity to have the experience many come here for – to touch a whale.

It was hard to be disappointed when we were surrounded by these beautiful gentle giants, and we felt blessed that they had decided to even swim near us when they had the whole bay to choose from.

We reminded ourselves that they are wild animals, and in their natural habitat is the only way we would ever want to see them, on their terms.

With tummies rumbling, we headed back to camp. There was delicious fresh fish ceviche waiting for us at what had become our usual table.

The chef prepared us another delicious meal for lunch, garlic prawns for me and prawn fajitas for Brayden. We were already feeling a few kilos heavier at this point after so many delicious and filling meals!

As we were having lunch we spotted some whales blowing right outside of camp.

We decided to get out on the water with the kayaks provided by Magdalena Bay Whales, to see if we could see them out in the bay.

We spent about an hour out on the water and spotted a few spouts of water, but none came too close.

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing on the balcony, watching the light turn golden and the sky turn pastel.

We were even treated to a pod of dolphins jumping and playing right in front of camp. It was a pinch ourselves moment after such an incredible day.

We crawled into bed pretty early, with full tummies from another delicious dinner, and a smile from ear to ear.

As we lay in bed drifting off to sleep we could hear the blows of whales in the bay, and I took it as a good sign for the following day.

Day three

We had agreed with our captain to leave a little earlier for our second and final day on the water. 7:00 am breakfast, and a 7:30 am departure, to try and be the first boat into the area with the whales.

We were up before the sun, with just a dull orange glow starting to appear on the horizon. Another amazing breakfast later (oats and french toast, yes please!) we hit the water.

As we neared the part of the bay we were in the day prior, we saw that we were the first boat.

We could see spouts flying up all over, and I silently sat with my fingers crossed manifesting that the whales would want to play!

And sure enough, within minutes our boat was surrounded.

I think it was less than five minutes after arriving that we had touched our first whale!

We couldn’t believe how different the experience was already shaping out to be, compared to our previous day.

Yesterday, the whales were not interested in interacting with us. But today, well it was a whole other story!

Our captain had already briefed us that if the whales show an interest in you, you need to give them a reason to come over.

They respond to whistling, singing and splashing in the water. So that’s what we did!

We sang in our broken Spanish (our captain reminded us because the grey whales are born in Magdalena Bay, they are Mexicanos!) and leant over the boat to splash the water and attract the whales to us.

It worked!

The first time we reached our arms down the side of the boat to connect with the ginormous creature very curiously peering up at us, we were shocked at how she felt.

After seeing the sheer size of the grey whales, the barnacles on their skin and the sleek way they moved through the water, we expected them to feel hard, and muscly.

But to our surprise, they felt soft and a little squishy. It’s a hard texture to explain, not slimy, not rough. More like a smooth, rubber feel. (My explanation isn’t great – so you’ll have to go and touch a whale for yourself!).

And touching them wasn’t the only thing we did.

The whales stick their heads out of the water right next to the boat, and when they get their bodies vertical in the water and launch up, you are almost face-to-face with them. So of course, you give them a kiss!

Every time a whale got close, our captain would yell out ‘beso beso beso!’ which means kiss in Spanish. So, not only did we touch a whale, but we gave her a big salty smooch too!

It’s hard to find the words to describe the next four or so hours.

One whale, in particular, stayed with us and played the entire time.

Our captain thought that she was a pregnant mumma with a very big belly and that she would likely be ready to give birth anytime soon.

She splashed, she rolled, she crisscrossed under and around our boat. She blew from her blowhole and sprayed us with salty water. She popped her head out to get a good look at us (known as a spy hop). And stayed for what felt like a long time, resting against the side of our boat, happily receiving scratches, smooches and songs from us.

Other boats came and went, and she was there waiting to welcome them with a scratch along the side, a little nudge of their boat, and a spy hop to say hello.

The boats gravitated into a natural circle around this beauty, and there was instant comradery between all the passengers.

Everyone had the opportunity to reach down and touch her, and most kissed this beautiful animal too, to a chorus of ‘beso beso beso’ from all the other boats.

Connecting with the whale was one of the most incredible experiences of my life, but watching everyone else do the same was just as special.

Any kind of composure and self-consciousness was instantly stripped away the second the whale turned her attention to someone.

Grown men (including Brayden!) squealed in delight, and everyone reverted to their native language, using their own words of affection.

Watching everyone have their moment, loudly singing to call to her, speaking to her as they leant down to scratch her, and seeing their faces as they rose back up after planting a kiss on her – it was magic.

I don’t think there was a dry eye in the entire bay, and we could feel the pure joy radiating from everyone out there.

It was so abundantly clear that this animal wanted to connect with us.

She spent four hours, seriously four hours, hanging around the boats.

It wasn’t that she swam away and the boats chased her. She willingly stayed around us the entire time.

There were a few occasions when she appeared to dive deep, and we thought okay, that’s it. It’s her time to go. But a few seconds later she reappeared again, seeming to have flipped around underwater and come back again with a renewed sense of energy.

Touching and playing with her was incredible, but to me, the knowledge that she wanted to do that was even better.

I feel completely confident that she had the ability to safely move away from the boats without being chased or pressured (which is my greatest fear when it comes to any wildlife interactions).

But she chose not to.

That right there is something special, and something I will never forget. Bearing in mind the horrible history humans and grey whales share when we hunted them to near extinction – she still chose to interact with us. To allow us to touch and play and kiss her.

And, when her baby arrives, she will again approach the boats, pushing her baby forward to interact and connect too. Wow.

Eventually, the whale decided she was ready to say goodbye.

She started to swim away and we cruised slowly alongside her rhythmic strokes. And then, she took a deep breath, propelled down with all her force, and with a flick of the tail above the surface, she was gone.

At this point, we decided to head back to camp.

Although we could have spent more time out on the bay searching for other whales, we didn’t think it could get much better than that.

We left knowing we had been blessed with the company of these beautiful creatures for long enough.

We cruised slowly back to camp, seeing other spouts all across the bay. We couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces, and I think Brayden and I looked at each other and squealed ‘we just kissed a whale!’ at least ten times.

We arrived back at camp for one last meal, and damn, it was a good one!

Our captain had picked up some chocolate clams from another boat while we were out on the bay (delivery from the mainland), to give us a taste of this popular local delicacy after we told him we had never tried them.

Almejas chocolatas (chocolate clams) are not, despite what I thought, a chocolate dish. They are clams found in the waters around the Baja Peninsula.

Our captain opened the shell with a sharp kitchen knife to reveal a raw and fresh ceviche-style clam. He showed us exactly how he likes to eat them, with a squeeze of lime, a dash of soy sauce and a drizzle of hot salsa on top. We slurped them up like an oyster, and they were delicious!

Our table was full of clams, chips, guacamole, prawns and local beers.

And just when we thought we couldn’t fit anything else in, the lovely chef from Magdalena Bay Whales brought out some homemade pastel (cake) to add a third dish to our meal and to wish us farewell.

After lunch, it was time to say goodbye.

To Magdalena Bay Whales’ beautiful camp, their kind and caring staff, and the stunning island we had enjoyed so much.

After some photos together, some very stilted goodbyes and good wishes in our broken Spanish, we jumped on board with our captain for the final time and started the sad farewell to Magdalena Bay.

We returned to the town of San Carlos via a different route.

Making stops to see a family of sea lions sunning themselves on a buoy, and via Isla Patos (translated as Duck Island), which is home to a dizzying number of sea birds.

But soon, as our boat bumped onto the mainland, it was time to say our final goodbye to our captain.

We had spent a lot of time together over the past few days, and we loved getting to know him, learning more about life in Mexico, and practising our Spanish.

He was patient, kind and skilled in every way at what he does. We could tell he loved the experience as much as we did, and even after seeing whales every single day of the season, his excitement was infectious.

It was mid-afternoon by this point, and we had decided to spend a night in San Carlos, rather than starting our long drive to Loreto. We stayed at Hotel Isabela, the hotel owned by Magdalena Bay Whales.

We spent the afternoon relaxing in their on-site palapa restaurant, browsing through thousands of photos and videos, and reliving our experience over and over.

We connected with other groups of travellers who had been out on the bay and swapped stories and photos, no one wanting the experience to end.

When we finally fell into bed early, we couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces as we reflected on the magic of the past few days.

We knew our trip around Mexico would continue, and the following day we would say goodbye to Mag Bay, and go on to see more beautiful places and incredible things.

But we both knew deep down that this experience would forever stick out as a highlight. Not just a highlight of this particular trip, but of our lives in general.

Tips for your trip with Magdalena Bay Whales

Magdalena Bay Whales provide basically everything you need, whether you are doing a one-day whale watching tour, or spending a few nights at their camp as we did.

But given the remote location of the island, and the nature of the experience here are a couple of tips to ensure you get the most out of what will be a life-changing trip.

• 🚗 Magdalena Bay is quite far away from other destinations: we arrived from La Paz which was around 3.5 hours drive, and we moved on to Loreto which was 2.5 hours. So consider if you need an extra night before/after your experience. We’re really glad we added on a night at Hotel Isabela in San Carlos after our tour and tackled the drive the next morning.

• 🗣️ Most people don’t speak English: whilst you will communicate in advance with the team in English, once you arrive in San Carlos, it’s almost entirely Spanish-speaking. This is a very small fishing town in a remote part of the state. Communication can be tricky at times, but we viewed it as a challenge and a forced way to practice our Spanish. Be prepared with Google Translate downloaded offline.

• ❄️ Don’t forget you’re visiting in winter: winter in Baja is full of blue skies and sunshine, but it does get cold at night! Be sure to bring warm clothes with you for the mornings and evenings. We were thankful for our socks, beanies, and jackets. There is a fireplace in the restaurant at camp, which kept us toasty and warm throughout the evening and blankets in our tent.

• 🔌 The camp is completely off-grid: the only power comes from a small generator which is run for just a few hours per day. We were able to plug in our devices to charge for a few hours in the evening and the morning. But it’s best to come with all phones, cameras, drones and spare batteries fully charged! We also had our power bank with us, which was great to use out on the boat as we burned through our batteries quickly with all the photos and videos we took!

• 🔦 Bring a torch or headtorch: we always travel with head torches, and they came in handy for navigating around camp and to and from our tent at night. There may have been torches available if we needed them, but we didn’t ask. A phone torch could also suffice.

• 🧖🏽‍♀️ Bring your own towels if you’re staying at camp: there are camp-style showers you can use, but they don’t provide towels. If you don’t have one, I believe it is possible to organise in advance to rent some for a small fee. A towel also came in handy on the boat too as we were splashed by the whales multiple times!

• 🍟 You probably don’t need to pack snacks: we wondered beforehand if we should bring some snacks along with us for between meals at the camp and on the boat. The answer is no! We were so well fed by Magdalena Bay Whales we were barely hungry for the next meal, let alone snacks in between. Whilst we were out on the boat for our whale watching tours, our captain also had snacks and drinks for us, and we did not go hungry.

Reflecting on a lifetime memory

I can honestly say that this experience was one of the best things I have ever done in my life. The sheer joy Brayden and I both felt seeing these creatures up close was indescribable.

If you only have a day, go for the day. But we would strongly, strongly encourage you to make time to spend a few days.

Experience the peace and tranquillity of the camp, and allow yourself more time out on the bay with the whales. I promise you will not regret it!

If you have any questions about our experience, please let me know in the comments.

And if you want to organise your own experience with Magdalena Bay Whales, you can get in touch with them via their website and they will help to create a completely customised experience for you based on your time and budget.

If you get the chance to go – please let me know! I want as many people as possible to have this special, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Don’t forget to check out my other post for all the practical and logistical information you need about seeing the grey whales in Magdalena Bay, Mexico.