January Baja Whale Watching?
October 24, 2012 2:21 PM Subscribe
Looking for information about budget whale watching vacations in Baja in early January.
My sweety and I are looking for a vacation in warmer climes at the end of her winter break, which means back to school on January 7th. We love whale watching, and haven't been to Baja yet, so would love to figure out something where we could spend a few days out on the water. Preferably with people who are respectful of the whales, who will let the whales come to the boat rather than chasing them down, and if they don't that's fine.
We're coming from the San Francisco Bay Area, if that impacts flight issues.
Complications: Budget right now means the $2800+ each "chartered plane out of San Diego to beachfront accomodations" is probably out. We also prefer off the beaten track sorts of vacations. Neither of us speaks Spanish, but we're okay with pantomime and learning fast. We'd rather spend $25-50 a night in a local hotel rather than $150 at some beachside tourist trap resort, we don't need umbrellas in our drinks.
We're also sheltered in our upper middle-class US existence and worried about things like police corruption that we keep hearing stories about in Cabo San Lucas and similar places.
So what we'd like is either a package deal somewhere between the "luxury coach/chartered airplane and swank touristy hotel on the beach" on the high end and the "umpteen days each way of driving and hostels" Green Tortoise on the low-end, or a pointer towards resources where we could plan a "Fly into X, take this bus to that town, stay in that small hotel" more self-supported trip. Sea kayaking is fine if they've got tandems, I can paddle long distances, she: not so much.
Also willing to hear "too early in the season to see whales", or "Go to San Diego instead", or...?
Suggestions? Do we need to rent a car? Any experiences? Thanks!
My sweety and I are looking for a vacation in warmer climes at the end of her winter break, which means back to school on January 7th. We love whale watching, and haven't been to Baja yet, so would love to figure out something where we could spend a few days out on the water. Preferably with people who are respectful of the whales, who will let the whales come to the boat rather than chasing them down, and if they don't that's fine.
We're coming from the San Francisco Bay Area, if that impacts flight issues.
Complications: Budget right now means the $2800+ each "chartered plane out of San Diego to beachfront accomodations" is probably out. We also prefer off the beaten track sorts of vacations. Neither of us speaks Spanish, but we're okay with pantomime and learning fast. We'd rather spend $25-50 a night in a local hotel rather than $150 at some beachside tourist trap resort, we don't need umbrellas in our drinks.
We're also sheltered in our upper middle-class US existence and worried about things like police corruption that we keep hearing stories about in Cabo San Lucas and similar places.
So what we'd like is either a package deal somewhere between the "luxury coach/chartered airplane and swank touristy hotel on the beach" on the high end and the "umpteen days each way of driving and hostels" Green Tortoise on the low-end, or a pointer towards resources where we could plan a "Fly into X, take this bus to that town, stay in that small hotel" more self-supported trip. Sea kayaking is fine if they've got tandems, I can paddle long distances, she: not so much.
Also willing to hear "too early in the season to see whales", or "Go to San Diego instead", or...?
Suggestions? Do we need to rent a car? Any experiences? Thanks!
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posted by lakersfan1222 at 1:08 PM on December 21, 2012