Just curious to those in the know. Just came across this as an entry in the Unesco World heritage spots. Seems to be some high end Glamping tourism.
But is the place open for solo camping outside of this? A trip from la Paz centro must be a couple of hours on the water, must also be options at the
beach end of Hwy 11.
The closest points - 7+ KM? maybe, looks quite shallow... 10-20 m ?. Anyone kayaked across? Provisions for a few days at least. Any reviews as to
hiking? No idea on what topo heights might be.
JZ - 9-14-2018 at 07:10 PM
I've seen the glamping tents.
The closest place to launch to hit the islands is Tecolote as you highlighted. Panga tours up there. You can pay extra for a private trip.
I'm sure you can camp out there.
Check out the end of the video in my sig for lots of shots of the islands.
[Edited on 9-15-2018 by JZ]4x4abc - 9-14-2018 at 07:17 PM
it is all protected area - you will need a permit. Available in town. The organized tours have the permit price included. Some beaches are completely
empty of humans. Great hiking. no fires allowedJZ - 9-14-2018 at 07:32 PM
it is all protected area - you will need a permit. Available in town. The organized tours have the permit price included. Some beaches are completely
empty of humans. Great hiking. no fires allowed
How much is a permit? charliemanson - 9-14-2018 at 07:35 PM
Bugs, bugs and more bugs. Had to eat in the water with our heads sticking out. Depends on time of year maybe. We had 3 day permit but left after one
sleepless night. cool place but BUGS!JZ - 9-14-2018 at 08:18 PM
Bugs, bugs and more bugs. Had to eat in the water with our heads sticking out. Depends on time of year maybe. We had 3 day permit but left after one
sleepless night. cool place but BUGS!
You can say that about anywhere in Baja along the SoC coast on a given day. All depends on where and when. But it is fairly uncommon. ALWAYS take
good bug stray.
So, let's not assume this is a regular occurrence. freediverbrian - 9-14-2018 at 08:37 PM
At my place in baja lots of bugs one year same week next year no bugs ?? Depends on rain and temp . It's a crap shoot , roll the dice and have fun.
Maybe?
Checked out end of the video in my sig for lots of shots of the islands.
JZ, those videos are tourism quality videos, put a copyright tag on them.
On my list - wow!. Bugs, yes can happen anywhere, anytime. If the glamper tenting crowd sets up must just be a freak bloom .
I assume the sea lions just hang out for a while not the whole year.
Where was that ice berg rock location? That was impressive, looked like the Disney Matterhorm top sticking out of the water.white whale - 9-18-2018 at 10:37 AM
It took several days but I got a reply back from the Tourism page - seems to be only a spanish version - on the the island particulars.
Not sure if this means a permit allows solo travel still. Or if its a closed shop just for the tour operators.
Hello there!
Thank you for contacting the La Paz Tourism Board, the Espíritu Santo Island is a natural protected area and the tour operators that offers the
camping service has especial permits that allows them to take you to enjoy its beauty while taking care of nature; therefore, is not possible to do
it just by yourself.
These are the companies that you can camp with:
Fun Baja
Adress: 88 Cerro La Poza Todos Santos BCS MX 23300, Guaycura, B.C.S.
Telephone: 01(612)145 0189 https://www.tosea.net/
TOSEA
Adress: 88 Cerro La Poza Todos Santos BCS MX 23300, Guaycura, B.C.S.
Telephone: 01(612)145 0189 https://www.tosea.net/
Baja Camp
Adress: Belisario Domínguez 2718, Zona Central, 23000 La Paz, B.C.S.
Telephone: 01 (612) 128 664 http://www.bajacamp.com/
I hope you find this information useful,
Saludos!gnukid - 9-18-2018 at 11:39 AM
The islands of Espiritu Santo, Isla Partida and Islotes are a spiritual trinity, with history of indigenous Pericú inhabitants, oyster famers and
pirates. Thankfully, the islands are protected by an agreement of the people created by huge cooperative effort of local ecological organizational
support so you should not bring any food, pets, insects or any form of contamination to the biology of island.
Visit the islands on your own for daily visits, or best to go with a guide. People do camp, though you are strongly discouraged since few people take
required precautions on their own. Avoid setting up an invasive camp on shore for day or overnight. Do not bring any contaminant, meaning non
indigenous foods, waste, insects or animals and you must remove 100% of what you bring or create meaning you need a portable waste system. There is a
dune area and low altitude trail to walk across, and a panga can drop you off to walk the trail visit the old pearl farms, and pick you on the other
side. Or you can explore the channel between the islands, shores and beaches from a kayak or paddle board that is launched from the Pangas which is
really fun. You can join the camps for a fee, they are permanently setup in coves and can become hot, buggy and unbearable. The camps can't stop you
from visiting their locations for free. Wind tends to swirl 360 and rotate through the day and night.
It is possible to get a ride in a panga, larger power yacht or circumnavigate the islands in a sailing yacht for short daily visits which is the most
convenient and enjoyable. Or you can anchor out for overnights and daily visits, which are also susceptible to swirling windy conditions with north
winds in the day and south easterly wind at night. With local knowledge of predictable daily wind patterns you can reduce head to wind passages and go
with the wind by leaving La Paz bay very early 12-4am with the south wind and returning to La Paz in the afternoon north wind.
It's a short trip from Tecolote beach or slightly longer trip from the Marinas and Malecon.
Bouncing on a bench in a commercial panga from Malecon to Islotes for a day is a bit much, many or most pangas are 22-23', low cost, fast and
convenient and do not have bathrooms and there are no bathrooms on the islands, so one assumes people go while swimming in the water. Choose tour
guides and boats carefully for extended trips. Larger 28' pangas with bathrooms do exist and are very nice. Boats larger than 28' are not able to come
to shore, so you need to swim or paddle, but are more comfortable though slower.
Camping at Tecolote is unregulated (free). We have rented or had delivered kayaks and kayaked from Tecolote across the San Lorenzo channel at slack
tide to avoid high currents to island. The San Lorenzo channel between Tecolte and Espiritu Santo looks harmless though is considered extremely
dangerous due to high currents and changing wind and sea.
The island UNESCO biosphere designation means nothing. US and other countries do not recognize UNESCO as a partner organization and have withdrawn
from UNESCO officially in 2018 due to their practices and Mexico has communicated similar concerns.
The UNESCO biosphere "permit" bracelet is 100% voluntary and can not be required by law according to all legal investigations and can not be enforced
since nationalized protected lands are for everyone to use while respecting the region without fee restriction. UNESCO has no jurisdiction nor can
declare or require financial payments by anyone or enforce discriminatory practices to limit access based on fee, residency, race, age etc. as
apparently it is intended.
The permit fee is usually requested only to pale foreigner non residents by who-knows-who, which is an extremely offensive form of discrimination,
like mega hotels blocking access to public beaches, and is illegal and non-enforceable. It's also unclear that the money you give to a random person
selling permits is going anywhere for ecological benefit they claim, since no accounting exists and since unenforced and unregulated, any one can
simply resell biosphere "permits" "bracelets" as a form of income. There are no biosphere "permits" or restrictions allowed for daily visits to any
nationalized protected lands or federal zone but laws in Mexico are vague and unenforced so wherever you go you can find someone asking you for money
for a biosphere permit. It's a form of the UN manifesting political division for designated profit.
Generally, if you ask a reputable guide, the biosphere "permit fee" is included in any guided tour by certified guides, you are not given a bracelet
and it is not ever requested. No biosphere permit fee is ever requested by a reputable guide, only scammers.
Under recent tourism regulations, island, shark and sea lion swimming tour operators, their captains and staff must be licensed and are the ones who
are being regulated as a business due to severe abuse issues. In one case tour operators were involved in a robbery of tourists on the shore of island
to discourage another operator and in another case pangas crashed into each other in altercation. Now, they are supposed to carry safety gear,
communicate their itinerary, have radios and cell phones and fly a flag showing their current certification, still you may find yourself with
uncertified, inexperienced, underprepared, non-bilingual staff who have no idea what they are doing and may not able to swim so choose carefully if
you want a safe trip.
During whale shark season in the bay of La Paz and islands, all interaction with whales and sea lions is required (requested) to be done from
certified guides, though free snorkeling is allowed of course just not in direct aggressive pursuit of whale sharks and sea lions like tour operators
do.
Most guides can provide gear and lunch and adjust schedules as desired
Baja Expeditions is known as a the longest running guides who are the most experienced and offer camp, kayak day and week trips to the islands, many
options including catamaran trips. http://bajaex.com/
Tours Tesoro is run by a very experienced and certified PHD in marine biology www.facebook.com/tourstesoro/
+52 612 154 5659
Cantamar is the pro diver hotel nearest to the islands with larger boat that does go on daily trips focused on scuba diving. https://www.clubcantamar.com/hotel.html
Tecolote beach is likely the most convenient location for quick 4 hour trips though I do not know the name of the guides, you just go there and sign
up when you arrive. http://www.playaeltecolote.com
PHONE: 612122888 OR
6121572941
INFO@PLAYAELTECOLOTE.COM
[Edited on 9-19-2018 by gnukid]white whale - 9-18-2018 at 04:40 PM
G Kid, You outdid the tourist office. that is great info. Ok day visits only , i can appreciate that, keep the food off the island. I assume the
glampers get a food exemption. The hiking looks awesome, are the high points climbable - low angle slopes?
And the permit / tourist tax.... thanks for clearing that up.
The camp photo had a very unique rock formation in the background. Looked like stacked rocks, but huge ones.
As to solo kayak, some decent open water skills required to cross then, but sounds like better to get a local to taxi you over. And if GOO maps is
correct they show the ferries going through this space to the mainland so it must be fairly deep in the middle. That has to be impressive to see a
decent sized ship passing every day.
