Todos Santos day trip from Cabo: the drive, what to see and whether it's worth a day

Todos Santos is 48 miles (77 km) north of Cabo San Lucas on Highway 19, about an hour each way, so it works well as a day trip. It's worth it if you want a slow day on land: a historic center you can walk in an hour or two, galleries, and long Pacific beaches that are for looking at, because most aren't safe to swim. Leave by 9 AM and you can be back for dinner.

It has been a Pueblo Mágico since 2006, and about 7,000 people live there. The town sits almost exactly on the Tropic of Cancer.

How do you get from Cabo to Todos Santos?

Drive north out of Cabo San Lucas on Highway 19. It's four lanes the whole way, running up the Pacific side of the cape with desert on one side and the ocean showing up on the other every few miles. You don't need a special vehicle, and there's no turn to miss.

If you'd rather not drive, guided day tours and private drivers run this route every day. Ask how much time the tour spends in the town itself before you pay.

Is it safe to drive from Cabo to Todos Santos?

Yes, in daylight. Highway 19 is one of the most traveled roads in Baja California Sur, and it's in good shape.

The two things to watch are livestock and speed bumps. The highway isn't lit, and cows and horses walk onto the pavement after dark, which is why locals avoid driving it at night. Speed bumps (topes) show up near towns and aren't always marked well, so slow down when you see the sign.

Fill the tank before you leave Cabo, bring water, and plan to be on the road home before sunset.

What to see in Todos Santos

The historic center is small. Park once and walk.

The plaza is the place to start, with the mission church on one side and the old theater, the Teatro Márquez de León, on the other. The streets around them hold the brick and adobe buildings from the sugar years, many of them now galleries and shops. Todos Santos has had a working artist community for decades, and browsing the galleries is most of what people do here.

Punta Lobos, about 2 miles (3 km) south of town, is the fishermen's beach. The local crews launch their pangas straight off the sand and run them back up it when they return with the day's catch. It's a good stop for photos and for seeing a working beach.

North and south of town the coast is one long strip of sand with almost nothing on it. Walk it, watch the surf, and in winter look for whale blows offshore.

A short history of Todos Santos

The town started as a mission. Father Jaime Bravo founded Santa Rosa de las Palmas here in 1723, and it became a mission in its own right in 1733.

What built the town you see now was sugar. A freshwater spring made the valley farmable, and in the 1800s Todos Santos became the sugarcane capital of Baja, with eight mills working by the end of the century. They turned out panocha, small cones of dark brown sugar.

Then the spring dried up in 1950, and the last mill closed in 1965. The water came back in 1981, Highway 19 was paved in the mid 1980s, and farming and visitors returned. The old mills still dot the valley, and the center keeps the look of those years.

Can you swim at the beaches in Todos Santos?

At most of them, no, and this is the part people get wrong.

These beaches face the open Pacific. The waves break hard right on the sand, and rip currents pull offshore. A shore break like that can knock an adult down in knee-deep water.

Playa Los Cerritos, south of town on the way back toward Cabo, sits in a more sheltered bay and is the one beach in the area generally considered swimmable. Stay toward the north end, where the undertow is weaker, and keep kids close.

It's the same story as the Pacific side of Cabo. Divorce Beach and the coast out to the Cabo Falso lighthouse get the same swell. The calm water is on the bay side, which our guide to Cabo beaches that are safe to swim explains beach by beach.

Turtle releases and whales in season

Elsewhere in Los Cabos, releases run from about August to December, but in Todos Santos a local nonprofit keeps releasing hatchlings on the beach near town at sunset from about December into March. They're open to the public and free. Dates follow when the nests hatch, so confirm before you go. More on how these work across Los Cabos is in our sea turtle release guide.

There's a catch. The release is at sunset, and the drive home is the one you shouldn't do in the dark. If the turtles are the reason you're going, book a night in Todos Santos or hire a driver who knows the road.

Winter is also whale season on this coast. Humpbacks start arriving in November, and from the Pacific beaches you can often see blows and the odd breach from shore. To get close to them you need a boat, and those leave from Cabo. See our whale watching page for how the trips run.

Is Todos Santos worth visiting on a short trip?

It depends on how many days you have.

On a 3-day trip, probably not. You'd spend a third of your time on a town you can't swim in, and Cabo's best things are on the water. On 4 or 5 days, yes. Todos Santos makes a good change of pace in the middle of the trip, especially if your group likes art, coffee and walking more than beach clubs.

A split that works for 4 or 5 days:

Put the boat day before Todos Santos. If the Port Captain closes the harbor for weather, which is rare and mostly happens from September to mid-October, you still have days left to move the charter. Our Cabo itinerary for 3, 4 and 5 days has more versions of this, and the trip guide shows weather and sunset times by month.

How to pair Todos Santos with a private boat day

The two days complement each other. In Todos Santos you look at the Pacific from the sand. On a boat you get in the water, on the calm side of the cape.

If you liked the wild coast on the drive up, the 2 hour Pacific sunset route shows you the same shoreline from the sea. It goes around Land's End past the Arch and the sea lions, then out toward Cabo Falso as the sun drops (12 miles round trip). In whale season, a 3 hour trip gives the captain time to look for humpbacks.

Prices are per boat, not per person, with 16% IVA tax included. The customary 15% crew tip is not included. The Sea Ray 40 has a flybridge, which helps when you're scanning for whales. Every charter is private, one group per yacht, and boards at Marina Cabo San Lucas.

Don't try both on the same day. A morning in Todos Santos and a sunset cruise looks fine on paper, but one slow lunch or a stop at Cerritos and you're racing down Highway 19 to make the dock.

When you know which day is which, put the date and group size into the planner. We reply within 2 hours, 8 AM to 8 PM Cabo time.

Yachts in this guide

Chaparral 28Sport boat · up to 10 guestsfrom $519 / 2 hSea Ray 36Express cruiser · up to 12 guestsfrom $659 / 2 hSea Ray 40Flybridge yacht · up to 12 guestsfrom $879 / 2 h

Questions people ask

How far is Todos Santos from Cabo San Lucas?

About 48 miles (77 km) north on Highway 19, a four-lane road along the Pacific side. The drive takes about an hour each way.

Is Todos Santos worth visiting?

Yes, if you want a slower day on land: a walkable historic center with galleries and old brick buildings from the sugar years, and wide Pacific beaches. It fits best in a trip of 4 days or more. With only 3 days, most people get more from a day on the water in Cabo.

Is it safe to drive from Cabo to Todos Santos?

The road is a well-kept four-lane highway and one of the most traveled drives in Baja California Sur. Drive it in daylight, because it is not lit and cows and horses wander onto the pavement after dark.

Can you swim at the beaches in Todos Santos?

Most of them, no. They face the open Pacific, with a heavy shore break and rip currents. Playa Los Cerritos, south of town, is the one generally considered swimmable, and even there you should stay toward the north end and watch the surf.

When are the turtle releases in Todos Santos?

Releases in Todos Santos come late in the season: a local nonprofit releases hatchlings at sunset from about December into March. Elsewhere in Los Cabos they run from about August to December. Confirm dates with them, since they follow when the nests hatch.

Plan your day on the water

Pick a yacht, the hours and the food in the planner. A written reply within 2 hours, 8 AM to 8 PM Cabo time.

Check availabilitySee the fleet