Where to Play, Eat, and Stay in Loreto on Mexico's Baja California Peninsula

08.01.2025 - 10:35 / matadornetwork.com / Jacques Cousteau

Loreto, Mexico, is magical. Don’t just take my word for it. The Mexican government designated the city in Baja California Sur as one of the country’s Pueblos Mágicos, or “magical towns” that provide “cultural richness, historical relevance, cuisine, art crafts, and great hospitality.”

Loreto’s magic comes in many forms: It’s the way the air feels when the sun sinks behind the Sierra de la Giganta mountains, and the day’s heat fades into the shadows. It’s Loreto’s history as the first successful town on the Baja California peninsula, starting with the founding of the first permanent mission on the El Camino Real. It’s the surprising number of great restaurants in the relatively remote locale and the protected nature areas nearby. It’s the clear and lively waters of the UNESCO-listed Loreto Bay National Marine Park and the greater Gulf of California, or Sea of Cortez, which Jacques Cousteau once called the “Aquarium of the World.”

My recent trip to Loreto was my third overall visit and my first in over 20 years. I visited in early winter when the weather is just about perfect, but the best time to visit Loreto really depends on your primary reason for going. If you want to see whales, come in late winter or early spring. Summer is the time for lounging on the beach and soaking up the heat, as well as casting lines for big fish like marlin and dorado (mahi-mahi) although you can fish year-round. For festivals and outdoor activities, look to the cooler temperatures in fall and winter.

Whatever time of year you decide to visit, here’s everything you need to know about Loreto, Mexico, from what to see and eat to where to stay and how to get around.

Photo: Craig Benson

Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó, or Mission Loreto, is smack dab in the heart of downtown Loreto. Founded in 1697 by Jesuit missionary Juan María de Salvatierra, it was the first successful mission established on the El Camino Real, a missionary road that runs from the southern tip of the Baja peninsula to Sonoma County, California. The stone church was completed in 1744 and has an impressive five-story bell tower that still rings regularly. Inside is a baroque altarpiece with the original painting of Our Lady of Loreto.

A bright yellow museum that was, at one time, a convent is attached to the church. Called the Museo de las Misiones de Baja California, it contains several hundred items, including 300-year-old church documents and Indigenous artifacts predating that.

Mission Loreto: Juan María de Salvatierra 14, Centro, 23880 Loreto, BCS, Mexico

Photo: Craig Benson

About an hour’s drive from Loreto is Mission San Javier (full name Misión San Francisco Xavier de Viggé-Biaundó). Originally built in 1702, it moved to its current location in