• San José Archipelago

The remote Archipelago of San Jose offers spectacular coastal scenery, fine camping beaches and due to its proximity,
an opportunity to really escape from the crowds.

  • Duration: 8 days (arrival and departure day included)
  • Intensity: Intermediate to Advanced
  • Paddling time: 3-5 hours a day
  • Trip Style: Co-operatively Catered and Fully Catered .
  • Season: November, December, April and May
  • Minimum age: 16 yrs old CC trips/10yrs old FC trips
  • Wildlife: Californian Sea-lions, tropical fish, whales (seasonal), dolphins, manta rays, Pelicans, Blue-footed Boobies, Ospreys, Frigates, Herons and Egrets.
  • Includes: Certified, bi-lingual naturalist guide(s) & cook(s). Singles and/or double kayaks, all kayaking gear, camping equipment, transportation to and from your La Paz hotel to the Island. All food and beverages during expedition including, cold beers, happy hour and wine with evening meal. Two nights hotel in La Paz. Farewell Dinner in La Paz restaurant.
  • Does not include: Airport taxi transfers and flights.
  • Available for rent: Sleeping bags, snorkel sets and wet suits.

 

You might rightly think... 'one of our more out there expeditions'. Paddle into a world well off the beaten path – away from the tour boats and even other kayak outfitters. It's a unique journey to several islands each one giving us extraordinary examples of the rugged beauty that awaits to be discovered in The Sea of Cortes. Highlights will include remote camping beaches, exceptional snorkeling, sea river through mangrove forest, dolphin pods, birdlife, a fishing community 'on the edge of the world', circumnavigating precious Isla San Francisquito and of course your legendary BOA guides. We have carefully crafted an expedition with many of our regular kayakers in mind but it will be a must do voyage for any kayaker with multi-expeditions under their belt. This is an expedition for folks that also rise to the challenge of open water crossings but regretfully it therefore eliminates novice paddlers and anyone that has not undertaken open water crossings of 3+ miles.

  • Day 1: Arrive in La Paz, check into your hotel room and at 9:00pm meet your guides for a pre-trip orientation.
  • Day 2: (Early start) journey up the rugged coast north of La Paz to our launch beach at Playa Portuguesa. Organize gear, pack and load kayaks. Our afternoon’s paddle takes us along the towering cliff coastline where the southern reaches of the Sierra de la Giganta tumble into the Sea of Cortez. An arroyo nestled between cliffs forms the perfect setting for our first nights camp.
  • Day 3: After breakfast we will pack up and prepare for a 2 hour crossing to the San Jose Archipelago. We’ll visit the inhabited island of El Pardito and meet some of the local fisherman who will provide us with fresh offerings from the sea for our dinner tonight. We’ll base camp (2 nights) on neighboring Isla San Francisquito.
  • Day 4: San Francisquito is an absolute jewel of an island and we will spend the day exploring every nook and cranny as we circumnavigate returning to our same camp spot (so no need to pack up). We’ll take a packed lunch and a pair of hiking shoes to scramble along a stunning ridgeline that affords fantastic views of Isla Espiritu Santo in the distant south and the mighty San Jose in the north.
  • Day 5: A short channel crossing and we will arrive at the mouth entrance of a mangrove forest. A hidden channel allows us to penetrate deep into the mangroves and exit on the west coast of San Jose. After a swim and lunch break we’ll head north to our next camp spot at Punta Salina.
  • Day 6: Our next channel crossing of some 4 miles takes us back across to mainland Baja and into the small fishing village of San Evaristo where we will have a fish taco lunch, replenish our supplies and move on to our final camp paddling as far back down the coast as we feel comfortable with to set up for our final morning paddle the next day.
  • Day 7: Pack up kayaks and paddle to our take out at Punta Portuguesa. Here we will load up kayaks, devour our final packed lunch and return to La Paz for warm showers and farewell dinner together. Rest well in La Paz hotel.
  • Day 8: Breakfast and departure.

Note: As with all our expeditions, BOA's first priority is the safety and comfort of our guests. In the event of inclement weather and/or according to the group's sea-kayaking ability the guides may deviate from the above route plan.

The San Jose Archipelago is some 50 miles north of La Paz and the next set of island north of Isla Espiritu Santo. Its lack of proximity to any main roads or significant townships affords this group of islands, and any would be Robinson Crusoe, the luxury of escaping the crowds. We access the island by driving up a dirt road for a couple of hours and launching from the coastline that is roughly adjacent to the southern end of the archipelago.

We have two types of trips: Fully Catered and Cooperatively Catered.
Year
Month
Days
Type
Trips

25 years
experience

Legendary
guides

Environmental
focus

A passion for
people