Getting there & around

Getting there

By air into La Paz (LAP). La Paz has its own airport, Manuel Márquez de León (LAP), about a 20-to-30-minute drive southwest of downtown (approximate). It is small and mostly domestic, with flights from Mexico City, Guadalajara, Tijuana, and a handful of other Mexican hubs, plus limited seasonal cross-border service. From the terminal, take an authorized airport taxi or arrange a hotel pickup; there is no real public transit link, and rideshare coverage at the airport is unreliable. Reckon on roughly 250–400 MXN for the taxi into town (approximate).

By air into Los Cabos (SJD) instead. Many travelers land at the far larger Los Cabos airport (SJD) for cheaper and more frequent international connections, then head north. That is roughly a 2-to-2.5-hour drive (approximate) up Highway 1 through the desert. A rental car makes it easy; shared shuttle vans and private transfers also run the route. If you are flying internationally, this is often the cheaper way in even counting the drive.

By road and bus. The transpeninsular Highway 1 links La Paz to Los Cabos, Todos Santos, and northward toward Loreto. Intercity buses are comfortable and reliable: Aguila is the main Baja Sur operator, running frequent service from the La Paz terminal to Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo (roughly 2.5 to 3 hours, approximate) and to Todos Santos (about 1 hour, approximate). Autobuses de La Paz and connecting lines handle the longer haul up the peninsula. Fares are modest, roughly 300–500 MXN to the Cabo end (approximate). There is also a vehicle-and-passenger ferry from Pichilingue across the Sea of Cortez to Mazatlán and Topolobampo if you are threading Baja into a mainland trip.

Getting around

Downtown and the malecón are flat and genuinely walkable, and that is where you will spend most of your evenings on foot. For the beaches and the tour docks, you need wheels.

• Rental car is the honest recommendation if you plan to hit Balandra, Tecolote, or day trips. The northern beaches are a 20-to-40-minute drive up the coast road (approximate) and public transport out there is thin to nonexistent. Roads are in decent shape.
• Taxis are easy to find downtown and at the marina. Most are unmetered, so agree the fare before you get in. In-town hops are cheap.
• Ride apps exist but have limited, inconsistent coverage. Do not count on them the way you would in Mexico City; treat them as a bonus, not a plan.
• Colectivos and local buses run some routes for residents but are not built around getting tourists to the beaches efficiently.

Comfort notes

Highway 1 is fast, mostly two-lane, with few lights and the occasional loose cow, dog, or unlit vehicle after dark. Drive it in daylight wherever you can, and do not rush the return from a late beach day. The road itself is not twisty enough to trouble motion-prone passengers, but the desert stretches are long and monotonous, so keep water and fuel topped up. Night driving is the one thing worth avoiding.