Nick Fong and his sales agent Sol Gutierrez, who is located in La Paz, join their special guest Agustin Olachea, the President of the La Paz Hotel Association. Agustin is originally from Mexico City, but his heart and soul has always been in Baja California, where his family came from before he was born. Nick, Sol, and Agustin are here to present Mexico’s new tourist gem, La Paz, just north of Cabo and the Capital of Baja California Sur the southern state on the Baja peninsula.
Interstingly, La Paz was originally discovered by Hernan Cortez back in 1535, when he was conquering Mexico for Spain. And, May 3rd is considered to be the birthday of La Paz, which is normally celebrated each year, but was postponed due to the current pandemic. Now, La Paz boasts a population of almost 250,000 people. It’s the perfect size city to have everything you would hope for, like health facilities, stores, services, and goods, without being too large. La Paz maintains a nice small-town, laid-back feeling along the coast. Keep reading to learn about all this new tourist gem has to offer.
La Paz is a gateway to Mexico
Having both an international airport and an international sea port, La Paz is the gateway to all the products and goods that come in from the mainland. This gateway supplies all of La Paz, Cabo to the south, and other cities to the north. But now, La Paz is quickly becoming Mexico’s new tourism gem – a tourist sector that has been growing very fast as visitors are becoming aware of this beautiful Mexican town nestled in a cove along the Sea of Cortez.
The natural wonder of La Paz
Starting with Espiritu Santo Island, La Paz has many natural wonders to explore for yourself. This beautiful little island is a UNESCO National Heritage, which means it is a landmark with legal protection guarded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). There, you’ll find an amazing sea lion colony where you can snorkel or dive along side those beautiful creatures all throughout the year. The island is completely inhabited and protected by Mexican laws to keep it preserved.
La Paz hosts a whale shark
Boasting many beaches and coastal locations to explore, the marine life around La Paz is truly amazing. In fact, Jacques Cousteau, who frequented the Sea of Cortez, names this area “the Aquarium of the World.” And La Paz is the Gateway to the Sea of Cortez. For example, there’s a friendly whale shark, considered to be the biggest fish in the world, that comes in at the beginning of October and stays around until the end of April – they just said goodbye very recently. Agustin jokes that the whale shark said “thank you for now bothering me for one month due to the restrictions during the Coronavirus pandemic.”
La Paz also hosts a gray whale
From the end of December through the beginning of April, La Paz also hosts a gray whale. These giant creatures migrate to the Sea of Cortez from the Bering Sea in Alaska. They come to reproduce and give birth in the warmer, calm waters that you’ll find there. As an interesting note, these gray whales are Mexicans, since that is where they were born in Mexico. And although they don’t have a visa, they can migrate back to the United States and Canada without any problems from the authorities.
Mountain-biking trails of La Paz
Many of the natural wonders of La Paz can be experienced while enjoying a thrilling mountain bike excursion. La Paz provides many mountain bike trails that allow you to view the beautiful desert landscape and the panoramic coastal expanses, all while being challenged by the terrain.
One of the best windsurfing locations near La Paz
La Ventana, a small coastal town near La Paz, boasts one of the best locations for windsurfing in the world. Just take a short 35 minute drive to La Ventana, and there you are. This is the place where thousands of wind surfing enthusiasts come to play on the surface of the sea. These brave wind surfers claim that the winds are very strong, yet the waves are very short. They are able experience their thrilling sport at levels that you’ll only find in very few places in the world.
It’s so amazing that you can find all of these spectacular natural wonders and exciting activities all in one municipality – La Paz. There are enough activities and wonders, all in one place, to keep you there for a nice long vacation. And, you’ll want to keep coming back for more. In fact, with such low prices in this beautiful coastal community, many tourists decide to buy permanent homes there, so they can keep coming back to their own place, and even live there when they can.
Historic towns near La Paz
There are two historic towns in southern Baja, near La Paz, where sport fishing is world renowned and history abounds. First, there’s the magical historic town of Todos Santos, along the Pacific Ocean, where sport fishing truly is world renowned. Then, there is another little town called El Triunfo, which is an old mining town that was booming about 120 years ago. After that, it was a dormant ghost town but has recently been discovered and is considered to have great potential. Now, you can eat at a nice restaurant and visit a great museum – the Silver Museum, which shows off the interesting history of this little town.
The boardwalk in La Paz called the Malecon
In town, there’s the famous boardwalk called the Malecon. Although all coastal towns in Mexico boast a wonderful Malecon, this one is one of the most beautiful boardwalks that you’ll find in Mexico. It runs for about seven kilometers, or just over four miles long. It’s a great place to walk around or go for an exhilarating jog. Many local families go there in the afternoons to enjoy the great sea air and have an ice cream. Sometimes, there are hundreds of people there, mingling and enjoying the spectacular views as this boardwalk is facing the sea.
The sunsets from the Malecon are truly breathtaking. Agustin states that he’s never seen sunsets in his entire life like those from the Malecon in La Paz. He says that in one week, you can see sunsets that are purple, bluish, reddish, and orange-colored. It’s just crazy how they turn out and change as you watch the sun go down from the Malecon in La Paz. As you listen to Agustin in this entertaining and informative video, you can see just how in love with this city he really is.
How perceptions have changed about La Paz
Being the capital of Baja California Sur, Cabo residents and tourists who own homes there frequent La Paz for governmental activities. In the past, they would complain about the two hour or longer drive from Cabo. But now that there’s a nice four-lane highway, and La Paz has grown in popularity, you can get there in an hour-and-a-half or an-hour-and-fourty-five-minutes and you can enjoy a great day there. Or, many residents of Cabo now stay there for a week on a vacation away from their vacation home town of Cabo.
La Paz is now a great alternative in real estate, for affordable housing near the sea. In actuality, booming real estate is centered around Los Cabos. And as that has been growing in recent years, there’s been quite an explosion of the development happening on both sides of the peninsula – the Pacific side and along the Sea of Cortez. La Paz is fast becoming a popular place ot own a home due to it’s lower prices, yet full set of features.
Sol Gutierrez, Nick Fong’s agent who is originally from Ecuador, has lived in both Los Cabos and La Paz, just loves how La Paz is an authentic Mexican town. She feels very fortunate to live in Baja California Sur with her family. And in La Paz, she knows just how friendly and inviting this town really is. It’s a place to bring your kids and grow your family – a place to make friends and enjoy life. There are some great communities for ex-pats from the United States and Canada, where they love life in La Paz at an affordable price. Also, in La Paz, it’s affordable living. The value for the cost is amazing and the quality of living is wonderful.
Hotel industry explosion in La Paz
Back in 2007 and 2008, there was quite a surge in investment in La Paz. At that time, two great resorts were built: Puerta Cortez and Paraiso Del Mar. Along with these two wonderful destinations, there are also a few great hotels that were built too. As such, more and more tourists are coming in regularly – more than has ever been seen before. That is why La Paz is being called “the new tourism gem of Mexico.”
Be sure to watch the video to see even more about La Paz, as Nick Fong, Sol Gutierrez and Agustin Olachea continue to discuss just how wonderful La Pas really is.
Baja California Sur real estate
Many Americans, Canadians, and people from other countries choose to make Los Cabos and other magical towns in Baja California Sur, Mexico, their home or vacation home. Discover how to purchase your dream home in Baja. Make an appointment with the top Real Estate Broker in Baja: Nick Fong. He’s featured on HGTV’s Beachfront Bargain Hunt.
Since 2010, Ronival has been helping clients find the best homes in Cabo and throughout Baja California Sur. And, they’re highly-skilled negotiators that’ll get you the best price. Whether you wish to buy a property or quickly sell your Baja real estate, they’ve got you covered!
If you’d like to take a tour of a property in Cabo or anywhere else in Baja California Sur, just click CONTACT to inquire. Or, call directly at 619-831-2000. Ronival will be happy to answer your questions. You can also schedule a time to show you around this breathtaking location.
Ronival on YouTube
See Nick Fong in action on his Ronival YouTube Channel. Find his videos on the Rovival VLOG, where you can read a short, yet in-depth post. Below is an example of one of Nick Fong’s Ronival videos:
Thank you for reading Discover La Paz in Baja California Sur: Mexico’s new tourism gem. Be sure to read other posts about Cabo and Baja California Sur on the Ronival blog. There, learn about the many wonderful aspects of Baja California Sur, Mexico, from blog posts like this.