How to Visit Isla Coronado from Loreto

A complete guide to Loreto’s island paradise: how to get to Isla Coronado on a day trip.

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With picture-perfect beaches, crystal-clear waters, and a wealth of vibrant marine life, Isla Coronado is an island paradise. Located just offshore from the charming colonial town of Loreto, Isla Coronado is a popular day trip destination for eco-tourism activities. Here, visitors can enjoy sailing, snorkelling, diving, swimming with sea lions, and more. Discover everything you need to know about visiting Isla Coronado from Loreto, from the best tours to things to do, in this complete guide.

About Isla Coronado

Nestled in the stunning Loreto Bay National Marine Park, Isla Coronado (Coronado Island) is a beautiful paradisical island known for its white sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters. It is uninhabited and the most accessible of Loreto’s five islands, lying closest to land. It can be seen from the downtown Malecón (boardwalk) and is only a 30-minute boat journey from Loreto Marina, making it a popular day trip destination.

Isla Coronado is the second smallest of Loreto Bay’s islands but, what it lacks in size, it makes up for in natural beauty. The island is actually an extinct volcano, with dramatic lava cliffs on the island’s eastern side, a testament to its turbulent geological past.

The west side of the island is home to secluded bays, powdery white beaches, and turquoise waters that remind us of the stunning Isla Espíritu Santo near La Paz. This makes it perfect for snorkelling and diving, with vibrant coral reefs and an abundance of marine life.

Isla Coronado is an important habitat for several species of native wildlife. On a tour, you may see a variety of marine and land animals. The island is an important nesting site for a variety of sea birds, including pelicans and frigatebirds. It is also home to a large sea lion colony that you can swim with – we’ve included more on this below.

Isla Coronado is sometimes confused with a set of islands of the same name, the Coronados Islands near the American border. While the Coronados Islands lie near San Diego on the west coast of Baja, Isla Coronado is a small island near Loreto on the east coast of the peninsula. This can make it tricky to find accurate information about Loreto’s Isla Coronado online so we’ve compiled everything you need to know about this island paradise in this travel guide.

Where is Isla Coronado?

Isla Coronado lies roughly 7 miles (11 km) off the coast of Loreto in the state of Baja California Sur off the east coast of the Baja California Peninsula.

Isla Coronado is located within a wider protected area called the Gulf of California (Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortez (Mar de Cortés), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A special marine reserve between Baja California and the Sonoran Desert in north-western Mexico, the Gulf of California is home to 240 islands, five of which sit within the boundaries of Loreto Bay National Marine Park, including Isla Coronado. Isla Coronado is the most northerly of the five islands within Loreto Bay.

Isla Coronado Map

How to get to Isla Coronado

The only way to get to Isla Coronado is to take a boat from Loreto. Most boats that make these trips are pangas, a small kind of fishing vessel. You have two options when choosing how to reach the island: hire a local fisherman as a water taxi or book a tour to Isla Coronado.

You can take a boat from Loreto Marina for a quick 30-minute ride to Isla Coronado. The ride is usually smooth unless you have a windy day when there can be a bit of swell. From Nopolo and the Loreto Bay area, it’s a 45-minute journey and slightly rougher. It might be worth driving into Loreto and picking up your tour here to shorten the boat journey if you get seasick.

Boat tour

The most popular way to visit Isla Coronado is on a day tour. There are several companies in Loreto offering tours to Isla Coronado, including Guaycura Adventures, Loreto Sea & Land Tours, and Wild Loreto.

An organised tour is a great way to see a large portion of the marine park on one trip, with a landing and free time on Isla Coronado. It’s also a good opportunity to learn more about the history of the island and the surrounding bay and ongoing conservation efforts to protect its biodiversity.

These tours usually include boat transportation around the bay, a knowledgeable guide who provides informative commentary, and time to explore the islands. They can be shared or private depending on which you book and can last from a few hours to the whole day.

Water taxi

The cheapest way to get to Isla Coronado is to hire a captain to take you out in a boat. Local fishermen offer water taxi services from Loreto Marina. You can find contact details through the Loreto Tourism Board or they often hang around the marina offering their services in person.

Most of these tours by local fishermen are simply transportation services that ferry you out to the island and back. Not all boat captains speak English so you’re not going to get the informative commentary you’d get from a tour company but you can easily communicate the basics with the help of Google Translate.

It’s worth checking with the captain whether your tour is shared or private. Some will want you to hire the whole boat while others will add you to a group with other tourists that also want to visit Isla Coronado. It’s also worth checking what’s included (like equipment if any) and how long the tour will last as some are only for half a day.

How much do Isla Coronado tours cost?

Tours to Isla Coronado typically cost around $95 USD per person for about 5 hours.

A trip with a local fisherman typically costs between $50 and $75 USD per person for about 5 hours.

While it is more expensive, we’d recommend the tour option as you’ll get so much more out of your visit. Organised tours typically spend time looking for local wildlife around the bay as well as moored on the island. Plus, the informative commentary and recommendations from a local guide are invaluable and really make the experience.

It’s important to note that visitors to Isla Coronado must pay for entry into Loreto Bay National Marine Park. Most organised tours will include this park pass in the price of their tour but you’ll likely have to pay separately at the marina if you’re hiring a local captain. You will be given a paper bracelet to wear for your visit to indicate you’ve paid for the pass.

Our experience on Isla Coronado

We did the Blue Whale Watching tour with Loreto Sea & Land Tours and had a really friendly and knowledgeable guide and a captain who was really respectful of the wildlife.

We set out in the morning and headed into the bay for some whale watching, where we found a pod of fin whales. Then, we came across a couple of individual blue whales. Blue whales typically surface for a few minutes at a time, before diving for up to ten minutes. We got super lucky and came across a blue whale that seemed curious and hung around the boat for ages.

Next, we did some wildlife watching around the islands, spotting bottlenose dolphins, sea lions, a turtle, and a ray. Our guide and captain went out of their way to take us to a spot on the island where blue-footed boobies can be seen and spotting our first-ever pair of these quirky birds was a real highlight.

This was followed by a landing on Isla Coronado where we had a picnic lunch of authentic Mexican foods. The beach was a sprawling expanse of white sand and simply stunning. We had plenty of spare time for swimming and hiking. It was a bit chilly in winter for snorkelling so we stayed on land, deciding to explore the island. We particularly enjoyed hiking through fields of petrified lava rock while watching bottlenose dolphins swim around the island. Finally, it was time to return to the mainland.

With this Whale Watching Tour, Isla Coronado is not guaranteed as an included stop. You might spend the entire trip looking for whales or you might get lucky early like we did, leaving spare time to explore the rest of the bay and its islands. We’d recommend booking a dedicated Isla Cornado tour if you’re visiting outside of whale watching season or keen to actually guarantee to visit the island.

The Best Things to Do in Isla Coronado

There are plenty of fun activities to enjoy on Isla Coronado, including:

It’s worth keeping your eyes to the sea on the boat ride to the island as it’s possible to spot a variety of wildlife, including whales, dolphins, and birds.

The obvious draw to the island is its stunning beaches which we’d argue are some of the best in Mexico, giving Balandra Beach a run for its money. Spending some time sunbathing or picnicking on these beaches is popular with visitors.

Water activities like snorkelling, SCUBA diving, kayaking, and paddleboarding are also great ways to experience the stunning turquoise waters around Isla Coronado.

Land-based activities like hiking and beachcombing are also popular with those wishing to explore more of the island.

Wildlife watching around Isla Coronado

Isla Coronado is located in a body of water that’s heralded as one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. The Sea of Cortez was once called “the aquarium of the world” by explorer, oceanographer, and marine conservationist Jacques Cousteau. The ocean here is home to a wealth of marine life, as well as a variety of land-based species that have flourished on the islands. Some of the animals you might spot on your visit include:

Swimming with sea lions at Isla Coronado

Isla Coronado is home to a large colony of hundreds of sea lions, that inhabit the island’s rocky beaches and inlets. These cheeky animals are highly sociable and are often seen sunbathing, playing in the water, or interacting with each other. They use the rocky shores as a breeding and haul-out site, often basking in the sunshine on the rocks.

You can get up close to these playful sea-puppies by joining a tour to swim with them. The surrounding crystal-clear waters, shallow bays, and calm conditions create the perfect environment for both humans and sea lions to enjoy a safe and fun interaction. The activity is highly regulated to ensure no negative impact on the animal or the species.

Once in the water, you can witness sea lions swimming around and under you and displaying acrobatic movements. Pups are particularly curious and may approach you or even nibble on your snorkelling gear. Swimming with sea lions at Isla Coronado is possible from mid-October to the end of May each year, with a break in the summer months for the breeding season.

Hiking on Isla Coronado

There are hiking trails all over Isla Coronado, offering visitors scenic views and the chance to immerse in the island’s natural beauty. The trails are lined with informative signs with information about native flora and fauna.

The main attraction for hikers on Isla Coronado is the opportunity to scale the trail to the summit of Isla Coronado for views of the volcanic cone and surrounding islands in the bay. This 3.6-mile (5.7 km) out-and-back trail is moderately challenging and takes about 2 hours to complete.

For an easier walk, take the Isla Coronado trail south from the main beach, Playa Isla Coronado, to the southern tip of the cape. This is an easy 3.2-mile (5.1 km) out-and-back hike and takes about an hour to complete.

Several companies we’ve already mentioned above offer guided hiking tours on Isla Coronado. Otherwise, you’d need to liaise with your company or captain to ensure you have enough time on the island for hiking.

Where to stay to visit Isla Coronado

There are two main options when choosing accommodation in Loreto: staying in the large Loreto Bay area or the town itself.

Loreto Bay hotels are typically upscale resorts and sprawling developments on the strip of coast south of Loreto. While these might be appealing, they do have the disadvantage that you need to travel to Loreto Marina or Puerto Escondido Marina for trips to Isla Coronado.

There’s a large variety of hotels in Loreto from budget apartments to luxury resorts, so there’s something for every budget. Plus, they’re super close to the marina for immediate access to the bay and its islands. We’ve shortlisted the best accommodations below.

When to visit Isla Coronado

There’s really no bad time to visit Isla Coronado. The cooler months from October to April are perfect, offering sunny days and warm waters. Temperatures at this time range from 15°C to 27°C (60°F to 80°F).

We think the best time to visit Isla Coronado is in February at the peak of the blue whale season in Loreto.

Loreto Bay’s hurricane season typically runs from August to October. While Loreto rarely sees hurricanes, there’s always the increased risk of storms and heavy rainfall during this time. While this can interrupt your travel plans, this is a great time to take advantage of fewer crowds and cheaper prices.

What to pack for Isla Coronado

To ensure an enjoyable experience in Isla Coronado, it’s important to pack the right gear. Don’t forget to pack your:

FAQs

We’ve covered some frequently asked questions about visiting Isla Coronado below in case there’s anything else you need to know before you go.

Can you visit Isla Coronado?

Yes, you can visit Isla Coronado in Loreto Bay National Marine Park. It is the most popular island for day trips and offers stunningly clear waters, beautiful beaches, and relaxing activities like kayaking and snorkelling.

How do you get to Coronado Island, Mexico?

There is another Coronado Island just south of San Diego which gets confused with Loreto’s Isla Coronado. To get to Isla Coronado in Loreto, Mexico, you need to take a boat from Loreto. This can be with a local fisherman as part of a water taxi service or on a tour of the marine park.

Is Coronado Island worth visiting?

Yes, Isla Coronado is absolutely worth visiting. With a wealth of stunning natural landscapes, diverse marine life, scenic islands, and exciting water activities on offer, Coronado Island, Loreto, is one of the best places to bask in Baja’s natural beauty.

Read next:

The 26 Best Things to Do in Loreto, Mexico

A Complete Guide to Blue Whale Watching in Loreto

Loreto Bay National Marine Park: Islands and Wildlife Guide

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