← The Blog

Fake Beach Police · Case 006 · October 2026 · 3 min

Cabo Beaches: The Famous One Is Not in Cabo, and the Swimmable One Is 45 Minutes Away

Playa Balandra tops Mexico's lists and sits outside La Paz, not Cabo San Lucas. Near Cabo, the beach you can actually swim at is Cerritos.

Cabo Beaches: The Famous One Is Not in Cabo, and the Swimmable One Is 45 Minutes Away
Photo: Adam Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0

Two things to know before you plan a Cabo beach day. Playa Balandra, the beach six of the seven Mexico lists we read name, is about 25 minutes north of downtown La Paz, not in Cabo San Lucas; its own guide says so in as many words. And near Cabo, the beach you can swim at is Playa Los Cerritos, about 45 minutes away by car, one of the few swimmable beaches on the Pacific side of the tip of Baja.

What people think

  • Balandra is a Cabo beach
  • Cabo's beaches are for swimming
  • You can just turn up at Balandra

What the sources say

  • Balandra is 25 minutes north of downtown La Paz
  • Cerritos is one of the few swimmable beaches on the Pacific side of the tip
  • Balandra takes two slots a day of 450 people, with a 125-peso bracelet

The charge

Balandra is a protected natural area run by CONANP. Every adult needs a paid digital bracelet, 125 pesos, and a reservation for one of two slots, 8am to noon or 1pm to 5pm, with 450 people each; in high season they sell out. There is nothing to buy inside. It is a wonderful bay, in La Paz, by appointment.

The beach near Cabo that lets you in

Playa Los Cerritos is about 40 to 45 km northwest of Cabo San Lucas on Highway 19. Its rips and waves are not as strong as at other beaches nearby, and one part is usually calm enough to swim. It has a bar and restaurant, unpushy vendors, and a polygon on the map 4 km long. Bring pesos: ATMs are scarce in El Pescadero.

The most famous beach near Cabo is in another city.

The one we could not rate

Playa del Amor, in Cabo San Lucas, is on four of the seven lists we read. It does not appear as a beach on the map we measure from, so it has no page here yet. That is a gap in the map, not a verdict.

The verdict

Guilty of geography. If a list puts Balandra in Cabo, it has not been to either.

Asked

Is Playa Balandra in Cabo San Lucas?
No. It is a protected natural area about 25 minutes' drive north of downtown La Paz, in Baja California Sur.
Which beach near Cabo San Lucas is safe for swimming?
Playa Los Cerritos, about 40 to 45 km northwest of Cabo San Lucas, is one of the few swimmable beaches on the Pacific side of the tip of Baja; one part is usually calm enough to swim.
Do you need a reservation for Playa Balandra?
Yes: a paid CONANP digital bracelet (125 pesos) and one of two daily slots of 450 people.

The beaches in this post

Receipts