Todos Santos
Where the desert meets the Pacific — an art town, a surf town, and one of the most serious food destinations on the Baja peninsula.
The essential Todos Santos
Three days for the town itself — colonial streets, serious food, the best surf beach on the West Cape, and a sunset you won't forget.
Fly into SJD. An hour north on Highway 19 and you're in a different Baja entirely — cobblestone streets, bougainvillea-draped walls, no cruise ships, no strip of identical bars. Start at the Misión Nuestra Señora del Pilar: the church that anchors the Centro Histórico has stood in some form since 1733 and still holds Sunday mass. Walk Calle Centenario and Calle Legaspi — the gallery circuit covers a remarkable range for a town of this size. Evening: DŪM. Find the carved wood sign, walk the jungle path to the palm oasis, and let Chef Aurélien Legeay — Maître Cuisinier of France — take you through the new-moon tasting menu. Book in advance. This is Michelin territory.
Lunch at Jazamango — Chef Javier Plascencia's farm-to-table landmark a few minutes from the center. The restaurant faces its own organic garden; what's on your plate was in the ground that morning. Order the wood-grilled chocolate clams, the aguachile, and whatever the garden is offering. After lunch, drive south 15 minutes to Playa Los Cerritos — the best beginner-friendly surf beach on the West Cape, with sandy bottom, consistent Pacific rolls, and a rare stretch of coast that's genuinely safe for swimming. Rent a board or take a lesson. Watch the sunset from the water, then drive back to town for cocktails at La Copa bar in the Todos Santos Boutique Hotel — mezcal-forward, moody, one of the best bars on the peninsula.
December through March: ask your hotel to arrange the evening turtle release with Tortugueros Las Playitas — the organization that protects 35km of Todos Santos coastline has run free public hatchling releases at sunset since 2003. Three species nest here; you'll watch them enter the Pacific for the first time. If you're visiting outside turtle season: spend the morning at the galleries (Galería de Todos Santos on Topete and Galería Logan on Juárez are the anchors) and the Museo Comunitario on Pilar street. Either way: farewell dinner at Restaurante 1890, inside the Todos Santos Boutique Hotel. Chef Mauricio Hernández trained in London and cooks European classics with Baja ingredients. The steak tartare is the order. The dining room is dark wood, candlelit, and feels like the right place to end a stay.
Todos Santos earns its Pueblo Mágico designation without performing for tourists — the galleries are real, the food is serious, and the beaches haven't been developed out of character. Three days is enough to understand why people who come for a weekend stay for years. The window between November and April is the sweet spot: mild Pacific breezes, active turtle season, and Jazamango and DŪM both firing at full capacity.
Town, coast, and the art of going slowly
Five days to go deeper — Kimpton Mas Olas, the surf at Cerritos, whale watching in season, and the full gastronomy circuit.
Same as 3-day Day 1. Land at SJD, drive north on Highway 19. Check into Todos Santos Boutique Hotel in the centro — your base for the first two days. Walk the historic center, visit the Misión, start the gallery circuit on Centenario and Legaspi. Evening at DŪM: the tasting menu, the new moon, the palm oasis. This is the anchor meal of the trip and the right first impression of what Todos Santos has become gastronomically.
Morning: the galleries. Todos Santos has one of the most concentrated art communities in Baja — Galería de Todos Santos, Galería Logan, and smaller studios throughout the centro. Many artists work here year-round and are present in their spaces. Lunch at Jazamango: the wood-grilled chocolate clams, the seasonal garden salad, the aguachile. Afternoon back in town — browse Nomad Chic, Besame Mucho Bazar, or sit at the Parque Los Pinos with a coffee from Taller 17, the best café in town. Evening cocktails at La Copa, then dinner at Restaurante 1890 — Chef Hernández's European-Baja menu is the counter-programming to Jazamango's farm table, and both are necessary.
Check out of the Boutique Hotel and drive 10 minutes south to Kimpton Mas Olas — the most ambitious resort on the West Cape, opened in 2024. Adults-only, 94 rooms, nine interconnected gardens between the desert and the Pacific. No TVs — instead: four pools, a 25,000 sq ft Botánica Spa, and Chef Sandro Falbo running the restaurants. Spend the afternoon at the spa: plant-based treatments, hydrotherapy, the apothecary where you blend your own oils. Dinner at Kahal — the resort's signature restaurant with raw bar and Pacific views. Order the day's catch, watch the sunset from the deck.
Morning surf session at Playa Los Cerritos — 15 minutes south of town, sandy bottom, consistent Pacific rolls, beginner-friendly and genuinely swimmable. Rent boards directly on the beach or book a lesson with one of the resident surf schools. Midday: drive north to Punta Lobos — the fishermen's beach closest to the centro, where sea lions sometimes sun on the rocks and the protected cove makes for the best swimming near town. Watch the pangas come in with the afternoon catch. Dinner in town at Mejibo — Chef Pepe Peña's Baja Med kitchen on Centenario, with ceviches, sashimi, octopus al grill and short rib tacos. Unpretentious, excellent, and full of people who live here.
Final morning: walk to La Poza — the 35-acre freshwater lagoon between the town and the Pacific, bordered by tall reeds and populated by a remarkable variety of shorebirds. No vendors, no services — just the sound of water and birds. If it's turtle season (December–March), arrange a sunset hatchling release through Tortugueros Las Playitas the night before. Watching three species of sea turtle enter the Pacific for the first time is not a tourist experience — it's something else entirely, and it's free. Then: SJD in an hour. You'll plan the return trip on the drive.
Five days in Todos Santos splits naturally into two stays — the Boutique Hotel for the centro experience, Kimpton Mas Olas for the Pacific coast. The combination covers everything the destination offers without rushing either. Book DŪM before you book your flights: the new-moon calendar fills out weeks ahead, especially November through February.
Full immersion — desert, Pacific, and the table
Eight days to understand why people who discover Todos Santos stop looking for somewhere else to be. The complete gastronomy circuit, wellness at Paradero and Kimpton, whales in season, and the art of being still.
Land at SJD, drive north. Check into Todos Santos Boutique Hotel. The ten rooms in this 1890 hacienda — each with a hand-painted mural depicting Baja California history — set the tone: intimate, historically literate, serious about craft. Walk Centenario and Legaspi before dinner. Evening: La Copa for cocktails (the Minero is the house standard), then a quiet first dinner at Restaurante 1890. This is not the night to overdo it. Tomorrow is DŪM.
Morning at Taller 17 — cold brew, pastries, and possibly the best scone in Baja — then the full gallery circuit. Todos Santos has one of the most active art communities on the peninsula; artists work here year-round and are often present in their studios. Afternoon: back to the hotel for the pool and a rest before the main event. DŪM at night. Walk the jungle path to Chef Aurélien Legeay's palm oasis. The new-moon tasting menu is a moving target — playful, unexpected, technically precise. Allow three hours. This is the meal you'll tell people about.
Lunch at Jazamango — the full treatment: chocolate clams off the wood fire, the aguachile, the pizza from the on-site bakery, the garden salad, a glass of Valle de Guadalupe wine. Take your time. Afternoon at Cerritos Beach: swim, rent a board, or just sit on one of the last undeveloped stretches of Pacific coast in Baja Sur. Dinner at Mejibo for something more casual — Chef Pepe Peña's octopus al grill and shrimp tostadas, cold cerveza, tables full of locals who know.
Check out and drive south to Paradero Todos Santos — five acres of untouched desert land between the Pacific dunes and the Sierra de la Laguna, with 41 suites that flow from indoor to outdoor as though the walls are suggestions. Brutalist architecture, farm-to-table ethos, included daily activities: surfing, mountain biking, yoga, coastal hikes. Lunch at Tenoch — the on-site restaurant recognized by the Michelin Guide, serving modern Mexican cuisine with ingredients grown at the Paradero farm. Afternoon: explore the property's own land, guided botanical walk, or simply stop. The silence here is worth paying for.
Sunrise surf session arranged by Paradero — the resort coordinates lessons and guided outings with local instructors. After breakfast, drive to La Poza lagoon: the 35-acre freshwater lake between the town and the ocean, ringed with reeds, populated by shorebirds. Walk the perimeter in silence. Then Punta Lobos: the fishermen's beach, the sea lions on the rocks, the pangas coming in with the catch. Buy fish directly from the boats if you can. Back to Paradero for sunset from the dunes.
Check out of Paradero and move to Kimpton Mas Olas — nine connected gardens, four pools, and the 25,000 sq ft Botánica Spa. This is your spa day: book a treatment at the apothecary (you blend your own oils and scrubs), use the hydrotherapy circuit, attend the afternoon yoga session in the outdoor shala. Zero plastics on the property. Electric carts only. The design is whitewashed adobe, low-profile, integrated into the dunes. Dinner at Kahal — raw bar, the day's catch, sunset over the Pacific from the deck. No hurry.
November through March: gray whales and humpbacks pass through the West Cape waters. Kimpton Mas Olas coordinates seasonal whale-watching excursions — small boats, naturalist guides, two hours on the Pacific with some of the largest mammals on earth. Outside whale season: drive back into the centro for the Saturday farmers market (local honey, organic produce, handmade crafts), then lunch at Guaycura Hotel's rooftop restaurant El Mirador — the best view in Todos Santos, with the oasis and the ocean visible simultaneously. Afternoon: gallery shopping, then back to Kimpton for the evening social hour included in your stay.
Arrange the previous evening: Tortugueros Las Playitas turtle hatchling release at sunset. Arrive at the beach before dusk. The organization has protected three species of sea turtle on these 35km of coast since 2003. The hatchlings emerge at dusk and navigate toward the water by the light of the horizon. It is free, open to anyone, and genuinely among the most affecting wildlife encounters in Baja California Sur. Then: pack, check out, SJD in an hour. The drive south feels shorter than it did arriving. That's how you know it worked.
Eight days in Todos Santos across three distinct properties gives you the full picture: the historic centro at its most intimate, the desert-meets-Pacific wilderness at Paradero, and the coastal luxury of Kimpton Mas Olas. The food circuit — DŪM, Jazamango, 1890, Tenoch, Kahal, Mejibo — represents one of the most serious concentrations of culinary talent in all of Baja California Sur. Plan around whale season (November–March) and the new-moon DŪM calendar, and book DŪM the day you book your flights.
The table in Todos Santos
Six restaurants that pass every filter — chef present, sourcing verified, quality confirmed in 2025–2026.
French chef Aurélien Legeay — Maître Cuisinier of France — and his wife Paulina Noble run this kitchen inside a palm oasis at the edge of the centro. The menu changes every new moon; the tasting options are named "new moon" and "full moon." Legeay's cooking is technically rigorous and genuinely playful: oxtail with red wine reduction and smoked carrot purée; steamed potato ravioli with crispy matchsticks and diced smoked mackerel. This is not a novelty act — it has earned Guía Michelin recognition and culinary awards in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Walk the jungle path, find the tables in the palms, and give the kitchen three hours.
Calle Centenario S/N, Col. Centro · Reservations required: OpenTable or WhatsApp · Closes summer months
Chef Javier Plascencia built his reputation in Tijuana and Valle de Guadalupe before opening this farm-to-table landmark a few minutes outside the centro. The restaurant circles its own organic garden: what's on the menu is what the garden and the local catch allow. Wood-grilled chocolate clams over mesquite, fresh aguachile with garden herbs, Sunday lamb barbacoa Todos Santos style, pizzas from the on-site bakery, Mexican wines from Valle de Guadalupe. The open-air setting under palm shade, the smell of the wood fire, the produce visible from every table — this is what the farm-to-table concept is supposed to be and rarely is. Reserve a table; don't skip the clams.
Calle Naranjos S/N esq. Jardín, Las Huertas · Reservations: OpenTable · Closes late summer
Inside the Todos Santos Boutique Hotel — a 10-room hacienda built in 1890 that recently earned Michelin One Key recognition — Chef Mauricio Hernández runs a kitchen that bridges European technique and Baja ingredients. Steak tartare executed with the precision of someone who cut his teeth at a Michelin-starred London restaurant; crudos that are disarmingly simple and technically exact; cotija gnocchi with aged cheese that belongs on no menu in this part of the world and yet fits perfectly. The dining room is dark wood and candlelight, the jade-tiled open kitchen is part of the atmosphere. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner — the breakfast alone justifies a night at the hotel.
Av. Legaspi 33, Centro · Reservations: OpenTable or +52 624 355 1217 · Open daily 8am–10pm
Chef Pepe Peña's menu at Mejibo is the least complicated pitch in Todos Santos: honest Baja ingredients, treated well. Ceviches with the morning's catch, sashimi with locally sourced fish, short rib tacos, octopus al grill, oysters. The name means it: cocina honesta — honest kitchen. No performance, no concept beyond sourcing what the coast and the valley provide and preparing it with skill. Full of people who live here, which is the most reliable indicator of any restaurant's actual quality. Reserve a table or arrive early.
Calle Centenario, Centro · Reservations recommended
La Copa has been the social center of Todos Santos for over two decades. Recently renovated and now anchored in the Todos Santos Boutique Hotel, the bar's murals trace the history of the town from sugar-cane boom to bohemian art community. The bartenders are specialists — the house cocktail El Minero (mezcal, maraschino, violet) is the order, but the mezcal list is serious enough to absorb an evening on its own. Leather armchairs, candlelight, the cocktail trolley brought to your table. 400 wines in the cellar downstairs if the mood shifts.
Av. Legaspi 33, Centro · Inside Todos Santos Boutique Hotel · No reservation needed
Built on the site of a 19th-century sugar mill in the heart of Todos Santos, Oystera is the most architecturally dramatic restaurant in town — a soaring space of stone and wood anchored by a central oyster bar, with a terrace where palms and bougainvillea frame the desert and the distant Pacific. Chef Poncho Cadena, a Sonoran native, runs a seafood-focused menu that is ambitious without being theatrical. The oysters are the point: a half-dozen selection sourced exclusively from Baja waters, served with cocktail sauce, mignonette, and Baja-style ponzu. For something cooked: the fried oysters with habanero aïoli, the marinated tuna tostada, the catch of the day. The Bloody Mary is the unofficial house cocktail and earns its reputation. Listed in the Michelin Guide.
Calle Benito Juárez 132, Centro · Tue–Sun 10am–9pm, Mon 12–8pm · OpenTable or +52 612 228 0621 · @oystera_ts
Chef Sandro Falbo leads the culinary program at Kimpton Mas Olas, where Kahal — named for "water" in the language of the indigenous Pericú people — serves the day's catch at a raw bar with Pacific views. The open kitchen, the herb garden just beyond the terrace, the sunset deck built for exactly this purpose: this is resort dining that earns its price. Non-guests can reserve tables through the hotel. Arrive before sunset and stay through the first stars.
Kimpton Mas Olas, Hwy 19 south of Todos Santos · Reservations: masolasresort.com
Five ways to sleep in Todos Santos
From a 10-room centro hacienda to a beachfront resort between desert and sea — each property has a distinct logic.
The only address in Todos Santos with both Michelin hotel recognition (One Key) and Prix Versailles. Ten rooms in an 1890 hacienda once owned by a Spanish countess — each with a hand-painted mural depicting local history, velvet headboards, Le Labo bath products, Nespresso, and complimentary minibar. The lower villas have private plunge pools and gardens; the upper suites have balconies with panoramic town views. Restaurante 1890 and La Copa bar operate on-site. Book direct for best rates; the hotel is privately owned and associated with Hilton Honors for points redemption.
Av. Legaspi 33, Centro · [email protected] · hoteltodossantos.com · Adults-only
Opened April 2024 between the Sierra de la Laguna foothills and the Pacific. Nine interconnected gardens anchor a property that moves from desert to dunes to ocean. Whitewashed adobe architecture, no TVs, four pools, the 25,000 sq ft Botánica Spa. Every room has a private terrace; most face the sea. Villas come with infinity pools and fire pits. The sustainability program is real: zero plastics, dark-sky lighting, water recycling, electric transport only. IHG Kimpton loyalty. The most complete resort offer in the Todos Santos area.
Hwy 19 south, between Todos Santos and El Pescadero · masolasresort.com · ihg.com/kimptonhotels
Paradero established the new benchmark for architecture-forward luxury in Baja when it opened. Five acres of desert and dune, 41 suites no smaller than 640 sq ft, each flowing from interior to outdoor via private terraces, hot tubs, and hammocks. The design is deliberately monumental — raw concrete set against the landscape so that the horizon becomes the decoration. Activities are included: surfing, mountain biking, yoga, guided hikes. On-site Tenoch has Michelin Guide recognition. This is the property for travelers who measure a hotel by how little they want to leave it.
South of Todos Santos toward El Pescadero · paradero.com
The most established full-service boutique in the centro histórico. Guaycura occupies a 19th-century brick building on Calle Legaspi — 14 rooms with rooftop infinity pool, sky lounge, and three restaurants including El Mirador with panoramic oasis and ocean views. The signature amenity is El Faro Beach Club & Spa, 3km away on a secluded Pacific beach with infinity pool, cabanas, and massage service. Guests have complimentary access; the beach club is among the best in the region for sheer setting.
Calle Legaspi S/N, Centro · guaycura.com · +52 612 175 0800
San Cristóbal sits directly on Punta Lobos — the fishermen's beach closest to town, protected from the heaviest Pacific swells, where sea lions sometimes sun on the rocks. Adults-only (15+), teal infinity pool over the ocean, and Benno restaurant with a Michelin-recognized menu of Baja-Mediterranean seafood. The trail behind the hotel climbs the cliffs above Punta Lobos for one of the better views in the area. Non-guests can book lunch at Benno; the combination of a table over the ocean and the morning catch is worth the short drive from town.
Km 54, Hwy 19, Punta Lobos · hotelsancristobal.com.mx · Reservations at Benno: OpenTable
Beyond the galleries
Todos Santos rewards the traveler who does less but does it slowly — the town, the coast, and the wildlife are all best experienced without a schedule.
The historic center is compact enough to cover on foot in a morning and rich enough to take three days. The Misión Nuestra Señora del Pilar anchors the north end of the centro on Calle Pilar — active parish, 1733 origins, worth entering. The gallery circuit runs along Centenario, Legaspi, Topete, and Juárez. Galería de Todos Santos (corner of Topete and Legaspi) and Galería Logan (Juárez) anchor the established circuit; smaller studios throughout the area show work by artists who live and work here year-round. The Hotel California on Juárez is worth a look for the building itself — a handsome hacienda with a bar and an enduring local legend about the Eagles song, which the Eagles themselves have never confirmed.
Centro Histórico. Best days: Tuesday–Sunday. Most galleries open 10am–5pm.
The best surf beach on the West Cape and one of the few genuinely swimmable stretches of Pacific coast in Baja Sur. Sandy bottom, consistent Pacific rolls, a surfing community that has been here since the 1960s, and board rental and instruction available directly on the beach. The break is staged — beginner waves inside, more serious shoulders further out — so the learning and the experienced surfers coexist without crowding. If you don't surf: the beach is long, the sand is clean, and the seafood stands and beach clubs along the break serve cold beer and fresh fish tacos until the light goes.
Km 64, Hwy 19 south of Todos Santos · Board rental and lessons on the beach · December–April best season
Since 2003, the Grupo Tortuguero de Todos Santos has protected three species of sea turtle — olive ridley, leatherback, and black turtle — across 35km of coast from Punta Lobos to Boca del Carrizal. Volunteers collect eggs nocturnally, incubate them at La Maquina beach, and release the hatchlings at sunset when they emerge approximately 45 days later. The release is free, open to the public, and requires no registration — coordinate through your hotel or via WhatsApp 24 hours in advance to confirm the evening's release location. This is not an organized tourist experience; it is a conservation program that welcomes witnesses. What happens on the beach happens on the beach's terms.
December–March season · Coordinate 24 hrs ahead via hotel or WhatsApp · No fee · Sunset timing
La Poza is a 35-acre freshwater lagoon separated from the Pacific by a narrow ridge of sand — one of the most unusual natural features near the town. The perimeter trail through the reeds takes 30 minutes; shorebird variety is significant, particularly November through March. No vendors, no services, no fee — just water, birds, and the sound of the ocean on the other side of the dunes. Punta Lobos is the fishermen's beach closest to the centro, named for the sea lions occasionally found on the rocks at the southern point. The protected cove is the best swimming beach within walking distance of town; the pangas come in mid-afternoon and the fishermen sometimes sell their catch directly from the boats.
La Poza — walk from Centro or short drive north. Punta Lobos — Km 54 turnoff, Hwy 19.
All restaurants and hotels listed above were verified by BajaTraveler® in 2025–2026. Restaurant hours in Todos Santos follow Baja rhythms — confirm current days and hours before visiting, particularly for DŪM (new moon calendar) and Jazamango (seasonal closure in late summer).
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