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Balandra & Tecolote: Hike, Kayak, and Snorkel in Paradise
5.0
320 Ratings
A Playa Balandras
Embark on an unforgettable adventure in Balandra and Tecolote, where you can hike, kayak, and snorkel in paradise. Discover the hidden gems, learn about local history, and encounter fascinating marine life with our bilingual marine biologist guides.
Embark on an unforgettable adventure in Balandra and Tecolote, where you can hike, kayak, and snorkel in paradise. Discover the hidden gems, learn about local history, and encounter fascinating marine life with our bilingual marine biologist guides.
Duration:
7 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Playa Balandra - Enjoy kayaking and snorkeling at Balandra, followed by a hike to Tecolote. Discover stunning beaches and snorkel around a rocky reef. The kayaking and snorkeling activities last approximately 2 hours. The hike covers 5 km of rocky and sandy terrain, with potential wet areas if the tide is high, taking about 2.5 hours on average….
- Playa Balandra - Enjoy kayaking and snorkeling at Balandra, followed by a hike to Tecolote. Discover stunning beaches and snorkel around a rocky reef. The kayaking and snorkeling activities last approximately 2 hours. The hike covers 5 km of rocky and sandy terrain, with potential wet areas if the tide is high, taking about 2.5 hours on average. Traverse through desert patches, rocky hills, ocean cliffs, sandy beaches, and intertidal zones, all offering breathtaking views! The hike concludes at Tecolote beach, where lunch and relaxation await until 3 pm. Tandem sit-on-top kayaks are used, and life jackets are provided. The kayaks are suitable for individuals weighing up to 90 kilos. The day ends with a delightful lunch featuring local and fresh ceviche at the beach. Vegan options are available upon request! This adventure requires an intermediate fitness level, and booking on non-windy days is recommended.
Please note that a car or taxi is necessary for this adventure! Let us know if assistance is needed in coordinating a pickup with a trusted taxi. Transportation from downtown La Paz is 1200 pesos per car.
What's Included
- Carbonated beverages
- Bottled water
- Lunch
- All Fees and Taxes
- Use of snorkeling equipment
- Kayak equipment
- Carbonated beverages
- Bottled water
- Lunch
- All Fees and Taxes
- Use of snorkeling equipment
- Kayak equipment
What's Not Included
- Private transportation
- Alcoholic beverages
- Private transportation
- Alcoholic beverages
Additional Information
While Balandra beach is open to all, there is more to it than the primary beach that most tourists are familiar with. During this excursion, we’ll guide you through the intricate details and elevated viewpoints of Balandra, offering you insight into the local history and the area’s fauna. All our tour leaders are bilingual and have substantial experience as marine biologists.
While Balandra beach is open to all, there is more to it than the primary beach that most tourists are familiar with. During this excursion, we’ll guide you through the intricate details and elevated viewpoints of Balandra, offering you insight into the local history and the area’s fauna. All our tour leaders are bilingual and have substantial experience as marine biologists.
Location
A Playa Balandras
We'll meet at the queue to enter Balandra at 7:40 am. Since only a certain amount of people are allowed in at 8 am, we need to get on line in time in order to be allowed in.
Your guides will be there in a Honda Pilot with kayaks tied on top.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(320 Ratings)
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Arodr2026
Feb 25, 2026
Great experience! - Fersan y Lorenza were excellent guides, professionals and treated us amazing! They told us all about the area and I will book them again! They had delicious ceviche!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jodib2018
Feb 19, 2026
Do it! - Book this trip! It is amazing, fun, unique, and worth the price. Javier took us kayaking and snorkeling. He taught us about the different beaches, mangroves, birds and fish. He was kind, funny and extremely helpful.
Fernando took us on the hike. He was very knowledgeable about the area and concerned about its preservation. He was encouraging the entire way, we had great conversations, and he was always concerned about our safety.
We would have never seen so much on our own or known what we were seeing.
The trip, Javier, and Fernando were all wonderful. Highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gillian_f
Feb 18, 2026
Expert Guides = Amazing Experience - The reality is this tour is a bit of kayaking in a beautiful area and a bit of hiking- BUT FOR the amaaaaazing guides this company has clearly committed to hiring so that we lucky attendees have the opportunity to kayak through a mangrove with Fernando who has a freaking MASTERS degree in marine biology and coral and hike a desert landscape with Monica who is ALSO a freaking biologist and can tell you all the amazing facts about the plants and let you in on the reasons why honey bees are…kind of the worst. All of these tours are dependent on awesome guides to make them great and this company gets it and does it and you should take any tour they offer.
Review provided by Viator
Terribytes
Feb 18, 2026
Amazing tour! - Wow! The views and multiple experiences of this tour coupled with Fernando and Monica’s guidance, knowledge and support made this tour a highlight of our trip. They catered to our many question about the plants, birds, plants and sea creatures we encountered. The itinerary was perfect; paddling through the mangroves we saw many resting birds, fish and rays and even more in the bay plus turtles and cow nose rays that Fernando helped identify. He led a fun snorkel and pointed out many fish and an eel! Monica led the hike portion which was exciting and beautiful. She was a trove of endemic plant knowledge and shared much geological information about the area. The beach lunch at the end was great!
We appreciated their help arranging transportation as there is no cell service in the area. We are very grateful for our time in this beautiful area and guidance and support of two great, knowledgeable and kind people!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Scenic443373
Feb 14, 2026
Fun active day in and on the water! - Wonderful day of kayaking, snorkeling and hiking! Our guides were fun and knowledgeable. The length of the adventure was perfect, too, if you like an active time—but, don’t want a full out effort or all day event. Would go again with MTA and with these guides!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
V9533hgstephenm
Feb 13, 2026
Fun and informative. Great guides. A beautiful place. - We had a great kayak and snorkel with Javie, who is knowledgeable and fun. Then the hike to Tecolote with John to learn about birds, plants and geology. John really knows his stuff and kept a perfect pace. The scenery is breathtaking. This hike takes moderate stamina.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
P1628kujodyw
Feb 10, 2026
Balandra beach excursion- high kudos to MTA! - We had a terrific time with Javi & Clara on our kayak/snorkel/hike excursion to Balandra beach. The landscape was
amazing, of course, while the activities were fun and well-planned. Javi & Clara were just delightful, sharing the information they knew about the area geology, marine life, plants and birds (Javi made sure we kayaked close to the rock where he spotted blue-footed boobies, since I really wanted to see them up close. And I did! So great!) Their friendly conversation during our post-activity ceviche lunch also added to the great vibe of the day. Also want to mention that before booking this tour, I had 3 different conversations with Karin at the office, who was gracious & helpful. We are delighted to recommend MTA & their guides.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tomg9282
Feb 8, 2026
Fabulous day on Balandra and Tecolote - My parents and I had a great time with Javi and Clara, kayaking, hiking and then eating some delicious ceviche. Both of them were super knowledgeable and chatty. And Balandra was beautiful, too.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
N5015bkkathleeng
Feb 6, 2026
Incredible day with kayaking and snorkeling and fabulous hike - This was an extremely fun excursion. We had Javier as a sea guide through the mangroves and kayaking as well as snorkeling. After this John was our hiking guide taking us through the water on the shore all the way over the hill to the other beach where we had an amazing ceviche lunch. These two guides were so knowledgeable and kind. We were so happy to have gone on this tour with them. They even gave us a ride back to the meeting point due to a mix up we had with our ride we arranged. One tip is the meeting point is at the entrance to Balandra Beach but the pick ip spot is Tecolote beach. Plus the tour company MTA can help arrange a ride for you if you notify them. We arranged our own ride but should have used them.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Phyllis_c
Feb 8, 2026
Experience the Balandra! - MTA ( Mexico Travel Adventure) did an excellent job organizing this excursion (ie- excellent communication, setting up meeting with guides on day).
Javi and John were excellent guides! Very knowledgeable of the Balandra Beach in terms of plants, birds, geology. They took excellent care of their clients - stopping as needed and offered to take photos of us.
We enjoyed the kayaking the most! (Personal preference).
The coastal hike was spectacular! In hindsight we should have worn hiking shoes verses walking sandles.
The lunch to finish the day was excellent!
Thank you for an awesome experience!
Review provided by Viator
