Todos Santos – Must See Eats, Do’s & Places to Stay

Baja California Sur – Todos Santos

On the Baja Peninsula, about 2 hours north of Cabo you find the only oasis on the Pacific coast; Todos Santos. We had the opportunity to visit this special place for a wedding over Cinco de Mayo! We were there for a whole week, and this is my list of all the Must’s; from places to eat, day trips and where to stay.

STAY:

• Hotel San Cristóbal
  As pictures above, this hotel is the venue where the wedding was held. It has 80 rooms, an amazing restaurant, pool, hot tubs and hammocks. San Cristóbal was a resort including beach access right off the pool and most rooms having an ocean view. This hotel does have it all if you want to go to one place and not leave… but it will cost you. Its about a 10 minute drive on a dirt road and another 5 minute ride to town.
  

  Ride from hotel back to the main road

• Hotel Casa Tota

This 15 room hotel is where Mark and I stayed. It was in the center of town and had a rooftop and pool. The restaurant was open for every meal and the staff was amazing. The rooms were basic with a bed, tv, small desk, bathroom and shower. There was a small parking spot, but it’s also a safe area and you can park on the street. For a week, we paid just over $700 USD.

• The Todos Santos Inn
  Also in town was this historic 1870’s hotel. This place has amazing brickwork and nice sized rooms. With a smaller pool and restaurant and bar, it’s definitely fancy but feels as though you as stepping back in time.

 

EAT:

• Cafe Todos Santos
  A must do for coffee lovers and brunchers, this spot has an amazing courtyard with lots of local art. Service is a little slow, but the food is on point. The Cafe is known for their cinnamon buns; just be warned they are quite large.
• Fonda El Zaguán
  THE place for tacos! From veggie to fish, you know it’s authentic if you get to add all the sauces and toppings you want on your own plate. Speedy service and good prices.
  

  Best Tacos in Town

• Landi’s
  A smaller place right next door to Fonda’s, the food and service are second to none. Enjoy food at the bar, or inside, or in the courtyard. This is a little more up-scale, as it’s one of the few places with a wine list, however the prices were decent for what you get.
• Tacos y Mariscos El Sinaloense
  On the corner of Case Tota, away from the main street of Juárez, you find this family owned business. They do prefer if you speak Spanish, however they had amazing options of seafood that was all super fresh! You could choose one taco, one quesadilla, one enchilada, or 3 tacos and each one have a different meat. Mostly outdoor seating, they do move umbrellas to keep you out of the direct sunlight.
• La Santeña
  The bar and restaurant at Casa Tota, we found our hotel to have the best guacamole in town! Along with the crunchy chips, they had drink specials that varied on fresh fruits and speciality tequila. The servers speak great English, are quick and kind.
  

  Stuffed Pepper at Landi’s

  

  Large Sizes at the Cafe

DRINK:

• Shut Up Franks
  The only “English” bar in town, you can find Kiwi’s, Aussie’s, Brit’s and of course Americans. Seats at the bar are old computer chairs, and memorabilia of sports teams line the walls. Amazing bartenders and cheap drinks! Definitely a party spot.
• Gallo Azul Pizza
  Obviously this venue serves as a pizza joint, but once the oven closes they open the backdoor to an adult playground. From bocce ball to corn hole, there are lots of fun options for kids as well.

DO:

• Beaches
  • Playa Punta Lobos
    The closest beach to town, this beach is the one Hotel San Cristóbal leads up too. Stop here for catch of the day to buy directly from fishermen.
    

    Sunset

  • Playa San Pedro (aka Las Palmas)
    By far our favorite beach, this is the next beach out of town. It’s a bit tricky to find, as there are no signs, not even a street sign… and once you are on the road it’s another dirt road with lots of big rocks and holes in the road. Reach the palm trees and you see how worth it it is! We went twice and each time we were either alone or sharing an entire beach with only 5-6 other people. It’s a swim-able beach and it’s surrounding landscape is amazing. With your back to the water, you can see the dry mountains in the background, but the palm trees you walked through in the foreground. You are also surrounded by dry cactus that must be at least 200 years old.
    

    Las Palmas

  • Playa San Pedrito
    Another hard find… not the best surfing or swimming beach. There is about a 3 foot drop off from the beach to the start of the water. Come here for sunset.
  • Playa Los Cerritos
    The most visited and touristy beach, this is a surfers spot. The entire beach has board rentals and lessons, along with hagglers trying to sell you everything from ice cream to bracelets. This is a free beach, however you will pass at least 3 resorts who will try and sell you beach passes for the day.
• Day trip to Cabo
  See all the details in my other post here.
  
• Horseback riding
  Booked with Todos Santos Eco Adventures, this 2 hour tour takes you from the forest, onto the beach, along the water and into the desert! You will have a leader at the front and someone following you in the back, and along the way they take photos, tell you facts and give you history. It’s about a 10 minute drive from town and I loved every minute of it.
  
  
• Art Trail
  There are lots of souvenir stores in town, but if you go in a semi-big loop you will hit the main art galleries of Todos Santos. There are 5 in total so it can take you about 1-2 hours more or less depending on how quick you are. The galleries include: Gabo, Gallery 365, AR Galeria, Benito Ortega and La Coronela. The route starts on Juárez, goes down M. De Léon to C. Militar. From there take a left on Hidalgo, take a right on Legaspo then right on Topete. Once you get back to Juárez you have seen them all.
  
• Tropic of Cancer Monument
  Todos Santos is basically on the Tropic of Cancer line which means the weather is pretty consistent, sunny and hot. It also means on the Summer Solstice, this spot will have the most sun and essentially have the longest day in terms of sunlight! This monument was erected in 2017 and is a 1 minute drive before you reach town on the left hand side.
  

  So cool!

• La Paz
  Another coastline town, La Paz is on the west coast of the Baja peninsula. It’s the capital of the Baja California South State and has more beaches and shopping to offer than Todos.

OTHERS:

• Car Rental: You almost have to rent a car if you want to get to Todos Santos. We rented from Cactus Car Rental from the San Jose Del Cabo airport. It was $400 USD for the week, including liability. Note: it is law to have liability insurance, so if you make a reservation and it seems cheap, it is because they will charge you A LOT for the liability once you arrive. There are the major chains, Hertz, Enterprise, Alamo, but we were recommended Cactus by the newlyweds and we felt it was a great deal. Even after driving on lots of dirt roads, the return of the car was painless and easy.
• Money: Most places do not take cards so you will need to take money out. I would suggest finding an ATM as soon as you arrive, as they stop dispensing cash after a certain hour at night. Keep a small coin purse so you can re-use all coins as well. Be sure to keep up with the exchange rate as 18 pesos was 1 USD when we were there. Don’t be fooled either, some places prefer USD, or will take USD and give you change back in pesos… but it won’t always be the correct change. ALSO: Just like the States, you will need to tip.

DONT FORGET: Read up on your Spanish with a pocket guide. Most tourist places speak English, but some, and the most-authentic, restaurants do not.

Have you been to Baja? What was your favorite city?