Chileno Bay & Santa Maria Bay Snorkeling: 7 Best Tours (2026)

Chileno Bay and Santa Maria Bay are two of the best places to go snorkeling in Cabo San Lucas. Both are public beaches on the Los Cabos Tourist Corridor, about 20 minutes' drive from town, with rocky reefs, tropical fish and an easy walk-in from the sand. You can snorkel them on your own for free, or book a guided beach or boat tour from $79.80. We compared seven tours on price, rating, group size and what you actually get in the water, so you can choose the right one.

Our top pick is High Tide Los Cabos' guided snorkel at both bays ($95, 4.9 from 515 reviews); if you would rather arrive by boat with lunch and an open bar, Cabo Blue Boat's Santa Maria cruise is the cheapest way in at $79.80. Of the seven tours, four start on the beach and three come in by boat from the marina. We also cover how the two bays differ, how to visit them on your own, and the swell and jellyfish days that change plans. For every other snorkel spot around Cabo, including Pelican Rock, see our snorkeling in Cabo San Lucas guide. To see the bays from a boat with lunch and an open bar, our Cabo catamaran snorkel tour comparison covers the cruises that stop there.

Our picks at a glance:

• Best overall: High Tide Los Cabos, Snorkeling Tour to Chileno Bay and Santa Maria Cove ($95)
• Best with kayaking: High Tide Los Cabos, 2 Bays Kayak and Snorkel ($100)
• Best small-group boat: Cabo Trek, 4-Hour Snorkeling Tour ($109, April to mid-December)
• Best budget: Cabo Blue Boat, Santa Maria Bay cruise ($79.80)

The biggest choice here is not the operator but how you get in the water. The beach tours drive you to the sand and walk you in, which suits beginners and kids; the boat tours come from the marina, add the Arch, lunch and drinks, and anchor offshore. Most people don't realize the beach tours involve no boat at all, and that surprise is behind most of their low ratings.

Snorkeling Conditions Compared

Neither bay is reliably calmer than the other: conditions change with swell, wind and tide, and on rough days guides choose whichever bay is better that morning.

Drive distances and times are Mapbox estimates without traffic, checked October 30, 2026. The two beaches are 3.2 km apart, about 7 minutes by car.

In our view, Chileno is the better reef and Santa Maria's sheltered shape makes it the usual first swim, which is why the two-bay tours start there. If you can only do one, pick Chileno for the snorkeling and its showers and restrooms; one older guest review says Chileno had more variety of fish. Santa Maria is the one the boat cruises use, so on a cruise you will share it with other boats anchored offshore.

Both bays are rocky reef snorkeling close to shore, so most of what you see is within a short swim of the sand.

• Tropical reef fish: big schools along the rocks are the constant in reviews, along with pufferfish, trumpetfish, sea urchins and the odd starfish or lobster tucked into the crevices.
• Sea turtles: the most-mentioned highlight in guest reviews; some guests see several on one swim, others none.
• Rays: eagle rays and stingrays come up regularly in reviews of both the beach and boat tours.
• Moray eels: often spotted by guides in the rocks, and easy to miss without someone pointing them out.
• Whales, December to April: humpbacks are seen breaching offshore from the beach or a boat, at the surface rather than while you are snorkeling.

None of these sightings is guaranteed; on days after big swells the water clouds up and you may see mostly fish. Keep your distance from turtles and pufferfish, and do not feed the fish, even if others around you do.

• Time of day: mornings are usually calmer, with better visibility and lighter wind; High Tide's listing recommends morning departures for that reason.
• Winter (December to April): cooler water, so ask for a wetsuit, and a good chance of spotting humpback whales from the beach or boat.
• Swell and jellyfish days: high swells can bring in Portuguese man o' war and close a bay at any time of year. Guides may keep you in the calmer bay, move you to Pelican Rock or cancel; every tour here offers a full refund if it is cancelled for weather.
• Cabo Trek's boat tour only runs from April 17 to December 14.

For monthly water temperatures and conditions, see Cabo in January and the rest of our month-by-month guides. For everything else to do, see our best things to do in Cabo San Lucas.

Yes. Both are free public beaches with parking, about 20 minutes' drive from Cabo San Lucas and 21 to 27 minutes from San José del Cabo, so you can drive or take a taxi, bring your own mask and fins, and walk in. Go early, start with Santa Maria's calmer cove, then drive the 7 minutes to Chileno.

What a tour adds is a guide who knows where the fish and turtles are, gear and wetsuits, chairs and shade, and someone who decides whether the water is safe that day. The main tradeoff is about $90 to $125 per person against doing it yourself; guests who were confident swimmers were the ones who felt the beach tours were not worth it.

Snorkel tours to Chileno Bay and Santa Maria Bay cost $79.80 to $125 per person. Beach tours run $90 to $100 (rising to $100 to $110 on High Tide's tours from early January 2027), the private beach tour is $125, and boat trips run $79.80 to $109.

What matters more than price is what the price covers. The cheapest boat includes lunch and an open bar but only about 45 minutes in the water, while Cabo Trek's $109 small boat includes marine park fees and two bays with an instructor.

• Bring a towel: High Tide's tours do not include one, and Pez Gato asks guests to bring their own.
• Check the conditions the day before: message your operator, and expect a switch of bay or a cancellation on high-swell days.
• Watch for jellyfish: stings come up at Santa Maria in several 2026 reviews; a rash guard or wetsuit helps.
• Use reef-safe sunscreen and keep your hands off turtles and pufferfish; one private-tour guest reported a guide handling wildlife, so speak up if it happens.
• Getting in through the waves: the beach entry can be tiring on windy days, so wear fins only once you are past the shore break. Guests who have trouble getting in and out of the water from a beach found this the hardest part, so they may be happier snorkeling from a boat.
• Want to dive instead? Certified divers can see the same reefs from below; see our Cabo scuba diving guide, or paddle the Corridor with our kayak guide.

Staying in Cabo San Lucas or planning a trip? Here are three well-reviewed hotels, with live prices from our booking system. Rooms at the best-rated hotels are usually the first to go, especially in peak season and over holidays, so it's worth locking in your stay before availability fills up.