Todos Santos in January (2027): Weather, Whales, Surf & Things to Do

⭐ Best January window: January 18–31. The holiday crowd has left after Día de Reyes, the town's music festival (January 13–17, 2027) is over, room rates barely move across the month, and both the winter swell at Cerritos and humpback activity along the coast strengthen toward February. Coming for the music? Then aim for festival week and book rooms very early.

Our January Ratings

These are our editorial ratings for January conditions in Todos Santos (10 = best), not traveller review scores. For risk factors, a higher score means less of a problem.

💰 Average January hotel prices (Todos Santos and nearby coast, boutique hotels):
Early Jan (5–8): ~$195–245/night · Late Jan (19–22): ~$210–245/night · Luxury resorts: ~$750–1,150+/night
Rough estimates from room-only rates for two adults, sampled in September 2026 for January 2027; taxes and fees are extra, and rates vary by property and booking lead time.

Todos Santos in January is the Pacific side of Baja at its most comfortable. The desert is dry, days are sunny and warm, and the town's galleries, restaurants, and weekend markets are all running at full season. Out on the coast, January brings two things Cabo's resort beaches can't match: consistent winter surf and humpback whales spouting and breaching just beyond the break, often visible from the sand.

The honest caveats are the ocean and the nights. The Pacific here is colder than the Sea of Cortez around Cabo San Lucas, and most local beaches are too rough to swim. After sunset the temperature drops fast, and a small town with limited lodging fills up in high season. We'd lean toward January for travellers who want art, food, surf, and wildlife over resort pools and beach swimming. We'd only steer you elsewhere if calm-water swimming is the point of the trip; in that case, base yourself in Cabo San Lucas or La Paz and visit Todos Santos as a day trip.

Most people don't realize how few tours actually start in Todos Santos. The town is a place to wander, surf, and eat, and the headline January excursions, whale watching above all, run out of Cabo San Lucas. The Todos Santos day trips above are built for visitors coming up from Cabo; if you're staying in town, you can cover the same galleries, mission church, and Hotel California on foot.

Long-run averages for Todos Santos; air temperature and rain via Climates to Travel, sea temperature via seatemperature.org. Individual years vary.

Temperature and Humidity

January days in Todos Santos are warm and dry, with highs around 24–26°C (75–79°F) and plenty of sunshine. The difference from Cabo San Lucas shows up after dark. Todos Santos sits on the open Pacific, backed by desert, and overnight lows average around 13°C (55°F) and can dip lower on clear, still nights, cooler than the Cabo San Lucas marina area. Early mornings on the beach, sunset hikes, and dinner on an open patio all call for a proper layer. The biggest difference between January and the summer months is comfort for walking: the town, the beaches, and the foothill trails are pleasant at any hour of the day, rather than only at dawn and dusk.

Rain Pattern

There is almost no rain. January falls in the heart of Baja's dry season, averaging roughly 15 mm spread over one or two rainy days, and many years see less. What you may get instead is a marine layer: a band of low cloud or haze over the coast on some mornings, which usually burns off by late morning. It is a minor effect, but it is worth knowing if you are planning sunrise photography or an early whale-spotting session.

Sea and Outdoor Conditions

The Pacific is the defining factor in January. Sea temperatures average about 21°C (70°F), ranging from roughly 19°C to 23°C (66–73°F) and cooling through the month, and winter swells from the northwest roll in steadily. That is great news for surfers and whale-watchers, and bad news for casual swimmers. Most beaches around town, including Punta Lobos, La Cachora, and La Pastora, have powerful shore break and strong currents; they are for walking, watching, and surfing if you know what you are doing. Cerritos, about 15 minutes south, is the beach most visitors can realistically get into, and a wetsuit is standard for surfing it this month. What typically happens is that the wind is lightest in the morning and builds from the northwest after midday, so dawn and early morning bring the cleanest waves and the calmest water.

Todos Santos Through the Year: How January Compares

January is high season in Todos Santos, but "busy" here means something very different from Cabo San Lucas. There are no mega-resorts and no cruise-ship crowds; the pressure comes from snowbirds settling in for the winter, a limited number of boutique rooms, and tour vans from Cabo arriving in the middle of the day.

• Week 1 (Jan 1–6): holiday tail. New Year's visitors and Mexican families on holiday fill the town through Día de Reyes on January 6. Restaurants need reservations and the best rooms are gone. We'd only book this week if your dates are fixed.
• Week 2 (Jan 7–12): the reset. The holiday crowd leaves and the town returns to its winter rhythm. Surf, weather, and whales are identical to the rest of the month.
• Festival week (Jan 13–17, 2027): the music takes over. The Tropic of Cancer Music & Arts Festival runs for five days in Todos Santos, bringing concerts, art, and a big influx of visitors. It is a highlight if live music is your thing, and a reason to avoid these dates if you want a quiet town; either way, rooms go fast.
• Weeks 3–4 (Jan 18–31): the sweet spot. The quietest stretch of high season, with full restaurant and gallery hours and steadily improving whale activity. Our take: this is the window to aim for if your dates flex.

Unlike Cabo, where rates step down noticeably after the holidays, Todos Santos pricing stays fairly flat across January. When we sampled room-only rates in September for January 2027, boutique hotels in and around town came in around $195–245 per night in both the first and third weeks, while the high-end resorts sat between roughly $750 and $1,150 or more. The bigger issue was availability: only about 10 to 14 of the roughly 95 properties listed by our booking partner returned rates for those dates. Some of that gap is properties that had not yet released January rates rather than sell-outs, but it still leaves a thin choice of rooms. Most guests find that the real constraint in January is not price but inventory, so we'd lock in lodging before anything else. For where to stay, our Todos Santos hotels guide ranks the ten best by verified guest reviews, with live prices.

Midday is the busiest time on the streets, when day-trip vans from Cabo San Lucas arrive for lunch and gallery browsing. We like the town best in the morning and after about 4 PM, once the tours have headed back south. Getting here: our Los Cabos airport transfer guide covers the drive from SJD, and it's worth confirming that your operator serves Todos Santos, since not every transfer company covers the outlying towns by default.

January sits in the middle of whale season in southern Baja, which runs from December through April, with January to March as the peak, according to Visit Los Cabos. The same source notes that Pacific-side beaches between Cabo and Todos Santos often offer sightings directly from the sand in January and February, and you don't need a boat to see them from Todos Santos either. From the high ground at Punta Lobos, the beach at La Pastora, or anywhere with a clear view past the surf, you have a good chance of spotting spouts, tail slaps, or the occasional breach offshore on a clear, calm morning, though sightings from land are never guaranteed. Bring binoculars and scan early, before the afternoon wind puts whitecaps on the water and makes spouts harder to pick out.

For close encounters, the boat tours run from Cabo San Lucas, where January is peak season and sighting rates on morning departures are very high. In our view, the combination works best: watch from the Todos Santos shoreline during your stay, and give one morning to a Cabo whale cruise for the up-close experience. Gray whales also migrate down this coast between January and March on their way to Baja's Pacific lagoons, so you may see them passing too.

Todos Santos Whale Calendar

Sea Turtle Hatchling Releases

Todos Santos has an active volunteer sea turtle conservation program that protects nests along the local beaches and releases hatchlings into the Pacific, usually around sunset. January releases do happen, but they depend entirely on when protected nests hatch, so they are far less predictable than the whales. We'd only plan around a release if your dates are flexible; ask locally once you arrive, and treat it as a bonus rather than a booking.

For the full comparison of Cabo operators, boat types, and what to expect on the water, see our Cabo San Lucas whale watching tours guide. We'd book January whale cruises 2–3 weeks ahead, and pick a departure you can reach comfortably from Todos Santos, which usually means a 9 AM or later start.

The same winter swell that makes January one of the most consistent surf months in Todos Santos is what makes it a poor month for casual swimming. This is the main risk to plan around, and it is easy to manage once you know which beach does what.

Where You Can and Can't Swim

• Punta Lobos, La Cachora, La Pastora, and the long beaches near town: powerful shore break, steep drop-offs, and strong currents. Beautiful for walking, whale-watching, and sunsets; not for swimming. Drownings do happen on this coast, so take the warnings seriously.
• Playa Los Cerritos (about 15 minutes south): the most forgiving beach in the area, with a sandy bottom and a sheltered point. It is the standard beginner surf beach in winter and the best bet for a swim on calmer days, though it still gets real waves.
• Playa Las Palmas (San Pedrito): a palm-backed cove that can be calm enough for a dip on small days, but it is exposed to big winter swells; check conditions before going in.

Surfing in January

Winter, roughly November to March, is the main surf season for Cerritos, when northwest swells arrive consistently (see the Cerritos surf statistics for month-by-month swell data). Cerritos offers rolling beginner waves, and San Pedrito and the reef and point breaks up the coast work for experienced surfers. The water is cold, so a 3/2 wetsuit is the norm, and mornings bring the cleanest conditions before the afternoon breeze. We'd give Cerritos the edge for anyone learning: the lessons above include boards and gear, and while their transport is set up for Cabo San Lucas and Tourist Corridor hotels, from Todos Santos you are only a short drive from the beach. Our Cabo surf lessons guide compares schools and explains why winter lessons move to Cerritos.

Cold Water and Cold Nights

At around 21°C (70°F) on average, the Pacific is refreshing rather than warm, and snorkeling on this side of the peninsula isn't really an option given the surf. If you want clear, calm water, the Sea of Cortez is the answer: Cabo's snorkel bays, or Playa Balandra near La Paz, about an hour north. None of this is storm-related. The eastern Pacific hurricane season runs May 15 to November 30, so January carries no hurricane risk.

Editorial ratings for January conditions, not traveller review scores.

What we'd prioritise in January

Start in town. January is the high season for Todos Santos' art scene, and the galleries, the mission church, the historic theater, and the famous Hotel California are all within a few walkable blocks. We like doing this on foot in the morning, then heading to the coast in the afternoon for a Punta Lobos walk and a sunset whale watch.

After that, January rewards two directions. Toward the Pacific, the winter swell makes a Cerritos surf morning the most Todos Santos thing you can do. Toward Cabo, we'd book this for one day of the trip: a morning whale cruise, which is at its peak now, combined with the drive back past the Migriño ATV trails or the zipline canyon. If you're based in Cabo instead, the Cabo Adventures Todos Santos tour with camel ranch, lunch, and tequila tasting is the most-reviewed way to see the town in a day. For more ideas at the southern end of the peninsula, see our guide to the best things to do in Cabo San Lucas.

These experiences don't have dedicated guides on this site yet, but they fit a January stay especially well:

• Punta Lobos fishing pangas: the local fishing fleet launches and lands its small boats through the surf at Punta Lobos, just south of town. Watching them come in with the day's catch is a real slice of local life, and the bluff above is one of the best whale lookouts on the coast.
• El Pescadero farms and farm-to-table dining: the farming community between Todos Santos and Cerritos grows much of the produce served in the area's restaurants. January's cool evenings are perfect for a long garden dinner.
• Horseback riding on the beach: small local outfits run rides along the sand and through the desert. The mild January air makes a sunset ride comfortable.
• La Paz, Balandra, and whale sharks: La Paz is about an hour north, and January is peak whale shark season in the bay. It makes for a strong Baja wildlife double-header with Cabo's humpbacks; see our La Paz in January guide and La Paz whale shark guide.
• Sierra de la Laguna foothills: the mountains rising east of town hold trails, ranchos, and cooler air. January's dry weather is ideal for hiking, but go with a local guide, as trails are rugged and poorly marked.

• Book your room first. Todos Santos has a small number of boutique hotels, and January is high season. Lock in lodging before tours, and expect minimum stays at some properties.
• Rent a car. The town is walkable, but Cerritos, Punta Lobos, La Paz, and every Cabo tour departure need wheels. Tour pickups usually cover Cabo San Lucas and Tourist Corridor hotels, not Todos Santos, so plan to drive to the meeting point.
• Pack a real jacket. Lows around 13°C (55°F) feel colder on the coast with a breeze. Daytime is T-shirt weather, so layers are the answer.
• Treat the beaches with respect. Most beaches near town are unswimmable because of shore break and currents. Swim at Cerritos, stay out of the water when flags or locals say no, and never swim alone.
• Surf early, with a wetsuit. Morning brings the cleanest waves before the afternoon northwest wind. A 3/2 wetsuit makes the 19–23°C water comfortable; lesson schools provide boards and can arrange wetsuits.
• Pick later whale-tour departures. From Todos Santos, a 9 AM or later cruise out of Cabo San Lucas avoids a pre-dawn drive, and January mornings are still calm enough for good conditions.
• Explore town outside midday. Day-trip vans from Cabo concentrate between late morning and mid-afternoon. Galleries and cafés are at their most relaxed early and late.
• Carry pesos. Smaller shops, taco stands, and beach parking often take cash only, and ATMs in town can run dry on busy weekends.
• Visiting at a different time of year? December opens whale season and turtle release season, before the holiday peak: see our Todos Santos in December guide. February is the peak of whale season with some of the coldest water of the year: see our Todos Santos in February guide. For the southern tip of the peninsula in the same month, see our Cabo San Lucas in January guide, or the Cabo in February guide for the peak of whale season. An hour north, our La Paz in January guide covers whale shark season on the calm Sea of Cortez side.