Mexico charters on two coasts that have nothing in common. The Sea of Cortez, behind the Baja peninsula, is a genuine cruising ground with islands, anchorages and almost no swell, and it is chartered by the week out of La Paz. Banderas Bay and the Pacific side are a day market: sunset cruises, snorkelling and whale watching sold by the four hour block.
La Paz and the Sea of Cortez
Read on 11 September 2026, Sailo lists 56 boats at La Paz at an average of 3,224 USD a day, from 1,650 to 7,000. Its own guidance on that page separates the market usefully: sailing catamarans and monohulls typically range from 400 to 1,200 USD a day, while crewed motor yachts generally start at 900 and exceed 2,500 a day for vessels over fifty feet. The gap between that guidance and the listed average is the crewed motor end of the fleet pulling the number up.
Why the Cortez is the better water
Espiritu Santo island sits eighteen miles north of La Paz and is a biosphere reserve of pale cliffs and empty sand bays with sea lions on its northern point. From there the islands run north for two hundred miles to Loreto with anchorages every few hours and almost no swell, because the peninsula shelters the whole sea from the Pacific. It is the only place in Mexico that works as a week long bareboat cruising ground, and it is genuinely good.
Sailing in San Jose del Cabo and the cape
The cape at the southern tip is a different proposition: the marina at San Jose del Cabo and the larger one at Cabo San Lucas twenty miles west sit on the corner where the Pacific meets the Cortez, and the water is deep, open and busy with sport fishing. Charters here are day charters, heavily weighted to marlin fishing and to the run round to the arch at Land's End. For a week among islands you go north to La Paz.
Where to rent a boat: Puerto Vallarta and Banderas Bay
On the mainland Pacific coast, Sailo lists 52 boats at Puerto Vallarta at an average of 2,207 USD a day, from 500 to 6,800: a 42 foot Hunter for thirteen with a captain at 635 for four hours, a 40 foot Lagoon catamaran for fifteen at 1,200 for four hours, and a 25 foot Sea Ray for six at 530 for four hours. Banderas Bay is twenty five miles wide, deep, and holds humpbacks from December to March, which is what most of these bookings are for.
Seasons on both coasts
The Sea of Cortez is at its best from October to May; June to September is very hot and inside the eastern Pacific hurricane season, and the fleets reduce accordingly. Banderas Bay runs year round but sells hardest from December to March for the whales. In the Cortez the wind to plan around is the northerly that funnels down the sea in winter and can pin a boat in an anchorage for a day or two at a time.
Questions people ask about la paz yacht charter
How much is a yacht charter in La Paz?
Sailo lists 56 boats averaging 3,224 USD a day, from 1,650 to 7,000, read on 11 September 2026, and puts sailing catamarans and monohulls at 400 to 1,200 a day with crewed motor yachts from 900.
Where is the best cruising in Mexico?
The Sea of Cortez north from La Paz. Espiritu Santo is eighteen miles out and the islands continue two hundred miles to Loreto with sheltered anchorages throughout, which no other Mexican coast offers.
Is San Jose del Cabo a charter base?
For day charters rather than weeks. The cape marinas sit on open deep water and their trade is sport fishing and the run to Land's End. Week long island cruising starts at La Paz, a hundred miles north.
How much is a boat in Puerto Vallarta?
Sailo lists 52 boats averaging 2,207 USD a day, from 500 to 6,800. A 40 foot Lagoon catamaran for fifteen guests with a captain is 1,200 for four hours, read on 11 September 2026.
When should you go?
October to May in the Sea of Cortez, since the summer is very hot and inside the eastern Pacific hurricane season. December to March on Banderas Bay, which is when the humpbacks are there.