Playa Balandra

Playa Balandra is a bay on the Gulf of California side of the La Paz municipality, about 27 km north of the city of La Paz on the road that continues to Pichilingue and Playa El Tecolote. It is known for its shallow, very clear water that shades from pale green to turquoise, a long arc of white sand backed by low desert hills, and a small mushroom-shaped rock at the water's edge called El Hongo, which has become the area's best-known image. The bay is so shallow and sheltered that you can wade a long way out and the water stays warm, which makes it good for families with small children.

The bay and the mangroves behind it are protected as the Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna Balandra, decreed on 30 November 2012 and covering about 2,500 hectares of land and sea. The mangrove at the head of the bay is the largest inside the Bahía de La Paz, and the site is also listed as a Ramsar wetland. Because the beach had become very crowded, the authorities now regulate entry: visitors are admitted in two daily shifts, with a cap reported at 450 people each, and you get in with a digital wristband bought online through CONANP rather than by simply arriving. The system has been adjusted a few times since it began, so check the current rules before you plan a day around it.

There is little on the beach itself: no restaurants or services, and shade is limited, so people bring a hat, water, a cover-up and carry out what they bring in. Kayaks can be rented on the sand, and paddling or wading along the shore leads to the neighboring coves. Snorkeling is possible in the clearer parts of the bay, but the main pleasure is floating in the warm, calm water and walking the sandbars at low tide. El Hongo sits on the rocky point at the western end; climbing on it is discouraged because the rock is fragile, and the formation has been repaired after damage.

Balandra is a half-hour drive from the center of La Paz. Mornings are the quietest time, and the water is usually calmest then. October to March is the most comfortable season; summers are very hot and the shade-free beach is hard to take in the middle of the day.