Getting to Magdalena Bay for the Fishing Trip of a Lifetime
Mother Nature’s currents and whims are the main reasons that Magdalena Bay became such an incredible fishery, but one thing that keeps it great is its remoteness. There’s not an airport or even a decent-sized town nearby. You don’t end up there by accident.
On our first epic trip to chase striped marlin in Mag Bay, we went on a liveaboard boat, leaving Cabo at 2pm on a Sunday and returning at 7am on a Wednesday, fishing full days on Monday and Tuesday.
That meant we had a full-sized sportfisherman under us, and while the rides were long (albeit at night, when we could sleep), the larger boat would have allowed us to get out when pangas and smaller boats may have been confined to the bay itself.
Flying to Cabo
If that’s the route you’re going to take, you can fly into Los Cabos international Airport (SJD). We stayed overnight at the Fiesta Marina hotel and literally walked out the back door to Dock B to get on the boat. Super-easy.
Another advantage of that route is that you can fly directly to SJD from dozens of other North American airports, usually quite affordably, on multiple different airlines, including all of the major US carriers. We flew through Dallas on American on the way there, and through Chicago on American on the way home. We chose the inbound route because there are multiple flights per day from Dallas, so if we missed our connection or it was otherwise canceled, we would still possibly be able to get there that same day.
You can also drive from Cabo to one of the Mag Bay ports – either renting a car yourself or hiring a driver. It is almost exactly five hours, mostly on major modern highways, from Cabo to San Carlos, where we stayed later in the week. It’s a little further to Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos.
Flying to La Paz or Loreto
If you want less road time, you can also fly into either La Paz or Loreto on the opposite coast, adjacent to the Gulf of California.
La Paz, the largest city in Baja California Sur, is a little over 3 hours away. The airport code is LAP. Unfortunately, there are limited direct flights to LAP at the current time from the United States or elsewhere in the vicinity. You can fly directly from Los Angeles (LAX) on Alaska Air most days of the week. San Diegans can fly on Viva Aerobus or Volaris. There are also flights to multiple Mexican cities, including Mexico City on Aeromexico, so that’s another connection point for US or Canadian anglers.
Loreto, which is slightly closer to Mag Bay than La Paz, has an airport that is more useful for most Americans. It has direct flights to DFW, LAX, Phoenix, San Francisco and even Calgary. Only the LA route (on Alaska) and the Phoenix route (on American) seem to go seven days a week, but at least there are multiple connection points – although fewer overall flights for eastern anglers than Cabo or Puerto Vallarta.
The Road Less Traveled
Of course, if you’re coming from the west, you can also make the drive. It’s about 16 hours from the border to San Carlos – again, mostly on major highways – but this comes with its own risks. Make sure you’re aware, and have the proper paperwork and insurance if you choose to take this option.
No matter which one you choose, rest assured it’s worth the effort. Mag Bay is a special fishery, one in which we’ve only scratched the surface, and the entirety of Baja offers incredible and varied fishing, some of the best in the world.
The remoteness of Mexico’s Magdalena Bay is a big part of what maintains the fertile fishery — here’s how to get there with a minimum of stress and time on the road or in the air.