Information about Sailboat Charters in La Paz Baja Mexico

Frequently Asked Questions

We are flying into San Jose Del Cabo airport. What is the best way to get to La Paz?
The airport at San Jose Del Cabo is approximately 120 miles from La Paz. A new bus line,Peninsula Ejectivo has new comfortable buses, It is my understanding that they do not pick up at the airport, but they they will deliver you to the terminals from La Paz. Many of our charterers have taken this service back to SJD and they have been very pleased.  They leave for La Paz and return every hour and one /half. There are other buses that are nice (Aguila is one). You can go direct to the bus stop in San Jose del Cabo, or if you are adventurous, go out to the highway and catch one to La Paz. Tickets are around $25.  Car rentals can be expensive as there is a drop-off fee for La Paz. However some of our charters have gotten very reasonable rates. If you do rent a car, I have heard, it is the cheapest to do it in the USA. All seven rental car companies have offices at the airport and in La Paz.  There is a private van service, very nice, but a little expensive, great website, http://transbaja.com/. They even have a toll free; 1-888-800-9619. The trip is about three hours and takes you through the mountains, very picturesque.

May we sleep on board SeaSirena the night before our charter begins?
Yes, 99% of the time, for no charge for weekly charters (there is a minimum charge for charters less than a week). SeaSirena is available for boarding at 6 PM. as the crew needs to get her ready for you after the previous charters come in.

Do you provide towels & bedding?
Yes, we provide blankets, sheets, pillowcases, towels, washcloths, and dish towels.

Do we need to purchase paper products and soap?
We only provide toilet paper, four rolls of paper towels and garbage bags.  We do provide dish, bar and liquid soap.

What about spices?
We have a very limited supply aboard. Other charterers bring some and leave some. It is a good idea to check before you shop. Salt, pepper and sugar are provided.

What is the water situation? Do we need to buy drinking water?
We provide anywhere from 12 to 18 gallons of purified drinking water, depending on the number of charters. SeaSirena has limited freshwater tanks of 30 gallons and 40 gallons.  There is a salt water pump for the galley sink.

How do we provision and where?
Practically all of our charters self-provision. Most people shop at the supermarket CCC located five blocks from where SeaSirena is docked. It is a very large store, similar to a supermarket in the U.S. or Canada. The beef, in our opinion, is superior to that of the U.S., and comes from the state of Sinaloa although it is cut a little different. Many products are brought down from the U.S. We have never had a complaint about the quality or variety of products at CCC. There are some very good Mexican wines produced on the Baja as well as wines from the U.S, Chile and the world. Mexican beer is great.

The only things you may want to bring down are any specialty spices and foods. We will take you to CCC and show you through the store. Then you can shop at your leisure and take a cab back to Seascape. Cab fares are very reasonable. You can use credit cards, dollars or pesos.

What is the best way to bring money?
The best way, is to bring U.S. dollars and your credit and debit cards. At CCC for example, they will accept credit cards, dollars or pesos. They will also exchange dollars for pesos. It is best to exchange dollars for pesos in Mexico as you will get the best exchange rate here. Exchange dollars at CCC for the best rates when you provision, or use one of five ATMs there ( yes , I said five, they are in a row at the entrance to CCC). Most restaurants accept dollars & credit cards. Absolutely do NOT bring traveler's checks! They are not practical in La Paz because banks will not accept them from merchants.

Can we do a one-way charter to Puerto Escondido or vice versa?
Yes, we have done several. Most have been done by return charters, with one doing it twice. It is a good way to do more cruising, and see a complete set of different islands. Most people, who do the trip from La Paz to PE, fly back out of Loreto. Those that do the PE to La Paz segment, provision in La Paz, and we transport them by motor home to PE. The distance is 225 miles, and takes 5 1/2 hours. The cost is $750 to $1000 usually split between the two charters.

Can we do a charter less than a week?
Day charters are available as well as overnight, three, four and even five day charters. The overnight, and for charters less than a week are more expensive, because we have to do as much work getting SeaSirena ready as we do for a week or more charter.

When do we receive the return of our security deposit?
Your security deposit is sent to you seven days after your charter. We take a good look at Seascape to see that this are no damages or lost items (most charters point them out to us), check the fuel supplies and telephone use and take out the $50 for the port captain's fees. Usually, if there are no damages, the amount returned to you is around $350.

What about navigation, charts & cruising guides?
All navigation is line-of-sight. While we do provide a GPS and most charterers do have a GPS, they are not necessary.

The chart that we send charterers is a mini cruising guide to La Paz area and the islands of Espiritu Santo, Partida and San Francisco, on a one week charter is the one we use. The Moorings use a fishing chart, which we also have aboard. That’s it( for one-ways to Puerto Escondido and two week charters, we do have a packet of charts to use, but you still cannot use them as you would a US or Canadian chart)!   There are two cruising guides aboard. My favorite is "Charlie’s Charts". The other is the" Cruising Guide to the Lower Gulf" by Gerry Cunningham, very good and recent.

How do you take care of problems when we are out in the islands?
Firstly, we do everything in our power for it not to happen, but boats being boats it does happen. Rafael, who takes care of my boats, has worked for me for over 10 years. Fact of the matter, without him, I would not charter SeaSirena. He is a great mechanic, painter and person etc. He has a cell phone.

I, Bob Moore, am also available to contact Rafael when available. We have Raul who has four fast pangas with 90 hpr. Honda's to take Rafael out to SeaSirena.
So usually Rafael can be there in several hours.

How do you use a payphone in Mexico?
You buy a phone card for 50 or 100 pesos, from most stores. Mexican phones do not take coins. The rate to call the USA is about 5 pesos per minute, or 45 cents. DO NOT USE TELEPHONES that are in the tourist areas, in which they say, "Use your credit card to call home". They charge about $10 per minute, and we even heard of one person who was charged $80.

What about fishing?
 We have one rod & to fish off of the stern (two rod holders). In addition there is a small rod with a spinning reel to fish off of SeaSirena when she is at anchor.

How do we check the Weather?
When you are in the US or Canada, please go to http://eebmike.com/.  He used to live here, but he now lives in the States while his children go to school. He keeps it up and there is also a place to click on to get forecasts.

We will give you the weather information we have when you are here for your charter. Also go to channel 22 (VHF) at 8 AM, Monday through Saturday.

There is a net on, in English, and the weather is one of the first items. (Channel 22 is the hailing channel in La Paz and channel 16 in the islands.) You can go on VHF and ask if anyone has the weather, especially after 10 AM as many of the cruisers are hams, and get the weather from the ham nets.