Playa Balandra — Restaurant in Baja California Sur

I had read many reviews and bloggers about this spectacular beach and put it on our list of things to see when visiting La Paz. Due to the pandemic, I read that only 120 people were allowed at a time to visit and also read that cars began lining up at wee hours in the morning to secure a spot here. Not sure what wee hours in the morning truly met, we queued up in line at 6:30 am and were already 7 cars deep. The beach opened at 8. This is one of the top 5 most beautiful beaches I've seen in the world. Upon arriving, we parked, and not intending to stay long, we headed to the right and started climbing up the mountain. The views are gorgeous. It's true that the water in the cove typically remains only knee deep. On top of the mountain you can actually see in the water where it gets deep because of the drastic change of the beautiful blue hues. We climbed over the mountain and continued around to our right finding the mushroom rock. Some douche bag in the past has climbed on top of the rock to get the epic photo and has fallen. But has since been returned to it's upright position for more epic photos....just don't be a douche bag and climb on it. We spent a total of 90 minutes exploring the area and all it's beauty. It is a UNESCO certified location, so there will be no vendors here. Bring your own food and beverage, and take your trash with you. I did see a restroom though. And around the bend is a rental place for kayaks and paddle boards. You'll see an occasional stunning yacht in the distance as well. Definitely put this gorgeous beach on your bucket list, but don't forget to plan...

Balandra Beach is the by far the best beach in the area. But there are things to keep in mind/be aware of.

This is a well protected beach and bit of ocean. The area is protected by "cliffs". So the water remains calm. Depending on the time of the cliffs provide shade depending on where you situate yourself. The beach also has a number of palapas. Not enough for everyone but it is nice they were installed and are free.

There is a place to rent kayaks, paddle boards, and snorkel equipment. The water is crystal clear. It is also shallow. You can wade a good ways out.

There is a decent bit of parking at the beach if you drive. You can also take an Uber, cab, etc to get to the beach. It is about a 25 minute trip. Getting back via Uber, a taxi, etc is not something to count on. But there is a bus. The bus leaves from the Malacone station and runs every 2 hours. The bus hits a other beaches past Balandra. As of this writing it is 60 pesos each way. You can buy tickets at the station or on the bus.

It is a nice sized beach but not huge. This is not a problem as it never gets too crowded. They do a great job of maintaining and preserving the area. The number of beach goers is limited to 100. There is a morning and an afternoon attendance. You can sign up online. If the beach is full they will turn you around and not let you in. You can walk in for free. If you drive you have to pay for parking.

There is no smoking or drone use. Also if you go bring the food and drinks you think you will want. Sometimes there is a food truck but it is not something to count on.

I highly...

Very beautiful beach as everyone said but some logistics.

There are two time slots to enter, 8-12 pm, and 1-5pm. Only 400 people can enter each time slot. We went for the 1 pm.

We got there around 11:45 am. Line can start forming around 12 pm, so I think getting there one hour is as early as you need to go. Since we were close to front of the line, we got to start going in the beach around 12:15 pm. So even though the official start time in the afternoon was 1 pm, we still got to go in early. I personally think we would've got in anyways even if we arrived at 1 pm based on the crowd. Not sure if it ever got full afterwards, but reading reviews, it can get full where people get turned away.

When you are lining up, there will be lots of people trying to sell you beach chair/umbrellas. Note that the line forms at where all the people selling the umbrellas are. To enter the line, you go through a dirt road off a highway pass / near the main road which someone will guide you to, even tho it feels wrong. We thought they were just try to get us to line up for the vendors. But it ended up being the main line.

At the beach, there's bathroom but you need to pay. There're no vendors besides kayaks for rent. There's no entrance fee. There are around 20 permanent umbrellas you can use if you are one of the first ones to get in, otherwise...