Los Barriles (or ‘The Barrels’ in English) is a small, quiet, yet notable Baja Sur town we’ve heard about since we moved to Cabo. With the long July 4th weekend upon us and an extra day off from work, we decided a last minute staycation road trip was just what we needed. After a quick search, we found a great pet-friendly Airbnb right on the beach and one day later were on our way, ready to explore!

The small town is located about an hour and a half north of Cabo San Lucas and only about 30 minutes north of the San Jose del Cabo airport. It is in the area known as the East Cape. The drive is easy and beautiful, winding through the desert, passing through the line for the Tropic of Cancer. Eventually you make a turn around the hillside and get to an overlook where you can see the beautiful turquoise ocean waters in the town of Buena Vista, located right before entering Los Barriles. The area felt a bit more tropical with all of the palm trees vs. the desert vibes in San Lucas and San Jose.

The summer season for Los Barriles is considered off season. The Eastern coast of the Baja is known for its high temps and humidity between July - October. Thankfully being right on the beach, the afternoon breezes that came through were just what we needed to cool off. Most expat locals hit the road for vacation and shops/restaurants tend to shut down temporarily for these few month, which was okay by us since we wanted a low key weekend.

In the winter months, Los Barriles is known for the whale shark activity and water sports. The city hosts windsurfing, sailboarding and kiteboarding tournaments right on the beach our place looked out to. You wouldn’t know how kiteboarding is possible in the mornings but by the afternoon you definitely can see why. At sunrise around 6am the water is like glass. But by 12pm the winds pick up, creating white caps and rip tides. After sunset, its back to calm, quiet waters under a moonlit sky.

Our Airbnb host was wonderful, giving us many tips on places to go and things to do, guiding us to the places that were still open for the season. We had breakfast and lunch right next door at La Playa Beach Bar. From chorizo eggs benedict and morning mimosas, to fresh tuna curricanes paired with hand-crafted mezcalitas, they had it all and it was amazing. The views are hard to beat.

For our first dinner night, we walked downtown to Smokey’s Grill & Cantina, what seemed to be a popular local hangout. On the 4th of July evening, we drove to the Hotel de Las Palmas and dined at the Bay View restaurant, which had a great sunset view. They also had a fabulous father/daughter duo performing live with fun songs played on a ukulele. No firework show, but we’re spoiled at our house in San Lucas. We often see fireworks every weekend from the many weddings that were had at all the resorts around us.

We were surprised to see so many tourists around, and so many gringos at that. It made us feel like we were on vacation in Florida. Everyone’s mode of transportation is on ATVs, Can-ams, or raptors. You see very little cars going up and down the street but for some reason, a lot drive on the beach. Seeing cars get stuck in the sand while sipping our margs on the patio was our quality daily entertainment.

We noticed there were free kayaks available for use at La Playa, so one morning we hit the ocean early while we could still see through the clear waves and paddle around without worry. A few mobulas, members of the stingray family, decided to join us for the fun. It provided us with great entertainment as they jumped out of the water along our cruise down the shoreline.

Our afternoon fun on Saturday and Sunday included a walk down the beach to explore, an intense game of Jenga, beach naps, and cheap beach massages next door (apparently with complimentary hair braid, ha!).

The best part of staying on the beach is seeing the moon rise over the ocean at night and the colors of the sunrise begin to form over the water the next morning. Both were gorgeous and serene; moments we made sure to stop and soak in the beauty.

Sunrise: 100% of the time we complain about getting up early and 0% of the time do we end up regretting it. This was the perfect time to get Kennedy outside to burn off some energy before the sand was too hot. We had a few quiet moments before all the local stray doggies woke up and came to say hi. Per usual, Kennedy said hello and went back to side eyeing from a safe distance.

We can’t wait to take a trip back to Los Barriles in the high season so we can experience more of the local fare, see the whale sharks that migrate up north in the winter, and watch the kite-boarders in action. Thanks for a fun weekend, Los Barriles! Hasta pronto. — Kyle, Leigh & Kennedy 🐾

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