Snorkel cruise to Santa Maria Bay

Santa María is a small cove on the corridor between Cabo San Lucas and San José, held between two granite headlands that keep out the swell and the wind. The water in the bay is a protected marine sanctuary, and hundreds of species of reef fish live in it. Visibility is best in the morning.

The cruise is the long way round. Catamarans leave the Cabo San Lucas marina, pass the Arch and Land's End, then run up the coast to anchor in the bay for a snorkel. Many make it a two-bay day with a second stop at Chileno, a neighbouring Blue Flag cove. The trip runs about four hours, with lunch, an open bar, snorkel gear and often paddleboards on board. Sea lions, turtles and mobula rays turn up, and in winter there are whales on the way. Some boats take children only from age five.

Anyone with a car can drive to the beach instead and snorkel from the sand.