December in La Paz: Beaches, Food, and Life in Baja’s Best Month

Diciembre en La Paz se siente distinto. The days soften, the city brightens, and there’s this quiet excitement as festivities, parties and the glow of the holidays get closer. For me, the holidays in the tropics feel nostalgic, reminding me of Christmases from my childhood in the Virgin Islands. It’s familiar and warm in a way that never quite matched the cold up north.

It isn’t Cabo madness or the escape-hatch hustle of big-city holiday capitalism. It’s something local, familiar, grounded. Festive without the frenzy, joyful without the overload. December here feels like Baja in its best light, and cada día reminds me why I love living here. Me encanta este lugar. Me hace sentir bien.

Weather in La Paz in December

Most mornings I wake up early. Let Moby out, make coffee, stand by the pool for a minute and just take in the sky while he trots around. The air has that soft, early cool that makes bed cozier but also pulls you outside. I walk Moby down to the beach and he goes straight for the water, swimming out into glass while I step through the cool sand, looking for shells. There’s usually a lone heron doing its thing, slightly annoyed with us but never enough to leave. We say buenos días to the people we pass, porque aquí todavía se hace así, and it’s one of those tiny things I’ve grown to love.

By the time I’m getting dressed for a day of showing houses, linen and maybe jeans, just because you miss them and feel like it, everything feels easy and settled. The sun sets a bit earlier now, but the evenings welcome a little brisa del mar that makes you want to walk un ratito after dinner or stay talking under the pergola.

Everyone already knows Balandra. Simon! It’s spectacular, claro, but December opens up the rest of the coastline in a way that feels even more local.

Pichilingue is perfect for easy snorkeling and mariscos you can eat under the trees. El Tesoro, with families mingling y riendo, kids splashing in the shallows, and people standing way out in the water with their hats, drinks in hand, sus voces y risas drifting back across the surface. Tecolote always pulls me back too, especially when the brown pelícanos arrive. They glide in those big dramatic lines, centimeters from the surface, then dive in unison, precision groups hitting the water like daggers. I could watch it all day. Honestly, I have.

December adds twinkle lights and hands you a michelada like, “ándale, enjoy.” Solo playas tranquilas that feel like home for vacationing Mexicans, Paceños, and anyone lucky enough to have landed here.

Snorkeling, Espíritu Santo and Mobula Rays in La Paz y más, now is prime time

December is when the tours start showing off a little. The mornings are tranquilo, the water clears up, and the visibility jumps in that way where you realize why everyone raves about this place. Most of the pangas leave early, so you get that quiet on the water before the day wakes up.

Espíritu Santo is always a yes.
Sea lions posted up on the rocks at Los Islotes, doing their usual mix of barking, napping, and showing off. The water around Ensenada Grande gets especially clear this month, that bright turquoise that looks fake until you’re floating in it. Growing up in the Virgin Islands, there was this famous story about a woman who carried empty jars in her bag because she wanted to collect all the different colors of water on her tour. Every time I’m out here and the water shifts from teal to jade to that electric blue, I think of her. La verdad, I get it.

Snorkeling this time of year is smooth. The sea stays calm, the water cooler but not cold, I went out a couple weeks ago with friends to see a whole squadron of mobulas gliding and flipping together with the confidence of animals who know this is their bay, and I felt so lucky to be in the presence of such grace. Watching them fish en grupo in that clear water creates a memory. December does that here.

And one of my favorite parts is being out there with Mexican families on vacation from Guadalajara, CDMX, Monterrey, people who know their own coastline and come here because it’s that good. When I went to surf school in Cerritos, I made friends with gente from all the big cities, all of us drawn to las mismas playas. Hearing Spanish and laughter bounce across the water gives everything a grounded, auténtico feeling.

These tours aren’t fancy. A good panga, a guide who knows the sea, a cooler with drinks, maybe a sandwich. Simple, reliable, and one of the best ways to understand La Paz from the water in.

December makes it even better.
Calm seas, clear visibility, buena vibra. The kind of day that stays with you.

December Nights in La Paz

December nights en La Paz tienen vida. People walking to dinner, families grabbing helado, música drifting from the next block, conversations bouncing between Spanish and English without anyone thinking about it. Las luces de Navidad shine loud and joyful across colonias and patios, giving the whole city a celebratory pulse you can’t help but join. You see people coming from La Lupita Rock Café or Patio Domínguez, still laughing, still mid-story, carrying that energy into the street.

Taquerías buzz, plazas stay busy, and the sidewalks near La Miserable and El Parnazo fill with people deciding where to go next. And something I love about Mexico is that everyone goes out. Young, old, toda la banda. There isn’t that age line you feel in other places. If you’re young at heart, you fit right into the mix here.

This is the part of the day when you remember why living here feels so natural. I can finish a day of showings, walk out my door, and step into a neighborhood that’s alive, never overwhelming. A quick stroll for tacos, a chat with neighbors, una michelada on the malecón, it all fits. December makes the evenings feel like the lifestyle people imagine when they talk about moving to Baja, except here it’s just real.

Estás invitado, ven a vernos.

What I love most about La Paz is how naturally people fit here. You see couples laughing over tacos, friends meeting after work, newcomers blending in without feeling like newcomers. It’s a city that opens the door, not one you have to push into.

If you’re imagining a life where the days feel lighter, the nights feel connected, and community doesn’t depend on age or background, este lugar might surprise you in the best way. And if you want to explore what living here could look like, I’m always happy to take a walk with you and talk about it.