Teens, and their slightly younger counterparts, tweens, are an amusing yet enraging bunch. Acting loving one minute, sullen the next, endlessly excited about the smallest things, yet equally overwhelmed by them, you just never know what you are going to get. Planning a vacation with such capricious creatures can be a lesson in negotiation! But not in La Paz, Mexico! Sunny, rugged, energising and radiant, this gateway to the Sea of Cortez is primed with adventures the whole family will enjoy, and your teen will silently acknowledge with a nod, or rave about. You know, whatever.
Photo credit Tourism La Paz – FITUPAZ
Photographer Ivan Felix
Swim with Whale Sharks
La Paz sits high on the list as one of the best spots in the world to swim with whale sharks. The gentle giants are the biggest fish in the sea, and the calm waters around La Paz are the perfect spot to hop in and swim alongside the 10 ft long animals. But don’t worry, their prefered diet is plankton, not teens!
Photo credit Tourism La Paz – FITUPAZ
Photographer Ivan Felix
Snorkel with Sea Lions
The area around Espiritu Santo Island is home to an unusually friendly colony of sea lions whose inquisitive pups regularly swim around snorkelers and divers. As with whale sharks, swimming with these aquatic animals can be safe, provided everyone stays off the rocks away from protective males.
Photo credit Tourism La Paz – FITUPAZ
Photographer Ivan Felix
Stand Up Paddle Boarding
The azure lagoon and dangling green mangroves around Balandra Bay provide the perfect shallow, still waters to practice stand up paddle boarding. You’ll need to use your balance skills to navigate through some of the narrower mangrove pathways for a challenging yet not too demanding course.
Photo credit Tourism La Paz – FITUPAZ
Photographer Ivan Felix
Instagram historic downtown
Yes, it’s hard to get teens/tweens off their phones, but a walk through the historic downtown areas gives you a perfect view of the mixture of street art and murals painted along the streets – The perfect Instagram shot is waiting among one of the many ornate and colourful doorways dotted throughout the town. Walking along the Malecon, or boardwalk, is a must and there you can snap pics of the historic sculptures or the iconic La Paz sign. The large, multi-coloured letters stand tall and provide a perfect foreground shot as the sun sets in the background.
Fun Fact: Even the garbage cans along the Malecon have brightly coloured lids in the shape of turtles and other marine animals!
Whale Museum
Learn a little more about the whales that call the La Paz and surrounding areas home at their whale museum. Featuring huge overhead skeletons and a wall of whale organs preserved in jars, there’s enough keep a teen’s attention. But not to worry, kids of all ages will find something to love about all the exhibits.
