We track the year here by what's moving through the reserve and what's moving past it. In winter, that includes humpback whales. This is what we tell people who ask when to come for them, and how to see them properly.
When is whale season in Mazunte?
Humpback season on this part of the Oaxaca coast runs from about mid-December to the end of March. One operator working the Oaxaca coast gives December 15 to March 23 as the window when sightings are likely. Operators out of Puerto Escondido, whose airport is about an hour from us by road, describe the season as December through April.
Our view: if whales are the reason for the trip, aim for January through early March. You're well inside both versions of the season, and you aren't betting on the edges.
Why the humpbacks come here
They come to breed and to calve. Humpbacks spend the colder months migrating south from their northern feeding grounds into warmer Pacific water, and this coast sits on that route. That's the whole reason the season is a winter one. In the rest of the year you'll find other things in the water. You won't find these.
What a morning on the water looks like
Go early. Whale-season trips on this coast generally run from dawn to mid-afternoon, and the calm morning sea usually gives the best conditions for spotting a blow or a fluke. By afternoon the wind tends to come up and the water gets harder to read.
A few things we'd pack:
- A layer: the boat is cooler than the beach at seven in the morning.
- Sunscreen that won't harm the sea: reef-safe sunscreen is among the amenities we provide, for exactly this reason.
- Patience: whales surface on their own schedule. Nobody can promise one on a given morning, and we won't either.
How we arrange it from El Torón Reserve
Our concierge sets up time on the Pacific through The Voyage Within, our experiences program. Sailing and snorkelling sit in its Explore stream, alongside the coastal cliffs and the flora and fauna of the reserve. In whale season, tell us that whales are what you're after and we'll plan around it.
The practical details:
- By appointment: experiences are reserved in advance, not booked on the spot.
- Not in the room rate: they're charged separately from your stay.
- Adults only: like the rest of the house, The Voyage Within is for travellers from eighteen up.
- How to ask: write to mazunte@lavalise.com or call +52 1 954 147 1069. Doing it when you book your stay gives us the most room to plan.
What else winter looks like here
The whales are offshore. The rest of the day is the reserve. We're set across 30 hectares of El Torón, and dozens of bird species live in it. Our infinity pools are built into the cliffside rock and face the same horizon the humpbacks are crossing. Below them is our private beach, a nesting refuge for sea turtles. The turtles nest close by. We keep our distance too.
If you want the sea in the room as well, ask for one of the suites that face it. Suite Persianas is oceanfront, with open shutters and a private terrace. Suite Chukum and Master Suite Chicatana have ocean views, and Suite Olas has partial ones. Villa Pentágonos, by Alberto Kalach, sits on the cliff with shutters that open to the Pacific and its own infinity pool.
Getting here in whale season
You can fly into either coastal airport. Huatulco (HUX) is about 50 minutes from us by road, and Puerto Escondido (PXM) about an hour. We run private transfers from both, and in high season it's worth booking that at the same time as the room.
This is adults-only, from eighteen up.