Los Cabos 2026: The New Tourist Fee, Whale Season and SIM Rules

Since 1 January 2026, every international visitor arriving in Baja California Sur owes MX$488 (roughly US$28 at current exchange rates) under the state's "Embrace It" tourist fee — an 18-peso rise from the MX$470 rate that applied through 2025. It is currently collected only from visitors arriving by air, though the underlying law technically covers everyone who stays more than 24 hours, and Los Cabos is heading into the best month of its whale-watching season at the same time.

What Embrace It actually costs, and how to pay it

Embrace It is a state tax under Article 129 Bis of Baja California Sur's State Finance Law, charged to every foreign visitor over age 12 who spends more than 24 hours in the state, including Los Cabos, Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo, La Paz and Loreto. Mexican citizens and residents with a temporary or permanent visa are exempt. Payment is online-only — there are no physical kiosks — through the official portal at embrace.bcs.gob.mx or the state's designated collection partner, Travelkore. After paying, you get a digital certificate with a QR code that customs can check on arrival; most travelers pay one to two weeks ahead rather than at the airport.

The fee funds environmental protection, tourism infrastructure and community projects across the peninsula, according to the January 2026 update announcement. Right now there are no fines for skipping it and no active verification checks at the border — but that's expected to change as the program matures, so budget for it rather than assume it stays unenforced.

Third-party sites have already started charging a markup to "process" Embrace It payments on your behalf. Pay only through the official state portal or Travelkore's own site, and keep the QR code confirmation — a receipt from an unofficial reseller may not match what a border official is checking against.

Cabo Pulmo National Park: the reef Jacques Cousteau called the world's aquarium

An hour and a half northeast of San Jose del Cabo, Cabo Pulmo National Park protects one of the only recovering coral reef systems in the Sea of Cortez — a 71 sq km marine reserve that's been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005. CONANP, Mexico's national protected-areas agency, charges an official entrance fee of MX$125 per person per day, with seniors, retirees, people with disabilities and children under 12 exempt on presentation of valid ID. Snorkeling and diving operators run out of the tiny village at the park's edge; book ahead in peak season, since Cabo Pulmo has no large resort infrastructure and boat capacity is limited by design.

Whale season is peaking right now

Los Cabos sits at the mouth of the Sea of Cortez, which makes it one of the more reliable places on the Baja peninsula to see whales without a multi-day boat trip. The season runs mid-December through mid-April, with humpback and gray whale density in Cabo's waters hitting its annual peak in January through March — meaning trips booked from Los Cabos in the next several weeks land right in the best window, before numbers taper off as whales begin their northward migration by late March. Half-day tours depart from both the Cabo San Lucas marina and San Jose del Cabo; for a closer, touchable gray-whale encounter, operators run add-on day trips to Magdalena Bay on the Pacific side, a separate trip from the standard Cabo tour.

La Paz: whale sharks on a completely different calendar

An hour south of Cabo Pulmo, La Paz runs its own marine season that has nothing to do with the Cabo whale-watching window: whale sharks gather in La Paz Bay from October through April, with most operators only running tours from mid-November once enough animals have arrived, and December through February as the strongest viewing stretch. It's a snorkel-alongside encounter rather than a boat-deck sighting, and it's a different species from the humpbacks and gray whales off Cabo San Lucas, so the two seasons are worth planning as separate trips rather than assuming one covers both. Many whale-shark tours also stop at Isla Espiritu Santo, a national park and UNESCO biosphere reserve with its own sea lion colony; entry costs a separate MX$150 (about US$7) per person per day, usually bundled into the tour price rather than paid at a gate.

Entry paperwork: the FMM tourist card

Most nationalities don't need a visa to visit Mexico for tourism, but everyone needs a Forma Migratoria Multiple (FMM) — the tourist card immigration issues on arrival. For stays of six days or less it's free; for stays of seven to 180 days it costs MX$983 (about US$54-55). Flying in, the fee is normally bundled into your airline ticket and the card is issued digitally; crossing by land, you pay and get a physical FMM at the border checkpoint, and you'll need to keep the stub until you leave the country. Check Mexico's official visa-exemption list for your own passport before booking — most of Europe, North America, Australia and much of South America travel visa-free, but it isn't universal.

The honest eSIM hook: Mexico now requires ID to register any line

Since 9 January 2026, Mexican law has required every mobile line in the country — prepaid or postpaid, Mexican resident or tourist — to be registered to an identified individual. For a visitor buying a local prepaid SIM or a carrier's tourist eSIM once you land, that means handing over your passport as part of activation; lines that were active before the law and never got registered are being disconnected in staggered batches through the rest of 2026. It's a reasonable enough process, but it's one more line to stand in and one more piece of ID to hand over on arrival day. A Mexico eSIM plan installed and tested before you fly sidesteps that queue entirely — check device compatibility first if you haven't used an eSIM before, since it needs an unlocked, eSIM-capable phone.

Getting there

Los Cabos International Airport (SJD) is the practical gateway for both Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, with direct flights from most major US and Canadian hub cities and connections through Mexico City. La Paz, the Baja California Sur state capital and jumping-off point for Espiritu Santo Island tours, has its own smaller airport but far fewer direct international routes — most visitors headed there still fly into SJD and drive the roughly two hours north.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to pay the Embrace It fee if I'm only staying one night?

Yes — the fee applies to any international visitor over 12 who stays more than 24 hours in Baja California Sur, regardless of how short the trip is once you cross that threshold. Day-trippers who leave within 24 hours are exempt.

Is Embrace It the same as the FMM tourist card?

No. The FMM is a federal Mexican immigration document required to enter the country at all; Embrace It is a separate state tax specific to Baja California Sur, paid online and unrelated to your immigration paperwork.

Can I still see whales if I'm visiting in April?

Early-to-mid April is the tail end of the season — you'll have a narrower window than a January or February trip, but sightings are still possible through roughly mid-April before the whales head north.

Are the Cabo whale season and the La Paz whale shark season the same thing?

No — they're different species on different calendars. Cabo's humpback and gray whale season runs mid-December to mid-April and peaks January through March, while La Paz's whale shark season runs October to April with tours typically starting mid-November and peaking December through February. Book each separately if you want both.