Animals in Mexico

Animals in Mexico are met mostly in the water, and the season decides which coast. In summer, with a peak in July and August, whale sharks gather in the hundreds off the Yucatán coast. In the cooler months they turn up in the Bay of La Paz, humpback and grey whales pass Los Cabos from December to April, and sea lions crowd the rocks of Los Islotes beside Espíritu Santo, an uninhabited island 26 km off La Paz that is part of a UNESCO listing of 2005. Akumal means place of turtles in Maya, and green turtles feed on the seagrass of its bay. Inland, a drive-through safari park about 17 km from Puebla, opened in 1972, holds African and Mexican animals.

Mexico animal tours are mostly water days. Whale-shark trips leave from Cancún, Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen and last about seven hours. At La Paz the swim is a morning of two and a half hours, while the sea lions of Espíritu Santo and Balandra beach fill five to seven hours, alone or combined with the swim. Whale watching at Los Cabos takes two to three and a half hours, some at sunset. Turtle snorkels at Akumal take half a day, with cenotes or the Tulum ruins. On land, horses carry riders along Holbox beach, the Pacific coast near Puerto Vallarta and jungle tracks with ATVs and zip lines. Camels, which are imports, walk the beaches of Los Cabos. Muyil, in the Sian Ka'an reserve, is a six-hour birdwatching morning.

Practical. La Paz is mild in winter, with January days of 25C and nights of 12C, but July and August reach 38C by day, and rain falls mostly in August and September. The Caribbean's shark season sits inside the hurricane season, June to November, so a day can be called off for weather. Los Cabos whale boats run from December to April and are busiest from January to March. The safari park fills half a day, with transport from the city.