Pico del Punto
Cerritos Beach and El Pescadero: a guide to the coast below Todos Santos
Cerritos is a long crescent of Pacific beach on the west side of the Baja cape, with a rocky point at its south end and open sand running north. El Pescadero, the farm town just inland, is where most of the groceries, taco stands and everyday life are. Todos Santos is a short drive north.
This is the stretch we know best, written as notes rather than a list: how the days tend to go, where we actually eat, and what is worth a drive.
Getting your bearings
The beach, the point and the town behind it
Cerritos runs north from a headland, and that point is the reason the bay works the way it does: it shapes the surf at the south end and shelters the sand nearest it. Walk north and the beach opens out, emptier as you go.
The point shapes the surf; everything else is sand and open water.
Everything else is inland. El Pescadero sits a few minutes back from the water among chile and basil fields, and it holds the tortillerías, the small markets and a good share of the food worth eating. Todos Santos, further north, is where you go for a longer dinner, galleries and a proper town.
The Pacific here is a real ocean: open, unsupervised, with shorebreak and rips that vary by day and by section of the beach. Look at the water before you get in, and ask locally rather than assuming yesterday still applies.
In the water
Surfing and where the water is worth your time
Cerritos is the best-known beginner-friendly break on this side of the cape, which is exactly why it is busy: the wave near the point is the one most schools use, and the peaks north of it thin out fast. There are surf schools and board rentals along the beach; availability, pricing and what they think of the conditions are all things to confirm on the day.
Conditions change with swell, wind and tide, and what is gentle one morning is not the next. If you are learning, go with someone who is in the water here every day.
Punta Lobos and the other beaches around Todos Santos are a different proposition — steeper, more exposed, and not swimming beaches in the way visitors sometimes expect. Treat each beach on its own terms.
Where we eat
On the beach and around Cerritos
This is our current list, not a directory. Menus, hours and even whole seasons shift on this coast — several places close for stretches of the year — so check before you set out. None of these are sponsored; they are simply where we go.
On or near the beach
- Barracuda Cantina — Fish tacos, near the sand. Our default lunch.
- Coyote Beach Club — On the beach; good for an afternoon that turns into an evening.
- Freesouls — Beach-side, easy.
- Shaka's — Casual, close by.
- Jerry's Pizza — When nobody wants to think about dinner.
El Pescadero and just inland
- Hierbabuena — Garden restaurant in Pescadero; worth planning around.
- Coyote Cocina — Reliable, unfussy cooking.
- So Far So Good — A short drive, and a view.
- The Other Side — Worth checking what they are doing while you are here.
Worth the drive to Todos Santos
- El Sol — A Todos Santos standby for us.
- Los Pinos — Straightforward and good.
- Agricole — Farm-driven; a longer, more considered dinner.
The end of the day
Sunset, and where to watch it
This is the Pacific side, so the sun goes down into the water every evening — which makes sunset less an event to chase than a thing to be somewhere for. The beach itself is the simplest answer: walk north from the point and stop wherever the light is.
The beach bars and the higher ground behind the bay both work. From Pico del Punto, the private rooftop is the version of this we know best: the beach below, the light going over the water, and no drive home afterward.
Beyond the beach
Day trips and things to do
Puerto Viejo, up the coast, is a good half-day: a change of scenery and a different stretch of water. ATV and off-road tours run in the dunes and the backcountry behind the beach — noisy, fun, and best arranged through an operator who will tell you honestly what the terrain is like.
Whale watching is seasonal on this coast, and both the season and the sightings are outside anyone's control. If it is on your list, book with a licensed operator and treat the timing as weather-dependent.
Otherwise: Todos Santos for galleries and a long lunch, the Pescadero farm stands, and the drive itself, which is most of the pleasure.
A base above the beach
Pico del Punto is the private penthouse at the top of The Point at Cerritos: two bedrooms for up to four guests, two patios, and a rooftop of its own above the bay this guide describes.