Adventures at La Bufadora in Ensenada, Mexico

I’ve been thinking a lot about warmer weather, and back to a time when traveling was fun. Back when you didn’t have to wear a mask around people, and the only care in the world I had was what kind of cocktail I was going to have at the end of the day.

Back in the spring of 2019, my whole family and I went on a roundtrip Disney Cruise from San Diego to Mexico.

I never ended up writing about our adventures at our ports of call, so how about a quick recap from our adventures at La Bufadora in Ensenada, Mexico?!

A Spontaneous Excursion

Honestly, we weren’t even going to venture off the ship—not because we didn’t want to explore, but because we just wanted to relax on our Disney Cruise.

But curiosity got the best of me and my mom, so the two of us strapped on our walking shoes and went on our own little excursion.

Wanting to see something “local” and unique, we decided to check out La Bufadora, a geyser/blowhole about 17 miles south of Ensenada.

We ventured to La Bufadora with a legit (even though it looked somewhat questionable) tour group that we found when we got off the boat.

This was our “guide,” Francisco. I’ll forever remember his name, because one of my cousin’s has the same name. Only my cousin is about nine times less shady. Also, I’m about 99.9% sure that wasn’t actually coffee in his cup.

Adventures at La Bufadora

Have you ever visited a place and realized instantly that it was just a giant tourist trap (but you also didn’t care)?

I felt pretty snookered as we stepped off our tour bus and onto the dirt parking lot filled with eight other giant busses. We were one of three other cruise ships at port that day, so I knew we’d be in for a packed affair.

But, así es la vida, or “such is life,” as they say.

We only saw maybe a mile or so of the area, and it was so tourist-heavy that it just felt strange and overly manufactured. (So basically your quintessential tourist trap.)

More than 150 “shops” line the street from the bus area to La Bufadora.

With that said, I fully embraced the tourism.

Embracing the Fun

My mom and I spent our time together literally enjoying our surroundings.

We sipped something boozy out of a pineapple, listened to some mariachis, tasted tequila out of the back of some guy’s shop, bought cheap vanilla, had some of the best dang CLAMS I’ve ever tasted, and I even picked up some gifts for the kids: a brightly hued blue, purple, and pink little guitars for each of them.

Pro tip: there is a restroom near La Bufadora (near this “Ensendada” sign) but make sure you have change on hand to use it.

Stop for the Clams

If you see this particular place on your trip to see La Bufadora in Ensenada, Mexico, make sure you stand in line and wait to try the grilled clams.

They were amazing.

The clams are grilled, and topped with cheese, shrimp, spices, and veggies; they’re everything you didn’t know you needed until you taste them.

You’ll also want more than you ordered, but the line will be too long to go back, so take my word for it, and just order more from the beginning.

Don’t forget to wash them down with a classic michelada while you’re at it.

Seeing La Bufadora

Time for the main event: La Bufadora in Ensenada.

Legend has it that a whale was swimming around and got stuck between some rocks; it started blowing water out of its blowhole to flag down its pod.

But his pod never came, and the whale turned to stone. All but his blowhole still remains.

In reality, it’s the oceans waves pushing air and water through a small area in the rocks, creating one of the largest marine geysers on Earth.

The closer you get to the geyser, the wetter you’ll get (obviously), and the water goes higher/lower depending on the tide.

My favorite part of seeing La Bufadora was just how pretty it was when you lose sight of all the tourist traps.

Baja California is stunning, and it was a nice break to see the vast ocean.

One more Quick Stop

We had a few minutes to spare before meeting back up with Francisco and the bus, so we stopped for some street tacos.

The line will most likely be long but these were worth it.

Tell me About Your Experience at La Bufadora

Have you seen La Bufadora in Ensenada, Mexico, before? Tell me about it!