RVing at Playa Santispac is one of our favorite places to beach camp in North America. Maybe it’s because of the crystal-clear turquoise water, or the beautiful beach sand, or parking next to a palapa and really enjoying what RVing on the beach is all about.
I think it’s actually a combination of all of those things, topped up with vendors coming by from nearby Mulege to sell tamales, pastries, and fresh seafood, and the icing on the cake is that it’s only $200 Pesos/night (about $10 USD).
If you’re heading south to Baja, add Playa Satispac to your list of beaches to RV in Baja California Sur (the southern half of the peninsula).
Affiliate Disclosure: This blog post may contain affiliate recommendations. If you make a purchase based on our recommendation, we may receive a commission at no cost to you.
What to expect for Playa Santispac Camping:
Expect a quick turn off the highway and a steep entry to the beach area. This is easy to miss because there’s not much warning coming around the highway curve downhill at full speed, and one of the reasons we wouldn’t recommend pulling in after dark.
If you’re coming from the north, you’ll have just gone through the town of Mulege, and your GPS will tell you that the beach is coming up. No need to slam on the brakes, but it’s worth taking your foot off the accelerator as you’re coming downhill toward the turn-off.
How much does it cost to stay at Santispac?
When you pull in, you’ll stop at a gate, which typically is roped off, and let them know how many nights you’ll be staying. Some attendants will give you a free night if you pay for a full week, but this seems to be inconsistent between workers. We don’t mind either way at $200 MXP/night (about $10 USD).
After they give you a receipt for your dash and you drive through the gate, you can park wherever you’d like. It’s like a wide-open dirt parking lot with one side of the parking lot facing the water.
It cost us 1400 Pesos (about $10/night) to stay for a week at Playa Santispac
Does Santispac have full hookup sites?
No, Playa Santispac has no hookups. Expect to be dry camping or boondocking when you visit Santispac. Here’s how we prepare for dry camping on the beach.
There is a dump station that is typically overgrown and not easy to access (but works in an emergency), and almost everyday a beach vendor will drive by and offer water hopefully before you run out or just as you need it, but there are no guarantees for water delivery and no electricity.
There’s no electricity at Playa Santispac, so we use our solar and batteries for power while dry camping.
If you haven’t got solar for your RV, it will be worth considering before you go to Baja to really make the most of enjoying the best baja beaches without running a generator.
Are there restrooms at Playa Santispac?
There are public restrooms that are in questionable condition. They’re acceptable for our three boys occasionally to stand at, but not commonly used by the ladies in our friend group. You’ll need to bring your toilet paper.
If you visit Armando’s restaurant, they have restrooms for patrons. If you’re trying to stretch out your tanks as long as possible, it’s worth the cost of some chips and guacamole to have an evening conversation at the restaurant and use the restrooms while you’re there.
When is it busiest at Playa Santispac?
We’ve never had an issue finding space, but the last time we visited (November 2024), our friends said it was swamped just the day before we arrived (Thursday) and cleared out the morning before we pulled in. Santispac doesn’t seem to follow any specific logic for being busy on weekends or quieter during the week.
For RVers, Playa Santispac is primarily a stopover heading north or south, so I guess the transient nature makes it less predictable. Visitors often explore other beaches in the area, too, like Playa El Requeson, so it’s not far for people to come and go while still being in the area.
We have heard of a fair that is set up in the empty parking space on the beach closer to the highway. We’re unsure when that is, and we haven’t been able to track down any details.
The quietest we’ve seen is probably a couple dozen RVs, and really busy could probably get up to 100 RVs.
Walking the coast is one of our favorite things about camping at Playa Santispac
Where is the closest grocery store to Santispac?
The closest grocery stores to Playa Santispac are in Mulege, about a 20-minute drive north. The first one you’ll visit is called “Super Market” and is on the left after you cross the bridge into Mulege. In town, you’ll also find gas stations, bakeries, small retail stores, a hardware store, and filtered water stores.
The closes grocery store to Playa Santispac is called “Super Market” on your left after the bridge heading north into Mulege
Are there palapas at Playa Santispac?
There are only a few palapas (maybe a dozen), but as you might imagine, they are in high demand and there are fewer palapas than spaces to park. Often, palapas are taken by people who are staying at Santispac for the whole season, but if you’re willing to move, you might be able to snag one for part of your stay if you keep an eye out for when people are leaving their site.
On our first visit, we didn’t park near a palapa, but on our second stop at Playa Santispac, our friends parked their car next to an available palapa to reserve the space for when we arrived.
If you drive down the west side of the beach, past where it looks like you can continue to camp, there is a second beach around the corner with 4 or 5 additional palapas if you’d like to venture that far to see what’s available.
We enjoyed having a palapa during our visit to Playa Santispac
Is Playa Santispac Big Rig Friendly?
Yes, there is plenty of room for a large RV at Santispac. The sand is packed down and we’ve seen plenty of large RVs at Santispac. Because it’s like an open parking lot, there are no designated sites, so the width and length of your RV aren’t a concern. This is our first visit to Santispac. Our RV is on the far right side of the picture, and RV parking is all along the wooden posts.
Yes! Playa Santispac is big Rig Friendly
What is the beach like at Playa Santispac?
With soft, white sand and turquoise water, this beautiful bay will trick you into imagining you’re on the coast of the Caribbean. You’ll still be able to walk out 100 yards to waist-deep water at high tide, and at low tide, you’ll be able to go out even further. We love that all of our kids can enjoy the water without it being too deep or with too many waves, and that is probably why our kids rank Playa Santispac as one of the best beaches in Baja California Sur.
If you’re looking for waves, you’ll love the beach at Playa Tecolote, a little further south and one of the best beaches in Baja!
At Playa Santispac, there is also a hot spring, a unique (muddy) experience and fun for everyone in our family.
You can sometimes spot dolphins playing in the bay in the morning, and if you go out far enough on a kayak or paddleboard, you can see stingrays and fish playing among the seaweed.
On the west side of the coast, there are some rocky areas that are decent for seeing a few species or fish while snorkeling, depending on the season and the tide.
We love camping in the soft sand an turqoise water of Playa Santispac on Bahia Concepcion
Is there cell signal at Playa Santispac?
Nope. Notta. None. Zip. Zilch.
Bring a starlink, RV with friends who have satellite internet, drive into Mulege to check your email, or use the spotty wifi at one of the two restaurants when you need to connect, but you won’t get any cell signal at Santispac.
Are there hot springs at Santispac?
Yes! We didn’t realize it on our first trip but we found them thanks to friends on our second visit. You’ve got two options for hot springs at Santispac. A walk to shallow, muddy hot springs or paddle to more established sea-water hot springs.
Walk to Hot Springs at Santispac
On the east end of Santispac (to the right when you arrive), keep walking down the coast and around the mountain, and you’ll come to a dead end in some mangroves. Stick your hand in the muddy water, and you’ll find hot springs – more like warm springs when we were there. It’s not quite the bathtub warm, but not cold.
We found these hot springs enjoyable for getting in about 2 feet deep and enjoying some warmth with friends. These hot springs were perfect for the kids in our group for depth and temperature.
These hot springs are positioned in a horseshoe shape of the mountains and also the highway, so you’ll hear and see a transport truck and cars drive by now and then.
We loved the experience of muddy, shallow hot springs with friends at Playa Santispac
Paddle to Hot Springs at Playa Santispac
If you’re looking for more established hot springs – both warmer water and in seawater instead of muddy water – then take your paddle board or kayak out down the coastline to the east, and on the next beach around the corner, you’ll see a stone walled bath where the hot springs are caught.
The temperature will depend on how recently the high tide has washed up over the edge of the springs bubbling up from the ground into that basin, but these are hotter than the muddy mangrove hot springs in walking distance from the campsites.
Restaurants at Santispac
There are two restaurants at Santispac: Armando’s Bar & Restaurant (closest to the entrance) and Ana’s Restaurant (further west down the beach).
Armando’s is a good restaurant for karaoke and live bands, and has people eating in every night. Their menu includes tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, salads, nachos, and some seafood. You can get a couple of drinks and some tacos for $10 USD. There are a lot of boats parked in the bay at Santispac, and when the boat owners come to shore, they seem to go straight to Armando’s.
We’re not sure if Ana’s restaurant is still in business. I ordered coffee there one morning to get wifi access on our first visit. I was served instant coffee with no milk or cream since they were out of stock, and we rarely saw anyone there. There seemed to be workers sweeping outside during the day, but it wasn’t lit up often at night.
What should I bring for RVing at Playa Santispac near Mulege?
We stock up for groceries before we get to Mulege. There are a few grocery stores, but we’ve found that they seem to be higher prices than Guerrero Negro or Santa Rosalia, which might be where you overnight before going to Playa Santispac.
You’ll have to pay in cash, and there was no bank on our last two visits to Mulege. Be sure you have cash on hand, not just to pay for overnights at the front gates but also for vendors who will bring supplies to the beach during your visit.
Empty waste tanks before arriving and fill up your freshwater tank. Santispac has a dump station, but getting in and out of is difficult. Unless it’s an emergency, we show up with empty waste tanks and leave once our tanks are filled.
Vendors will drive by with 40-gallon drums of water if you run out. On our last fill, it was $10 for a 40-gallon top-up. This water may or may not be filtered, so either drink the filtered water you’ve brought with you or invest in a UV water filter. We have an Acuva UV water filtration system built into our RV, and we haven’t had any issues drinking Mexico water straight out of our fresh water tank.
We also loved how calm the water was, and we all took turns going out on our inflatable paddle board.
The water at Santispac is nice and calm for paddleboarding
Here’s what we pack when we’re going to be dry camping on the beach and if you’re RVing as a family, then here are some of the best camping board games according to our boys!
We DID NOT Take our RV into Mulege
You might think you’ll just pull through Mulege to fill up your water tank or get some gas on the way. We wouldn’t recommend taking your RV off the main highway that runs through Mulege until you’ve driven through with your vehicle first.
Check the heights of bridges and widths of the roads with parked cars on both sides before making a decision and pulling through.
What is the closest RV park to Playa Santispac?
There are a few RV parks in Mulege. Some seem easier to get to than others. If you’re looking for a place to stay the night, refresh your tanks, and have a long hot shower before or after Santispac, visit Villa Maria Isabel RV Park, right off the highway and closest to Playa Santispac.
Beach Vendor: What to expect at this Beautiful Beach
There is no consistency in which will show up at Playa Santispac or when.
Most vendors live in the larger cities of Mulege or Loreto and travel the beaches along Bahia Concepcion selling their products. If they sell out early, they may not make it to Santispac. Here are some of the things vendors have offered us at Playa Santispac:
-
Fresh Bread (Banana Bread, Dinner rolls, loaves of bread)
-
Tamales
-
Empanadas
-
Pastries
-
Fresh Seafood (not cooked)
-
Souvenirs (famously, there’s a guy who calls out “Almost Free!”)
-
Water for tanks
-
Kayak Rentals
-
Fresh fruits and vegetables (limited selection from the trunk of a car that could make you wonder how it made it the 20 minutes from Mulege)
Most commonly, we’ve seen seafood, souvenirs, water, and kayak rentals.
Are the vendors at Playa Santispac pushy?
We haven’t experienced any vendors in Mexico being pushy. Most are happy to move on if you say, “No Gracias.” We make a habit of asking what they’re selling before saying no thank you, so they understand that we know what they’re selling and declining instead of just pushing them off without finding out what’s available.
They only take pesos, so have some cash on hand for tamales, or pastries, a fishing trip, or a souvenir to remember your Playa Santispac visit.
There are lots of boats coming and going from the bay at Playa Santispac
What are the highways like getting to Playa Santispac?
Driving in Baja is an interesting experience. Watch our for potholes, highways with no shoulder, and cows randomly walking across lanes. To counterbalance that, you’ll get to experience some of the most breathtaking scenery in North America. Here’s what to expect when driving in Baja.
Do I need to speak Spanish to camp at Playa Santispac?
You don’t need to be fluent, but you will need to know a few things to RV in Baja. Here’s what we’ve found to be helpful when it comes to speaking Spanish while RVing in Baja.
Is Santispac a popular beach for RVing in Baja?
Yeah. We wish we were the only ones there, but it’s no secret for RVers heading down the Baja peninsula. See what these RVers have to say about visiting Playa Santispac:
