Los Cabos, La Paz and Todos Santos
A first surf lesson at Cerritos or Acapulquito, and now the Oura ring is missing
Sheltered bays and surf breaks around Cabo, and powerful Pacific swells at Todos Santos.
An Oura ring or a wedding band that slipped off in a surf lesson at Playa Los Cerritos or Acapulquito can be looked for, as long as you can say where on the beach the lesson took place. The chances turn on two things: how closely you can place it, and whether it came off in the water or on the sand.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewelry recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone in Los Cabos, La Paz and Todos Santos with a metal detectorist who can search there.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
Los Cabos is at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific. This page covers Cabo San Lucas, San José del Cabo and the Tourist Corridor between them, La Paz, and Todos Santos on the Pacific.
Start with the instructor and your phone map
Ask the instructor, or anyone from the lesson, to show you where the group stood in the white water and where the boards were laid out on the sand. Mark both on your phone's map, and your towel too. A photo from that spot, with a rock or a headland in it, tells us more than a description.
Pacific beaches such as Cerritos, San Pedrito and Punta Lobos take powerful swells, while Médano is tucked inside the bay at Cabo San Lucas and La Paz lies on the Sea of Cortez, so the beach name tells the detectorist what kind of water to expect.
Places we cover in Los Cabos, La Paz and Todos Santos
- Cabo San Lucas
- Médano Beach
- The Cabo San Lucas marina
- El Arco and Land's End
- Lover's Beach (Playa del Amor)
- Divorce Beach
- Chileno Beach
- Santa María Beach
- San José del Cabo
- Playa Palmilla
- Costa Azul
- Acapulquito
- Zippers
- Cabo Pulmo on the East Cape
- La Paz and its malecón
- Playa El Coromuel
- Playa Balandra
- Playa El Tecolote
- Playa Pichilingue
- Isla Espíritu Santo
- Todos Santos
- Playa Los Cerritos
- El Pescadero and Playa San Pedrito
- Playa Punta Lobos
- Playa La Pastora
From Land's End to La Paz and the Pacific side
Two towns and the coves between them, a city on the Sea of Cortez, and a town on the Pacific.
Médano Beach, Cabo San Lucas
Médano runs along the bay, steps from downtown Cabo San Lucas and the marina. Tucked inside the bay, it has gentle waves for wading, swimming and snorkeling, and vendors on the shore rent out kayaks and paddleboards. Beach clubs and restaurants line the sand.
Land's End, Lover's Beach and Divorce Beach
El Arco, the Arch, stands where the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez, reached only by boat from Médano or the marina. Lover's Beach (Playa del Amor) is a tiny spit of sand between two jagged granite rock formations, with calm water for swimming and snorkeling on its Sea of Cortez side. Divorce Beach, also at the Arch, has cliffs and crashing waves.
The Cabo San Lucas marina
Most tour operators in Cabo San Lucas are based at the marina, and glass-bottom boats, whale watching trips and sunset sails to the Arch leave from here. If something went missing on a trip, note each stop where people got into the water.
Chileno and Santa María on the Tourist Corridor
These two beaches sit close together on the Tourist Corridor between the two towns. Chileno has calm, clear water and colorful reefs just offshore. Santa María is a horseshoe-shaped cove with shallow water, between two large granite rocks that block the surf and the wind. Boat tours from the marina visit both.
San José del Cabo and Playa Palmilla
San José del Cabo is the quieter of the two towns, with cobblestone streets and art galleries. Playa Palmilla is a sheltered cove with white sand, where local fishermen launch their boats and snorkelers find marine life just below the surface.
Acapulquito, Zippers and Cabo Pulmo
Acapulquito, in the Costa Azul area near San José del Cabo, is a beginner-friendly surf spot with long, rolling waves, and surf lessons take place on its beach. Zippers, a short walk away, has a fast, punchy wave that draws more advanced surfers. About two hours from San José del Cabo, on the East Cape, Cabo Pulmo is the quieter, more natural side of Los Cabos, with a coral reef known for some of the best snorkeling in North America.
The La Paz malecón and Playa El Coromuel
La Paz has a relaxed feel and a waterfront promenade, the malecón, along the Sea of Cortez. Palapas and sculptures stand along it, among them La Perla and the LA PAZ letters. Playa El Coromuel, close to the city center, has palapas, restaurants and a pier.
Balandra, Tecolote and Espíritu Santo
Balandra is a bay of clear, shallow water surrounded by hills and mangroves. People kayak, paddleboard and snorkel there, and come to photograph its mushroom-shaped rock. Tecolote, next to Balandra, has a long shoreline with seafood restaurants and palapas. Pichilingue, near the port, is a traditional beach with a landing area for boats. Boats to Isla Espíritu Santo leave from the La Paz marinas and the pier on the malecón, for its untouched beaches and snorkeling over natural reefs.
Todos Santos and the Pacific beaches
Todos Santos is a Pueblo Mágico on the Pacific coast, and its beaches take powerful swells, often better suited to experienced surfers than casual swimmers. Playa Los Cerritos has an expansive sandy bottom and consistent waves, and surf schools teach there and at El Pescadero, where Playa San Pedrito is hemmed in by rocky escarpments. At Punta Lobos a fishing cooperative launches its pangas into the surf. Playa La Pastora, north of Todos Santos, is not suitable for swimming due to strong currents.
How we handle a loss on this coast
One thread for every detail
Your pins, your photos and anything the instructor remembers go into one WhatsApp chat with one person, so nothing is lost between people.
Lesson photos have a use
A shot of you on the board, with the beach and a headland behind, helps the detectorist line up where you were. It goes to them along with your pins.
Questions before anything else
Our first reply asks what was lost, on which beach, at what time, and whether you were on the sand or in the water.
Your decision
We explain the costs before any search is booked, and nothing is arranged until you tell us to go ahead.
Where the Pacific and the Sea of Cortez behave differently
A few things about this coast that shape a search.
Sheltered bays and open swell
Rough surf, rip currents and undertows make some stretches of sand here unsuitable for swimming, even where hotels stand on the beach. The water is calmer in the sheltered bays and coves at Médano and Lover's Beach, and generally calm at Acapulquito and Chileno. From one of the rougher beaches, tell us how far into the water you went.
Neptune's Finger and the dive sites
Snorkeling and diving trips go out around the Arch, and divers near Lover's Beach go down to the underwater sand-falls of Neptune's Finger. A ring or watch lost in deep water off Land's End is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
Questions about Los Cabos, La Paz and Todos Santos
Can the stretch where our surf school taught at Playa Los Cerritos be searched for an Oura ring?
Start from the spot on the beach where the lesson began. Cerritos has an expansive sandy bottom and consistent waves, and surf schools teach there, so say whether you were standing in the shallows or paddling out when you last felt the ring, and roughly what time it was. Pictures anyone took during the lesson are worth sending.
Which details help if my watch strap broke while I was surfing Zippers or Acapulquito?
The break comes first. Lessons are held on the beach at Acapulquito, where the water is generally calm, while Zippers, a short walk away, has a fast wave and a lively lineup of more advanced surfers. Then tell us where you paddled out from, and the last moment you remember the watch on your wrist.
What should we tell you about a phone lost at Lover's Beach?
Begin with how you got there, by water taxi from Médano across the bay or by kayak or paddleboard. Swimming and snorkeling are better on the Sea of Cortez side of the beach, while Divorce Beach nearby has crashing waves. Say which side you swam on and where your things were on the sand.
How do I describe where on Médano Beach my earring went?
Médano stretches for several miles along the bay, and its shore is lined with beach clubs, restaurants and resorts. The name of the place right behind your spot on the sand is the best marker you can give us. Add whether you were in the water, on a beach chair or at a table.
What should I note about a wedding band lost while snorkeling at Santa María?
The cove is horseshoe-shaped and sits between two large granite rocks, with shallow water inside. Note whether you swam out from the sand or came on a boat tour from the marina, which of the two rocks you were nearer, and how long you were in the water.
How much of Balandra would a search cover if my ring came off while wading?
The water in the bay is shallow and calm, and you can walk out hundreds of meters with it no higher than your hips, so the area can be wide. Place yourself as exactly as you can, using the mushroom-shaped rock, the hills and the mangroves as markers, and say whether you walked, kayaked or paddled out.
Which landmarks help place a bracelet lost at Playa El Coromuel or on the La Paz malecón?
Coromuel is close to the city center, with palapas, restaurants and a pier, so say which palapa you used, how close it was to the pier, and whether you went in the water. Along the malecón, the sculptures such as La Perla and the LA PAZ letters make good markers: name the one nearest to where you last had the bracelet.
Los Cabos, La Paz and Todos Santos
Pacific side or Sea of Cortez, send us the spot
A short first message is enough.
Tell us the beach, break or bay, what was lost and when you noticed, and share a location pin on WhatsApp. If it happened in a lesson or on a boat trip, add where it set off from.