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Desert Inn

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A simple hotel with pool catering well for visitors to the whale watching town San Ignacio in Baja California. 

The Desert Inn is a five minute walk from San Ignacio’s pretty tree-shaded plaza which hosts the little town’s ornate and imposing Jesuit mission church. The economy here is dedicated to whale-watching but there’s also a palm-defined green lagoon with good bird spotting opportunities.

The mission-style accommodation is mostly on one level with rooms connected by an arched terrace, and is set beside lawns in extensive grounds studded with a fountain and dazzling bougainvillea among other tropical foliage.  Most of the guest rooms face a decent-sized, lounger-fringed swimming pool , good for splashing around in rather than swimming. The fairly basic rooms are spacious and airy and although the décor is unremarkable the hotel serves its purpose as a comfortable, friendly option in a good location. Some guest rooms are intentionally dark to keep them cool, a respite in the fierce Baja heat. There’s also a large restaurant on site.

Bartolome, Galápagos

What our clients say

  • Highlights?: Probably seeing the Diego Rivera murals in Mexico City although it is hard to pick out as there were so many moments that we loved. A boat trip on…

    JT, Thames ditton May 2018
  • Most memorable aspect: “All the visits to temples and pyramids. With very knowledgeable and extremely pleasant guides

    JB Wandsworth Dec 2012
  • Visiting the Mayan villages outside San Christobal de las Casas. 

    CM, Kingston upon thames Mar 2017
  • “It's impossible to pick any individual aspect; but a number of experiences stood out: the visit to the "voodoo" church at St Juan Chamula (extraordinary and unexpected), the visit to…

    AR, Gospel Oak Jun 2013
  • "While is difficult to find the better part, staying in the Hacienda Chichen Resort was magical, seen the Toh bird in Tanka was wonderful, as was swimming in the cenotes…

    LCS, London Sep 2014
  • We had a lovely day at the waterfalls and coffee plantation when in Huatulco.  We also did a tour of the bays which included snorkelling which was very enjoyable. We…

    PT, Arundel Feb 2020
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Our Expert's Opinion

Paul Winrow Giffin
Paul Winrow-Giffin - Travel Expert

After graduating in Computer Science, Paul spent seven months travelling from Colombia to Argentina and came home hooked on Latin America.

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Bartolome, Galápagos

Meet our team

Real Latin american experts

  • Hannah
    Hannah Waterhouse - Travel Expert

    Hannah had an early introduction to Latin America when her family moved to Ecuador and she returned to study in Buenos Aires for a year before backpacking across the continent.

  • Ben
    Ben Line - Travel Expert

    Ben fell in love with Latin America on a six month backpacking trip from Colombia to Mexico in 1995. Since then he has explored most of South America, including living in Peru for a year. He is now Head of Sales.

  • Sophie
    Sophie Barber - Travel Expert

    Sophie lived in Chile before joining us and has travelled extensively across Latin America, from Mexico to the furthest tip of Patagonia and beyond to Antarctica.

  • Charlotte
    Charlotte Daubeney - Travel Expert

    Charlotte's fascination with Latin America began with a family holiday to Belize. She went on to study Spanish in school and at university before spending a year living in Santiago, Chile.

  • Alex
    Alex Walker - Travel Expert

    A globetrotter since her childhood, Alex spent a year studying abroad in Guadalajara and has returned to Latin America countless times since then.

  • Chris
    Chris Rendell-Dunn - Travel Expert

    Anglo-Peruvian Chris grew up in Lima and spent much of his adult life in between London and Cusco as a tour leader, before settling permanently in our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours sales team.

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