Planning A Los Cabos Trip? Check These Beach Warnings First

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Last Updated 7 months ago

The spring holiday travel season is off to a rough start for visitors to the beaches in the Los Cabos area.

A majority of the popular tourist beaches across the vacation hotspot have been limited or restricted for swimming due to high winds creating dangerous waves for travelers.

Red Flag Prohibited Beaches

• San Jose del Cabo Tourist Corridor Beaches
• La Ribera Beach

Red flags are posted by Los Cabos Civil Protection officials and lifeguards when the conditions at the beach create a substantial risk of injury to tourists swimming or enjoying other water sports at the beach.

While the winds were not too strong at 10 to 12 kilometers per hour, the waves being created by the winds made the beaches dangerous to swimmers.

Tourists caught swimming at a red flag beach will first be warned and reminded about the presence of a red flag on the beach and what it means for the safety of swimmers.

After that warning, continued swimming would be subject to a citation and fine and possible arrest.

Yellow Flag Warned Beaches

Seven popular beaches with tourists and locals started the spring holiday travel period with yellow flags:

• El Médano
• Las Viudas
• El Corsario
• Acapulquito
• Santa María
• Hacienda
• El Chileno
• Palmilla

Much like a stoplight, a yellow flag indicates that swimmers should take caution when swimming at the beach and can proceed if safe at their own risk.

El Médano is definitely one of the most popular tourist beaches in Los Cabos, located right in the heart of the area’s tourist corridor full of restaurants, shops, bars and nightclubs.

The yellow flag indicates that the beach is open for tourists to enjoy swimming and other water sports on their beach resort vacation getaway.

However, the conditions are considered dangerous, and swimmers fully accept the risk of injury from swimming in the water at the beach.

Dangerous Waves in Los Cabos: Know Your Beach Flags

There are a couple of other flag colors that travelers should be aware of in the event that they are posted on a beach where they plan to enjoy the day in the sun, sand, and surf.

The most common flag, beyond red and yellow, is the white one.

The white flag warns spring holiday travelers of the presence of jellyfish on the beach.

The white flag does not close a beach, but swimming while jellyfish are in the water is NOT RECOMMENDED, and again, tourists assume all risk of injury from swimming when jellyfish are in the water.

When jellyfish are present, there is a considerable risk of painful injuries from their stings. Many people are also allergic to jellyfish stings, which could make swimming at a white-flag beach life-threatening.

Tourists should avoid swimming at white-flag beaches and simply find a different one instead.

A posted black flag on the beach indicates that it is closed to all swimming and water activities, usually due to a health issue such as the presence of raw sewage in the water.

Just like a stoplight, the best flag to see on the beach is the green flag which means conditions are ideal for swimming and water sports on the beach.

Unsure about a flag? Ask a lifeguard! Los Cabos lifeguards are there to help you stay safe.

What Travelers Need to Know

It’s important for tourists, especially those visiting Los Cabos for the first time, to note the color of the flag posted at the beach and follow the rules accordingly.

If a visitor has a question about the color of the flag posted or the safety conditions at the beach, the friendly Los Cabos lifeguards are available to make sure that travelers enjoying their spring holiday vacation getaway do so in a safe and sound way.