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Beach Flags in Los Cabos: What Each Color Signifies

Beach Flags in Los Cabos: What Each Color Signifies

Los Cabos is home to several beaches certified with the Blue Flag, one of the world’s most recognized eco-certifications.


Setting aside the Blue Flag, what about the flags flown adjacent to the lifeguard’s shack at each beach?
With the waves rising higher and the undertow getting stronger as the summer season approaches, the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone (ZOFEMAT) has encouraged locals and visitors to learn the color codes of each flag to determine whether the sea is safe for swimming--or whether it poses a risk. Accident prevention is crucial: no carefree beachgoer wants to get in (literally) over his or her head. Even if the ocean appears calm, for example, underwater currents can be hazardous. An informed swimmer is a safe swimmer.
Here’s the meaning behind each colored flag:

  • Green: Calm waters; optimal swimming conditions
  • Yellow: Indicates moderate danger; enter water with caution
  • Red: Signifies hazardous conditions due to strong currents or high waves
  • White: Warms of the presence of jellyfish, which can deliver a painful sting

Back to the Blue Flag. When you see a Blue Flag flying in Los Cabos, you know the beach is clean and accessible; has excellent water quality; meets high safety standards; and is working to protect local shorelines and ecosystems. To achieve this prestigious recognition, each beach must meet and maintain strict educational, safety, accessibility and environmental criteria.
Here’s our pick of the best places to cool off at Cabo’s finest Blue Flag beaches.


1. Medano Beach (Playa el Medano)
A two-mile crescent of sand lapped by calm waters, this grand strand is the beating heart of downtown Cabo San Lucas. Medano is lined with beach clubs, bars, restaurants, cantinas, souvenir vendors--and a tremendous cross-section of humanity. While it pulsates with activity throughout the day (jet-ski and paddle board rentals are available, as are glass bottom boat tours to Land’s End), Cabo’s most swimmable beach is peaceful early and late in the day. Pueblo Bonito’s Los Cabos (Blanco) and Rose resort hotels front this beautiful beach.

2. Santa Maria (Playa Santa Maria)
Santa Maria’s spectacular horseshoe-shaped beach, embraced by a pair of peninsular volcanic arms that rise to massive bluffs high above the sea, is a designated marine preserve known for its placid waters and excellent snorkeling. Brightly colored fish swim along shelves of coral-encrusted rock at both ends of the crescent beach. Santa Maria Bay, which offers rental chairs and umbrellas to day-trippers. has a spacious parking lot as well as updated restrooms and showers.

3. Chileno Bay (Playa el Chileno)
One of Cabo’s best-liked and most pristine beaches, this long, wide sandy beach fronts a sheltered bay, its clear waters and gentle surf a magnet for snorkelers and swimmers. Kids of all ages tend to gravitate to the tide pools at the rocky west end of the beach. Conveniently located near the center of the Corridor, Chileno Bay offers rental chairs and umbrellas to day-trippers. Ample parking is available. Updated public restrooms and showers are available.

4. Palmilla Beach (Playa Palmilla)
Tucked within the resort community of Palmilla, this mile-long, family-friendly beach on the outskirts of San Jose del Cabo offers excellent swimming in a protected cove known for its placid waters. The exquisite sea-carved rock formations at the west end of the beach below the One&Only Palmilla resort are worth exploring. (NOTE: All beaches in Mexico are publicly accessible). Palmilla is very popular with local families on the weekends. Weekdays are quieter.

5. Las Viudas (“The Widows”)
A local hideaway situated around the bend from Santa Maria’s lava promontory, this secluded Blue Flag beach generally has bigger waves and a stronger undertow than the beaches previously mentioned. But it offers a sense of solitude and a dramatic mountain backdrop. The water is ideal for swimming once you get past the first wave break, but most beachgoers are content to watch the rolling waves crash into the rocks at the west end of the beach. A narrow sandy road leads to Las Viudas. Parking is informal. Public restrooms and showers facilities are available.