A 35-year-old Canadian woman has died and two other tourists were injured when a surfacing grey whale crashed onto their boat.

The Attorney General's Office for Environmental Protection in Mexico said on Thursday two other tourists suffered "considerable" injuries when the whale breached and hit the side of the boat.

A grey whale looks at tourists on a boat in Mexico in 2006. Credit:Reuters

The office said the boat had been carrying nine tourists on a snorkel tour.

The Baja California Sur state prosecutor's office said the collision near the beach resort of Cabo San Lucas tossed the victim into the water.

A crew member and a passenger lifted her back onto the vessel and Mexican navy personnel moved the woman to shore. She was taken to a clinic, where she died during treatment.

AP