Cabo, San Lucas any tips?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by rubecube

^^ I'm guessing that's swimmable. Does anyone have a list of which beaches are swimmable?

Yeah it's swimmable, but mainly because of the shape. I think there has been development there since I was there. It was a dirt track to get to.



List:

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Travel-g15...Los.Cabos.html

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Table 5

rube, I especially enjoyed the little throwaway suggestion at the end to make yourself feel a little constructive after that rant. What else have you read about?

LOL, I actually just happened to be reading up on Cabo when I saw the thread. I've been thinking of starting up some type of travel company, so I often research various destinations. Make way for this cool guy.

[redforever]

Medano Beach, in front of Villa la Estancia, is swimmable.

Cabo is very Americanized, especially most of the food. That is particularily so along the marina.

The marina is also full of peddlers. One walks with you 8 feet with his schtick, then he stops and another starts, to ad nauseum. I have never seen it worse than in Cabo.

Everybody rages about Mi Casa Restaurant so we went there to eat...don't. Food is not great at all and the peddlers come right into the restaurant. We could not even eat in peace. The worst was the guy with the canary. If you paid $1 US, the canary would pull out a little piece of paper with your fortune!!!

About the only place we had a really good meal at the marina was at the You Catch Them We Cook Them restaurant. The guys went fishing and they cooked the fish they caught there. Fresh, simply prepared, outstanding.

Eat at O Mole Mio instead. It is 3 or 4 blocks off the marina. All of their Mexican food is outstanding, particularly their black bean soup and chicken enchilada soup. All of their food has a great presentation as well. They also sell Mexican fertility figures and all kinds of things that celebrate Day of the Dead.

Take a drive up to Todo Santos. Hotel California is there and you can get better food there than in Cabo. We ate at both the Hotel California and the Tequila's Sunrise Bar and Grill restaurant. We had our best Mexican meal at the latter, simply outstanding shrimp chilies rellenos, and their guacamole was top notch.

We also went quadding about an hour north of Cabo...wasn't my cup of tea but family insisted and I survived)))

We also did the normal stuff like sunset tour around El Arco etc.

I would say that Cabo San Lucas is worthwhile going once but it is not a place I would choose to frequent again.

[simmonjam1]

I found Cabo to be very nice. We were down there in January. San Jose as stated is a little more laid back. Mi Terra and Jazmin in San Jose were really good restaurants we thought. In Cabo, I liked Happy Ending Cantina for lunch. Its more Tex-mex but its dirt cheap and you can get 2 coronas and 2 tequila shots for $5 or $7. At night (early evening) we felt completely safe walking around Cabo. We are not clubbers so I can't comment on the late night stuff.

Take the boat ride out to see the arch and to visit lovers and divorce beach. Stay out of the caves though as people seemed to have used them for a #2 emergency. We did dune buggies and had a blast.

When coming out of the airport with your bags, be wary of the 'taxi' benches on your left. They are trying to get you into a time share presentation in exchange for free taxi fare to and from the airport.

Don't go down there with high expectations. Its not LA or Orlando. If you keep out of that mentality then you will enjoy yourself. We are going back in December. We really enjoyed it.

[cral12]

Still see vacations promoted for this area - hard to imagine it's fit to go after being decimated by Mother Nature...

[Coys1882]

Was just there last week - stayed at the Riu Santa Fe resort and everything was fantastic. There's still some construction to be finished and you can see the damage on the tile shingles but for the most part they're up and running again.

We drove up to Los Barrilos to see my folks and the residential areas away from the resorts are pretty banged up but the town of Cabos is fine.

[#-3]

If your looking to an All inclusive, to hang out by the pool and maybe do a couple of tours. I would also recommend San Jose Del Cabo. I like the zip line tour they have in Cabo, little bit of hiking, lots of zip lines, kept you moving, it was fun.

I will agree with other posters that its not much of a ocean/beach area. The whole time i was there they didn't even have life guards on duty and the recommended staying out of the ocean.

If you want the ocean/beach I haven't been to allot of places but I sure somewhere else would be better.

Also in terms of the night life in San Lucas. Not my thing so I can't really comment.

[The_Penguin]

Wow, I'm amazed at some of the responses in this thread.
Mrs. Penguin and I travel a fair bit, and in the last 7 years we've been to Cabo probably 10 times.
We love it. Great food, great beaches (yes you can swim there. Santa Maria, and Chileno Bay are the best, and Medano is quite swimmable as well) and very safe compared to other parts of Mexico.
Yes the vendors can be a pain, but you get used to them, and they do take no for an answer, more than I can say for Guatemala and a few other places.
Yes it's a bit Americanized, but you can still get some very authentic meals. And some of the "Americanized" restaurants along restaurant row at the marina are damned good.

We have many friends who live there, some american, and 1 Mexican family. We're in touch with them, and things are almost back to normal since the hurricane.

Anyway, say what you will, we'll continue to go there 1-2 times a year.

[photon]

Really liked Chileno Bay.

[troutman]

The Presidente Inter-Conti near San Jose had great food, but that was 13 years ago.

Cabo San Lucas has no charm - a party town for spring breakers and frat boys.

Baja is big - 24 hour drive to Tijuana.

[brocoli]

Originally Posted by The_Penguin

Wow, I'm amazed at some of the responses in this thread.
Mrs. Penguin and I travel a fair bit, and in the last 7 years we've been to Cabo probably 10 times.
We love it. Great food, great beaches (yes you can swim there. Santa Maria, and Chileno Bay are the best, and Medano is quite swimmable as well) and very safe compared to other parts of Mexico.
Yes the vendors can be a pain, but you get used to them, and they do take no for an answer, more than I can say for Guatemala and a few other places.
Yes it's a bit Americanized, but you can still get some very authentic meals. And some of the "Americanized" restaurants along restaurant row at the marina are damned good.

We have many friends who live there, some american, and 1 Mexican family. We're in touch with them, and things are almost back to normal since the hurricane.

Anyway, say what you will, we'll continue to go there 1-2 times a year.

If I could like this quote more I would. I absolutely love CABO as well. We stay in San Jose and it is as you said fantastic. Food, adventure, people. It's all great. I'm going back for new years again. Sammy Hagar at the Cabo Wabo!!

But anyways, I just enjoy it because we stay in a condo and it's our only vacation where we don't do all-inclusive and it's the best part. So quick and easy to just run to the Mega.

We've been in touch with people down there and they have told us that until you go deeper into the town (away from the tourist areas), you would hardly know that such a storm ripped through. Obviously still some work to do, but it's amazing what those people can do when they need to.

[Bigtime]

I too will find myself and my family in San Lucas, Cabo shortly.

A question for those that have been. The resort we are staying at has a shuttle bus from the airport to the resort, cost is $19USD per person (so $76 for the family). Should we bother paying that or go for a cab option?

My wife and I are no strangers to taking cabs in other countries, we negotiated hard on flat rates when we spent a month in India a few years back. Also between the four of us we'll have at most 3 smaller carry-on bags and one suitcase.

[rayne008]

I've been to Cabo several times, and have found it way nicer and friendlier than any other resorts in the Caribbean (Cancun, Mayan, Dominican and Jamaica).

Agree with others that San Jose is a great little town near the airport, much quieter than Cabo San Lucas.

I wouldn't hesitate to grab a cab to Cabo, offer $50. You'd probably get a much better tour of the area. (as much as you can on a paved highway). Also have the benefit of stopping at the Mega if you need some supplies for the week (especially with kids).

I'm sure like any all-inclusive, its all what you make of it.

Enjoy!

[Bigtime]

Oh yes, we'd definitely mix in a stop at the Mega to grab supplies for the week too.

[JonDuke]

Not sure when you're planning on going, but Westjet has some amazing deals right now:
http://www.hopper.com/flights/feed/?...ter&airline=WS

[Bigtime]

Is this Mega store Mega Comercial Mexicana?

[crazy_eoj]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

I too will find myself and my family in San Lucas, Cabo shortly.

A question for those that have been. The resort we are staying at has a shuttle bus from the airport to the resort, cost is $19USD per person (so $76 for the family). Should we bother paying that or go for a cab option?

My wife and I are no strangers to taking cabs in other countries, we negotiated hard on flat rates when we spent a month in India a few years back. Also between the four of us we'll have at most 3 smaller carry-on bags and one suitcase.

I don't think cabs are allowed to pick up at the airport only private vans. Part of a union agreement or something from years past.

I don't think you'll find a cheaper option that the $76 personally, but if you get a private vehicle they will stop at Mega for you. Usually rate is around $120 USD I think.

[rayne008]

Admittedly my experience was from 2011, so YRMV.

[brocoli]

Cabs are not allowed to pick up at the airport due to the union rule as stated above. Cabo also has a "reserve 24 hours in advance" rule which is actually quite nice. You have to walk a little ways to hail a cab as they have to stay so far away. Or just book ahead. Cost for my wife and I to take a limo was $80 to our condo near the Riu Palce in San Jose. They will stop if you want and are just friendly and curteous all around