Los Cabos Destination Guide

Where the Desert Runs Into the Sea

Los Cabos is the only place in Mexico where cactus covered desert mountains fall directly into the ocean, and where two bodies of water, the Pacific and the Sea of Cortez, meet at a set of granite arches at the land's end. That geography is the whole appeal, and it is also why the resort inventory here is the strongest in the country: developers have had dramatic sites to build on for forty years, and the competition at the top end is genuine. Add reliable sunshine, direct flights from most of the western United States, and a golf concentration that rivals anywhere, and Los Cabos does something few Mexican destinations manage, which is to work equally well for a couple, a family and a group of twelve.

The planning decision: which stretch of coast

Los Cabos is not one place. Cabo San Lucas at the southern tip is the busy end, with the marina, the arch and the nightlife. San José del Cabo, twenty miles east, is the older town, quieter, with an art district and a gentler feel. The Corridor between them holds most of the large resorts and most of the golf. And the East Cape, further up the Sea of Cortez, is the newest and most remote frontier, where the water is calm and the development is sparse. Choosing between them is the first and most consequential decision, because they produce genuinely different holidays.

The long season, and the two months to think about

October through June is the window, and it is a generously long one, with warm dry days and comfortable evenings throughout. Gray whales and humpbacks move through from roughly December into April, which is a real reason to time a trip. The winter holidays and the weeks around Easter are the peak and are priced accordingly. July through October is hot and humid, and it overlaps the eastern Pacific hurricane season, with the highest risk generally from August into October. Storms here are infrequent but not theoretical, and travel insurance and flexible terms matter more in those months than in the rest of the year.

Where to base, and one thing to know about the water

The practical point that catches people out is that not every beach here is swimmable. The Pacific facing beaches have powerful surf and undertow, and some are genuinely dangerous, while the Sea of Cortez side and protected coves such as Chileno and Santa María are calm and good for snorkeling. If swimming from the beach matters to your trip, that changes which property you should book, and it is worth saying so at the outset. San José del Cabo International handles all arrivals and sits about twenty minutes from town and forty five minutes from Cabo San Lucas, with direct service from most of the western United States and increasingly from further east.

Stay strategy, and where the East Cape fits

Las Ventanas al Paraíso remains the standard setter on the Corridor and the choice for a milestone trip. One and Only Palmilla sits on one of the few genuinely swimmable beaches with a Jack Nicklaus course attached. Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal is cut into the cliffs above Cabo San Lucas and reached through a private tunnel. Montage Los Cabos sits on Santa María bay. Out on the East Cape, Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas and Amanvari have opened up a quieter and more remote alternative with a marina and calm water. Villa rentals here are unusually strong and often the right answer for a family or a group.

When to begin

Four months for most of the season. Christmas, New Year and Easter want nine to twelve, and the best villas and the largest suites go a year out. Golf tee times at the private and semi private courses are arranged alongside the hotel rather than after it, because access at several of them depends on where you are staying. Groups and celebrations should start twelve months ahead, since the strongest properties hold limited inventory for buyouts and blocks.

Four experiences worth building the days around

• A private boat morning to the arch at Land's End and around to a quiet snorkeling cove, out before the day traffic.
• Whale watching in season by small boat rather than a large one, which is a completely different experience of the same animals.
• A golf day on one of the desert and ocean courses, with the tee time arranged as part of the booking rather than on arrival.
• A day up to the East Cape or inland to Todos Santos, which resets the pace and shows you the Baja beyond the resorts.

Who this trip suits

Los Cabos suits couples and milestone trips, where the resort quality does the work. It suits families, particularly at the properties with calm water. It suits golf travelers as well as anywhere in the Americas. It suits groups and celebrations, because the villa and buyout inventory is deep. And it suits travelers from the western United States who want a genuinely short flight to a genuinely good resort.

When another plan may fit better

If you want warm Caribbean water, soft sand and reliable swimming from the beach, the Riviera Maya is the better answer and we will say so. If you want culture rather than resort, look at Mexico City or the colonial highlands. And travelers set on August or September should understand the hurricane exposure before committing.

Plan it with one accountable advisor

Tell us who is traveling, whether swimming from the beach matters and what the golf appetite is, and we will match the stretch of coast and the property to it rather than the other way around. Our luxury leisure travel planning handles the villa and resort side, and our group travel planning covers celebrations and buyouts.