Cabo San Lucas Information

Weather    

 

Most of the year the weather in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico is considered to be exceptionally pleasant. The summer months can get hot and average maximum temperatures run 86 degrees in January up to 104 degrees in June, the warmest month. Average annual rainfall amounts to only around 12 inches. The wettest month is typically September, during which one might experience three or four rainy days, totaling 4 inches. There is typically very little rainfall recorded February through July.

Nightlife

 

Cabo San Lucas is the nightlife capital of Baja. After-dark fun centers on the casual bars and restaurants on Bulevar Marina or facing the marina, rather than a flashy dance club scene. You can easily find a happy hour with live music and a place to dance, or a Mexican fiesta with mariachis.

Mexican Fiestas & Theme Nights -- Some larger hotels have weekly fiesta nights, Italian nights, and other buffet-plus-entertainment theme nights that can be fun as well as a good buy. Check travel agencies and the local hotels. Prices range from $22 (not including drinks, tax, and tips) to $35 (which covers everything, including an open bar with national drinks).

Sunset Watching -- Come twilight, check out Land's End, where the two seas meet. At Whale Watcher's Bar, in the Hotel Finisterra (tel. 624/143-3333), you'll get a world-class view of the sun sinking into the Pacific. The high terrace offers vistas of both sea and beach, as well as magical glimpses of whales from January to March. Mariachis play on Friday from 6:30 to 9pm. The bar is open daily from 10am to 11pm.

Happy Hours, Clubs & Hangouts -- If you shop around, you can usually find an hora alegre (happy hour) somewhere in town between noon and 7pm. The most popular places to drink and carouse until all hours are longstanding favorites like the Giggling Marlin, El Squid Roe, and the Cabo Wabo Cantina.

Two places to enjoy live music in a more adult setting are the Sancho Panza Wine Bar and Bistro and the El Bistro restaurant and live jazz bar, on Zaragoza at Niños Héroes (tel. 624/143-8999 or 624/143-3212). Both offer classic jazz in more of a club-style atmosphere, accommodating conversation.

Shopping

 

San José has the better shopping of the two towns when it comes to higher quality items, but if you're after a beer-themed T-shirt, Cabo San Lucas can't be topped. In Cabo San Lucas, the most notable shops are now concentrated in the Puerto Paraíso Entertainment Plaza (tel. 624/144-3000; www.puertoparaiso.com). Opened in 2002, this is now the focal point for shopping for tourists. It's a truly world-class mall, complete with parking, a food court, movie theaters, and a video arcade. With over 50,000 sq. m (538,000 sq. ft.) of air-conditioned space on three levels, it's too bad that the shops don't live up to the promise of this attractive mall. Although it bills itself as having an array of designer shops, this is a bit misleading; there may be one or two name-brand items within any store, and many of the stores are vacant. It is a good place to shop for swimwear or resort wear, and there are plenty of gift items to choose from, but don't expect the equivalent of a U.S. shopping mall experience. However, it does have some choice dining options, the best being the local branch of Ruth's Chris Steak House, adjacent to the marina (tel. 624/144-3232; daily 1-11:30pm). The plaza is located marina-side between the Plaza Bonita Mall and Marina Fiesta Resort -- you can't miss it if you tried. Most other shops in Cabo are on or within a block or two of Boulevard Marina and the plaza.

The Plaza Bonita Shopping Center (Cabo San Lucas, Bulevar Marina at Cárdenas) is an older shopping center that is still worth a visit. This large terra cotta-colored plaza on the edge of the Cabo San Lucas marina has been around since 1990, and it finally has a group of successful businesses. A branch of Dos Lunas (tel. 624/143-1969) sells colorful casual sportswear. Cartes (tel. 624/143-1770) is filled with hand-painted ceramic vases and dishes, pewter frames, carved furniture, and hand-woven textiles. Most shops in the plaza are open daily from 9am to 9pm.

Beaches

 

All along the curving sweep of sand known as Medano Beach, on the east side of the bay, you can rent snorkeling gear, boats, WaveRunners, kayaks, and windsurf boards. You can also take windsurfing lessons. This is the town's main beach and is a great place for safe swimming -- as well as people-watching from one of the many outdoor restaurants along its shore.

Beach aficionados may want to rent a car and explore the five more remote beaches and coves between the two Cabos: Playa Palmilla, Chileno, Santa María, Barco Varado, and Vista del Arco. Beaches other than Medano are not considered safe for swimming, though many people don't heed the warning. Experienced snorkelers may wish to check them out, but other visitors should go for the view only. Always check at a hotel or travel agency for directions and swimming conditions. Although a few travel agencies run snorkeling tours to some of these beaches, there's no public transportation: Your only option for beach exploring is to rent a car.

Golf

Los Cabos, one of the world's finest golf destinations, offers an ample and intriguing variety of courses to challenge golfers of all levels.

The reason so many choose to play here is not just the selection, quality, and beauty of the courses, but the very reliable weather. The courses highlighted below compare to the great ones in Palm Springs and Scottsdale, with the added beauty of ocean views and a wider variety of desert cacti and flowering plants.

Course fees are high in Cabo -- generally over $200 per round. But these are world-class courses, worth the world-class price. Courses generally offer 20% to 30% off rates if you play after 2 or 2:30pm. This is actually a great time to play, because the temperature is cooler and play is generally faster. The golf offerings in Los Cabos will only continue to expand; four courses are in various phases of construction.

Palmilla Gold Club -- The original Cabo course is now a 27-hole layout. The original 18 holes are known as the Arroyo; the new holes are the Ocean 9. It's a bit of a misnomer -- although the newer holes lie closer to the water, only one has a true ocean view, with a spectacular play directly down to the beach. You must play the Arroyo for your first nine holes, then you choose between Mountain and Ocean for your back nine. If you play this course only once, choose the Mountain, which offers better ocean views. The signature hole is the Mountain 5; you hit over a canyon, then down to the green below over a forced carry. This is target golf, on a Jack Nicklaus course that was constructed with strategy in mind. A mountaintop clubhouse provides spectacular views. Although it is currently a semiprivate club, most Corridor hotels have membership benefits.

Cabo del Sol -- The Ocean Course was the second Jack Nicklaus course constructed in Los Cabos. Its dramatic finishing oceanside holes make it the "Pebble Beach of Baja." It is much more difficult than the Palmilla course, with less room for error. Don't be fooled by the wide, welcoming 1st hole. This is challenging target golf, with numerous forced carries -- even from the red tees. Seven holes are along the water. The signature hole is 17, which runs by the water with a forced carry. Cabo del Sol offers another option, the Desert Course.

Cabo Real -- This Robert Trent Jones, Jr., design is known for its holes along the Sea of Cortez, which sit high on mesas overlooking the sea; exceptional among these is the frequently photographed 12th. Jones designed the course to test low handicappers, but multiple tees make it enjoyable for average players as well. The par-72 layout is 6,945 yards long and was designed with professional tournament play in mind. The most famous hole is the 14th, right on the beach.

The Raven Club -- The front and back nines are the work of members of the Dye family, so the course plays like two different courses. Characteristic of Dye designs, it has deep waste bunkers, subtle terracing up hillsides, and holes built into the natural desert terrain. The most challenging hole is the 607-yard, par-5 7th hole, around a lake; it's the longest hole in Mexico. The course is designed to offer a variety of play options, from a short course played on front tees to a super-long course with numerous bunkers and hazards. The whole course was redone in 2002 by the Dye family, Although the layout is essentially the same, some greens have moved slightly and some holes are a little shorter than before, but all of the bunkers and hazards have remained, and the course is now considered even better.

El Dorado Gold Course -- A Jack Nicklaus Signature course at Cabo Real, El Dorado is a links-style course in the Scottish tradition. The layout is challenging -- 7 holes border the Sea of Cortez, and 12 are carved out of two pristine canyons. The oceanview holes are not the only water; manmade lakes are also a part of the scenery. El Dorado bills itself as the "Pebble Beach of Baja" -- but then again, so does Cabo del Sol. You decide.

Note: Cabo's newest course, Querencia (tel. 624/145-6670; www.bajagolf.com/querencia.html) is a Tom Fazio design. Originally a private club, with play limited to property owners and members, it now accepts guests of both Las Ventanas and Casa del Mar. Greens fees are $275.

Sportfishing

 

Many larger hotels, like the Solmar, have their own fleets. To make your own arrangements, go to the town marina on the south side of the harbor, where you'll find several fleet operators with offices near the docks. Panga fleets offer the best deals; 5 hours of fishing for two or three people costs $200 to $450. But stroll around the marina and talk with the captains -- you may make a better deal. Try ABY Charters (tel. 624/144-4203; www.abycharters.com; daily 10am-4pm; Visa and MasterCard are accepted), or the Picante/Blue Water Sportfishing Fleet (tel. 624/143-2474; www.picantesportfishing.com; daily 6am-8pm; American Express, MasterCard, and Visa are accepted). Both have booths (with bathrooms) at the sportfishing dock at the far south end of the marina. A day on a fully equipped cruiser with captain and guide starts at around $1,070 for up to four people. For deluxe trips with everything included aboard a 12m (40-ft.) boat, you'll have to budget $1,455. If you're traveling in your own vessel, you'll need a fishing permit. Depending on the size of the boat, it will cost $15 to $45 per month. Daily permits ($4-$10) and annual permits are also available.

The fishing here lives up to its reputation: Bringing in a 100-pound marlin is routine. Angling is good all year, though the catch varies with the season. Sailfish and wahoo are best from June through November; yellowfin tuna, May through December; yellowtail, January through April; black and blue marlin, July through December. Striped marlin are prevalent year-round.

Surfing

 

Good surfing can be found March through November all along the beaches west of town, and there's a famous right break at Chileno Beach, near the Cabo San Lucas Hotel east of town.

Snorkeling & Scuba Diving

 

Several companies offer snorkeling; a 2-hour cruise to sites around El Arco costs $30, and a 4-hour trip to Santa María costs $55, including gear rental. Among the beaches visited on different trips are Playa de Amor, Santa María, Chileno, and Barco Varado. Snorkeling gear rents for $10 to $15. Contact Gray Line (tel. 624/146-9410). For scuba diving, contact Amigos del Mar (tel. 800/344-3349 or 310/459-9861 in the U.S., or 624/143-0505 in Mexico; fax 310/454-1686 in the U.S., or 624/143-0887 in Mexico; www.amigosdelmar.com; daily 8am-4:30pm) at the marina, near the Solmar hotel. Dives are along the wall of a canyon in San Lucas Bay, where you can see the "sandfalls" that even Jacques Cousteau couldn't figure out -- no one knows their source or cause. There are also scuba trips to Santa María Beach and more distant places, including the Gordo Banks and Cabo Pulmo. Prices start at $45 for a one-tank dive, $66 for two tanks; trips to the coral outcropping at Cabo Pulmo start at $125. You'll need a wetsuit for winter dives. A 5-hour resort course is available for $100, and open-water certification costs around $450.

* Information from Frommers