Cabo San Lucas / San Jose del Cabo

Overview

Shelley and I have been to the Cabo San Lucas / San Jose del Cabo area once, in May 2014..... the memory is still pretty fresh, as a result. The primary impetus for us to go at that time was golf - we were able to participate very inexpensively in a golf clinic, led by former U.S. Open winner and current Senior Tour player Corey Pavin, sponsored by Starwood Hotels. It was a fantastic, fun event, and Corey was a terrific guy to meet and spend time with.

As a note, Hurricane Odile struck Cabo San Lucas in September 2014 and did fairly significant damage, so it's not clear to us what impact that event had on the things we experienced a few months earlier, which are written about here.

While people typically are familiar with the name "Cabo", or "Cabo San Lucas", we saw the area as 3 distinct sections: Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo, and the approximately 25-mile corridor between the two cities. Most of the resorts, including where we stayed (Westin) are in that corridor.

The two cities, Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, have very distinct personalities. Cabo San Lucas is the "new" tourist town..... lots of bars, tourist activities built around the water, "name" restaurants, souvenir places, etc.... From what we could tell, there isn't a long-enduring culture or history in Cabo San Lucas; it's more a place where tourists go to have fun, and is built around the tourist trade. Conversely, San Jose del Cabo is the original, older town in the area. While there is a tourist aspect to it, which is being further developed, it clearly is the history and cultural center of the Los Cabos area.

Shelley and I balanced golf, sun time at the resort, and trips to both Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo during our visit. Our tastes trended more toward the quiet and peace of San Jose del Cabo than the somewhat superficial tourist center that we viewed Cabo San Lucas to be.

Cabo San Lucas:

We went into Cabo San Lucas twice.... and for us, that was enough. For people who want to play on the water, and/or enjoy an active nightlife, Cabo is probably a good place to have fun, but we weren't in that frame of mind on this trip. There is a large marina area, with people offering boat trips, fishing, and all sorts of other fun on the water. And obviously, plenty of places to buy souvenirs of all types.

Dining:

Cabo Wabo Cantina - Sammy Hagar's famous bar, we enjoyed lunch there. There are 3 separate areas, and it's not obvious when you go there that it is as large / spread out as it is. We ate in an upstairs area that would remind one of a nice "Chili's" or "Applebee's" (as did the menu, somewhat); going down some stairs in the back led you to a pretty large indoor area including a stage for musical acts (this section was closed at lunch when we were there, though you could walk through), which is probably pretty hopping at night. Walking through that indoor area took you to an outside bar and dining area, which likewise looked pretty fun and was busy on the day we were there. The food and service at the restaurant were good, resort-casual style food, with a good atmosphere in the area we ate in.

San Jose del Cabo:

We similarly went to San Jose del Cabo twice.... but spent much more time there on each visit than we did in Cabo San Lucas. There's a much more "homey, cultural" feel to San Jose del Cabo, with many more locals and fewer tourists.

Dining:

El Matador - split opinion on this one..... I had a fantastic appetizer and steak, Shelley was more lukewarm on the experience. This is a small, romantic (and pricey) restaurant, well-regarded on TripAdvisor, and managed / run by an actual matador, who mingles with his guests. In fact, he spent about 15 minutes with us toward the end of our meal, even bringing back and signing an authentic poster from his most recent bullfight. We ate in a small courtyard; in addition to the food, the service and decor were wonderful. However, as a note - do not follow Google Maps (which TripAdvisor links to) to find this place, as it will send you to a not-so-nice part of the city, nowhere near (2-3 miles away from) the restaurant.
Don Sanchez - very close to the main square in the old part of town, Shelley and I had a great meal here...... we had an appetizer, and each opted for a stuffed pepper for our main course..... and they were excellent. The atmosphere was nice, if not fancy, and they had a guitarist / singer the evening we were there. Plus, it was relatively inexpensive, compared to some of the other meals we had in the area.

Attractions:

Art Walk - every Thursday night between November and June, the downtown area hosts an art walk, covering an approximately 10-square block area around the main square. There are a number of art galleries and other shops that hosts people walking through, frequently including many local artists in the events. Many of them also will happily offer a glass of wine, beer, or even sampling of tequila for the simplest "cost" of good conversation and appreciation of their work. Plus, there is a food fair (at least there was when we were there) in the main square area, though noticeably most of the stands quickly ran out of food.

General notes and tips:

Though most of the resorts are located in the corridor between the main cities, there's an important note - you can not swim (it is prohibited) at most of the beaches, because the surf and undertow is powerful and extremely dangerous. And this is no joke - on our second or third night there, we witnessed a rescue of an inebriated person who wandered into the water and nearly drowned. It took a team of several lifeguards, struggling on their own, to save the person. (Though this does lead to one of my tips below.)
Tip - unless you plan to drive all over the area most of the days, it isn't necessary to rent a car for the duration of your visit. There are 2 very good transportation options:
- Buses run on a regular basis (I believe every 15-20 minutes or so) down the corridor between Cabo del Sol and San Jose del Cabo, and they are extremely cheap, safe, and in very good condition. Talk to your resort concierge to learn more about them and how/when/where to pick up the bus, and you can save yourself a lot of money.
- If you must rent a car for an excursion, most resorts have arrangements with rental car places to rent for a day or two, at reasonable rates. We did this twice at our resort, and had no issues.
Tip/Find - since you probably can't swim in the ocean at your resort, there's a great, and fun, option. The Cabo Surf Hotel is located at the very northern edge of San Jose del Cabo (southern end of the corridor); you can take the public bus - make sure you tell the driver you want to go to the Cabo Surf Hotel! (our driver got absent-minded and drove past the stop, so we had to retrace the way along the edge of the highway) - and you will be let off right at the entry to the property. There is a reasonably-sized public beach, with just about everything you could want - including swimming, surfing / wake-board lessons, and (most importantly) service from a wait staff which will keep the margaritas and Coronas coming, right down there in the sand. And based on a tip we got from others, we had their fish tacos - best fish tacos I've had in my life. So good, in fact, that we stayed for dinner at their 7 Seas restaurant. Sadly, the fish tacos are only available at lunch (I would have had them for dinner as well, they were that good), but dinner was still good, if not great.