I start a lot of travel threads here, it seems. In reality, probably not as many as I think. I just love to hear your opinions on places. Also, one of my best travel tips I've ever received was from here (Pequod's Pizza in Chicago. IIRC, s land balla, among others recommended it. Thank you! Have a pizza from there a couple times a year, though most are frozen and delivered by my father in law). So here's another one: My wife and I are looking to escape the cold of the Northeast/Great Lakes area. We've zeroed in on Cabo San Lucas. Neither one of us have ever been, but have always wanted to. We have a week of vacation around Valentine's day. I realize it's not insanely warm there this time of year, but it's 15 here today, and it actually seems nice out, so anything above 70 will be fine. We're not into partying and don't go clubbing, so I'm a bit hesistant with Cabo, but it just looks so much fun. We want to do some whale watching, general relaxing, and just exploring. We will most likely just rent a condo or apartment online, though we haven't finalized that. Any tips as far as cheaper, more authentic places to eat? Things to do in general? Maybe some excursion companies? Should I rent a car, or do you think we can get by on foot? My wife is in excellent shape, and I'm in decent shape. I'm a fat man that runs 3 miles 3-4 times a week. Any tips or stories in general are appreciated. I love travel threads. Thanks in advance.
Cabo is totally overrated imo cuz all the LA celebs go there so you think it is super nice but they only go there cuz it is extremely close to LA. The water is Pacific water so not really warm or blue. Also, Cabo is not that close to the airport so expect a 45-60 minute cab ride if I recall correctly. I felt Cabo was kinda small and touristy too. There's very good deep sea fishing around there but I personally enjoyed Puerto Vallarta a lot more (larger, more to do, more culture, more romantic imo).
My other choices were Puerto Vallarta, Playa Del Carmen, and Cozumel. Of those, I've only ever been to Cozumel, and I loved it there. Good mix of touristy things to do, yet small town authenticity if you look for it. Cabo is somewhere we both have wanted to go (although for me it's just the Baja Peninsula, in general). I do think that smaller towns like La Paz and Todos Santos look great, too. Although I've read a bit about some violence in La Paz. Puerto Vallarta is intriguing, though, as well. There's a small chance we could end up in a place like that, instead.
The GF and I went to Playa del Carmen last March.....amazing. Felt like being in one of those Corona commercials (we found our beach). Among the cool things we did: 1. Snorkling excursion off of a glass bottom boat (free Corona's) 2. Took photos while holding a baby Leopard, Lion, and Tiger 3. Sitting in our rooftop hottub overlooking the ocean at sundown each night. 4. Took a bus to see/tour Chichen Itza 5. Incredible food everywhere (not just Mexican, but some South American places as well) I highly recommend considering Playa if you are not dead set on Cabo....
Is it walkable to most places? The brilliance of Playa is it's location. Chichen Itza, Tikal, Cozumel, all within an easy day's trip...
I was a bit underwhelmed by Cabo. I did the all inclusive and the food at that resort wasnt as good as the one at resorts in cancun. I dont party a lot either. The sand is very grainy and hard to walk on, the beach is super nice but very uncomfortable. and as mentioned above, the water is cold and it red flag was up pretty much every day we were there. I didnt really go into some of the touristy places or towns there. I did go to downtown once. I'd recommend cancun because of all the different excursions you can go to. Xplor, Xcaret, etc. A lot of the above things may not bother you too much though. The area is very desert like. So not tropical at all.
Only cab was to and from airport. Only bus was to/from the CI tour. And if you guys want to hit Cozumel, its only like a one hour ferry ride (thats where we snorkeled). Everything else is walking. It was a two block walk from our hotel to the beach. It was a two block walk from our hotel to the main town square where the markets/restaraunts/shops are. Beautiful city, nice people, just an awesome time. We will be going back sometime very soon!
I'be been to Cabo on a cruise, so my time on shore was limited, and we didn't venture out too far. We basically did para sailing, jet skis, eating a bit near the marina, shopping, and some beach time. The next day we went fishing. This is what I would recommend. Not guaranteed to catch something, but I caught a striped marlin. I like to fish, so it was a real thrill. But it is also nice just to take a boat ride (wife didnt think so, because she threw up, but she was a trooper and caught herself a mahi mahi which we ate for lunch).
My wife and I went on our honeymoon and absolutely loved it. We stayed at Hotel RIU (all inclusive resort). We paid for transportation to and from the airport when we paid for our plane tickets (I recommend). It is about a 40 minute drive but has nice scenery. When we wanted to go into town we would just go to the front of the resort and they are basically waiting to take you anywhere. It's 7$ one way for the taxi. We did that anytime we went downtown. I wouldn't suggest renting a car as the drivers over there are nuts and I wouldn't want to deal with getting in a wreck over there LOL. Check out cabo adventures for any excursion type stuff. We did zip lining, swim with dolphins, snorkeling adventure ,and a dinner cruise on a big boat. Everything I just mentioned was awesome and would absolutely recommend. As others have mentioned, Cabo is known for their deep sea fishing so if you are into that, then it's a must. Cabo Adventures was great. Friendly staff, very informative, and professional. Hotel RIU was about 4-5 minutes from downtown. I wouldn't necessarily say you could walk from it as it's down a busy stretch of road. The back of the resort looks out into the sea of Cortez and lovers beach etc. it really is an awesome view to wake up to every morning. People mentioned to not drink the water but at this resort it was no problem. As I stated before this is an all inclusive so all alcoholic beverages, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included. If you have any questions just let me know, Cabo is def. a place I would recommend to a northerner looking to relax in the sunlight!
The other place on my list, which is pretty much a no go, because she's not as adventurous as me, is Huatulco. That place looks awesome.
I 2nd Playa Del Carmen If you use a travel agent or something like funjet/Apple vacations - transportation to the hotel will be arranged for you. Often, the hotel will call a cab or have transportation to the town if you want to go shopping. They also offer other excursions (for an extra price) to places like Tulum or Chichen Itza.
I've been to all those places and Cancun, and I'd rank them best to worst: 1.) Cozumel (I personally love nice beaches and water for swimming and scuba) 2.) Playa Del Carmen 3.) Cancun 4.) Puerto Vallarta 5.) Cabo Coming from Texas/East Coast, Cozumel/PDC/Cancun are much closer but now that I live in California, Pacific Coast places like PV and Cabo are much closer for me. But if travel time and cost wasn't a factor, I'd totally pick a Gulf side destination any day of the week because the water and beaches are day and night better than the Pacific coast ones.
you could go to San Jose del Cabo, its a bit different from Cabo San Lucas, not that turistic though, its 35 km away from Cabo San Lucas, but its a nice place. You can stay in the hotel, and explore the beach.
I just got back from Cabo last week. My wife and I went there for 5 days and we loved it. We had a similar experience like Rocket1988-. We stayed at the Sandos Finestera and it was an all inclusive resort (all meals and drinks paid) with free wifi. I found the deal from Kayak - just go to the packages section. I booked my trip about two months before, it was about $1750 for 5 days including airfare and hotel (from LA). We went on one of those booze cruises (www.pezgato.com) and saw the beautiful El Arco of Cabo. We were also fortunate to catch some whales (you must go around Dec to March) on that boat trip. We also went horseback riding and ATVing - the locals are accommodating and they truly do their best to make you feel welcome. Other activities include walking around downtown and the marina. We went to Squid Roe (next to Senor Frogs) one night - you don't need to be a spring breaker to have a little fun. Sure it was a bit touristy but we had a great time. Come to think of it, I had more a more relaxing time in Cabo than Cancun. I highly recommend going to Cabo San Lucas. The baja peninsula is beautiful!
We are still trying to decide what to do. I think, tomorrow, I'm going to pitch the plan to my wife for us to go to San Jose del Cabo. Seems more our style, and more what she wanted. Also, it seems more walkable than San Lucas. We will probably just be looking to relax, explore town, and do a whale watching trip. Any suggestions are appreciated!
We stayed in San Jose del Cabo over New Year's this year. It was definitely California-style nice weather. Nice (70's) during the day but cooler in the morning and evening. We ventured into Cabo one day (you'll either have to take a 30-minute or so cab ride or take the bus to get back and forth), but spent most of the time hanging out in the more low key side of the peninsula. There are excursions for whale watching and going out to the arch and snorkeling/scuba diving that you can probably book through your hotel. Had a good, relaxing time. Not a typical "beach" vacation due to the cooler temps, but definitely great views and very peaceful. Was a great way to decompress after the stressful end of year madness. The airport is fairly easy to get in and out, and you can be on the beach within the hour. Definitely walk past all the people trying to get you to take an official taxi and try to get on a shared shuttle ($15 or so per person) to take you to your hotel. You can book it 72 hours in advance, or pay for it when you get there. Just a little confusing with everyone yelling at you to take a $90 taxi and having to pay before you walk out the exit door to outside. G'luck with the trip planning, and hope you have a great time!
I been to Cancun and Cabo before an had good times. This past November I went to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic for the 1st time and had a blast an way better times then Mexico resorts, maybe it's just me.
I hate to say it, but we changed our minds again. We ended up booking an all inclusive on Cozumel (Fiesta Americana) for 6 nights, due to recent stressors and my wife not wanting to worry about anything. We were in Cozumel for a day on a cruise two years ago and absolutely loved it. Just walked around San Miguel. We were walking down a residential street in San Miguel and we passed a car with a sticker from Huntsville. Thought that was kind of cool. I'm pumped to get back there.
We leave early early Saturday morning - about 2:30, to head to the airport. Super excited. Cannot wait. Work is going to drag tomorrow. I bought my wife a nice necklace and a nice dress to surprise her with the first night for dinner. Unfortunately, I didn't see the "x" in front of the "s" for the size, so I have to find a way to sneak back to the store after work to grab a small instead. Don't want the surprise to backfire by me buying a dress she can't fit into. Lol. Any last second advice? We plan on exploring San Miguel, and may find hole in the wall, nontouristy type restaurants for a lunch check or two. We also plan on seeing a parade or two, either Saturday, Sunday, or Tuesday, since it is Carnaval. Thanks for any tips.
