Plans | ~4 Days in Cabo

I am a planner--I like to feel prepared before I go on trips, and I spend a lot of time doing research on the fun things to do and the sights to see. I found 1 great guide for Cabo San Lucas on Trip Advisor, but aside from that, I couldn't find much info. In this post, I hope to give a comprehensive guide to ~4 days in Cabo!  (3 full days, one evening, and one morning).

Good Things to Know

• Tipping is the same in America, ~15-20%
• Check the pesos exchange rate! Right now it is about 17 pesos to the American dollar. That said, some places will charge you slightly different rates and may charge you American dollars, which makes your purchases slightly pricier. Some places do take American dollars, but you should have some pesos on you. You can ask them to run the charges in pesos to get the real exchange rate.
• Drink bottled water, it's cheap and sold everywhere.
• Oxxo shops are everywhere, and they're pretty much like 7/11s. Good place to get water and snack.
• I was a little worried about safety before going. While I was there, I felt okay so long as I was always with Jon on the well-lit parts of the city. Be smart. 

Day 1:

• Landed around 2:15pm, but didn't get going until around 3:30pm
• Used Grey Line Los Cabos to get from the airport to our AirBnB
• Cabo San Lucas is about a 45 minute drive from the airport, so it's great to book a car service before you take the trip since taxis will be expensive.
• Walked to dinner around 5:30 at The Office, a beach front restaurant
• This place takes beach front to a new level, you are eating ON the beach, toes in the sand
• It's really beautiful there, and it's hopping! During the evening, they transition from having beach umbrellas up, to putting out lap blankets, lighting candles, and putting out heaters. They'll have people walk around to entertain--balloon animals, tequila shots, etc. 
• Slightly pricey, expect $25-40 for an entree and a margarita
• Walked home to call it an early night

Day 2:

• Walked around the marina area--really gorgeous!
• Lovers' Beach and El Arco
• This is Cabo's main attraction, and it's really only accessible by water taxi. There will be people all around the marina area trying to sell you packages, and you can talk to anyone about a water taxi. It should cost around $10 round-trip, or about 300 pesos. This boat will take you out to see El Arco and a few other attractions, and you can coordinate with your boat driver when to be picked up at Lovers' Beach so you can enjoy some beach time. You'll want to have a few bucks to tip the boat driver, and a few bucks to tip the guys who help you get in/out of the boat once you pull up to shore.
• Bring snacks if you want to spend some time on the beach! There are no restaurants, but there are a few guys who walk around with beers and chips. They will be a little pricier than the ones you could buy and bring yourself. 
• Lovers' Beach gives you access to the Sea of Cortez, whereas the other side, Divorce Beach, gives you access to the Pacific Ocean. You can swim at LB, but they don't recommend swimming at DB as the waves/tides are really crazy! It's still great to bop back and forth between the two. 
• Make sure to catch your boat back! Some companies have many boats that come regularly, whereas others only have 1-2 boats. If you end up missing yours for some reason, you'll have to pay $5/person to take that boat.
• Lunch at Rock & Brews in the marina
• A lot of places have 2x1 deals on drinks, so we enjoyed Corona margaritas! 
• This meal ended up costing about ~$15 per person, with 2 drinks
• Walked to Medano Beach and went for a swim, gorgeous water!
• You can pay to rent chairs or umbrellas, but Jon and I just walked to an empty section of the beach and laid out our towels. People will walk by to try to sell things, just politely decline.
• After a rest, went out to dinner at Taco Loco 
• Very affordable, about $6-8 per person
• Good deals with beers! 
• You can walk around that area and there are a lot of restaurants and bars

Day 3:

• Walked around the marina to do some souvenir shopping
• Breakfast at La Casa Country
• Very reasonable breakfast prices--about $6 or so
• 2x1 margaritas! It's never too early to drink, right?
• La Princesa Snorkeling Cruise at 12:00pm
• Like I mentioned earlier, there are tons of people trying to sell you packages. We shopped around a bit and found this snorkeling cruise to be one of the cheapest. We talked our way into $40/person, (originally listed as $59 in person, $49 online, used that info for leverage). WORTH EVERY PENNY!
• The catamaran had netting in the front of the boat so you could sit up front while cruising. The staff was excellent and made sure you always had a drink in your hand, (beers on the way out, margaritas on the way in). They even stopped midway so we could see some whales. 
• The lunch was nothing to write home about--guac and chips, tuna sandwiches--but I hardly cared. 
• The 45 minutes of snorkeling was in Santa Maria Bay--lots of fish! 
• The whole trip lasted 3 1/2 hours and I was laughing and having so much fun the entire time. 
• Medano beach again for a dip
• Walk around back streets of Cabo--it's nice to get away from the main tourist attractions
• Dinner at Las Guacamayas 
• This is slightly away from the main tourist centers, and it's an open air restaurant
• One of their main dishes are stone bowls--stone like pig bowls that have meats, cheeses and cactus! They also have delicious tacos.
• Very reasonably priced, probably $9-12 pp
• Beer back at the apartment
• All of the Oxxo stores sell cheap beer, so it can be nice to pick up a few and hang out! 

Day 4:

• Breakfast at Penny Lane Cafe
• I had read about this place in the Trip Advisor review, and it was so worth the hike! 
• Make sure to map it out in advance because we ended up feeling a little lost on the way there and doubted the trip. It's about 10-15 minutes away from the marina, but so worth the trip. 
• Delicious chilaquiles and coffee, all for about $9 per person
• Medano Beach and Jet Ski! 
• Jon had his eye on the jet skis for a while, so we splurged a bit to ride one for half an hour. For the two of us, it cost $45 for the half hour, (talked down from $50). 
• We used Baja Water Sports--very good service
• Again, so worth the money! It was truly exhilarating, and half an hour is more than enough time. 
• Lunch at Tacos Guss
• Cheapest tacos of all time! Around $1 each, for a grand total of $4 pp for tacos and beer!
• The veggie/topping tray may be worth the money alone!
• Back to Lovers' Beach for the afternoon
• Dinner at La Pintada and Ramuri Brewery
• This may have very well been the best dining experience of the trip
• 2x1 tacos on Tuesdays, and the tacos were some of the best we had--lamb with mint chutney and fresh fish
• The service was fantastic, and they let us try a few of their brews before ordering one
• HIGHLY recommend! 
• Night at El Squid Roe
• I had read that this was the late night place to go--a crazy nightclub with tons of entertainment, that was not that far off, just read the Trip Advisor reviews
• The staff was really funny and they poke fun at people
• Drinks are a little pricey, but we sprung for the "yard-long" margaritas. It lasted the whole hour or so that we were there. 
• Because it was a Tuesday and slightly earlier in the evening, (boy, that makes me feel old), it wasn't that crowded, but with women dancing on the bar counters and jello shots being passed around, I can definitely see how that place gets out of control. 

Day 5

• Breakfast at The Office
• We ended the trip where we began it--breakfast at The Office
• Reasonably priced chilaquiles and coffee, ~$10 pp
• The beach view really makes it all worth it

It was sad to leave since it was such a wonderful trip! It was a good mix of exhilaration and relaxation. It would be easy to tailor this plan to suit your needs, or to adjust your budget.  Happy travles!