True Traveler: Insider's Guide

True Cabo San Lucas

By John Bradley | November 1, 2010

Cabo San Lucas

Geographically, Cabo San Lucas sits at the windswept tip of the Baja peninsula, where towering rock formations protect wide, white-sand beaches from the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez. Thematically, it sits somewhere between Cancun and Oahu. The packed nightclubs and party boats are plentiful, but so are the spas, quiet seafood restaurants, whale-watching cruises scuba sites and adventure excursions into the mountainous interior. Cabo truly has something for everyone.

Thread Count

Thanks to two rock formations that cut it off from the rest of Cabo, the ornate and sprawling Playa Grande Resort + Grand Spa effectively has its own half-mile long stretch of beach (Ave Playa Grande No. 1, 800-344-3349). // The standard-bearer for opulence is the new Capella Pedregal, wedged between the Pacific and a steep hillside and reachable only via a privately owned tunnel (Camino Del Mar; 1, 877-247-6688). // Just steps from downtown and the marina, the Hacienda Beach Club & Residences offers families luxurious one- to four-bedroom beachfront villas in a gated resort complex (Calle al Medano, 866-300-0084).

Food Fix

Hacienda el Coyote focuses on traditional Mexican cuisine from across the country—local seafood, Oaxacan sauces, pork dishes from the Yucatan and award-winning tequilas (Ave Cabo San Lucas, 144-4731). // The new Flavor Cabo specializes in ceviche and tapas-style dining in a chic outdoor setting reminiscent of a Los Angeles rooftop bar (Blvd Marina & L Cardenas). // Lorenzillos is famous for its lobster dishes and valued for its dress code and quiet open-air seating area that offers a quick escape from the marina crowds (Blvd Lazaro Cardenas. Esq Malecon, 105-0212).

Night Out

Yes, Cabo Wabo is the most popular bar in town (Lazaro Cardenas & Vicente Guerrero, 624-143-1188). Yes, Sammy Hagar owns it. Yes, you will go. // The Giggling Marlin is a Cabo institution. Burgers, fish tacos, daytime fishing charters, raucous late-night parties and lots of cocktails—you can get it all here (Marina Blvd, 858-866-9170). // For urban-slick, grab a seat at Barometro, an open-air lounge on the marina waterfront that offers cocktails, DJs, dancing and live music (Marina Boardwalk, 624-143-1466).

Dont Miss

The southernmost tip of Cabo — and of the Baja peninsula — comprises a spectacular group of rock formations and beaches known, collectively, as Land’s End. The only easy way there from town is by boat and there are plenty, from tour boats to water taxis, available at the marina. // Do your souvenir shopping at Hacienda Tequila, a shop in the upscale and popular Puerto Paraiso mall that carries more than 600 types of tequila, from familiar brands to premium bottles costing $20,000 (on the Marina, 624-144-3000).

Stones Throw

Fifty miles up the Pacific coast is the small beach town of Todos Santos, which has become a vibrant artists’ enclave, with numerous galleries by both Mexican and international artists, and, thanks to massive winter swells, one of the top surfing destinations in the Americas. // For a more urban but still charming and scenic side trip, head up the east coast of Baja to La Paz, a city of about 200,000 that also serves as the recreation gateway to the Sea of Cortez.

The Lowdown:

Luis Bulnes Molleda, the owner of Cabo’s Solmar Hotels & Resorts Group arrived on the peninsula in 1955 to work as an executive in the tuna industry, but left to enter the hotel business and helped pioneer the region’s transformation into an international tourist destination. We asked him to share his can’t-miss spots.

DIVE IN
Cabo San Lucas Bay is the best. Due to Los Cabos’ position at the tip of the Baja peninsula, where the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez, many beaches are not swimmable due to strong currents and undertow. But the bays are very safe.

DON’T MISS
The iconic El Arco (the Arch). It’s a natural rock formation that is only accessible by boat. Travelers can ride out on a glass bottom boat, catamaran, private yacht or even a pirate ship.

What $100 Buys You In Cabo San Lucas

A two-tank dive in the Corridor, an area of prime dive sites in the Sea of Cortez. Try Manta Scuba Diving (Blvd Marina, 877-287-1120).

This one’s $109, but it gets you and another adult four hours behind the wheel of a dune buggy in Cabo’s rugged desert interior, with Green Zebra Adventures (gogreenzebra.com, 480-214-443)

Three hours of zip lining across canyons and through the trees at Wild Canyon Adventures (wildcanyon.com, 144-4433).

Depending on how well you haggle, $100 can get you some fun folk art and handmade jewelry—or a lot of kitsch—at the indoor flea market next to the main dock at the marina.

—Find It—

View True Cabo San Lucas in a larger map

Other City Guides

Posted In: Baja California, Baja Peninsula, beach resorts, Cabo San Lucas, Cabo Wabo, ceviche, fish tacos, Land's End, Pacific, resorts, Sea of Cortez, tequila

John Bradley: A contributing editor at Outside magazine, John Bradley has also written for the New York Times Magazine, GQ, Popular Science and Wired.com.

Comments are closed.