If you’re considering visiting Baja California Sur (BCS) in Mexico, this article is perfect for you, as I share essential tips for First-Time Visitors. We recently completed our 6-day staycation in Los Cabos and I’m excited to share details about our trip and all the information you need, especially as a first-time visitor, to make your journey smooth and hassle-free.
This was our first visit to Mexico, a vast country with so much to explore, from the ancient Mayan ruins of Yucatan to the coffee plantations of Veracruz to the tropical beaches of Cabos and Cancun.
Picking our first destination became challenging. We then decided to begin our Mexican adventures with the second closest state on the West Coast, a peninsular region famous for its sandy beaches, coastal vibes, great weather, and delicious food.
Los Cabos vs Cancun: Which one to pick?
Los Cabos is a beautiful coastal town located at the southern tip of Baja California Sur. It is often compared to Cancun in the Yucatan peninsula because of their similarity. However, Los Cabos is a desert, while Cancun is a tropical habitat.
If you like humid climates, clubbing, and more swimmable beaches, I recommend choosing Cancun for your vacation. But if you like dry climate, surfing, art, and culture mixed with luxury vacay vibes, head to Cabo instead.
In this blog post, I will share tips to make the most of your time in Los Cabos on a budget. So get ready to explore this premier travel destination known for its stunning beaches, vibrant nightlife, and world-class resorts without breaking the bank.
Reaching Los Cabos and Visa Requirements
Los Cabos is home to two international airports with non-stop flights from almost all the top cities in the USA and worldwide. Here’s a detailed blog post on our immigration process, visa requirements, and more to help you get started. Also, here are some tips to help you find the right deal on flight tickets and hotels.
Where to stay: Cabos San Lucas vs San Jose Del Cabo
The first question that came to our mind while choosing our stay in BCS was whether we should stay in Cabos San Lucas or San Jose Del Cabo. Cabos San Lucas is the most popular choice among the two and offers a plethora of resorts and hotels to pick from. It is a good fit if you prefer a more gentrified party scene. However, it can be as noisy and crowded as the place because of the abundance of nightclubs, bars, and other touristy stuff.
We wanted more of a comfortable quiet neighborhood since we were also working from the city. So, we picked San Jose Del Cabo instead. Moreover, we wanted to get in touch with the local cuisine, vibe, and culture in a relaxed way while also hitting most tourist hotspots.
If your traveling style is similar to ours, we highly recommend you pick San Jose del Cabo. We enjoyed strolling through downtown San Jose del Cabo much better than Cabo San Lucas. Also, the two Cabos are located just 30 minutes away, so it’s pretty easy to get to the other Cabo no matter where you stay.
Transportation in Los Cabo
Getting to and from the SJD airport
If you search for transportation in Los Cabo, especially from the airport, you might come across articles suggesting that Uber is not allowed to operate near the airport. It is true, but we also read about some people who had success walking to a point where they were able to get picked up.
Hence, to avoid hassle in a new country, we decided to go the safe route and made shuttle reservations via Los Cabos Airport Shuttles for our hotel dropoff. They charged us a flat fee of 15 USD per person for a smooth dropoff to our homestay in the San Jose Del Cabo Hotel Zone.
While flying back, I am happy to report that using Uber was a breeze, and we got picked up and dropped off right outside the International departure gate (twice) without any hassle.
Uber for short-distance rides
Uber is the best way to travel short distances in Los Cabos, both San Jose del Cabo, Cabo San Lucas, and the tourist corridor connecting the two Cabos. It was easy to use, and the max wait time we ever had to wait was 7 minutes. Moreover, it was cheaper than the taxis in most of the places.
A rule of thumb for what to expect is 30-40 USD for 30-minute rides and just 5-10 USD for short rides (10 minutes or so).
Note: Lyft or Didi does not work in the Los Cabos area.
Bus for day trip locations
La Paz and Todos Santos are two of the most popular day trip spots that can be easily reached from Los Cabos by bus. Operated by a local bus company called Aguila, with buses scheduled almost every hour (bus schedule). The buses are quite similar to Greyhound and have reasonably comfortable seats, air-conditioners, and overhead TV screens.
- The Aguila bus terminals are present both in San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, very close to the hotel zone and in La Paz Malecon. (Insert Google Maps links).
- You can buy tickets from the terminal before boarding by cash or card.
Alternatively, you can rent a car from companies like Avis and Budget. However, after reading some horrifying stories about police harassing tourists for money, we decided to skip driving.
Beaches in Los Cabos
Los Cabos has a plethora of beaches to explore. We visited six beaches in Los Cabos, each known for their unique feature. However, most beaches in Los Cabos were only suitable for surfing rather than swimming because of the aggressive waves. Save my beach essentials list for your trip to Los Cabos.
The best thing about Los Cabos is that every single beach is public, creating an open and friendly beach culture. We frequently used restrooms at nearby resorts without hesitation; all we had to do was ask the staff, who warmly welcomed and escorted us to the facilities when needed.
Currency and Budget
Carrying local currency is always a good idea when traveling to a different country, especially when dealing with small businesses. Most places in Los Cabos gladly accept USD cash and cards, but we often got a better deal if we paid in MXN cash due to the exchange rate. We carried about 4000 MXN for a 6-day trip, which seemed sufficient for the two of us.
Places where cash came in really handy were the cab ride from La Paz to Balandra Beach, the bus ride from Balandra Beach back to La Paz, and paying several street food vendors and stores.
Our overall trip cost came out to be approximately 2500 USD for two for 6 days.
Communicating with the locals
Knowing even a little bit of Espanol goes a long way in Mexico. It shows you value the local culture and language. Our Spanish was very basic at best, but we received numerous compliments on how well we spoke it. Besides, we enjoyed learning new words and discovering common roots between Spanish and our native languages (Bengali and Marathi).
Safety Tips
San José del Cabo generally felt relaxed and safe, and our homestay’s location was particularly good from a safety perspective. We went out late on several evenings and never felt unsafe walking back to our accommodation.
Additionally, late-night Ubers were readily available, making it easy to return from distant locations. Despite reading warnings about cows on the highway and safety concerns at night, we thankfully had a wonderful experience without any issues.
But as a tourist, I made it a point to thoroughly examine the area on the first night to avoid any shady spots. I also located essential services like grocery stores, hospitals, and police stations, and kept the helpline numbers handy in case of an emergency.
Food Scene in Los Cabos
The food scene in Los Cabos is vast and offers a variety of restaurants and local eateries serving authentic Baja Med cuisine native to the BCS region. Check out my Los Cabos Food Guide for more details about the restaurants we tried and recommend. However, in this section of the blog post, I will cover details like water, delivery, and grocery scenes if you’re living in a homestay.
Drinking water
Since tap water is not potable in Los Cabos, be sure to get a few large bottles of water that you can use to refill your water bottles to drink from while you are out on your trip. Moreover, it gets very hot and dry in the summer, so remember to keep sipping on water from time to time.
You can also drink Agua Fresca, spotted mostly near the market area, which is absolutely refreshing and energizing.
Grocery and Food delivery
Download the Didi App, the best local delivery app that is convenient and economical. We used this app almost daily to get essentials delivered to our doorstep, from bottled water to fresh fruit to bread from La Comer, along with food deliveries from nearby restaurants.
Take advantage of the Happy Hours
Most restaurants and bars host happy hours between 3 and 5 pm. Some places have much longer happy hour timings from noon to 6 pm. Be sure to take advantage of the 2-for-1 margaritas pina coladas and cervezas!
Best time to visit Los Cabo
If you love water activities like snorkeling and diving, the best time to visit Los Cabos would be when the weather is warm and pleasant. November to May will be your ideal time as the temperature will be mild (24-29°C), making it excellent for outdoor activities and water sports. This is also the peak season, which means crowded beaches and elevated prices everywhere.
If you are planning to stay for a longer period, I recommend visiting between June and October. However, be prepared for the heat often exceeding 90°F (32°C). Moreover, this period also marks the hurricane season, with a higher chance of storms and heavy rain.
Let me know in the comments if you have questions about Los Cabos and head to the Mexico page to check out more articles to help you plan the perfect vacation in Mexico.
