I wasn’t the biggest fan of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, as I prefer places that are a little more off the beaten path.  I loved the other parts of the Baja area like Todos del Santos and La Paz, though.   You may find yourselves in Cabo on your way to one of these spots, so I want to give you some helpful information.  I rented a car from the airport and found that it wasn’t too expensive.  You don’t need a car at all in either spot, but if you want to explore other parts of Baja, which I highly recommend, you will want to have a car!  Payless Car Rentals seemed to have the best price for car rentals.

In Cabo San Lucas, I stayed at the charming  boutique Los Milagros Hotel. It was truly an oasis in the middle of Cabo.  It had fresh flowers and plants growing everywhere, a great pool, and the personal service made Cabo San Lucas bearable to me!

My favorite part of staying in Cabo San Lucas was taking a boat to Playa del Amor, or Lover’s Beach.  There, you will find the beautiful rock formations of El Arco (Land’s End) which separate Playa del Amor, on the Sea of Cortez, from Playa del Divorcio, on the Pacific Side.  It was pretty amazing to walk through the arch from one ocean to another.

Playa Medano is the most crowded beach in Cabo San Lucas and really wasn’t for me.  But, if you like the sort of beach where people go to see and be seen, than this would be for you.  However, I did manage to get a guy to name his boat after me!

In San Jose del Cabo, I stayed at the Cabo Azul Resort.  It was lovely, however, I tend to prefer smaller boutique hotels and not big resorts.  The ocean was pretty rough there with lots of jellyfish, but I did manage to swim in it on some of the calmer days.  The pool area is very beautiful and was the place where I spent most of my time.  At night, there were fire sculptures, and one family roasted marshmallows over one of them.  San Jose del Cabo was much more luxurious than Cabo San Lucas.

I usually walked the fifteen minute walk into town for the restaurants, and enjoyed people watching at the main square of San Jose del Cabo.  There were often vendors selling fresh fruit or popsicles and families of locals gathered here to socialize.

If you are looking for an authentic Mexican experience, you will not find it in Cabo San Lucas or San Jose del Cabo.  If you are just looking for a place to stay in a resort and do nothing all week, then you may enjoy it.  But, you will do yourself a disservice if you don’t get out and explore the rest of the Baja Peninsula!

For more authentic places to visit in Mexico, check out my Destination Guide to Mexico!