Los Cabos

Los Cabos, at the southern edge of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, has always been an intriguing destination to me.  Maybe because for years, it’s been a hot spot for movie stars and celebrities just a quick two hour and 15 minute flight from LA.  But in addition to being a go-to destination for Hollywood’s rich and famous, Los Cabos offers an endless summer beach escape with almost always sunny skies and a multitude of water sports and outdoor activities.  There’s plenty to keep you busy when visiting the tip of the Baja California Sur from zip lining, hiking, four-wheeling, horseback riding and golfing on land; to scuba diving, surfing, kayaking, whale-watching and sport fishing in the ocean.  And of course, there’s always just relaxing seaside with a margarita while soaking up the Mexican sun.  Having never been to this part of Mexico, I was really excited to finally have my own Los Cabos experience and see for myself why it’s been such a popular and publicized destination.

With the sister towns of San José del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas both competing for your attention, but offering two very different scenes, it’s hard to decide where you’re going to spend your time… unless you’re definitely looking for one atmosphere over the other.  San José del Cabo is the “elder” sister, offering a more sophisticated and mature charm… she’s smaller and quieter with trendy restaurants, some capitalizing on the popular farm to table movement, and art galleries featuring everything from fine prints, paintings and sculptures to Mexican folk art and jewelry.  On the other hand, Cabo San Lucas is the younger, more unreserved, extroverted sister with a party atmosphere and a happening nightlife scene.  The sport-fishing fleet is anchored here and it’s home to the famous Land’s End Rock formations and El Arco.  The towns are separated by the Corridor, a 26km stretch of all-inclusive resorts lining the coast.  With Brittany and I having an appreciation for the sophistication and charm of San José, but a desire to experience the glitz and party scene of Cabo, we decided to split our time between the two sisters, starting with the oldest.

For our first night, we opted for the JW Marriott Los Cabos Resort and Spa, a stunning property just north of San José del Cabo in Puerto Los Cabos.  The service was top notch, rivaling that of the Four Seasons, an industry standard when it comes to customer service and hospitality.  As a Marriott Platinum member, they rolled out the red carpet for us, going above and beyond our expectations.  Being that it is the low season, mainly due to the threat of hurricanes, we felt like we had the entire property to ourselves.  The resort grounds offered several different pools, including an adult only option with a swim-up bar.  The property sits up on a cliff with ocean access via stairs taking you down to the beach, so the views from the infinity pools are breathtaking.  We soaked up the rays, sipped cocktails in the pool and watched the sun set over the mountains.  In full relaxation mode, we decided to stay on property for dinner, enjoying the ambience of dining poolside while listening to a live Spanish guitarist.

We went into downtown San José del Cabo the following morning and explored City Hall, the Mission of San José del Cabo Catholic Church and the main square, Plaza Mijares (which is currently undergoing a renovation and was under construction). This town is definitely charming and I’m glad we had an opportunity to spend some time here even though it was short. We picked up our rental car, a little Dodge Attitude… yup, that seems like an appropriate name for a car to transport the Mayer Twins, ha… and headed back to the JW.  FYI, having a car in Los Cabos is very helpful depending on how much you’ll be moving around the area because taxis are costly to and from the airport and to get around both towns.

After another relaxing day poolside, we were sad to have to say goodbye to this property, but excited to head south to Cabo San Lucas.  As we made our way into town, we were immediately greeted with flashing strobe lights, disco balls and pulsating beats… yes, this is most definitely the more social of the two sisters.  Let the party begin!

While in town, we took advantage of some of the activities Cabo has to offer.  Being known as the marlin capital of the world, we thought it was the perfect place for our first deep-sea fishing experience… even though we had to sacrifice a night of partying to be at the dock by 6am.  The Sea of Cortez’s warm waters allows for the world’s largest concentration of billfish (marlin, sailfish and swordfish) giving fishermen a greater chance of reeling one in…  So we headed out to sea thinking our odds of a catch were pretty good.  Leaving the marina at 6:30am was like being in rush hour as we made our way out to sea.  We watched the sun come up over the horizon and enjoyed the views looking back at Cabo’s coastline.  The further out we went, the rougher the waves got and Brittany and I both started to feel sick, even though neither one of us have ever experienced any issues with motion sickness.  Our crew said the waves were a little rougher than normal and it took every once of concentration not to let the nausea get the best of us.  A lot of time went by with no action on the lines and our crew changed the colors of the hooks twice to try to entice a bite.  We spotted a school of dolphins swimming alongside us as we made our way over the bumpy waves and it was fun to watch them jump out of the water, almost like it was choreographed.  Hours later we realized we were almost back at the dock and we had nothing to show for our day at sea… not even a single bite on one of the lines.  I guess that’s all part of fishing… a lot of it’s based on luck and today must not have been our day.  As we pulled back into the marina, we were greeted by Poncho, the resident seal who will test his luck at getting fed anything you’re willing to give up.  We got to feed him the live bait we never got to use, but unfortunately that would be the highlight of our fishing trip.  We were immediately jealous as we walked the dock back to our car and passed other fishermen proudly carrying the filets of their catch.

While in Cabo, we also spent a lot of time soaking up the rays… one day at our resort pool and the second day at the ME Cabo’s Blue Marlin Ibiza pool, a trendy spot with a very Euro vibe.  I definitely felt like I was back in Ibiza as a DJ spun techno beats while guests hung at poolside daybeds and at the pool’s swim up bar.  It was slower than normal due to it being the off season, but a great time nonetheless and I can only imagine the scene during Cabo’s busy season.

One of the nights, we took a sunset cruise on the Eco Cat, one of the biggest catamaran’s in the world, offering an open bar and dinner while circling the rock formations at Land’s End and providing a fabulous up-close view of the infamous Arch.  We lucked out with a fun group abroad, including eight girls from Vegas celebrating a 30^th B-day.  After the drinks were flowing and the sun had set, the crew cranked up the tunes and we had a dance party on the catamaran’s top deck.  I definitely think we made all the other boats in the bay jealous… no doubt ours was the one everyone wanted to be on 😉  And we had so much fun with the Vegas crew that we ended up continuing the party on land.

The nightlife scene definitely lived up to expectations if you’re a fan of a good dance floor and a laid-back, no judgment party. Cocktail waitresses walk around with jello shots and shooters while club-goers dance on tables and platforms. Brittany and I were glad we got to experience Squid Roe and Nowhere Bar, two of Cabo’s hot spots, but we both agreed that we normally prefer the more swanky, sophisticated night out.  Although again, I’m not sure we got to experience the full Cabo scene given that we were visiting at a slower time of year when some of the resident parties weren’t even in session due to the lack of people in town.

But even not at full capacity, I can see why Los Cabos is such a popular destination.  With great food, great nightlife, beautiful resorts lining the coast from the Sea of Cortez to the Pacific Ocean and tons of activities and sports to choose from, Los Cabos has something for everyone.  The landscape is stunning… a desert backdrop of stark mountain peaks, mostly brown but dotted with green desert scrub against the turquoise blue ocean.  And while touristy with lots of American visitors, it still provides the cultural experience of visiting a foreign destination.  We’re thankful we got to check it off our list, but we’ll definitely be back.