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Cabo San Lucas, MexicoBy Last checked

Plan a trip to Cabo San Lucas

Desert running into the Pacific, with a marina town at one end and a quieter art town at the other. Most beaches here have serious surf, so check which ones are safe to swim before you book a room for the view.

  • Group trips
  • Bachelor parties
  • Couples
  • Beaches
Trip length

Free to run, and you keep editing after. Add who's coming or a pace like “slow mornings” to shape the result.

Cabo San Lucas at a glance

4 to 5 days, four stops, three neighborhoods to choose a room in. That is the shape of a first trip to Cabo San Lucas, and the notes below say which of them earn the time and which month makes the whole thing easier. El Arco is the one to schedule first.

How long
4–5 days
When to go
November to May is dry and warm with calm seas, while summer is very hot. Hurricane risk runs August through October, and the back half of that window is the part I would plan around rather than gamble on.
Getting around
It is about 40 minutes from the airport into Cabo San Lucas, and once you are there, rideshare and taxis cover the Corridor for the rest of the week without much trouble. Rent a car for the Todos Santos run, and only that.

What to build the plan around

  1. 1

    El Arco

    The rock arch at Land's End, twenty minutes each way by water taxi from the marina, which makes it an easy morning.

  2. 2

    Playa del Amor

    Lovers Beach sits next to the arch and can only be reached by boat, and since the Pacific side is unsafe for swimming, stay on the Sea of Cortez side.

  3. 3

    Todos Santos

    An hour north, a small art town with a good lunch and a fraction of the people, which makes it the easiest half-day out of Cabo.

  4. 4

    Whale watching

    Gray and humpback whales pass close to shore from mid-December through early April, so take the small boat if you want to be near them.

Where to stay in Cabo San Lucas

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Marina / downtown Cabo
Bars, boats, and the loudest nights, with everything in walking distance once you are down there.
Browse stays in Marina / downtown Cabo
Corridor
The resort stretch between the two towns, which has the calmest swimming beaches of the three.
Browse stays in Corridor
San José del Cabo
Thirty minutes east, a colonial center with galleries and better restaurants, though you will be driving to the beach.
Browse stays in San José del Cabo
Browse stays in Cabo San Lucas

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Itineraries close to Cabo San Lucas

Cabo San Lucas has no itinerary of its own yet. These are the nearest ones, and every stop is already mapped.

Cabo San Lucas planning questions

How many days do you need in Cabo San Lucas?
Plan on 4 to 5 days, though how you split them matters more than the total. Four days covers the arch, one boat day, and two afternoons doing nothing. Take the fifth, because it adds Todos Santos without costing you a beach day, and the drive north is half the reason to go anyway.
What is the best time to visit Cabo San Lucas?
November to May is dry and warm with calm seas, while summer is very hot. Hurricane risk runs August through October, and the back half of that window is the part I would plan around rather than gamble on.
Where should I stay in Cabo San Lucas?
Marina / downtown Cabo, Corridor, and San José del Cabo, in roughly that order of convenience, though convenience and rate rarely move together. Marina / downtown Cabo: Bars, boats, and the loudest nights, with everything in walking distance once you are down there. Corridor: The resort stretch between the two towns, which has the calmest swimming beaches of the three. San José del Cabo: Thirty minutes east, a colonial center with galleries and better restaurants, though you will be driving to the beach. Any of them beats booking out by the airport.
How do you get around Cabo San Lucas?
It is about 40 minutes from the airport into Cabo San Lucas, and once you are there, rideshare and taxis cover the Corridor for the rest of the week without much trouble. Rent a car for the Todos Santos run, and only that.
What should I see first in Cabo San Lucas?
The first thing to slot in is El Arco, because once you have given it a morning the rest arranges itself around that. The rock arch at Land's End, twenty minutes each way by water taxi from the marina, which makes it an easy morning. After that, Playa del Amor, then Todos Santos, though the order between those two barely matters.
Can I build a Cabo San Lucas itinerary automatically?
Describe the trip and Arriv builds one. Length, pace, who is coming: that is enough to get a Cabo San Lucas itinerary of real venues on a map, and every stop is yours to move or delete. Free to run, and an account matters only once you want to keep it.

Tools for a Cabo San Lucas trip

Group Trip PlannerOne link, one map, everybody editing. Suggestions from six people land in the same place, votes settle the arguments, and the plan is current whenever somebody opens it, since everyone is working on the same copy.Bachelor Party PlannerPick the city and get the weekend already mapped: the steak dinner worth booking, the pool afternoon, the one big night, and somewhere to eat at 2am once it ends.Couples Trip PlannerThis is the version where one of you doesn't do all the planning. You both add places to the same map, so the dinner reservations sit where either of you can find them.Weekend Trip PlannerTwo and a half days is the real budget, whatever the calendar says. Arriv builds to it: one anchor a day, food near where you already are, and Sunday left loose enough to catch a flight.

Questions worth answering first

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