Question 1

Cabo San Lucas on Your Own

Accepted Answer

Cabo San Lucas is easy to do without a tour: a boat out to El Arco and Lover's Beach, then a swim at Médano Beach and a look around the marina. The thing to watch is time, because the tender and the boat trips both add to it. To the Arch by boat: Water taxis and glass-bottom boats leave from Médano Beach and the marina for El Arco and Lover's Beach, where sea lions often rest on the rocks. Agree the pickup time for your return before you are dropped off. A swim at Médano: Médano Beach, inside the bay, has gentle waves and is one of the area's swimmable beaches. Watch for flags: green means safe for swimming, and red or black means stay out. Downtown: Plaza Amelia Wilkes, the town square, has the natural history museum and is surrounded by shops and restaurants. Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own, and the tender ride adds time at the end of the day, so head back early. Watch the clock: Baja California Sur stays on UTC−7 all year and no longer changes its clocks. From early November to mid-March, Cabo is an hour ahead of California, so go by the ship's time, not your phone, for all-aboard. Taxis: Use licensed taxis from an authorized rank.

Question 2

Getting Around

Accepted Answer

Most of what cruise visitors want is around the bay, on foot or by boat. Taxis are easy to find for anything farther, but rates are negotiable, so settle the fare before you get in. Water taxis cross the bay from Médano Beach to Lover's Beach, and glass-bottom boats from the marina run trips past El Arco. City buses are much cheaper than taxis and mostly used by local riders. The beaches of the Tourist Corridor, such as Santa María and Chileno, are a drive east along the highway toward San José del Cabo, or a stop on some boat tours from the marina.

Question 3

Tipping and Currency

Accepted Answer

Tipping in Mexican restaurants works much as it does in the United States, usually 10 to 15 percent of the bill for table service. Small, inexpensive eateries usually do not expect a tip, and taxi drivers do not either unless they are guiding a tour. The currency is the Mexican peso. US dollars are sometimes accepted in tourist areas, but may be accepted at a lower exchange rate than you would get paying in pesos. A restaurant may not add a service charge without your agreement; that is against Mexican consumer law. Small tips of a few pesos are usual for supermarket baggers and gas-station attendants.

Question 4

A Brief History

Accepted Answer

For most of its history Cabo San Lucas was a remote cape with a sheltered bay, used by Pericú hunter-gatherers, Spanish navigators and later a tuna cannery. It became a resort only after a highway, a marina and an airport arrived in the 1970s. First peoples: People have lived at the tip of the peninsula for thousands of years. The Pericú, who lived by hunting, gathering and fishing, called the place Yenecamú. Spanish navigators: Spanish explorers rounding the cape in the mid-1500s named it for Saint Luke. In 1602 Sebastián Vizcaíno, charting the coast for harbors where the Manila galleons could shelter, anchored in the bay and named it San Bernabé. A small settlement: A Japanese castaway who landed in May 1842 found only two houses and about 20 people. Tuna, 1917 to 1979: An American company built a floating platform to catch tuna in 1917. In 1927 the Compañía de Productos Marinos was founded; its factory ship sank in the bay in 1928, and a cannery on shore opened in 1929. The plant closed in 1979 as tourism took over. The resort era, 1970s: Federal Highway 1 was finished in late 1973, the dredged marina opened in 1974, and Los Cabos International Airport opened in 1977, while the federal government backed the area's development as a resort. Hurricane Odile, 2014: Odile made landfall at Cabo San Lucas on September 14, 2014, and caused widespread damage. A fast-growing city: The population reached 202,694 in the 2020 census, nearly three times the 2010 figure, partly because neighboring communities were merged into the city. To learn more ashore: The Museo de Historia Natural de Cabo San Lucas stands on Plaza Amelia Wilkes in the town center, in a building that opened as a primary school in 1951.

Question 5

Traveling with Family

Accepted Answer

With children, keep the Cabo day around the bay: a boat ride to see El Arco and the sea lions, then a swim at Médano Beach, where the waves are gentle. The open Pacific beaches on the far side of the Arch are not for swimming. Younger children: Médano Beach is shielded from the Pacific swell and suited to wading and swimming; stay where green flags are flying. School age: A glass-bottom boat ride shows fish below and the Arch and sea lions above without anyone getting wet. Whale season: From December to April, gray and humpback whales pass along the coast, and boats go out to look for them; book early, because trips fill up. Teenagers: Lover's Beach, on the Sea of Cortés side of the Arch, is calm enough for swimming and snorkeling, and the water taxi there is part of the fun. Bring shoes, because the sand gets very hot by afternoon. Not Divorce Beach: The beach on the Pacific side of the Arch is known for crashing waves and is not one of the swimming beaches.

Question 6

Shopping in Cabo San Lucas

Accepted Answer

Shopping centers on the marina, where the Puerto Paraíso mall and the shops around the harbor sit side by side. Handicraft vendors are a familiar sight around town. Puerto Paraíso, the downtown mall, also has a bowling alley and a movie theater if you need a break from the sun. Shops and restaurants also ring Plaza Amelia Wilkes, the main square. Pay in pesos where you can; prices in dollars may use a less favorable rate.

Question 7

Beaches

Accepted Answer

Many beaches around Los Cabos are unsafe for swimming because of rough surf, rip currents and undertow, so choose one inside a bay or cove. The safe choices close to the ship are Médano Beach in town and Lover's Beach beside El Arco. Médano Beach stretches for several miles along the bay, with gentle waves, watersports rentals and restaurants with tables on the sand. Lover's Beach, also called Playa del Amor, lies between granite rocks next to the Arch and is reached by boat or by kayak or paddleboard. Divorce Beach, on the Pacific side of the same rocks, is known for crashing waves and is not a swimming beach. Santa María and Chileno, sheltered coves along the Tourist Corridor, are known for snorkeling, and Chileno has a lifeguard stand, showers and toilets. Green flags mark safe water; red or black flags mean stay out.

Cabo San Lucas

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