At the tip of the Baja Peninsula lies Los Cabos, or The Capes, an eclectic mix of desert sands, tropical mountains, and breathtaking ocean.
Los Cabos (The Capes) refers to an area at the tip of the Baja Peninsula that includes two resort towns, Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. Surrounded by the contrasts of desert sands, mountains, and ocean, Los Cabos offers a bountiful selection of hotels and activities for visitors. A twenty-mile scenic coastal highway known as "The Corridor" connects these two disparate towns.
Boisterous and friendly, Cabo San Lucas lies at the southern tip of Los Cabos and provides constant activity for vacationers who want excitement. Mariachis, marinas, nightclubs, restaurants, and shops combine to keep even the most energetic individual interested and engaged twenty-four hours a day. Los Cabos' most famous landmark , El Arco (The Arch), is located here. A natural wonder, El Arco is a stone arch that lies at the point where the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez meet at the tip of the peninsula, an area known as Land's End. You can rent your own boat or take a tour on a glass bottom boat to El Arco to see the birds, pelicans, sea lions, and seals.
San Jose del Cabo, at the northeast end of "The Corridor," reflects the relaxed atmosphere of a traditional Mexican village. Cortes was the first to visit this area in 1535, and for several hundred years it was a mission stop. Boutiques, courtyard restaurants, small hotels, and shops are sprinkled throughout this town that houses the seat of the municipal government.
A mass of attractions await visitors to Los Cabos, everything from ATV excursions through desert or mountain to scuba diving and snorkeling. Twenty different beaches span a fifty-mile stretch of coastline and offer a variety of experiences. At Playa Barco Varado, you can explore the hull of a Japanese freighter, but the surfing is best at Playa Costa Azul. In addition to the open ocean experience of beaches like Playa Bledito, there are several more protected beaches along coves, like Chileno Bay and Santa Maria Bay.
Water sports are popular here, and you can take your pick of a variety of fun activities, like kayaking, parasailing, swimming, wave runners, and windsurfing .
Cabo Pulmo Marine Park has fourteen dive sites where you can join a boat dive equipped with a certified dive master and all the gear you'll need. You can choose either to scuba dive or snorkel to explore the wondrous treasures of the coral reef, manta rays, shipwrecks, and hundreds of species of tropical fish.
In August, you can drop in on the Dive Fiesta, a five-day scuba diver party. Ardent scuba divers come from all over the world to attend this annual celebration.
If sport fishing is more your style, Los Cabos can provide hours of excitement as you capture an assortment of game fish, including black marlin, blue marlin, sailfish, snook, striped marlin, tuna, and yellowtail. Charter boats are available.
For those who want to enjoy the wonders of the sea without fishing, whale watching is popular in Los Cabos. The Sea of Cortez is a sanctuary; and the gray whales, who migrate from Alaska from late December to April, birth their young in the bays and lagoons of Los Cabos. Some of them get so comfortable around people that they'll approach the boats to be petted. Other species of whales to been seen in the region are beluga, blue, bryde, fin, humpback, minke, and sei.
For a tamer experience, climb aboard a glass bottom boat to admire the colorful fish, meander through El Estero (a bird sanctuary boasting over 200 species of birds and waterfowl), or visit Estero San Jose, a tropical estuary. Several good museums can help pass the time, including a fishing museum and the Museum of Baja Peninsula and New Spain (Mexico) history.
Landlubbers who want to be active can enjoy hiking, horseback riding on the beach, picnics, rock climbing, and golf courses designed by the likes of Trent Jones II, Jack Niklaus, and Tom Weiskopf. More courses are being developed, and the PGA Senior Slam is held every spring.
Food is plentiful on the islands, and fish and tacos are the most common dishes to be enjoyed at the food local stands, but you can also dine at fine international restaurants in Los Cabos. Dancing and nightclubs offer an active nightlife, and shopping can occupy your days when you want to take a rest from the more athletic activities. A shoppers haven, Los Cabos has everything from art galleries to boutiques, where they sell everything from sundries to collectibles.
Amateur (and professional) photographers will be delighted with the myriad scenic delights just waiting for a camera, and for those who just want to sightsee, Los Cabos has plenty to do, including Faro Viejo (the Old Lighthouse, which was built in 1865), and Iglesia de San Lucas (Church of San Lucas, built in 1746, houses a large bell within a stone archway), and La Candelaria (an isolated mountain Indian village where witchcraft is still practiced), to name just a few.
To relax after days filled with all the activity that Los Cabos has to offer, how about a drive along the scenic Todos Santos, which offers a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean, or maybe some time spent in one of the full service spas?
Los Cabos clearly has something for everyone, whether you're looking for a serene walk along the meandering streets of quaint towns or a loud and rowdy nightlife experience.
