Cabo San Lucas - September 2007

We went to Cabo over Labor Day weekend 2007.  The weather was very sunny and warm, in the 90s.  We stayed at the Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort (TA Review), on the Corridor, which is about 25 minutes outside of the main town of Cabo.  We spent a lot of our stay at the pool at our hotel, since most of the beaches in Cabo are not swimable due to the rough surf.  We dined at The Hacienda for breakfast every morning. Being a Hilton member, we received breakfast coupons for the Continental Breakfast (originally $20 USD) that was only coffee, pastries, and fruit. Lots of fruit and pastry options! Not a fan of the coffee, so I stuck to hot tea. To add the full buffett, we had to pay an extra $10 ($30 USD without coupon). They had an omelet station and a large variety of other foods. I definitely think the full buffett is the better value.  We had lunch a few times at the Sunset Bar by the pool, they have sushi also. The baja burgers are excellent!  Overall good food and service. Prices what you'd expect at any resort.

  

We went on a dive and sunset dinner cruise.  We also had a couple of drinks at the Giggling Marlin and Cabo Wabo.  We would have done more, but Mike got sick the first day.  Things were more expensive than I had expected, but it's a very touristy place.

We were lucky enough to have left the evening before Hurricane Henriette made landfall.

AIRLINE/AIRPORT: 

We flew AeroMexico for the first time on this trip.  I hadn't heard much about the airline, but we aren't really that picky.  They were the cheapest at the time.  I'll compare to Southwest as that's our airline of choice.  We carried on luggage since we were only going to be there for 4 days, so I can't comment on baggage handling.  The overhead bins are actually a little bigger than on Southwest.  We weren't able to pre-print our boarding pass online, like most other airlines allow.  There is not as much leg room as Southwest, it's a little cramped when the people in front of you put their seat back.  They serve a small meal on board free of charge.  On the way there (morning flight), we had a muffin, yogurt, fruit and coffee or juice.  On the way back (evening flight), we had a turkey and cheese sandwich, piece of cake, and soda or free alcohol!  They still use the roller carts in the aisle, so it makes it difficult to get up while they are serving, which is most of the first hour of the flight.  All instructions given on board are first in Spanish and then repeated in English.  One thing I did like about this airline is that they waste no time turning off the fasten seat belt sign, almost immediately after reaching 10,000 feet.  (I have a small bladder).  Our flights were on time both ways and the flight attendants were all very friendly.

Once we arrived at Los Cabos (San Jose del Cabo, SJD) airport, passengers walk off the plane on the tarmac, down stairs pushed up to the plane doors, front and back.  You then find the line inside to customs.  Some of the lines go fast and some go slow, ours was very slow.  Try to get in the farthest left line as sometimes there are 2 people working that one line, because there is a separate line for Mexicanos that hardly has anyone in it.  The person working that line will usually help with the other line.  Once through customs, you'd find your luggage if you checked luggage and go to the scanner to scan all your luggage.  After that, you are free to leave the airport.  Hopefully, you will already have your ground transportation booked and know where to go.  As you are leaving the airport, there are lots and lots of time share reps that will try to get you to attend one of their resorts.  If you are not interested, just ignore them, don't give them your transportation reservation paper, and keep walking towards the exit.  If you are interested in getting some free activities, then do talk with them.  They are known to hand out a lot of discounts and free activities, all you have to do is tell them what you want.  If you don't tell them, they won't offer.

GROUND TRANSPORTATION:

Our ground transportation was with TransCabo.  We reserved online and printed our voucher.  Outside the airport, there will be a lot of drivers standing around, go to the ones in the bright orange shirts.  They will say TransCabo on the shirts.  They will check your voucher and prepare your return to the airport voucher.  Your driver will then take your bags and escort you to his van.  They may have other passengers to drop off at other hotels in the van.  They have free bottled water available once you are in the van.  The drivers we had both times were very friendly and curteous.

  

ACTIVITIES:

Sunrider Sunset Cruise - We came across this company on TA. I was looking for a booze cruise that served more than chips and dip. We reserved a spot by email through the website; however, our name was not on the list afterall. We had no problem getting on board. They only take cash at boarding, $45 USD each. I heard others paid less through other vendors.

We were towards the end of the long line, but were able to find a couple of seats inside next to the bar. We sat next to another couple and spent the evening with them.

The cruise had an open bar and a buffet that served chicken kabobs, steak fajitas, chips, salsa, guac, and fruit. The food was very good and you could get as much as you wanted as long as it was open. They announced a "last call" for the buffet.

We cruised out of the harbor, down to The Arch, around The Arch, up the Pacific side a ways, and then back into the harbor. Overall, about a 2 and 1/2 hour cruise. There was dance music playing the entire time, some people were dancing inside by the bar.  This was a very fun cruise that I definitely recommend and would do again.

Amigos Del Mar Diving - We were still beginning certified divers. This 2 tank dive in Cabo was dive #7 & 8 for us. I came across this company on the PADI website. I contacted them by email  and then called their US phone number to make a reservation. We ended up having to change the reservation the morning of our original one, because my husband got sick. There was no problem changing the reservation.

We got there and got our equipment all picked out. We rented all gear for $20 USD total pp. The only thing we'd brought with us was our masks and snorkel. We were given shortys as the water temp was in the 70s. We paid with cash to receive a 10% dicount.

Our group on the dive boat consisted of 3 couples, a guide and a driver. Nice and roomy. There were no snacks on board, but lots of free water bottles.

Our first dive was at "Cortez's Finger" (aka Neptune's Finger or Coyote Rock). As we were anchoring, we saw several Manta Rays swimming by jumping out of the water. We decsended and swam around the rock. We hit a maximum depth of about 60 feet, the viz was about 15 feet, and temp about 72 degrees. We saw lots of schooling fish, large Morey Eels, lots of blow fish, including one spiky blow fish. Our guide made a couple of them blow up. I don't like when guides mess with things, but it was cool seeing them blow up. We also held a spiny cushion that stuck to your hand when turned upside down.

Our second dive was a few feet away at "Pelican Rock". The depth here was only about 40 feet. With the shorty on, I was starting to get cold. Another diver had put his hood on for the second dive. The water temp was still in the 70s, but after being in a while, it started to feel cold. This dive was uneventful for me. I was having some buoyancy issues. There was nothing really different seen here anyway.

Overall, the diving company was very professional, helpful and friendly. I would dive with them again.

We loved our hotel and the few activities we did that are reviewed here.  One thing I'd like to do if we go back is rent jet skis and ride around the harbor and check out The Arch up close.