Trying to plan Oct. trip to Cabo. I have never been there before. I really want to be on a nice swimmable beach. Any suggestions? The resort should definitely upscale- but not stratospheric prices. Let me know if you have any recommendations....!

I have never been to Cabo, but I'm also trying to plan a trip there in Oct. Although the beach is not always swimmable, I am leaning towards the Fiesta Americana Grand. It sounds like the best one for the price and for what we are looking for. I would love any input. Thanks!

The Melia Cabo Real has a protected swimming beach - great for swimming, good for snorkeling. It is an "all-inclusive" resort (don't know if it's optional or mandatory) and it's closer to San Jose Del Cabo (and the airport) than to Cabo San Lucas. The Hotel Cabo San Lucas sits on Chileno Bay; IMO, one of the two best snorkeling locations in the area. There are several decent resorts near town, on the beach named Playa Medano, including the very nice Melia San Lucas. This beach is swimmable but not as nice as the others mentioned. This beach is also crawling with unrelentless vendors. For my taste & budget, these hotels are "upscale" for me, but might not be for the next person.

Cabo has medicore beaches at best. A desert with an ocean you can't swim in.

Medano beach is not much, located next to the Boat Marina and where the cruise ships come, get the drift. Oil, poop, contamination. Worst yet it is on Cabo Bay where one of the hotels has been reported dumping raw sewage. The town itself only has 45% hook up to an antiquated system, there are parts of the town the sewage escapes. You can smell it. Drys out becomes dust vermin.

Could explain the cough a number of people develope there in winter.

They have a couple of coves that you can swim in, though I did not find them that clean. One was down by the Melia.

Undertows are dangerous and people have drowned. There are not any saftey markers like in Cancun and there are not any lifeguards. get the drift.

Forgot to mention Cabo is timeshare hell overrun with timeshare. They will lie and manipulate to hook you into one. They operate as tourist on the beach simply to chat you up and get you to a presentation, they also pass themselves off as restaurant hostesses.

Do a google on timeshare fruad mexico , the timeshare beat, a trade magizine, has had so many letters and complaints they have a web page going to warn people.

What is it with Capt. Mike? I have been checking this site for 6 months. He is ALWAYS negative about everything!!!

Sceneisle, or anyone else who knows, are the beaches in Cabo all public? My husband is going to stay in a small hotel in town in San Jose del Cabo. Can he get to a swimmable public beach? Or can he go swimming at the beach at Melia Cabo Real that you mention if he is not staying there? Actually he was hoping to find a beach hotel to sell him a day pass to use their facilities for a day, hopefully with a swimmable beach. Can anyone give me any advice with this?

Loangalsal: Have been in Maui for last 3 weeks or would have responded sooner. I'm pretty certain that all beaches in Mexico are open to the public. I know for sure that anyone can use the beach at the Melia Cabo Real. Have never stayed in San Jose Del Cabo so cannot comment on the beaches there.

That is right I agree with the above statement. Go to Maui if you want clean water and beautiful beaches. White sand, good food, great lush green scenery.

Cabo is a sh*t hole. They dump raw sewage in the bay and don't even have a decent sewage system to support the community. It is over run in every sense of the word with beach vendors, timeshare hawkers {do a google timeshare fraud mexico] they are getting so bad the industry has put out a warning page on them.

Overpriced third world crap at Maui prices.

Agree with Captain Mike.
I did not have much experience nor time in Cabo...which was enough. True, it was just a day trip off a cruise ship, but what a disappointment! And the prices! The much praised area where you can eat right on the beach at The Office--ok, nice atmosphere, but $$$ and no better than the local Mexican food at home.
The comedian joked on the cruise's show that night "Did you hear? A hurricane swept through Cabo San Lucas and made two million dollars' worth of improvments." (This was before the recent disasters)
That said, i think if you avoid the town, and go somwere nr the smaller villages, it might be nicer. But for a big resort with nice pools, palm trees, good food, a swimmable beach, and lovely accomodations---why not go to the So. California Coast? Or, even better,
Hawaii. There are loads of good plane faers now. Hope this isn't too late to reach you for October plans.

atmw - I agree with you. Look Cabo is a Great place to go. If you are set on going to Mexico - this is what you should know before going. 1. There are vendors everywhere, all the time - embrace it, say no and walk away they stop bothering you eventually. 2. You can't drink the water. and 3. Don't compare Mexico to Hawaii - you might as well through Fiji in there as well. Different countries, different people, different costs of visiting, etc. It is a beautiful place and like everywhere else you get what you pay for. So if you pay for a dump, that's where you are going to stay and thus your trip will probably suck.

I don't like Cabo either, but please don't lump it in with all of Mexico. The Cancun/Riviera Maya area has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, Puerto Vallarta is charming, and I hope to visit Oaxaca and San Miguel Allende someday...

Mexico is great!