THANKS again everyone. It seems so long ago that I started this post, but it barely took a week to put the trip entirely together & i leave in 25 days!

Suze, another restaurant I enjoyed was Pancho's.......good traditional Mexican food!

Hello Suze:
It is around 30 minutes by bus and 20 minutes by taxi to SJC, do not go to Aramburo it is overprice, you´d be better taking a cab to Walmart and Sam´s Club. Enjoy your trip....

Thanks for the distance to get to San Jose del Cabo. I was picturing the airport relationship to the 2 towns in the wrong place!

I'll only need a few things daily from a grocery. I won't have a kitchen or frig and am really not into the Costco/Walmart thing.

But thanks for your other help. Much appreciated.

I went on my first trip to Cabo San Lucas last year with many of the same reservations you mentioned. My other trips to Mexico had always been to Puerto Vallarta and the small beach towns to the north in Nayarit.

I had a great time in Cabo despite myself. I especially loved this restaurant:
Misiones de Kino
www.misionesdekino.com

I went there with the friends I was staying with - they knew the restaurant's owners, and liked the atmosphere and good food & drinks.

It is small, with a cozy little bar, an enclosed eating area in the back and an open patio in between where you can eat outside in a garden setting.

Went there again by myself the last night I was there and had, again, a lovely relaxed meal and friendly service.

I just noticed what hotel you are at; I think Misiones is nearby...

annabelle, Thanks so much! Both for the reassurances (although I've pretty much gotten over that since I made my post, and am now nearly ready to go!). I especially appreciate the restaurant recommendation. since honestly I haven't done much research besides making the plane, hotel, and airport shuttle reservations.

Dear Suze:

I hope you have a great time in PV and try to meet up with the TA crowd. It sounds like a fun group. My favorite place for dinner is Mi Casa. Of course, I always have the same thing: Carnitas Michoacan. DH likes it fine, but I LOVE it. The margaritas are good and big.

On the beach, The Office is often recommended. We found on our visit before last that prices seemed way too high. We went for dinner, about 5 pm and the crowd was very drunk from sitting arounds drinking all day. Some behavior was questionable. Not good for our pre-teen daughter. If you do go to The Office or another beach bar, go for breakfast or lunch to avoid the rowdy crowds. Or not, if you like to party.

Our first few times to Cabo, we did the bus thing. It was actually great and economical for going long distances, since a cab to SJ is about $30. In SJ, we liked Tropicana and the restaurant at Posada Terra Nova. We also liked Zipper's on the beach at Costa Azul, on the way to SJ.

Here a links to our past trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34769739

We just got back last week from PV and really enjoyed it. I will post a report soon.

MY

Annabelle, thanks for the restaurant recommendation. I'm hoping I can convince my traveling companions to try something other than our old favorites!
Suze, you're almost ready, aren't you? Hope you have a great time....I'd like to know what you like and dislike about Cabo when you get back!

Yes, I'm ready :-) unfortunately I don't leave for another 10 days.

I'll be happy to post about how the trip goes once I get back. I've been to PV 19 times, La Paz once, and first time to Cabo.

Here's my restaurant list so far:
Spencer's (at my hotel)
Gordo Leles
Pollo de Oro
La Casa del Dorado
Happy Engings
Pancho's
Stoplight
La Dulce
...how'm i doing???

How are you doing? You're making me hungry..........

suze, Diana's is located at 20 de Noviembre and Ocampo.........

tenthumbs~~ Thanks so much. I've got my downtown street map printed out and have been marking the *important* places (lol)!

Suze, you are welcome. Quite a few of my friends & neighbors have either condos or houses in the Cabo San Lucas area (we live in the mountains and need sunny getaways) and Misiones seems to be their favorite 'locals' place for a relaxed drink or great dinner.

I can picture sitting in the patio, under the trees & stars right now...

I am topping my post to thank everyone and report back that I had a *fantastic* trip to Cabo San Lucas. Absolutely lovely.

tenthumbs~ I must sadly report that Diana's is no more. Closed a few months ago. The lady working at a nearby coffee shop did not know what happened.

Mar de Cortez is a beautiful simple hotel that was just perfect for me. Thank you Bill_H (finding that hotel is what got the entire Cabo idea started for me).

Weather was gorgeous, food fantastic (every single meal I had was delightful), local people are friendly and helpful.

The downtown area was much more authentic and interesting than I anticipated. Tourists seem to stick to a couple very specific areas (Medano beach, the Marina, resorts) so I was delighted to find downtown a regular normal working Mexican place.

People were generally surprised I was alone, I heard "oh you are so brave" many many times more so than other places I go solo. Also that my Spanish was so "good" (which it is not!) I think because many visitors don't have any at all.

So again my Fodor's friends -muchas gracias- and if anyone has questions about downtown CSL, I'm happy to help if I can. -suze

Glad to hear you had a great time in CSL!!

MY

just saw this -- so glad you had a good time in Cabo, Suze. It's not my favorite spot in Mexico, but I still haven't gone anywhere in Mexico that I didn't really enjoy! I'm jealous!

Glad you had a good time. While it is still at the bottom of my list I have many friends who love it & go often. I will admit that the setting is indeed spectacular.

Now if we could just get you to head a bit south to Zihuatanejo.