cookbound

Hi Guys,

Alright, I've been reading all the posts and need some serious help on Cabo. Let me start with we will be two couples in our mid to late 30's, want some relaxation on the beach, snorkeling, and some partying (not like we used to do in our 20's though). I've been to some incredible places (S.Pacific, Cayman, Jamaica, Hawaii, Cozumel, Miami Beach, Key West,etc), my friends have not been anywhere really, but she's a Mom and for some reason that I guess I won't understand until I'm one, doesn't want to travel too far away from home. So, that only leaves me a few choices and Cabo is one of them. The other would just be Miami and maybe I could talk her into PLaya de Carmen (my prefernce). So, that's a little back ground on my situation.

I would hate to go to Cabo and be terribly disappointed. Don't get me wrong, we have all been to Mexico before and know what to expect, but I don't want to spend a fortune on something that's only worth half. So, help me out, is it worth the cost to go there can we get the things I mentioned we are all looking for or should I just bag Cabo and focus on talking her into Playa De Carmen, for probably the same cost?????

Oh, also we are looking to go for five days 8/5-8/9/04.

marilynl

The geography of the two places is entirely different: dessert and mountains in Cabo versus jungle in Playa. I've not been to Playa, but the terrain in Cabo is staggeringly beautiful. That said, though, the hotels there are some of the most expensive in Mexico. In August, however, I would hands down pick Cabo based on weather considerations alone!

whoop1995

I just returned from my first trip to Cabo. I will try to be as objective as possible. Cabo San Lucas is a town that has been developed by Americans. The town is full of timeshare peddlers (this was very annoying for me). Our dinners averaged $60-70 (food was mediocre with the exception of the mahi mahi I had a two different places). Expect to pay near Hawaii prices for most things. The beaches along the corridor were beautiful. The water was a bit cold for us to do any real water actvities. The ATV tour into the desert and beach was by far the most fun we had. email me if you have more detailed questions.

mpickl

Not sure if that last post was favorable or not--but I would like to know the restaurants that you had the good mahi-mahi at! We leave for our first trip to Cabo on 2/13 and I, too, would find the timeshare hawkers totally annoying. Can you actually sit on the beach without this hassle, or are you tied to your hotel pool area to get away from them?

LA_FadeAway

I've been to both Playa and Cabo and love them both. I didn't find the timeshare peddlers to be all that bad in Cabo. I never ran into any on the beach. There are some good restaurants that have excellent food at reasonable prices. A couple of my favorties are: The Office, which is right on the beach near the Hacienda Hotel. Go there for happy hour. They have excellent food and drink specials and you can sit there with your feet in the sand. The Stop Light is another good one. It's located right at the only stop light in town and has the best tortilla soup in the world and really strong margaritas. Have fun!

mpickl

Thanks LA!

vasser12

I do agree that the stoplight has good margaritas, but did not care for the food there, although I did not have the soup. Try the amazon, it is a small place on the marina and has mahi mahi with a delicous mango sauce, and very good mango margaritas as well. As far as the timeshare people we just said no and kept walking, but it does seem like there are alot of them. I did not see any time share people at the beach though. I haven't traveled alot, The only other place in Mexico I have been to is Cancun, so Cabo did seem very expensive to me. I don't have alot to compare it to though. Wish I could help you more!

alex

We went to Cabo in December for the first time with 3 couples and two single women, all in our 30's. We stayed at the Melia Los Cabos. We chose it because it had the best flights (we were all coming from different places). We all had a really good time - if you click on my name, you should be able to find the trip report I posted. I thought the prices were fairly reasonable. The scenery was really interesting - I thought it would be just one big flat desert but the mountains were really pretty. It's completely different from Playa or any of the other places you mentioned (all of which I have been to except for the South Pacific). The weather was amazing - perfectly clear blue skies. The point of our trip was really to spend time together and Cabo provided a very nice setting. I would definitely go back.

Cindyrella

How about Puerto Vallarta? It's much cheaper than Cabo, has beaches, nice resorts, snorkling, great restaurants, nightlife and shopping probably for half the price of Cabo and it's closer than PDC. Anywhere in Mexico in August though will be hot and humid.

Little_Man

Cabo has nice resorts, but that's about it. Other towns in Mexico are SO much nicer...the beaches are not great for swimming, there is no charm, and unless you like desert scenery, the area is not scenic...(Puerto Vallarta is a good idea!)

eb

I would definitely recommend Cabo over the other places mentioned in Mexico We've been to all of the major resort areas in Mexico, and much prefer Cabo. (We'll be making our 5th trip there this spring.) And no...I'm not a timeshare salesperson and they irritate me as well, but they'll leave you alone if you say no.
Great things to do in Cabo - the 4-wheeler tour to the lighthouse and sand dunes is a must! Fishing is fun too. We've had better luck on the small boats and they're much cheaper (I think they're called Pangas?) Our favorite restaurants are Pancho's, Ole'Ole', Mocambo's, and The Office.
If you choose Cabo, I'd do some research on where you stay. You might try Tripadvisor.com (I've used it for other places we've stayed). Hope you have fun. eb

suze

There are destinations in Mexico that have been developed by the government (Cancun, Ixtapa, Cabo, etc.) and there are town that have been there all along and picked up on the tourism industry. Puerto Vallarta is my recommendation! with Playa del Carmen a similar second.

Tansy

I would advise against Cabo San Lucas, but you might consider staying in San Jose Del Cabo, just 10 (?) miles or so from Cabo. It's not as developed, much much quieter, and you can cab over to Cabo once or twice for a few nights of partying. I loved San Jose del Cabo because I found some amazing "hole in the wall" places frequented by locals, with the most delicious fish tacos . . .
I've also been to P.V., Mazatlan, and Zihuatanejo. Zihuatanejo has totally won me over but might be too far away for your friend the Mom. P.V. is too too built up for me, and Mazatlan is too much of a party/spring break scene.

CaptMike

The Real Deal. It is hookers, pimps, drugger, dealers, strippers all within easy walking distance. Don't worry about finding them they will find you.

Tourism is down and the hype is up.
Timeshare hustlers await as soon as you exit the plane. Telling untruths about buses to Cabo.
No, they are not hotel reps their entire purpose is to hook you into a presentation as soon as you exit the plane. What is worse is they are trolling all the beach restaurants and even getting on the tour buses posing as hotel reps.

Beware, tour agents are threatening to pull out of Cabo due to the recent events.

Taxi drivers[they have a powerful union]
are surrounding the transport buses that take tourists to and from the hotel. This transportation is included in the tourist package.
They are forcing the buses not to move and the tourists then have to pay exhoribtant taxi fares to the airport.

As bad as it gets.

Timeshare: Well remember the story of the poor fireman whose vacation was shot.
He told the timeshare off and they returned drunk and attacked his wife by throwing rocks and cracked her skull. He went after them and received many stab wounds. Both he and the wife had to be air evacuated back to the States to receive decent medical treatment.

Don't forget to buy medical insurance and that which includes the cost of air evacuation or you could be out thousands of dollars.

Trixie99

We were just in Cabo about a month ago and loved it! I have been to a couple of other places in Mexico- Cancun and Puerto Vallarta and I definitely liked Cabo the best. The terrain is beautiful- mountains, cactuses, palm trees and water. Cabo San Lucas has alot of restaurants and nightlife and San Jose is a charming, quiet small town. We did the ATV tour and it was a blast- would highly recommend. We also took a water taxi over to Lover's Beach which I thought was a little overrated. A couple of restaurants that I would recommend are Mi Casa- excellent mexican food and a wonderful ambience and Mocombos- fabulous seafood, although the ambience is nothing to speak of. There are alot of timeshare sharks which is very annoying, but we learned pretty quickly to simply ignore them.