Where to snorkel in Cabo San Lucas?
 

Hi,

Is there a place to do a half-day of snorkeling in Cabo San Lucas? We have our own gear, and prefer to go by ourselves, not w/ a tour group.

I heard Amore Beach is bad for snorkeling? Where is Pelican Rock? Santa Maria Cove? How to get to those places? Any water taxis or boats we can just hail from a dock? Possible to do a 1/2 day at those places?

Thanks.

You can easily do a 1/2 day. The two best snorkling places are Santa Maria Cove and Bahia Chileno. Both are an easy drive from Cabo San Lucas. We parked in the parking lot and then we walked to the beach. If you don't have a car I would think you could take a taxi. There is a new development going up near one of the beaches so I'm not sure if you have to take a different route to that beach. I'm thinking it's the Chilano.
You could get a water taxi from the marina but it might be a long ride via water and you would have to make arrangements for them to come back and pick you up.

We really enjoyed Santa Maria cove and have been there twice.

The first time, we took a water taxi from right in front of The Office. This was 10 years ago and cost $30. Going back, we found another couple who we shared a cab back to town from the Twin Dolphin Hotel just above the beach.

The next time we went, we drove our car. This was a couple of years ago and we found the beach overrun with vendors. The snorkeling was still good but we never felt comfortable going in together because we needed to keep an eye on our stuff.

Thanks, all, for your responses!

Could you also advise on how best to do whale watching in Cabo San Lucas? We can only do it for 1/2 day--going in 2 weeks.

Is zodiac the best way to go?

Any recommended tour company?

Thanks

Regarding the concern of leaving valuables on the beach. I bought a little watertight box from the scuba store. I can fit some money, credit card and ID in it which is all I really need to have with me. I put the box in plastic bag and then into a fanny pack and snorkle with it on and I've never had trouble. I make sure it floats in case it comes off, which it never has.

I guess I'm not too worried about the towel and sunscreen, etc.

For those interested, we snorkeled at Chileno Bay, supposedly one of the best place to snorkel in Cabo. The area was small but saw a lot of interesting sea life.

We took the public bus from Cabo downtown to Chileno Beach. Took about 30 min and costs $2 pp. Most tours charge like $70+ for a snorkeling excursion!