Things to Do in Cabo San Lucas: Tours, Tickets & Boat Trips

Ranked by traveller reviews: 1) a whale-watching cruise from December to April, 2) a sunset cruise with open bar past the Arch, 3) the downtown food and tacos tour, 4) the Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo sightseeing tour, 5) the Arch and Lover’s Beach by kayak, glass-bottom boat or water taxi, 6) a snorkelling cruise to Santa Maria and Chileno bays, 7) a tequila or mezcal tasting, 8) an ATV or camel ride in the desert and dunes, 9) horseback riding on the beach and 10) a day trip to Todos Santos or La Paz.

Plan four to five days. Day one: an early boat or kayak to the Arch, Lover’s Beach and the sea-lion colony, the afternoon on Médano Beach. Day two: a snorkel cruise or shore snorkelling at Chileno Bay, then a sunset sail or open-bar cruise. Day three: ATVs and camels at Migriño in the morning, a tequila tasting and the tacos tour at night. Day four: San José del Cabo’s galleries, plaza and estuary, or Todos Santos and Cerritos Beach. Day five: whale watching (December to April), sport fishing, or La Paz for whale sharks (October to April) and the sea lions of Espíritu Santo.

Swim at Médano Beach and walk to the marina, snorkel from shore at Chileno Bay and Santa Maria Bay (bring or rent gear), lounge on Palmilla Beach, watch the sunset from the Pedregal cliffs or the marina breakwater with the Arch behind, stroll San José del Cabo’s plaza and the Thursday Art Walk, birdwatch in the San José estuary, drive to Cerritos Beach and Todos Santos, watch pelicans dive at Lover’s Beach and, from August to December, join a free sea-turtle hatchling release on the beaches of the corridor.

Todos Santos, the ‘pueblo mágico’ of galleries, the Hotel California and Cerritos surf beach (one hour; tours from about $95–100), San José del Cabo (30 minutes), La Paz for whale sharks (October to April) and the sea lions and beaches of Espíritu Santo Island (2.5 hours), the coral reef of Cabo Pulmo National Park (two hours), Santiago and the Fox Canyon waterfalls in the Sierra de la Laguna (90 minutes), Los Barriles for kite-surfing and the East Cape, and the Migriño dunes for ATVs and camels (30 minutes).

A sunset cruise with open bar or a sunset sail, dinner at Sunset Monalisa on the cliffs or the Office on Médano Beach, Cabo Wabo Cantina, El Squid Roe and Mango Deck for the party, the marina’s bars and restaurants, the pirate-ship dinner cruise, a tequila and mezcal tasting, Flora Farms and Acre in the San José foothills (reserve), San José del Cabo’s Art Walk on Thursdays and Plaza Mijares’ quieter bars. Spring break in March turns Médano into one long party.

Winter is Cabo’s best season: dry, 78°F days, cool nights and the humpback whales from mid-December to mid-April, breaching within sight of the Arch on the daily catamaran and zodiac cruises. The sea is a little cooler (70°F) but the snorkelling at Chileno Bay is clear, the whale sharks are in La Paz, San José’s Art Walk runs every Thursday and the golf courses are in prime condition. Christmas, New Year and March spring break are the most expensive weeks.

The glass-bottom boat to the Arch and the sea lions, calm Médano Beach and its beach clubs, snorkelling the shallow reef at Chileno Bay, whale watching (children love the breaches), the camel and ATV ride at Migriño, the pirate-ship cruise, Wild Canyon’s ziplines and the Wirikuta cactus garden, dolphin encounters at Cabo Adventures, horseback riding on the beach and the sea-turtle hatchling releases from August to December. Book boat trips for the morning, when the water is calmest for small passengers.

November to May — dry, warm and busy, with the whales from December to April and spring break in March. June is hot but quiet and cheap; July to October is the humid hurricane season with the best fishing (marlin tournaments in October) and the lowest hotel rates. The Arch and the boats run year-round.

Yes — El Arco, Lover’s Beach and the sea-lion colony at Land’s End are the reason Cabo exists, and the water taxis and glass-bottom boats from the marina (about $16–42) make it the cheapest great experience in town. Go in the morning when the Pacific side is calmest, ask the captain to drop you at Lover’s Beach for an hour, and upgrade to the kayak-and-snorkel tour if you want the water rather than just the view.