What to do in Cabo

The Los Cabos region offers a range of adventure activities, from sea kayaking and cruising to mountain biking, rock climbing, horseback riding and guided hiking and ATV tours through the arroyos (dry creek beds) of the Sierra de la Laguna.

Hook up a game fishing charter (legendary at Los Cabos), head off on a snorkelling or diving excursion, explore the arroyo and desert landscape beyond the coastline on an ATV or tee-off at a world-class golf course.

And the boisterous nightlife scene will keep you happily entertained until the early hours of the morning.


Game fishing – Legendary for sports fishing, Los Cabos offers up striped marlin, dorado and mahimahi all year round. At other times of the year you can catch: sailfish and wahoo, best from June through November; yellow fin tuna, best from May through December; yellowtail, best from January through April; and black and blue marlin, best July through December.

Pair up with another angler on a charter or hire a panga (a 7m skiff) and join the fishing fleet east of San José in La Playita or from Pueblo la Playa, near Puerto Los Cabos Marina.

Catch-and-release fishing is encouraged in Los Cabos, with fish tagged and released unharmed. If you need a certificate, that’s easily arranged back on shore.


Scuba diving – Choose from a range of dive sites off Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo and La Paz.

Expert divers will probably want to head further north along the Baja Peninsula for some of the region’s best scuba diving at Gordo Banks and off Cabo Pulmo. Cabo Pulmo offers drift diving for all abilities within a protected marine park just 72km northeast of San José del Cabo.

While diving, look out for California sea lions, mobula rays, giant Pacific mantas, sea turtles, groper, yellow fin tuna, pargo, dolphins, giant schools of mackerel, jacks, numerous colourful fish and whale, hammerhead and reef sharks. See countless varieties of indigenous corals, sea fans and gorgonians.

Several local operators offer everything from advanced dive trips to PADI open-water diver certification. The best months to dive are between May and December.


Sea kayaking – Cabo San Lucas offers a variety of sea kayaking opportunities, including a paddle around the bay toward the Arch, with a break for snorkelling at Lover's Beach.


Snorkelling – Some of the best snorkelling at Los Cabos lies just off the beaches of Playa del Amor (beneath El Arco), Santa María, Chileno and Barco Varado.


Surfing – For the best wave breaks during spring and summer (May to October), head to the eastern side of the Baja Peninsula from Acapulquito Beach, the most popular surfing beach in Los Cabos, up the East Cape.

Playa Costa Azul, just south of San José del Cabo, offers some of the most popular surfing beaches in the area.

The Pacific Coast is best during autumn and winter (November to April), with the best spot around Los Cerritos Beach, south of Todos Santos, an hour’s drive west of Cabo San Lucas. Talk to the guys at the local surf shop for hot tips or to rent a board or brush up with a lesson.

Two local hotels, the Cabo Surf Hotel, 13km west of San José del Cabo on Playa Acapulquito, and the Pescadero Surf Camp near Todos Santos, offer facilities especially for surfers.


Whale watching – Witness one of Baja's most impressive spectacles, when migrating grey and humpback whales visit Los Cabos to breed and bear calves between the months of January and March.

Hook up with a tour for an hour or a day. Tours vary from glass-bottom boats and high-speed Zodiacs to cruising catamarans, each offering a range of onboard services.

Alternatively, spot whales from the shore along the beaches and cliffs of the Corridor.


Cruising – Enjoy underwater sights from the comfort of a glass-bottom boat around El Arco (the Rock Arch) at Land's End or head out into the Sea of Cortes on a day-long or sunset cruise. Several local operators offer a wide choice of cruising on the waters along Los Cabos.


Golf – Los Cabos has become one of the continent's leading golf destinations, with a collection of signature-designed courses available for your golfing pleasure.

Choose from several courses built around some of the resort hotels that line the 32km-long Corridor between Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo.

Tee-off on the challenging 18-hole course at the Raven Golf Club, located east of Cabo San Lucas, overlooking the Sea of Cortéz with a view of Land's End.

Or enjoy the par-72, 27-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature design course at Palmilla Golf Club, located near San José del Cabo, featuring fairways rolling through a desert, mountain and ocean landscape.

The par-72, Robert Trent Jones II Championship golf course at Cabo Real is located near San José del Cabo, famous for more than 6400m of lush green landscape with rolling fairways, strategically placed bunkers on narrow terrain and three ocean-front holes.


Driving tours – Discover the Baja outback from behind the wheel of a four-wheel drive Hummer on an off-road safari or hire a car to explore the back roads of the peninsula.

Try the Transpeninsular Highway, which snakes down the Baja Peninsula from Ensenada, south of the US – Mexican border, to Los Cabos. Pass traditional Mexican towns and stunning desert, mountain and ocean vistas en route. Turn off the main highway to discover isolated Indian villages, Mexican villages and secluded sun-kissed beaches.


Horseback riding – Enjoy a sunset ride along some of the best Sea of Cortez beaches or choose a combination desert, arroyo (dry creek bed) and beach trail ride.

Several equestrian centres along the Corridor offer a range of horseback riding tours and you can choose from English or Western saddles on well-trained horses to suit all abilities.


Eco – Just two hours north of Los Cabos, mountain bike or hike into the Sierra de la Laguna mountains, which reach heights of up to 2100m.

Explore a biosphere of oak and pine trees along a network of trails, looking out for wildlife such as doves, Monarch butterflies, deer and lizards, as golden eagles soar overhead.


More about Cabo San Lucas…


Latest update: What to do in Cabo San Lucas: 13 May, 2022



Advertising