What Makes Cabo Cabo
As you may have read a couple of posts back, we went to Cabo for spring break with our family. This was our 5th time there, Kipp and I, and the kids' first. We started vacationing there back in 2004 when we got a wild hair to go on vacation. We had two little kids at home at the time and needed a break. His company's sales reward conference had just been to Cabo and he had heard all about how great it was. The last time we had been to Mexico (Cancun) was our honeymoon in '97 and we had gone the cheap route. We literally were digging through wedding gift envelopes for the cash to help us pay for incidentals on the trip. Good times. Until we both got sick. Kipp at the beginning of the week and me at the end. Another reason we wanted to find another location! The memories were too fresh. :)
If you've never been, here's the layout. Cabo is basically broken up into three parts: the city of Cabo, the corridor, and San Jose Del Cabo. San Jose del Cabo is located just 30 minutes north of Cabo San Lucas along the eastern coastline. The corridor is the stretch of land that connects the two cities with Cabo San Lucas at the most southern tip of the Baja Peninsula where the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez meet.
What we learned right away was that San Jose del Cabo is more cultured and historic while Cabo is like the younger and slightly crazy brother. In between along the corridor is golf courses and all-inclusive resorts. So there is a little bit for everyone!
On our first trip down, we stayed at a new hotel, Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach, which had only been open for a couple of months when we booked it. The resort is on the southwest side of town beyond Pedregal and rests among the hills that lower down to the Pacific Ocean. While we were driving to our destination, I felt like I was in Phoenix South. It's desert meets the ocean and very different than Cancun. One of the things I'll remember most is driving through town then feeling like we were driving out of town and just when we
We went deep sea fishing (twice!), ate amazing food, and enjoyed downtown nightlife. While it was fun to be in that atmosphere, it was nice to "get away" just ten minutes down the road to our quiet resort. It was really the best of both worlds.
Since that first visit, we brought back friends and we ended up buying a timeshare with them. We knew we wanted to vacation as much as we could and while we couldn't wait to go back to Cabo, we could exchange our week at other resorts. We hadn't taken our kids to Cabo until now because it had always been that place we went to get away with friends. However, our lifestyle has changed a lot in the last eight years (the last time we went to Cabo) and knew it would be a great time to go back. We had talked about it many times and we finally got the chance to show the kids why we loved it.
Ocean Life/Deep Sea Fishing
The sea life in the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean are incredible. The first time we went fishing we shared a boat with two other couples staying at our resort. It was a good time but we knew that next time we wanted to go with either people we knew or by ourselves. Each guy got one time in the chair then the day was basically over. It's a lot of waiting and reeling when you finally get something on and when you split that time with others...well.
On that same trip on our last full day, we ran into a man at our resort whom we had seen throughout the week. He told us he was going out in the late afternoon with a charter boat captain he knew really well and asked if we wanted to go along. We jumped at the chance and while we were out there, we saw a huge pod of dolphins. The water was smooth like glass and my husband ended up catching his first striped marlin. Our Michigan pal caught a mahi-mahi which one of the boat hands cut up right there and we had fresh ceviche within minutes. It was amazing!
Since that experience, we've gone back out and caught tuna as well as more striped marlin. Just being on the water is amazing and the sea life is worth the cost. We've seen whales, dolphin, a striped marlin feeding frenzy right under our boat and some amazing sunsets.
The Pisces fishing fleet did a wonderful job for us on one of our trips where we caught seven marlin between the four of us. If a sunset cruise is more your style, try the Rissalena. You'll want to book this way in advance as they have become quite popular.It's per person cost with all you can eat and drink buffet. It's not a booze cruise by any means but a nice relaxing way to spend an evening. They were fully booked the entire we were there this spring break so we will make sure to book way ahead next time. We've gone three times out of our five trips and we were so sad to miss them this time around.
However, we did do a whale watching tour with Cabo Adventures and had the chance to see some mamas with their new babies, rolling, diving and breaching right along the coast. They use large inflatable boats that seat about 20-25 people. The front has the best views but it can be a bit bumpy. If you get woozy on the waves, make sure to sit in the back by the driver.
Amazing Food
We've had some pretty wonderful food while in Cabo but many people play it safe by doing the all-inclusive route. I personally don't eat much during the day and look forward to dining out around town. Our favorite restaurants have been Edith's and Nick-San. Edith's is an outdoor fine dining experience right near Medano Beach and Nick San is on the back side of the Marina that serves amazing sushi. On our second trip to Cabo, this time with friends, we met another couple on the beach that told us about Nick-San. They said the best thing to do was to tell the waiter the type of fish we liked and to let the chef decide what to make with it. This was the best advice! We had some exquisitely prepared sushi and just kept the dishes coming until we were full. We've gone back each time since and it never disappoints.
Another place that is on my list is Flora Farms. It's located up by San Jose del Cabo and it is a farm to table restaurant as well as a spa, grocery, bar and tours of the farm. I guess it's out of this world and we had multiple people tell us to go while we were there. It would have been a great day trip for Kipp and I so it's definitely on the list for next time.
The People
Minus a weird taxi driver or two late at night, we love the people in Cabo. We've had nothing but great interactions with the locals as well as tourists. It's quite international and have spoken to quite a few people from other countries who retire there or have a second home in this part of Mexico. We've fallen in love with the little ones trying to sell us Chiclets to the charming young men who drive the golf carts around Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach. We are midwest people to the core which basically means that not only do we talk to strangers, we find out their family history, how they came to be in Cabo, and their dreams and aspirations. Okay, maybe not that much but we get close. We may be a little over the top than the average tourists but when we go the extra mile in the conversation, we always get a much richer experience.
The Climate
We've been to Cabo in February, March, April and September and by far the best weather has been March/April. It's warm during the day and mild enough at night that you can go with or without a jacket and be just fine. The climate is dry and hot with the hottest months being July through September. I can tell you I'll probably never step foot in Cabo in August or September unless I am guaranteed that the pool doesn't feel like bath water. It just feels wrong and when the concrete heats up, the last thing you want to do is slide into a bathtub with a crap ton of strangers. Otherwise, Cabo gets great ocean breezes with none of the humidity of other Mexican locations. It's desert meets the ocean with killer views. They rarely get the dangerous tropical weather that the Caribbean gets and travel to this area for the most part during Hurricane season is a safe bet. Unless you're us. We tried to come to Cabo a couple of years ago with friends and of course, they get hit by a hurricane two weeks before we were to go. We ended up making a last minute switch to another resort in Cancun but it wasn't anywhere near the same experience.
Cabo is truly a special place and can't recommend it enough. If you've been there, please share your favorite restaurants, activities and resorts in the comments!
