Some posts on this blog contain affiliate links. If you click them, I may earn a small commission. It does not cost you anything extra, but this commission helps cover the cost of running this website.
Here are my top 10 tips for travelling to Cabo..
Our family just got back from a fabulous vacay in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. We stayed at Hacienda del Mar which is a medium-sized resort about 10-15 minutes from downtown Cabo. I thought I'd share some of my best tips (in no particular order) and things I learned on this trip.
1. Take advantage of the all-inclusive package! One of the biggest reasons for this is, in my experience, hotels that offer an all-inclusive really jack up prices of food and drinks. $20 for a poolside cocktail, anyone?! Even if the all-inclusive package seems pricey, it is almost always worth it. Make sure you know what it does and does not include, though. At our resort, the all-inclusive package included breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks at the pool, and most beverages. I think there were a few top shelf bottles of liquor that were an extra charge. There were 2 very nice dinner restaurant options as well as themed buffet nights in the hotel courtyard that overlooked the pool and beach. In addition, the in-room minibar is refreshed daily with 2 sodas, 2 domestic beers, 2 bottles of water, and 2 snacks. Note on this, you have to request the staff to bring this to you everyday which is kind of annoying. The other thing that is good to ask about is tipping because resort tipping policies vary. Ask if tips or gratuities are included. Tip #1- buy the all-inclusive package!
2. Bring straws for blended drinks! Who likes a blended tropical drink while on vacation? My personal favorites are pina coladas and mango margaritas. However, have you tried to drink a yummy, icy, blended drink without a straw?! It's not easy. Straws were very hard to come by at the resort. It sounds like it's a new policy that they don't have straws. We were able to grab a few straws at the coffee bar which was operated by an outside company. Tip #2- bring your own straws if you like blended drinks.
3. Bring some good books to enjoy and leave them behind for someone else. I much prefer to read a real book while I'm sitting by the pool. I took two books that have been sitting on my TBR stack.... (TBR: to be read). Of course they take up a little room in my suitcase, but that's okay. Besides being able to leave books behind for someone else, you have that extra room in your suitcase going home, and there's more room for tequila or other souvenirs. Tip #3- bring some good books to read and plan to leave them when you go home.
4. Bring Liquid IV packets. I don't know about you but vacationing comes with changes in eating and drinking habits for me. With all the adult beverage drinking that happens on a tropical vacation and the warm weather, it's easy to get a little dehydrated. I would highly recommend bringing some Liquid IV (or other brand) packets and having one everyday. I did this everyday and I never felt that icky dehydrated feeling.
They come in several flavors and help keep you properly hydrated. They are very easy to pour into a bottle or carton of water. Tip #4- Bring Liquid IV or other hydration packets to drink daily.
5. Make dinner reservations ahead of time, if your resort takes them. This is especially a good idea if you're with a group. There were 6 of us so we were happy to get seated at our reservation time, without having to wait. You can always cancel or change them once you get there, but at least you will know have arrangements to plan around. Breakfast was a buffet every morning so we didn't really need reservations for that, but I think we could've made them if we wanted. Tip #5- Make dinner reservations before you arrive at the resort.
6. Arrange for transportation to the hotel ahead of time. Some travel packages include transportation from the airport to the resort. If your package does not, I would not recommend arriving into Los Cabos airport expecting to grab a taxi or uber. I like having things arranged so I know we are dealing with a reputable, safe company. We like Cabo Shuttle and have used them twice. It was private transportation, meaning it went directly to our resort-- we didn't have to deal with stopping by several resorts dropping off other passengers. They mostly use Suburbans which are comfortable and have plenty of room for luggage. The driver offered us ice-cold beers and bottles of water, which was very much welcomed. Tip #6- Book your transportation from airport to resort, back to airport, before you arrive.
7. Schedule a photo shoot to capture you and/or your family in a location showing off the landscape of where you are visiting. This has become one of my new favorite things is to do when we travel. It can be daunting to try to find a good photographer (away from home) that offers the style and price range you are looking for. Tip 7.1 is to look on the AirBnb site under "experiences" for a photographer (or other fun experiences hosted by locals). I did this last time we were in Cabo and found Celia Rangel Photography. We used her again this trip and I'm very happy with the photos. Celia is fabulous to work with! We chose sunrise to so it wouldn't be too hot and having too many people on the beach with us. We did have to get up at 4am but that's okay because it was worth it! We are still waiting to get the rest back so I will share more later. Tip #7 & 7.1- Book a photo shoot on the beach using the AirBnB site.
8. If you (or your group) like to drink beer or water, ask for a bucket of beer or water from one of the pool servers. The beverages come on ice, which unfortunately melts really fast, but it's nice to have access to multiple beverages. Sometimes the pool servers get really busy so it may take them awhile to get back to you. If we didn't drink all the beers or waters, I'd take them back to our room fridge for later. Tip #8- Order beer and water by the bucket.
9. Bring cash for activities. I don't normally travel with much cash because I would just prefer to use a card and not have to worry about carrying cash. However, in Cabo cash is better when you're trying to arrange for activities like parasailing, jet-skiiing, etc, though. If you want to use a credit card, the vendors will charge you a 14-16% fee! You can withdraw cash using an ATM, in either US dollars or pesos, but the fee to do that starts at $7 per transaction. Tip #9- Bring enough cash for activities that you want to do.
10. Its okay to miss seeing (and posting!) some things on social media. When I am travelling, sometimes I go through a bit of FOMO wondering if I am going to miss something exciting on social media. But that right there tells me that I need to have a little break while I'm on vacation. I don't disconnect 100% but I don't see much of what is posted, and that is okay. I also don't really post a lot while I'm gone... I usually wait til I get home to post about our travels. Tip #10- it's perfectly fine to take a little break from social media while travelling.
I'm sure I can come up with more tips but these were the ones I wrote down while we were gone. I love being able to share them with anyone who is interested. No matter where you travel to, enjoy every minute... and remember, make yourself proud!
Comments