Where is Cabo? Los Cabos is a famous Mexican municipality located in Baja California Sur. It is known for warm crystal-clear waters year ‘round, and that does not describe the migrating whales, the quirky and luxury shopping to be done, and many sports and outdoor opportunities at one’s fingertips. The area’s prime destinations are Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, connected by Tourist Corridor of golden beaches and swank resorts. Beach-hopping, golfing, and sightseeing are a few popular activities there, and, of course, the photogenic El Arco (Land’s End) is a must. The beach houses in Cabo are incredible.

But where is Cabo, Cabo San Lucas, and San Jose del Cabo? You’ll be surprised to learn that is not a trick question.

Finding Cabo

Los Cabos is at the southern tip of Baja California Sur, in the northwestern corner of Mexico. You’ll find the region sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean in the west, the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) in the east, and the US-Mexican border in the north.

Cabo San Lucas, the largest resort city in the region, is 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of La Paz, the capital of the Baja California Sur state. San Jose del Cabo, the municipal capital, is 22 mi/35 km distant from Cabo San Lucas in the northeastern direction.

Traveling to Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo by Road

Up for a riveting road trip? Pack the cooler and take the route over 1,000 miles from Tijuana – across the border from San Diego — to Ensenada and La Paz and onto Cabo.

Along the way, consider visiting the following places:

• Ville de Guadalupe near Ensenada is the most productive wine region in Mexico.
• La Bufadora, also near Ensenada, is a natural phenomenon staging a geyser-like spectacle.
• Set in an oasis, Mulege is a town in the mountains of Baja California Sur featuring cobbled streets and colorful habitats.
• El Mogote, in the vicinity of La Paz, is a peninsula popular among kayakers that boasts mangrove trees.
• Todos Santos, roughly halfway between La Paz and Cabo San Lucas, is a cultural landmark teeming with art galleries and crafts shops.

When you get to La Paz, you’ll be just over two hours from the Cabo’s golden Tourist Corridor.

Traveling to Cabo by Air

You can fly from major cities on the US West Coast – San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego – to San Jose del Cabo directly in less than three hours. Phoenix also maintains non-stop flights to the Cabo’s capital, while you’d need to catch a connection when flying from Las Vegas. For private flyers, the becomes an easy destination with amenities that include seamless private transfers from Airport Cabo San Lucas International (MMSL) to your private villa rental or resort suite.

What Makes Los Cabos an Ideal Vacation Destination?

Many factors joined forces to make Cabo the perfect vacation destination, and these are some of them:

Los Cabos on Location

Los Cabos is among the nearest foreign vacation destinations to the US West Coast. Thus, traveling to Cabo San Lucas or San Jose del Cabo is pretty straightforward. And, it consumes less time when compared to trips to Hawaii, Cancun, or any Caribbean destination, for example. Located beneath the Sierra de la Laguna mountain range, Cabo boasts diverse landscapes. There, you can spend mornings sunbathing and swimming, afternoons exploring the mountainside, and evenings stargazing in the desert, for example.

Activities to Try in Los Cabos

Traveling to Cabo San Lucas and the rest of Los Cabos would be worth it for tourist activities, if for no other reason.  Due to its diverse countryside and location, Los Cabos teems with outdoor opportunities.

Swimming and snorkeling are rewarding activities because of the rich marine life, especially in the Sea of Cortez, dubbed “The Aquarium of the World.” There, you can see whale sharks, dolphins, sea lions, turtles, and rooster fish, among other aquatic species – and even swim with them.

Hiking and ATV rides reveal a stunning coastal, desert, and mountainous scenery teeming with cacti, white-sand beaches, and verdant greenery. While inland, you may spot a fox, roadrunners, owls, and rabbits. Moreover, you’ll relish ocean and sea views from various viewpoints in the mountain.

Also, did you know that Los Cabos boasts some of the world’s finest golf courses outside the USA? And quite a few of them are masterpieces of legendary designers, such as Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman.

Finally, kayaking, boating, parachuting, and skydiving are a few other activities popular among travelers.

Los Cabos Attractions

Los Cabos’ many and diverse attractions are some of the reasons why travelers choose Cabo for their warm weather vacation. While there, we recommend you to visit the following points of interest:

• El Arco is the most photogenic and recognizable landmark of Cabo San Lucas and Los Cabos by far. Located where the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortes meet, it is a popular spot among sightseers and sea lions basking in the sunshine. You can explore the famous arch by boat or surfing board.
• Nearby Lover’s Beach (Playa del Amor) is by many the most attractive beach in Cabo. As its name suggests, it is the ideal place for romantic picnics and wedding photo sessions. Also, this pristine beach offers premium snorkelling.
• Fox Canyon, approximately 50 miles/80 kilometers north of Cabo San Lucas, is an attraction beloved by hikers, in particular. It has a signposted trail leading through a mountainous setting and introducing desert plants and wildlife. Granite stones flanking a pond are the highlight of Fox Canyon.
• Cabo Pulmo, located some 60 miles/100 kilometers northeast of San Jose del Cabo and 80 mi/130 km of Cabo San Lucas, is a national marine park. Go there to explore the attractive underwater world brimming with rays, whales, turtles, and the widest coral cover in the Gulf of California.
• Medano Beach (Playa el Medano) is a two-mile (three-kilometer) beach strand and is often the epicenter of Cabo San Lucas’s social life. You can find many eateries, stores, and water sports opportunities there.

Destination Cabo: the Breakdown

Now that you know where Cabo is and how to get and what to do there, buy yourself a couple of swimsuits, golf and snorkeling equipment, and good hiking boots.

Most vacationists travel to Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, but these are far from the only places you can choose for your base. Any place or resort along the Tourist Corridor is likely to meet your expectations and needs, no matter how high they may be.

See our Los Cabos villa rentals here.

The U.S. State Department, which recently aligned policy with guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control, currently places Mexico at a Level 3 threat – actually a safer bet against the dozens of countries at the CDC’s level 4 threat that include many European destinations recently re-opened to Americans. And for the Baja, where Los Cabos can be found, the numbers are even better as the resort destination counts the fewest recent Covid cases in Mexico currently, according to a daily update provided by the New York Times.

No matter what the numbers, however, American vacationers remain undaunted. More than 2 million Americans visited Mexico in the first four months of this year and, according to Mexican government statistics, these were only 76 percent of all international visitors – tallied via arrivals by air. Furthermore, data reports show travel to Mexico from the US is up nearly 32 percent in this third quarter of 2021 alone, viewed against the same period in 2019.

While there remains much danger in exposure as Americans head south of the border for end of summer fiestas, and the Delta variant is only adding to this clear and present threat, many of those looking to party safely are bringing their party pods with them and choosing the safety and privacy of a villa vacation as the way to go.

In March, Los Cabos was named the world’s first VERIFIED travel destination through the independent health validation firm Sharecare. To manage this, the region’s hotels had to complete and maintain verification on some 360 global health security standards, including cleaning products and procedures, ventilation, hygiene protocols, and health/safety communication.

Demand for private homes and villas as vacation choices have been ticking up since the lockdown last year. Homes & Villas by Marriott International (HVMI), in fact, saw a 720% increase in just the first quarter of this year. As consumers return to their now normal in germ-ridden offices and contact with unvaccinated co-workers, many are opting for a safer escape option for those things they can control, such as planning a vacation.

A villa vacation in Los Cabos is likely the best solution. Properties in Villas del Mar by the waters of the Sea of Cortez can sleep as many as 20 guests in comfort in large rooms with private terraces, palatial bathrooms and stunning views of the sea. Broken down by guest numbers, nightly rates at Elegant Mexico often come out way ahead of resort costs and with many more amenities thrown in.

The villas here are a short distance (perhaps a 20 minute drive) from Los Cabos International Airport (SJD), often managed with luxury chauffeur services on request. Private flyers head down to Cabo San Lucas at the tip of the peninsula.

Each villa is its own design and purpose, whether a mere three-bedroom manse or a ten-bedroom palace, and each is rife with perfect places to socialize, read, think, work, meditate, watch a movie, party, sip, sun, swim and dine. Imagine waking up to a honey stream of sunlight on your bed, calling your butler for coffee, savoring that coffee in quiet on your patio overlooking the sea and then wandering out to the kitchen later to have a veritable breakfast feast prepared for you by the villa’s private chef.

You head out to your private and meandering pool area later to take a dip in the flowing waters and perhaps take in some morning sun reading the New York Times on your iPad. You plan your day with suggestions from the butler and then have the villa concierge put those plans into motion.

You take a morning bath in the soaking tub in your bedroom, decorated with colorful Talevera tiles and flanked with an open wall allowing in wide views of the sea and sky. You enjoy a cocktail and plate of custom enchiladas for lunch, prepared on request by the villa chef, and then you make your way out for a challenging golf game at the One&Only Palmilla next door, or shopping for artsy notions in nearby San Jose del Cabo. By evening, it’s time to party with your pod over pizza and beer in the outside kitchen and patio, followed by a soak in the Jacuzzi and stories told around the fire pit.

These choices, although they sound expensive, often pencil out to much less when considering the size of your party pod, the fact that you are not paying for libations by the cocktail or meals by the plate. Plus, you are getting dedicated service for whatever your needs are. And such considerations do not even touch the safety factor – that you are in private quarters and not interfacing continuously with people you do not know.

The simple pleasures of a villa vacation in Los Cabos are a hidden treasure of the travel field, often offered up by travel agents who have a true knowledge of the landscape, prices and benefits. While villa vacations have been the tried and true playground for top tiers of the once percent crowd, the playing field is ever more democratic with ever burgeoning choices. Elegant Mexico knows this, and knows the way in to this precious secret. Villa vacations in Los Cabos have never been so accessible … until now. Contact us today to learn more or click here to check out some of our favorite rentals – our Del Mar Cabo San Lucas Mansion Rentals!