LOS CABOS, MEXICO – A TRAVEL GUIDE

The joy to be on an island again with a cocktail in hand, breeze in my hair, and sand between my toes is unmatched. I’ve had Los Cabos on my wishlist for the longest time and I was so glad when my friend hit me up to ask if I was up to spend a few days on the island.

I’ve been to Mexico before, see vlog here, and it’s honestly one of my favorite places to visit! The people are amazing, the culture is welcoming, the food is tasty and the vibes are immaculate! I actually plan to visit as many cities in Mexico as I can in the next year. I’ve knocked down Playa del Carmen, Cancun, and now Los Cabos. Maybe Tulum next?

 A few things to know before making the trip to Mexico:

• Mexico is open to travelers, and you don’t need a negative PCR/COVID test to enter the country.
• You don’t need to quarantine on arrival, but your resort might need you to fill a health questionnaire.
• You will need a negative COVID test to return to Canada.
  • We got ours done at St. Luke’s hospital and they cost $156 CAD each. Ask your hotel if they offer testing on the premises and how much it costs, it might be cheaper for you!
  • Here is a compilation of other test centers and their contact info in Los Cabos.
• You will need to complete your ArriveCan app before flying into Canada. It saves you so much time at immigration, trust me!
• The local currency is Pesos and the exchange rate is pretty favorable if you’re going with USD or CAD. I recommend taking some cash in USD, but almost all cards are accepted in Mexico (my $ Visa and AMEX credit cards worked just fine everywhere)

FLIGHT TO LOS CABOS

Entry into Mexico

Being a Canadian Permanent Resident, I didn’t need a visa to visit Mexico with my Nigerian passport. But if you aren’t, you should take a look at this article to see if you qualify to apply for a visa, the cost and processing times.

I booked my flight 2 months prior to the departure date via Aeromexico and it cost $649 CAD in total. I believe it was a little on the pricey side as my travel dates were set during the peak summer season (Labour Day Weekend).

P.S for permanent residents, check out this article for all the countries you can visit visa-free.

HOTEL/RESORT

Okay, before we get into the juicy details about the hotel, I wanted to share some insights about Los Cabo city that I was pleasantly surprised by!

Los Cabos is primarily made up of two towns – San Lucas and San Jose.

San Lucas is more of a “city” vibe with a lot of tourist activities, accommodations and sightings. It’s also where the famous marina is located. On the other hand, San Jose is a calmer, quieter and quaint town filled with luxury resorts. It definitely has some local attractions and some of the best food I had was from San Jose! If you are looking for a more relaxing, serene vibe, then I think San Jose will be a better choice. A good thing note is both cities are only a 30-40 minutes drive from each other, so you can definitely enjoy the best of both worlds.

We stayed at the beautiful Garza Blanca Resort for the entirety of our trip. The hotel is located in the Tourist corridor and is a 25-30 mins drive from the airport. This is a prime location if you’re looking for a resort that isn’t in the neighbouring busy cities but also want to be close enough for activities, as it is approximately 15 mins from the two major cities.

Our room was the Junior Suite and it was the perfect size for two people. I’m very particular about hotel rooms but this ticked all of my boxes!

• Two queen beds (you can also request for one king bed in this suite)
• The beddings were soft and comfortable
• Automatic curtains (you don’t know how handy this comes in till you’re comfortable in bed and realize your shutters are still open)
• Closet space was ample enough for two people to share without haggling for space
• The bathroom was A1, with double sinks, a bathtub, automated bidet toilet with heated seats, etc (trust me, it had a whole package in there)
• A comfortable hammock for those relaxing days
• A private balcony
• A spectacular view!
• A personal butler

Cost: $2,100 CAD for 3 nights (this includes taxes and other fees)

You can catch a room tour of this suite on my YouTube here.

Other things that made my stay at this hotel very enjoyable are the pool(s) & bar, different restaurant options, spa, beautiful ocean and resort landscape views. Really it was spectacular!

Now, even though I enjoyed most of what this hotel had to offer, I wasn’t exactly crazy about the food. I found that I enjoyed eating meals from outside the resort a lot more. Also, the drink menu, especially at the bar is pretty limiting and didn’t change for the entire duration of our stay. By the second day, I had tried everything on the drinks menu and had to keep recycling for the rest of my stay.

ACTIVITIES

My top priority on this trip was to get as much rest as I could, so the days were not activity-filled. Most of the time was spent chilling by the pool, reading a book and sipping on cocktails, however, we managed to fit in two activities that I really enjoyed!

Parasailing

This was my first time ever parasailing and when I tell you guys that I have to do this in every country I visit henceforth, I’m not kidding! We booked through Happy flights Cabo and it cost us $62.20 USD per person. We had an amazing boat driver, Marcos, and the whole experience was 10/10. Two words that I can use to describe this experience are – calming and peaceful. I was pleasantly surprised at how relaxing this was and to think my fear of heights almost had me discouraged. When you’re in flight, all you have to do is calm your mind, take a lot of deep breaths, enjoy the ride and a spectacular view of Los Cabos.

It was recommended that we did this activity as early in the morning as possible, because it gets really hot during the later time of the day, and depending on the season, it might also be windy so you want to avoid that.

Outfit suggestion: swimsuit and a pair of shorts.

Luxury Sunset Sailing

I and sunsets go hand in hand, so this was a no-brainer for me.

If your idea of a good time is watching the sunset, on a boat, sipping on a continuous supply of cocktails while admiring a beautiful view, then you should definitely do this. Mexico is home to some of the most picturesque sunsets in the world, and this cruise will have you gasping at a lot of wonders – from the iconic arch of Los Cabos, to the famous Sea Lion Colony and along the breathtaking Cabo coastline. This is the perfect evening activity for couples, honeymooners, or small groups of close friends.

We booked this through Cabo Adventures.

I really wasn’t ready to leave Los Cabo because of how much of a relaxing time it was. From the resort to the city, food, vibes & music, the whole experience was a solid 10/10 for me.

I hope you enjoyed reading this travel diary and as I said, I’m on a mission to visit more cities in Mexico, so if you have any recommendations, please leave them in the comment section!

Till next time,

A.R.E

xx

photography: Talia Lopez