Cruising To Cabo - What Can You Do In A Day?

What do you do in Cabo if you are only visiting for a limited time?

Most of the cruise ships that visit Cabo are only there for a day and an overnight, but some of them are just day visitors which puts a lot of time pressure on folks to see anything of the place.

It is compounded by the fact that the access to land is by tender craft so on the larger cruise ships in particular you will have to factor in time to get on and off.

So…you’re here in party central for what may only be a few hours…what can you do in that time?

First off you will be landing in the Cabo Marina. Most cruise ship visitors start from here and take a walk around to see what the place is about and get the vibe of Cabo. The marina is home to some stunning yachts and every so often there will be a mega-yacht in, drawing admiring and envious looks from everyone, not least the super-yacht owners!

Atessa III - a Cabo regular.

As you walk around the perimeter of the marina you will be accosted regularly by peddlers – check out our survival guide here – and they will be offering you short trips and tours by water taxi and fishing trips and trinkets and cigars and...well pretty much anything you can think of!.

If you are a serious fishermen we suggest that you DON’T go with these guys: you should do your research on the fishing charters in advance here in iTravel-Cabo and pre-book a charter with a reputable company if you have time. However if you fancy a few hours trolling some lures with a chance of catching something (in other words a boat ride with a fishing rod!) then by all means take a chance. It is worth saying that at certain times of the year, mainly in December, you have a reasonable chance of catching a marlin just outside El Arco so it may just turn out to be the trip of a lifetime!

If you want a boat and beach trip then you could do worse than El Arco and Lovers Beach: for $30 - $50 (dependent on the length of the trip or how much you negotiate) you will get a short tour around the arch and then be dropped at Lovers beach to be picked up later. It’s fun and the water taxis are very good at returning for you in time. Even if they don’t, someone will take you back!

For the more adventurous and in season you can take a whale-watching trip. the season is from around November until March  and we have a range of tour operators represented here on iTravel-Cabo.com

As you walk around the marina there are a host of bars and restaurants aiming almost exclusively at the cruise ship visitors. You will find bargain buckets of beer, margaritas and all manner of tempting food on offer to draw you in. It’s a lot of fun too: most of the bars are lively and some have entertainment although there is a constant stream of guys with guitars and mariachis willing to play pretty much anything you want from Metallica to Guantanamera!

There are lots of little flea markets adjacent to the marina and many peddlers set out makeshift stall on the marina. One thing: please do not buy anything from the children or from the peddlers with children. Read why here – but you really are making the problem worse rather than helping them out, however tempting it may be to buy from them.

Close to the marina (basically you get there just by following the marina walkway all the way round)  is the world famous Medano Beach and there you can swim, rent a waverunner, take a paragliding trip, a flyboard, a sky-dive…in fact if it can be done on a beach you can do it at Medano! There are some great bars and restaurants right on the beach too if partying is on your agenda.

If you go further back from the marina you will start to get into the shopping areas of the downtown part of Cabo. There are hundreds of little shops selling jewelry, mostly silver, so if you want to buy any gifts this is the place to go to. Be warned though: there have been some cases of tourists getting ripped off even in the little shops (it is almost expected that you will be ripped off if you buy jewelry from a peddler!) so do your research. They should have scales in the shop to check the weight before you buy – the silver is sold by weight and alloys are lighter. The majority of these vendors are honest and will not sell you alloy as silver, but they will try to get the best possible price for what they are selling so be prepared to haggle. Haggling should be good natured and the outcome should be win:win, so stand your ground and offer what you think is fair. If they won’t sell then don’t buy. Simple as.

Back in this area you will find a host of restaurants that are usually better and always cheaper than those on the marina – they haven’t the view to sell so prices are lower and quality higher!

The famous Cabo Wabo, owned by rock-star Sammy Hagar,  is about 2 or 3 blocks back from the marina in the center and probably that’s as far as you want to go. Not because it is dangerous or anything – it’s just that you will be running out of things to see and do in such a short space of time the further you get from the marina. Parallel to Cabo Wabo and all the way back to the marina on the east side are lots of streets with interesting nik-naks and taco stands and restaurants and bars…you won’t be stuck for things to see and do.

If you want a little taste of culture, there is an excellent little museum in the center of Cabo called El Museo de las California's and it is easily found at the northern corner of the tiny Amelia Wilkes Plaza, between Cabo San Lucas Avenue and Miguel Hidalgo. At one side of the museum and plaza is a white, archaeological skeleton of a Grey whale, that makes it difficult to miss. The small museum has a collection of historical artifacts including maps, tools, fossils from the Sierra del la Laguna, and journals that date back to the 16th century expeditions of early Spanish explorers.

If you have enough time then there are plenty of activities for the more adventurous. You can book these through your cruise tour operator of course, but you can also do your research here and go direct. The local  tour guides are very experienced and well used to cruise ship schedules and will handle everything for you.

Whatever you do in Cabo for your day in the sun - you will have a fantastic time in this amazing paradise at Land's End.