When calling the telephone numbers below from the United States, first dial 011-52-624.
Where to Eat
Cabo San Lucas has several Mexican seafood restaurants with patios, mega-margaritas and mariachis. Edith's (143-0801) and Mi Casa de Mariscos (143-6898) are tops, though you may have to contend with rowdy groups. The best restaurants in San José del Cabo, found in historic haciendas, are mellower. La Panga Antigua (142-4041), which serves upscale Mexican fare, is popular with those from the States who live in Cabo.
The croissants and cappuccino at the French Riviera Restaurant & Bakery (142-3350), in both Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo, are superb. For sushi with a local twist--like sashimi with chilies--try Nick-San. There's one in Cabo San Lucas (143-4484) and another in Las Tiendas de Palmilla shopping center (144-6262), across the highway from the One & Only Palmilla.
What to Do
Fishing Many visitors fish for tuna and marlin in Cabo San Lucas, known as the marlin capital of the world. "With such an abundance of fish, the odds are high that you'll catch something," says Tracy Ehrenberg of Pisces Fleet Sportfishing (piscessportfishing.com), a leading charter-boat company.
Charters range from $500 to $1,200 a day, depending on the size of the boat and the number of passengers. Though Beyoncé, Jessica Simpson and other celebrities sail on $8,000-a-day mega-yachts complete with chefs and masseurs, die-hard sports fishermen, like Scott Brickell, prefer open twenty-two-foot motorized skiffs called pangas. "The adventure is being close to the water," says the Beverly Hills lawyer, who has made more than fifty trips to Cabo to fish over the past twenty years. Brickell swears by Nino Rochin (142-4856), a fishing guide who picks clients up in his panga on the beach next to the One & Only Palmilla. "It's unbelievable to watch Nino haul a big one over the side," says Brickell. "It's pure skill and experience over power."
Golf Among the best of Los Cabos's seven championship golf courses are the two at Cabo del Sol (cabodelsol.com), an eighteen-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature ocean course and a Tom Weiskopf–designed eighteen-hole desert course; the twenty-seven-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature course at the One & Only Palmilla (oneandonlyresorts.com); and the eighteen-hole course designed by Robert Trent Jones II that is connected to the Cabo Real development (caboreal.com). Your hotel concierge can arrange tee times. Expect to pay more than $200 in greens fees during high season.
Excursions It's exhilarating to venture into the desert by Jeep or Hummer, an outing your hotel can arrange. I loved Terramar Destinations' (terramardestinations.com) eight-hour East Cape tour along a potholed dirt road up the coastline north of San José del Cabo, during which we passed villas in various stages of construction and small family ranches. After a couple of bone-rattling hours, we reached the town of Cabo Pulmo, from whose picturesque deserted beach, Los Arbolitos, it's safe to swim. You can also snorkel around one of the largest coral areas in the Gulf of California.
At Cabo Dolphins (cabodolphins.com),you can swim and play with Pacific bottlenose dolphins in saltwater pools. It's a wonderful experience for families if you don't mind paying $165 for each child as well as for each adult.
Where to Shop
Los Cabos is not a shopper's paradise. Las Ventanas, Esperanza and the One & Only Palmilla have small boutiques that carry high-end resort wear. Casa Vieja (144-6161), in Las Tiendas de Palmilla shopping center, features Mexican-designed women's fashions, jewelry and shoes. Next door, Prestige Design (144-5556) showcases silver and ceramic tableware and Mexican objets d'art.
In San José del Cabo, the plaza and adjoining streets are wall-to-wall shops. Though most sell tourist junk, there are some gems: Sol Dorado (142-1950) specializes in pottery and tableware from Puebla, wooden animal figures from Oaxaca and handblown glass. Art galleries are everywhere, and one of the finest showing contemporary Mexican artists is Pez Gordo (142-5788; pezgordogallery.com), which also has a store in Las Tiendas de Palmilla. The art includes vibrant abstract paintings.
Where to Rent a Villa
Villas del Mar (866-845-5277; villasmarketing.com), next to the One & Only Palmilla, rents spectacular multimillion-dollar homes with ocean views, pools and gracious Mexican colonial decor. A personal butler, a private chef for breakfast and lunch, and a golf cart are included in the price, which starts at $2,000 a day for a one-bedroom in the summer.
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