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Los Cabos Magazine - Issue #10 - 2006 - Articles

Beaches - A Beach for Every Body
Los Cabos Magazine Beaches and Outdoors Article.
With over fifty miles of spectacular beaches, Los Cabos has a beach for every body and activity level. Whether your idea of beach bliss is swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, or surfing, you won’t have to go far to find the beach of your dreams.

Los Cabos Magazine article - Issue #10 - January 2006 - by: Sabrina Lear

Part 1 of 2 - Beaches Article - Part Two
Cabo San Lucas Beaches

Playa Solmar—Spectacular Sunsets, Walking and Whale Watching
An easy walk from downtown, long, flat Playa Solmar runs from the rocks of Land’s End west to the base of El Pedregal on the Pacific Ocean. For sunset lovers, romantics, walkers, and whale watchers, this is your beach. From January to March, whales play offshore, providing a free floorshow while you take a brisk morning walk or enjoy an afternoon margarita from any of the resorts on this golden stretch of sand. Park yourself at the Solmar and take it all in. Definitely not for swimming, under any circumstances.
Access: Off Boulevard Marina past Galeón Restaurant, turn right at Avenida Solmar and enter through Solmar, TerraSol or Playa Grande resorts. No services.

Playa del Amor—Nature’s Natural Wonder
Towering rock formations surround this beautiful beach, bordered by the Pacific Ocean and Sea of Cortés. Playa del Amor (Lover’s Beach) is hidden behind Cabo’s landmark arch (El Arco) at Land’s End. For swimming and watersports, stick to the calmer bay where schools of multi-colored fish are plentiful. Swimming near the arch or on the Pacific side—Divorce Beach to locals—is extremely dangerous. Unique, and well worth the effort of getting there, breathtaking Lover’s Beach is not to be missed. The contrast of the two seas is unforgettable. A few beach vendors, but no services.
Access: Take a water taxi from the Cabo San Lucas marina or Playa El Médano across the bay. Or, rent a kayak or Jet Ski at El Médano, and go on your own, but watch for boat traffic.

Playa El Médano—Cabo’s All-Round Best Beach
El Médano (The Dune) is Cabo’s main beach, and is a great place to hang out with an outstanding view of Land’s End from any vantage point. Stretching two miles from the marina entrance to Villa del Palmar, El Médano is the best place to swim in Cabo San Lucas. Packed with restaurant-bars in the sand, you’ll find beach volleyball, high-powered Jet Skis and Wave Runners, kayaks, small catamarans, sailboats, ski boats, boogie boarding, and parasailing. Snorkeling and dive trips to sites near El Arco are easily arranged. Not a beach for those looking for privacy, El Médano is known for all-day happy hours, people watching, and plenty of beach vendors. For fewer crowds, walk northeast towards Club Cascadas and Villa del Palmar. With plenty to do and little surf year round, this beach is highly recommended for families. Swimming areas are roped off along the beach.
Access: From downtown, walk around the marina past Puerto Paraiso and Marina Fiesta to the end and go left at the channel entrance; or drive via Paseo del Pescador or Camino Hotel Hacienda. Parking is scarce; prepare to walk at least a few blocks, especially during spring break, and holidays. Or, take a taxi to avoid parking headaches.

Tourist Corridor Beaches

Don’t feel like renting a car? Autotransportes del Noroeste, SuburCabos, and InterBaja buses run approximately every 20 minutes back and forth from San Lucas to San José, daily from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. with stops near most beach accesses. Let the driver know your stop in advance. The 2005 fare is about $1.50 U.S. each way, but remember that U.S. and Canadian coins are not legal currency in México. Tour companies also organize snorkel, kayak and beach trips, by van or boat, to Bahía Santa María and Bahía Chileno, midway through the twenty mile-long Tourist Corridor.

Playa Barco Varado—Tidal Pools and Swimming
Fronting the ocean finishing holes of the Jack Nicklaus Ocean Course, Playa Barco Varado (Shipwreck Beach) is named after the wreck of the Inari Maru, a Japanese tuna boat sunk offshore in the 1960s. None of the wreck remains. Families will enjoy exploring the tidal pools, and swimming is possible, too, but not recommended for small children.
Access: A long drive in from the highway, enter the beach on the southwest side of the Sheraton Hacienda del Mar Resort and Spa in Cabo del Sol at Kilometer 10.

Playa Las Viudas—Local Favorite
Secluded Playa Las Viudas (Widows’ Beach) has an “away from it all” feeling. Also called Twin Dolphin Beach after the nearby hotel, the shoreline features interesting rock outcroppings and tidal pools that create private areas to spend a lazy afternoon swimming or exploring the pools. Swim with caution; this beach is not recommended for children.
Access: Enter next to the Twin Dolphin hotel, on the southwest side at Kilometer 12.5. A new resort is slated for development in this area, and access to this little known beach may change in the future.

Bahía Santa María—A Protected Marine Sanctuary
A horseshoe-shaped, beautiful aquamarine bay flanked by craggy rock promontories, Bahía Santa María is a must-do for any visitor to Los Cabos. Snorkeling and swimming are excellent, especially during the morning. This is a good beach for families, but watch for occasional swells. Santa María is a protected marine sanctuary and a wonderful place for kids to learn about underwater life. Gorgonians (sea fans) line the rock walls and abundant colorful tropical reef fish make snorkeling exciting for first-timers. Another way to see Santa María is by boat on a snorkel tour from Cabo San Lucas. There are no facilities and little shade—bring a beach umbrella, bottled water and snorkeling gear.
Access: Kilometer 13, east side of the Hotel Twin Dolphin, with a well-marked turn-off and a bus stop at the entrance. The beach is a long three-block walk in from the highway.

Bahía Chileno—Snorkeling, Diving, Swimming, and Kayaking
Well known for excellent snorkeling, diving, kayaking and clear aquamarine water teeming with marine life, Chileno (Chilean) is the best all-round beach in the Tourist Corridor. Chileno is wide, fairly flat, perfect for strolling or running, with safe swimming. The only beach with restrooms (bring your own tissue), you’ll also find garbage cans, and a palm grove for shade. Like Santa María, Chileno receives snorkel tours around midday—head northeast toward the point for more privacy. Rocky reefs run parallel to the beach with tropical fish, sea turtles, moray eels, invertebrates, sea urchins, gorgonians (sea fans), sponges, and starfish all abundant. Since the sale of the hotel to the Chileno Bay Club in early 2005, the Cabo Acuadeportes dive shop on the beach has been closed. Development plans call for a 36-hole Jack Nicklaus course, villas, homesites, 88-slip marina and yacht club at this private club.
Access: Easy to get to, the beach is close to the highway, look for the parking lot at Kilometer 14.5. A bus stop is nearby to the northeast. Access to this beach may change once Chileno Bay Club breaks ground.

Playa Bledito—Swimming and Watersports
Also known as Tequila Cove, this beach fronts the Hilton Los Cabos Beach and Golf Resort and Meliá Cabo Real hotels at Cabo Real. The manmade breakwater makes swimming possible; with Jet Ski and Wave Runner rentals on the beach. For more solitude, walk southwest toward Las Ventanas al Paraiso, but swim only in the protected waters behind the breakwater. The Hilton also offers visitors a day pass allowing use of the pool and facilities, call (624) 145-6500 for current rates and more information.
Access: Through the Hilton and Meliá Cabo Real hotels or enter through the arroyo at Kilometer 19.5.

Bahía Palmilla—Swimming, Snorkeling, Kayaking, and Fishing Charters
Bahía Palmilla is a wide and inviting crescent-shaped bay surrounded by the Palmilla resort of luxurious oceanfront residential communities, and the Jack Nicklaus Ocean Nine golf course. On the point is the exclusive One&Only Hotel Palmilla. The longest swimming beach in the Corridor, Playa Palmilla features more than a mile of protected shore, with good swimming and snorkeling. It’s safe for families if water conditions are calm. Palmilla is also an excellent place to launch your kayak, with parking very close to the beach. A fish camp for centuries, pangas and cruisers are available for charter here. Very popular with local families, for more seclusion, head northeast toward the Jack Nicklaus Ocean Nine. Services include palapas for shade and garbage cans, but no equipment rentals or restroom facilities.
Access: A long walk in from the highway, Palmilla is best visited by car or taxi. Take the Palmilla exit at Kilometer 27 and follow the signs down to the main beach area, near the taxi stand in the arroyo, before the entrance to the hotel.

Playa Acapulquito—Surf’s Up
Between Palmilla and Costa Azul, Playa Acapulquito (Little Acapulco Beach) is a small, picturesque beach also known as Old Man's, for an older man who surfed this popular right point break. Fronting the Cabo Surf Hotel, this local hangout is swimmable during calm seas. Surf lessons are available at the Mike Doyle Surf School, ask at the hotel for information.
Access:Take the turnoff at Kilometer 27.75, near the lookout.

San José del Cabo Beaches

Playa Costa Azul—Famous Surf Breaks
The start of San José's long beach zone, Playa Costa Azul (Blue Coast) runs from the lookout on the highway past beach resorts to the Brisa del Mar Trailer Park at Kilometer 29. Brisa’s has a low-key beach bar with a volleyball court in the sand. Costa Azul’s southwest side is where you’ll find the world famous Zippers and La Roca surf breaks, with competitions held every summer. Services here include Zipper’s and Dante’s restaurants, a convenience store, occasional board rentals and lessons on the beach, and the Costa Azul Surf Shop across the highway next to Havana Supper Club. Zippers and nearby La Roca are intermediate to expert surf breaks, and dangerous for beginners. Arrange a lesson and board rental at the Costa Azul Surf Shop.
Access: Costa Azul at Kilometer 28, via Costa Azul Bridge.

Playa Hotelera—Walking, Surf Fishing, and Beach Volleyball
A mile from historic downtown, Playa Hotelera (Hotel Beach), San José's long beachfront, is a steep beach definitely not recommended for swimming. This beach is popular with walkers, joggers, and dawn and dusk surf anglers. Playa Las Palmas, an easily accessed beach promenade with shade palapas, is below Plazas Garuffi and Caracol, between Viva and Sampaguita condominiums. While there are no watersports, volleyball is popular, with several nets along the beach. There’s a lot to do around Hotel Beach, with a children's play park across from the Fiesta Inn, and a miniature golf course at the Rusty Putter restaurant. There’s the Don Manuel Orantes sea turtle camp and nursery at the beach’s extreme east end, next to the Presidente Inter-Continental. Next door is the lush San José estuary with many migrating birds, flora and fauna, and towering palm groves. A sand burm separates the estuary from the sea, making it possible to walk all the way east to La Playa, a small fishing village, also the site of the new marina at Puerto Los Cabos.
Access: Through any of the hotels, open spaces, or Playa Las Palmas along Paseo San José.

Part 1 of 2 - Beaches Article - Part Two

Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico - Last Revision - 27 July 2006 - jat