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Access to Chileno Beach is southwest of the Hotel Cabo San Lucas, look for the parking lot and dive flag sign at Kilometer 14.5. A bus stop is nearby to the northeast.
Playa Bledito – Swimming and Watersports
Also known as Tequila Cove, this delightful palapa-dotted beach fronts the Hilton and Melia Cabo Real hotels at Cabo Real. The formidable manmade breakwater allows for swimming and watersports. Equipment rentals, including Jet Skis and Wave Runners, are at Meliá Cabo Real. For more solitude, walk southwest toward Las Ventanas al Paraiso. Easiest access is through the Meliá Cabo Real at Kilometer 19.5.
Bahia Palmilla – Breathtaking Beauty
If you’re staying near San Jose del Cabo, Palmilla is the beach for you. Crescent-shaped Palmilla Bay is wide and inviting, surrounded by the exclusive Palmilla resort. On the point is the Hotel Palmilla, now the newly refurbished and luxurious One&Only. The longest swimming beach in the Corridor, there’s a mile or so of protected shore, with good snorkeling; and safe for swimming if water conditions are calm. Palmilla has palapas for shade and garbage cans, but no equipment rentals, restaurants or restroom facilities. A fish camp for centuries, watch the pangas ride the waves onto the beach in the early afternoon with their catch. For more seclusion, head northeast toward the Jack Nicklaus Ocean Nine. Best visited by car or taxi, access Palmilla at Kilometer 27 and follow the signs down to the main beach area, near the taxi stand in the arroyo.
San Jose del Cabo
Playa Costa Azul – Famous Surf Breaks
The start of San Jose del Cabo's beach development, Playa Costa Azul (Blue Coast) runs half a mile from the Costa Azul arroyo past beach resorts to the Brisa del Mar Trailer Park at Kilometer 29. Brisa’s has a low-key beach bar with volleyball in the sand. The beach's southwest side is home to the famous Zippers and La Roca surf breaks, with competitions held every summer. Services here include Zippers and Dante’s restaurants, a convenience store, Killer Hook’s board rentals and lessons on the beach, and the Costa Azul Surf Shop across the highway. Newbies beware, Zippers is an intermediate to expert surf break, and locals can be territorial, especially on Sundays. While swimming is possible, it's far better at Palmilla. Access Costa Azul at Kilometer 28, via Puente Costa Azul (Costa Azul Bridge).
Playa Hotelera – Broad and Beautiful
A mile from historic downtown, Playa Hotelera (Hotel Beach), San Jose del Cabo's long beachfront, is not a party hangout like Playa El Medano in Cabo San Lucas. A steep beach and not for swimming, it’s best for walking, jogging, and catching some rays. Early morning and late afternoon surf fishing is popular here. Playa Las Palmas, with shade palapas, is below Plazas Garuffi and Caracol. While Hotel Beach isn't known for watersports, there's plenty going on around it, including a children's play park, and a miniature golf course at the Rusty Putter restaurant, both across the street from the plazas. From west to east Playa Hotelera's resorts include Las Mañanitas, Fiesta Inn, The Grand Baja Resort and Spa, Hotel Posada Real, Crowne Plaza, Royal Solaris, and the Presidente Inter-Continental Los Cabos. All have shade palapas on the beach. Next to the Presidente is a sea turtle nursery, and the lush San Jose del Cabo estuary, with many migrating birds, palm groves, flora and fauna. Access is through any of the hotels, open spaces, or Playa Las Palmas.
More to Explore - The East Cape
A remote area of remarkable beauty on the Sea of Cortés, the East Cape is northeast of San Jose del Cabo. Geographically, it doesn’t begin until Los Frailes, near Cabo Pulmo, still all the coast east of La Playa is referred to as such. Depending upon your destination, there are several ways to see the area from La Playa all the way to Cabo Pulmo, near La Ribera. Turn east at the traffic circle on Boulevard Mijares across from the fire station in San Jose del Cabo. Cross the arroyo and follow the road around the village of La Playa. Three miles from the turnoff to La Laguna and Los Zacatitos, a right hand turn takes you back to the coast above Buzzard’s Bar and Grill. The trip to Cabo Pulmo can take three hours, depending on road conditions (usually poor). Stop for a swim, or surf at Shipwreck, Nine Palms, and Punta Perfecta. At Vinorama, popular with windsurfers, the 24 mile-long inland Palo Escopeta dirt road links the coast to Highway 1, at San José Viejo near the Los Cabos International Airport. A faster, more comfortable way to Cabo Pulmo is via Highway #1 north from San Jose del Cabo, taking the turn off to La Ribera at Las Cuevas, past Santiago. For Buena Vista, Los Barriles, and points north along the coast, stay on Highway #1, which runs through both towns.
Pacific Ocean Beaches
The best Pacific beaches are a fair drive from Cabo San Lucas north on Highway 19.
At Kilometer 100, Migriño is popular with surfers and campers, and a nesting area for sea turtles. Swimming is dangerous but you can walk for miles along this windswept shore. For access, take the side road on the left before the bridge.
At Kilometer 64 near Pescadero, Los Cerritos is a mile and a half in from the highway and the hot spot for surfing, camping, and swimming (with caution).
At Kilometer 59, an RV park at Playa San Pedrito has cabañas and a restaurant bar. Swimming here is at your own risk. Look for the stone arch entrance off the highway.
At Kilometer 57, a well maintained access road (across from a boxy-looking agricultural research station) takes you almost all of the way to picturesque Playa San Pedro, also known as Las Palmas. Bordered by a reed lagoon and protected by rock promontories on both sides, groves of palm trees frame this gorgeous quarter-mile strand of beach. Las Palmas has good swimming (again, with caution), body surfing, and hiking.
A few miles further north is colonial Todos Santos, where you can enjoy a meal and browse the shops and galleries before heading back to Cabo San Lucas.
Be Prepared
Few beaches have services, so plan to take along supplies. For locations, refer to our Tourist Corridor map. Kilometer markers dot the Transpeninsular Highway, beginning with Kilometer 0 in downtown Cabo San Lucas, increasing as you travel the 28 kilometers northeast to San Jose del Cabo. While Los Cabos is ideal for watersports, not all beaches are suitable for swimming and lifeguards are rare. Use extreme caution when venturing into unknown surf and stay well above the tide line when walking. Pacific beaches are especially notorious for rogue waves and undertows. Water temperatures range from 70 degrees F. in winter to the high 80s F. in summer, with the Pacific Ocean about 10 degrees cooler year-round.
For more information visit our Cabo San Lucas and Los Cabos Beaches Guide. |
