It’s not just for college kids anymore By Chris Sands.
Springtime in Los Cabos conjures up images of beaches, bikinis, buckets of beer, and all-night parties at some of the more notorious nightspots in Cabo San Lucas. And while that’s definitely a pretty accurate portrayal of the experience college students enjoy during their school’s-out spring break sojourns to Land’s End—and one that makes me incredibly nostalgic—it’s a limited view of everyone else’s idea of paradise during this remarkable season.
Simple fact: It’s a great time of year for everybody. Spring is an ideal time for water sports enthusiasts to visit Los Cabos. There are excellent conditions for sailing, snorkeling, diving, and sportfishing. It’s a terrific season for couples, who can soak up the sunshine at luxury seaside resorts, enjoy sunset strolls or barefoot horseback rides along the shore, have romantic picnics on Lover’s Beach, or cruise the seas off San Lucas at sunset. It’s an optimal time for families to visit, with options that range from dolphin swims to pirate ship adventures. And we already know it’s the perfect time of year for college students, who not only flock down in droves from the United States and Canada but also make pilgrimages from mainland México to enjoy sun-soaked debauchery on Médano Beach.
Don’t believe me? I’ve got proof. Here are five great springtime activities in Los Cabos that will appeal to anyone between the ages of 8 and 80.
Sailing the Sea of Cortés
Cabo San Lucas is one of the great water sports capitals of the world. For an informative and fun-filled introduction to the local waters, try a sailing or cruising excursion with one of the top boating outfits. Outings in Cabo San Lucas Bay offer up-close-and-personal views of the granitic monuments at Land’s End, as well the seaside beach scenes. The brisk winds outside the protected bay offer some superb sailing conditions and looks at Cabo’s Pacific Coast. As an added bonus, whale watching season continues through the early part of spring.
For sailing purists, it’s hard to beat the romance and adventure available with Cabo Sails (624-355-6386), which offers private charters aboard its fleet of sleek sailing yachts as well as sunset tours and sailing lessons with catered food and drinks. The luxury French-built catamaran EcoCat (624-157-4685) is also a popular option with vacation sailors, particularly those who prize a smooth ride, affordable rates, and tour options that include private charters and snorkel, sunset, and whale watching cruises.
Buccaneer Queen (624-144-4217), meanwhile, may not have been around during the days of the Spanish Main, but it’s definitely the scurviest vessel in Cabo San Lucas, with pirate-themed fun that includes games, contests, treasure hunts, and a minimum of plank walking. As you might imagine, these cruises are extremely popular with the younger set. The smooth-running catamaran Sunrider (624-143-2252) is another favorite with both adults and children, although the $10 U.S. lobster upgrade on the complimentary Mexican buffets served aboard the snorkel, sunset, and whale watching cruises is much more popular with Mom and Dad than it is with the kids.
Speaking of food-friendly, Caborey (624-105-1976) is the king of the local dinner cruisers, with five-star dinner service bracketed by a cocktail hour cruise around Land’s End and a postprandial Las Vegas–style floor show featuring Latin American singing and dancing. Hey, who doesn’t like a little tango with coffee and dessert, particularly when they’re served aboard a luxurious 144-foot triple-decker catamaran?
Snorkeling in an Undersea Fantasia
The Sea of Cortés has an incredible concentration of marine life—including more than 800 varieties of fish—and there is an abundance of snorkeling and diving opportunities in Los Cabos, as well as along the East Cape that stretches north of San José del Cabo to Los Barriles. In addition to great Cabo San Lucas Bay sites like Pelican Rock, Neptune’s Finger, and the Point and lovely spots along the Tourist Corridor in Santa María and Chileno Bays, Baja California Sur is also home to the oldest and largest living coral reef in the Western Hemisphere, found in the marine sanctuary at Cabo Pulmo.
Although good snorkeling may be found off many area beaches, the best bet for visitors who want to experience this undersea fantasia first-hand—imagine a surreal and colorful environment that includes everything from soft coral, sponges, and sea fans to sea turtles, sea lions, moray eels, whale sharks, and the occasional octopus—is to sign up for one of the snorkel or dive trips offered by top area cruisers and adventure companies.
The piratical Buccaneer Queen weighs anchor for daily snorkel trips to Chileno Bay; Cabo Sails offers snorkel and diving trips that include explorations of sites near Land’s End and Lover’s Beach, as well as diving equipment and an on-site dive master; and EcoCat raises the stakes with ambitious two- and three-bay tours that offer an overview of Los Cabos’ most impressive underwater locations. Larger party boats like Sunrider and Caborey are also excellent options, particularly for those who like super smooth rides and have a weakness for delicious all-you-can-eat buffets and open bars. Although to be fair, none of the captains on these vessels are going to allow their guests to miss a meal or a cocktail opportunity. First-class service is a hallmark of the Los Cabos fleet.
World-Class Sportfishing
The growth of Cabo San Lucas as a resort destination has been in large part tied to the area’s reputation for world-class big-game sportfishing. Billfish aficionados have been making pilgrimages to the region since the first fly-in fishing resorts began popping up in Baja California Sur after World War II, and Cabo San Lucas is the site of the world’s richest fishing tournament, Bisbee’s Black and Blue. It’s an annual October fixture of the local social scene, and it pays out millions of dollars in prize money. Although most area tournaments are held during the summer and autumn months, springtime also offers congenial conditions, and visiting anglers can get their hooks into amberjack, bonita, cabrilla, grouper, mackerel, roosterfish, striped marlin, and other tasty deep-sea denizens.
Silverados Sportfishing (624-144-4903) is a top outfit, with tournament-tested captains who have been fishing the local waters for more than a quarter of a century. Silverados’ charter fleet provides options at a variety of price points, with boats that range from the 23-foot Sushi Time to a 44-foot Uniflite (Muchacho Alegre) that can carry up to a dozen anglers.
Family-Friendly Fun in the Sun
Few local companies can match the diversity of land and sea adventures offered by Cabo Expeditions (624-143-2700). Who else offers both Snuba—a hybrid form of snorkeling and scuba that allows underwater breathing without lengthy training or certification processes—and Sea Trek, a helmet system that facilitates zero gravity walks amidst the incredible concentration of fish found in the Sea of Cortés? Visitors young and old may fly like birds over Cabo San Lucas Bay with Cabo Expeditions’ exciting parasailing tours or swim side by side with whale sharks, the world’s largest fish. This premier outdoor activities specialist also offers seasonal whale watching adventures focusing on blue, gray, and humpback whales and incredible journeys to UNESCO World Heritage islands off the coast of La Paz, with kayak and snorkel explorations of native flora and fauna that range from rattle-less rattlesnakes and barrel cacti to migratory birds. City tours that showcase the history, culture, and shopping districts of Los Cabos are also available.
Adrenaline-Racing Adventures
Looking for something fun for your traveling teens or die-hard adrenaline junkies? Think Wild Canyon (624-144-4433). When it comes to high-octane adventures that will get your heart pumping, it’s hard to top the extreme activities roster at Baja’s biggest and wildest theme park. Wild Canyon is located near El Tule Beach along the Tourist Corridor that connects cape cities Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo. It offers spectacular Sea of Cortés views from high-altitude vantage points, such as the gondola that sways nearly 300 feet above the canyon floor. Did I mention you’ll be bungee jumping from said gondola and rushing through the air on tandem sling swings that reach speeds of 75 miles an hour? In fairness, it feels more like a 100-miles-an-hour when you do it in reverse. Wild Canyon also offers zip line tours, including full moon zip lining adventures on Tuesday nights, as well as camel rides and high-speed off-road racing over a variety of rugged terrains. Afterward, decompress with burgers and drinks in the Lion’s Den restaurant, and start planning your summer vacation in Los Cabos.
The exciting new theme park, petting zoo, G-Force Adventures (www.g-forceadventures.com) offers a range of activities. Get up close and personal with white lions—at the only white lion reserve exhibit in Latin America—for a photo op, take advantage of the Desert Wasps tours, exploring the wild Baja terrain atop an ATV, or explore the terrain on horseback.
