Exploring Downtown
Cabo has a vibrant nightlife with lots of bars and restaurants. We were able to take advantage of all the options back in the day when we were sans kids and young honeymooners. Some of our favorites back then were El Squid Roe and Sammy Hagar’s bar, Cabo Wabo. In fact, Sammy Hagar was actually hosting his birthday bash that night, so he had a bunch of popular acts performing live including Chad Kroger and Smash Mouth, so it was a really cool experience the first time around! In fact, he’ll be back for a three night celebration in October of 2019 (Oct 9th, 11th, & 13th)!
The scene in Cabo has exploded since our first trip, so there are even more bar and club options for those looking to party! Truth be told, a lot of the places are too spring break-ish (i.e. Señor Frogs) for my tastes now and the downtown area really didn’t have the same allure it did many years ago for us. We ventured into town with the girls for dinner one night. Afterwards, we decided to stroll around town and check out the scene. I could tell my girls were frightened. We didn’t feel very safe walking around and bagged our plans quickly and headed back to the resort. If you are taking the kids out for a night on the town, I recommend trying the restaurants in the marina area. It’s a little more upscale and less intimidating than other parts of town. We did manage to make it back to Cabo Wabo this time around sans kids and really enjoyed it! The crowd is more mature here, so we felt right at home. They had a live band playing popular songs from the 80s, so this was right up our alley and made for a really fun night out!
Activities in Cabo
There are a wide variety of activities available to you in Cabo. The main attractions of course are visiting the infamous arch, seeing Lovers Beach and whale watching during certain times of the year. They also have all sorts of water activities, snorkeling trips, sunset cruises as well as ATV tours in the dessert. Cabo is also home to a variety of championship golf courses, but they come with a hefty price tag. Expect to pay over $200 a round. Basically, you will never lack for things to do while visiting Cabo. Don’t forget about San Jose Del Cabo too! There is apparently a beautiful art exhibit every Thursday in town that our driver recommended checking out.
Lover’s Beach 
The Arch at Land’s End
Make sure you book your tours early in the week to allow yourself the best options. Unfortunately for us, we wanted to do a sunset cruise, but couldn’t decide on a boat or a date until it was too late and everything was sold out. That is probably my biggest regret of our trip, not being able to get out on the water and see those gorgeous Pacific sunsets. I made up for it though, by watching the sunrise one morning over the Sea of Cortez.
Since whale watching season is from December to March in Cabo, I knew right off the bat this was something we wanted to experience as a family. We had beach vendors pestering us all week to book a whale watching cruise, but honestly, the whole production seemed shady. They were vague on details and what kind of boat we’d be boarding, so I decided to take to Viator.com and find an appropriate excursion company where I can read reviews and know I’m not being swindled. Plus, you could pay by credit card and not have to have large amounts of cash on hand, which was an added bonus!
We ended up booking a morning tour with La Princesa and were quite pleased. We read that smaller boats were much better for whale watching because they are more agile and can quickly turn on dime to get a better vantage point. La Princesa was a catamaran so it definitely had better maneuver capabilities than the Pirate Ship cruises and the bigger party boats. The only better option would be the Zodiak boats, but they can be dicey when waves are rough. The price was right too! We paid $50 for two adults, $25 for our 10 year old and our 7 year old was considered an infant, so she was free! (This company categorized a child as 8-12 and an infant as 0-7) This definitely turned out to be one of the cheaper options!
Another great thing about La Princesa is that they limit their passenger capacity to 15 patrons, so it’s a nice, small intimate experience and you aren’t jockeying for position on the boat. The crew was very friendly and hospitable. We spent 2 hours out on the Pacific searching for whales. The cruise left from Dock D at the Marina, a $9 cab ride from the hotel. It was only about a 10-15 minute ride downtown and we were expected to check-in at 8:45 for a 9am departure. Prior to heading out on the water, they served some pastries, fresh fruit, coffee, water, and soft drinks. It was nice to relax, sip some coffee and take in the scene. The first part of the cruise takes you by the famous arch. They pull in pretty close (again another advantage of having a smaller vessel) so you can take pictures of the arch, Lover’s Beach, and the sea lions camped out on the rocks. Be prepared, those sea lions are stinky!
After spending about 15 minutes or so for photo ops, we headed out into the Pacific. We were able to encounter at least 4 different whale sightings. During the down time, the crew would share interesting facts about the whales. I had read on Viator about another cruise, who’s crew included a marine biologist, who was very knowledgeable about the whales migration patterns and anatomy. In some respects, I wish I had booked that cruise, because it would have been nice to have a more in depth lesson on these majestic mammals. However, that cruise came at a much higher cost ($89 per person) so I guess you get what you pay for!
One thing I discovered is the whales only surface every 10 minutes or so, so a lot of the time is spent chasing them in hopes you are following their path. You are also in competition with the other boats, so sometimes your view will be “shut out” by the other boats passing by. We didn’t get as close as I hoped, but we did seem them surface at least 4 or 5 times and watch them breach during our excursion. I had my camera ready and waiting for the next sighting. Sadly, I was too busy trying to capture the perfect picture that I never really took the time to put the camera down and enjoy the whales in their natural habitat. They were far closer in person than through the view of my camera lens. While we really enjoyed our time out on the water and couldn’t have chosen a better boat to be aboard, the overall experience was a little underwhelming. I think that’s mainly because I didn’t know what to expect and I might have set my expectations too high. Regardless, it was a wonderful morning out on the water, enjoying a new experience that many people can’t claim they’ve seen. If you are going to partake in whale watching, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend La Princesa. The price, the size, the boat, and the staff are all what makes this tour an excellent choice! With the exception of the marine biologist, I don’t think there was anything else that could have possibly enhanced our experience!
