How to Spend a Long Weekend in Cabo

In this episode we spent four days in Cabo relaxing on the beach, adventuring out onto the water, sightseeing, and enjoying the amazing cuisine.

On this trip we did the classic Cabo Arch tour and a whale watching tour that was amazing and we saw multiple kinds of whales and other sea life. See the tours we did and others we considered in our Cabo Viator Shop.

We stayed at the Fairfield Inn Cabo and loved the rotating breakfast buffet! It was in a good location and it’s part of the Marriott family so you can work with points here!

How to get form the airport into Cabo: Ubers are not permitted to/from the airport. You can get a taxi in the airport, arrange a private shuttle, or take the shared transportation shuttle like we did on this trip. You could also rent a car, but not needed for this trip!

If you liked this episode, check out our other episode on the Best Things to Do in Cabo on Vacation where we talk about even more.

3 Days in Cabo – Episode Transcript

Insurance and get ready to embark on a new adventure with us around the globe.

Hello fellow travelers.

Hey, squaddies.

Welcome to this week’s episode of the Travel Squad Podcast.

Today we’re taking you to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

0:50

I’m really excited to get into this episode and talk about Cabo.

Brittany and I have never, ever been before.

Kim, you’ve been several times.

I know one time on a Bachelorette party, couple other times cruise stops.

So we got to spend a good bit of time here in Cabo.

1:07

I really enjoyed it and I’m really, like I said, excited to dive deep into this episode to give you guys some information about it.

I did not go on this weekend excursion with you all but I just have to ask like how did you like it?

I haven’t talked to you at all about the trip yet.

1:24

I actually loved it.

So let me preface it with this.

We’ve had a really busy fourth quarter and you know how Jamal gets during fourth quarter?

Crazy.

It’s crazy.

We’re not allowed to travel.

We’re not allowed to talk about travel.

We’re not to do anything.

We’re not allowed to talk.

1:40

Brittany will No, no, we could talk about it, but Brittany will try to pull up.

Oh, we could squeeze one in here sometime in October, November and maybe the first part of December because by mid-december, I’m pretty much, I don’t want to say fully done, but it’s cooled off a little bit, right?

1:58

And Brittany, when we says we can’t talk about it, it’s simply we cannot talk about taking a trip during this time if she wants to preface me with, hey, other times of the year.

You get crazy.

But you know what, she gives me crap and shit for this.

But let me say this time of year feeds the travel funds for the upcoming year so she has no right to complain.

2:18

If I’m not working, there ain’t no traveling in the next year.

So leading up to the trip, we were really, really busy and we honestly didn’t book a lot.

We booked flights, transportation and one thing to do.

And I was like, this trip is going to either be amazing or it’s going to be a bust.

2:34

And leading up to the trip, Jamal was like, is it too late to cancel?

I don’t know like.

We should Why would he?

Say this trip because he gets crazy during 4th.

Quarter I didn’t get crazy.

All I said was I’m excited about Cabo, but honestly the thought of going now just seems like a lot of work.

2:50

That’s all I said.

Brittany over exaggerates here as she always does and say like oh I didn’t want to go.

I was not talking about cancelling.

I’m just saying the thought of going is really stressful even though things are starting to cool down.

But I said at the same time and in the same breath, I am so excited for it.

3:07

Let me tell you, this is the perfect trip or spot to visit where you don’t actually have to do a lot of planning and everything will just work itself out.

We had such a good time.

We were there from Friday to Monday and it was the perfect length of time.

We did everything we wanted to do.

3:23

We were relaxed, we were refreshed and you know, I’m ready to explore other parts of Mexico.

I told him we’re going to La Paz next year.

I feel the same way about Cabo, and that’s why I’ve always felt a little bit weird doing an episode on it in the past, because you kind of go out to eat, you drink, you go to the beach, you go on a boat, and that’s kind of the trip, right?

3:43

So I’m excited to hear that you enjoyed it.

Did you make your way onto a yacht?

We did not make our way onto a yacht, however, we did make our way onto several boats.

But when we were there, Kim, of course, we were walking in the Marina area, which I’m sure you obviously have been to because clearly you’ve been on a yacht in Cabo.

4:03

And I was even saying, man, like I can’t even believe these prices to just take like normal boats out to do little tours out on the water, whale watching, etcetera.

If you had a good group of people, like 8 to 10, which I think is very easy to get a group of people that size to go to Cabo, I can’t even imagine how inexpensive the nicer boats will be to go out onto the water for like 3-4 hours or even a whole day.

4:26

Not very expensive at all.

So let’s get into the episode.

Cabo San Lucas, which is often just referred to as Cabo, is at the southernmost tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.

And it’s definitely a resort location.

4:41

However, we did not do an all inclusive resort.

We stayed in like the city center of Cabo.

And I could see the draw for both ways.

Like if you really want an all inclusive, I can see the draw to that.

But if you want to experience Cabo and what else it has to offer, staying in the city is super easy to do.

5:00

It’s walkable, it’s a bunch of restaurants and shops around so you could do either one that floats your boat.

And Cabo is really known for its desert meets ocean landscape, right?

I mean, the Baja Peninsula is this dry, arid area.

It has a lot of desert Saguaro cacti.

5:18

I mean, we saw a ton of it there, very hilly.

But then it meets the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California or Sia Cortez, whatever term you want to use for it that is interchangeable Sea of Cortez, Gulf of California, but it’s at that very southern tip right there.

So it’s just a dynamic landscape that I really haven’t ever experienced before.

5:37

Just straight desert meeting the ocean, which I thought was really cool.

But you also then have the clear turquoise waters.

There’s the iconic arch of Cabo San Lucas and natural rock formations.

So there’s a lot going on in terms of its natural beauty just as well.

5:53

So we went in December, which is considered high season and I would say high season runs from about December to about April.

And then of course there’s lots of beaches, particularly Madonna Beach and all sorts of lively nightlife.

Of course it is a resort and touristy area, so you can kind of expect that build up in this region.

6:14

But I don’t think it’s also very too touristy.

There’s lots of local places to go but definitely you will know you are in a tourist location but it’s not overly saturated in that way.

Before we get into tips, Kim, I wanted to ask you when you were on your last cruise, did you pull into port or did you tender from your boat and where did it take you?

6:34

We had to tender from the boat.

The cruise ship comes into the Cove that looks out into Mango Deck and that big Cove right there, right where secret beaches like the Arches are right there.

So then a smaller boat takes you straight off of the cruise, takes you to the pier.

6:50

Then from that pier you can get a smaller boat, go out and do the tours.

Yeah, I was curious about that because our entire time that we were there, we did not see a cruise ship come in to Cabo except for when we were actually leaving on a transport from our hotel to the airport.

7:06

We then saw a cruise ship and I was like, well, I don’t remember ever seen a port.

So that’s why Brittany and I were asking, did it have to Tinder or did it actually dock?

But it seems like it’s a tendering port then.

Yes.

Excellent.

So we do have a few tips for you guys.

7:22

First tip is that you can’t use Uber to or from the airport directly.

It’s actually regulated, it’s illegal.

So if you wanted to use Uber you’d actually have to go down the street and request it and same for a drop off.

So depending on how much luggage you have, it could be a hassle.

7:38

So you actually have to take a taxi or arrange group transportation.

There is the option to take group transportation on a public bus.

It’s only $4.00 a person, but it’s going to take you a lot longer.

You can do private transportation or the group transport through like a shuttle, which is what we did.

7:54

We booked it through Viator and it worked out just fine for us.

Yeah, the Viator shuttle that Brittany and I did was $80.00 round trip for both of us.

So that turned out to be $40 each, 20 each way, which I think is a really good deal because quite honestly, if you were to take a taxi, it’s about $80.00 at a minimum one way, right?

8:15

So it could add up.

And of course I’ve seen stuff online where people say taxis.

Sometimes it could cost as much as 100.

It really depends on the person and your negotiating skills.

Because they aren’t metered.

So taxi will get you there the fastest, but it is the most expensive.

But group transportation, if you’re willing to do that in a van where you know there’s several people maybe in front of you to get dropped off first, depending on where they are actually staying.

8:40

It’ll take a little bit longer, but it’ll save you some money.

If you’re going with a big enough group, you can arrange a private shuttle transfer where only your group is in that shuttle.

That’s what I do.

I did when I went with the big Bachelorette group.

And then one other tip I want to add about the airport is if you’re flying in domestically, like you all were, Tijuana to Cabo, you’re going into the domestic airport.

9:01

It’s small, not very exciting.

But if you’re flying in internationally from any other cities in the US, for example, then you have a very special treat at the outside of the International Airport.

There’s a big bar out there, massive margaritas.

Almost everyone stops at this bar and gets drinks immediately after getting off of the plane and out of the airport.

9:23

Highly recommend, it really sets the tone for your trip.

Yeah, our shuttle picked us up from Terminal 1, like you said, Kim, because we were flying domestically, which we’ll get into a little bit more later on that.

But it picked us up first and then it went to Terminal 2 where it was really supposed to get everybody else because most people, of course, that come in are flying internationally.

9:42

And I did see that big bar outside and it looked like a vibe out there.

Everybody was having fun, that’s for sure.

And you didn’t stop and get a big Margarita.

I did not stop and get a big Margarita because he was just picking people up and then we were on our way.

But our private transportation that we had, it did include beverages.

10:01

He had a cooler filled with beer or water.

So I had a couple Rd. beers, I won’t lie on the the transportation.

So that was pretty good and helped get me into the mood of Cabo.

So Mexico.

I just love Mexico.

So let’s talk about money for a minute.

10:18

So you can exchange your currency for pesos or pull from the ATM.

When we were in the airport, we did pull from an ATM and this is the first time where it’s had asked this question.

But when we were pulling the money, we’re pulling out about two hundred U.S. dollars.

It asked if we wanted to accept the conversion and the conversion would be from like, you know, U.S. dollars to pesos and it was going to charge us like $42.00 extra.

10:46

So we hit no, we did not want to accept the conversion and it charged us then just the flat conversion rate.

So we ended up paying like $205 instead, but it wanted to charge us 242 if we accepted the conversion rate that was in that ATM.

11:03

Yeah, I thought when I hit no, it was going to cancel the transaction, and then I hit no, and then it started to dispense the money and I got really pissed for a little bit.

I was like, dude, are they already scamming me at the airport?

But I’ve read that this is the situation in Europe in some places, right?

It will ask you, do you want to do a conversion with the assumption that you hit no, it will cancel it.

11:24

So you hit yes because you need the money.

So you say yes to a higher fee.

But if you hit no, they still give you the money, but they don’t charge you the fee.

So this is the first time we encountered that.

So just hit no, Don’t say yes to that.

Otherwise they’re going to rob you for absolutely no reason.

11:40

We have seen questions like that though in other countries.

For example, when we were in Costa Rica at the spring resort bar and he asked do you want to be charged in US or Costa Rican dollars?

It’s kind of the same scenario.

Always go for the local conversion.

11:55

You don’t need to convert from US to whatever else.

Right.

Dollars are widely accepted there, but they will give you a worse exchange rate than what the current rate is.

And some restaurants did not allow us to leave tip on the card.

If we were able to pay with card, we had to pay the tip in cash.

12:13

So you will want some cash with you.

And I would say about 50% of the restaurants we went to allowed us to pay tip on the card and 50% did not.

So point being, you could get around with dollars, but if you just give them dollars, they’re going to give you a worse exchange rate.

12:28

So you’re going to be spending more money that way.

I would say it’s advantageous of course then to actually change money either physically to pesos or draw from an ATM and get those pesos.

So I mentioned we did not stay at a resort.

We did stay at the Marriott in Cabo and it was pretty close to the Marina area and I felt like it was walkable to everything.

12:50

It was like a 10 minute walk to the beach, 10 minute walk to the Marina and we did not have to take any taxis or Ubers or anything.

So it was the perfect place to stay.

Yeah, if you’re not staying at a resort, stay central on the Main Street there, close to the Marina.

Everything you want is going to be within walking distance in terms of like activities, bars, restaurants, etc.

13:11

So you won’t really need to go far at all, and it’s perfect that way.

One thing I’ll also say about stays, when I stayed with that big Bachelorette group, it was also in this area.

And if you haven’t been to Cabo before in Mexico, just know that most of the stays, they’re in walled properties.

13:29

So the Airbni stayed in was a walled property.

It had security.

A lot of Mexico does a security guard that checks your name on the reservation or your car being approved to go in.

So there’s a lot of safety if you don’t go with the resort route and you do say an Airbnb.

13:45

So those are the tips.

Let’s get into it, right.

Brittany had mentioned earlier that we left on a Friday, so we had a Friday morning flight.

Being that Brittany and I live in San Diego, so close to the border, it’s a lot easier and cheaper for us to fly domestically within Mexico.

14:02

So what we mean by that is crossing the border from San Diego into Tijuana, catching a flight from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas, We used budget airline within Mexico, Volaris, very inexpensive flights that we were able to get round trip.

And we’ve mentioned this several times before and different episodes on our podcast is the benefit of using CBX here in San Diego, which stands for cross-border Express.

14:28

And it’s basically an American terminal on the US side of the border that you can only use if you have an airplane ticket.

And you can cross directly into the Tijuana airport terminal because the airport is literally parallel to the border.

14:45

So it is very convenient for Americans living in this region to just cross on an American side terminal and be automatically in a new country in the Tijuana International Airport terminal.

And that’s exactly what we did.

We actually live 1 exit away from CBX so we just requested an Uber and had us dropped off.

15:02

But you can park there.

They do have parking there.

I also saw a program called Wheels where there is a flat rate to get from like downtown San Diego or even LA or Long Beach to that you from like the LA region or in San Diego down to CBX at a flat rate charge.

15:21

Don’t know what they’re charging but I thought that was pretty cool for people that are in Socal.

In terms of pricing, our flight tickets were about $80.00 a person each way, so $160.00 for round trip tickets per person, which I think is a quite a steal.

15:39

And then our flight was at 9:15 AM.

Cabo is one hour ahead of San Diego, so we did lose an hour and that sense of things.

But the flight is only an hour and 45 minutes.

So by the time we landed, got out of the plane and took ourselves to the shuttle area to get picked up, it was around 12:30.

16:00

And as we had mentioned earlier, we did use the shared transport option via Viator $80.00 round trip again for both me and Brittany.

And we will link that Viator link in our show notes for you guys as well.

So we checked into the Fairfield by Marriott, and we just went on our way.

16:19

After we checked in, we walked down to Madonna Beach on King’s recommendation from the past.

We went to Mango Deck for some entertainment.

Yeah, Kim, you’ve been.

My sister’s been.

I think she has a spring break video of her twerking at Mango Deck.

16:34

Me too.

Have you been on stage?

No, I’m not really a stage girl.

I think I saw videos of that Bachelorette party and didn’t Charlotte go on stage if I’m not mistaken?

She did the push up contest.

Yeah.

So basically Mango Deck, again, Brittany mentioned it’s by Madono Beach, but Madono Beach is a very famous, popular beach in Cabo San Lucas, lots of restaurants, bars, resorts even in that area.

17:00

And Mango Deck is a famous restaurant and bar in that region.

I mean, I think a lot of people know what Mango Deck is if you have been to Cabo San Lucas.

So of course it’s a bar and a restaurant.

But one thing that sets them apart that most people really like about it is the live entertainment.

17:18

Constantly there is live entertainment.

What do I mean by that?

No, there is not a band, but they will pull up people and patrons who are dining and drinking and bring them on stage and have all sorts of different competitions.

Kim, you mentioned there was a push up contest of some sorts.

17:33

They had something where they had contestants and patrons come up, try to out chug a beer of one of the workers.

They had seven people up.

If four out of seven people beat the workers, then everybody would get free shots.

So they make it very lively and fun.

17:49

Then they even had a macho man contest where the guys come up and do a little dance for the girls and it’s a whole competition.

Vice versa, the twerking contest of the girls for the guys and all sorts of stuff.

So maybe this area isn’t the most family friendly spot to go to.

18:05

And by this area, I mean specifically like Mango Deck.

But at the same time, it really is a vibe and experience and we really enjoyed it.

And we got set right in the mood because Brittany and I both got some jalapeno margaritas that were absolutely phenomenal.

18:21

I loved it.

It was delicious.

Yeah, we had great drinks and entertainment.

Mango decks, 2 stories.

So the top story is more like a restaurant vibe and you can overlook the stage and then you could be down on the beach.

And if you’re down on the beach, you’re more likely going to be participating in those contests and getting a little bit more wild.

18:41

There was like Bachelorette parties down there, birthday parties, all sorts of people getting wild down there on the beach.

I like it here too, because on this beach, the merchants who walk around trying to sell things can be somewhat incessant, but when you’re at Mango Deck, they have it blocked off.

18:58

So you can be sitting on the beach enjoying the entertainment and there’s not people constantly coming up to you.

There’s so many people that bought from those merchants on the beach.

They’re like coming around with all sorts of things.

Hats.

There’s just like a sash.

Yeah, it’s a headband.

It’s like a headband or a sash that will say like I suck Big D like the most insane things they have printed on these.

19:20

Yeah, it was wild.

It was kind of funny just seeing what they had available and like how they would hold it up and they would like switch it every few minutes on like what they were showing off one person.

Like this thing is a little sash.

She made it her shirt.

Oh my gosh.

We saw someone lose a boobie out of a swimsuit and a full boob was out during the conga line to the shots.

19:42

It was wild.

Maybe not family friendly, but it was a fun time.

But you know, you’d be surprised.

It wasn’t just youngins in there.

You saw a lot of older people and those older people were also really enjoying what was going on too.

So if you know what you’re getting into, it is a fun experience.

19:59

If that’s not your thing, of course, past there are a lot more mellow bars, restaurants that are along that stretch area on Madonna Beach.

But Mango Deck, of course, if you want a little bit more excitement, is the place to go.

So after Mango Jack we went to go out for some tacos.

20:16

We went to Taqueria Miza Rape and we got some al pastor tacos and then we went to a beria place as well called Beria Los Paises and we got like a beria quesadilla, had some local food and then we called it a night.

20:32

Amazing.

So what did you do on your second day on Saturday?

So on Saturday, Can you believe it, Kim, Brittany and I slept in.

Like we said, we didn’t really have any sort of official plan.

And every day on this trip we actually slept in.

So I mean, I was in love.

20:49

You know, when you’re with Brittany, that doesn’t really ever happen at all.

So it was nice to just do that.

But by sleep in, of course, you know, we’re talking like 8:30.

We were up by 9:00 to go downstairs because our hotel had included breakfast that ended at 10, so we always made sure to get down and have breakfast.

21:07

One question about your hotel.

Did you have any beach views from your room or any of the rooms?

Was it that close to the beach where you could see the ocean?

We did not have any beach views from our room.

We were actually facing the street.

However, in the hallway area they did have windows that you could see on the opposite side and that would have been the one with the beach views.

21:30

There are a lot of build up of hotels and other buildings that kind of blocked it.

So where we were at, unfortunately there was no beach view.

I also want to say about the hotel.

The breakfast changed every single morning.

We did not eat the same breakfast any of the three days we were there, which I thought was really surprising and it was really good.

21:50

Mexico usually does a pretty good breakfast buffet.

They did do a breakfast buffet and they changed it up every day, like Brittany said, so it was very enjoyable in that sense of things.

But here on Saturday again, and we didn’t really have any specific scheduled plans, but we had a general idea of what we wanted to get out of the day.

22:10

So we said to ourselves, of course we want to go ahead and walk to the Marina.

The Marina area is where a lot of lively stuff is happening.

Of course, bars, restaurants just as well.

And that’s a spot where you can actually catch boats, tours, etcetera, whether it be renting that yacht like you were talking about for the day, taking a water taxi to Lovers Beach and the Los Cabo’s Arch, which you cannot get to by foot.

22:35

The only way to get to it is by taking a water taxi or guided tour.

So we were like, let’s go do that.

We wanted to get on the beach.

But along the way, as we were walking to the Marina, Brittany did want to make a stop at the Cabo Bakery, which she saw some really good reviews on as lots of different pastries, cheesecakes, and we stopped here to have a little snack along the way.

22:57

Yeah, I got an almond and cream cheese Danish which we put in our bag and I actually enjoyed it at Lovers Beach later in the day was really good.

And they also had like strawberry danishes.

Jamal had his eye on some cheesecake, but it was just a nice little stop and it was right down the street from our hotel.

23:13

Jamal did say that you cannot get to Lovers Beach by foot, which is kind of untrue.

But mostly true.

But mostly true, there is a resort down towards the end from our hotel.

It would have been a 40 minute walk to get to that resort and then you have to climb over some rocks and you don’t really know where you’re going because it’s, it’s not like your true trail.

23:33

And a lot of people said it was really difficult.

So we decided not to do that.

And we were planning on just taking a water taxi to the beach.

But we got talked into a tour instead because when we made it to the Marina, you know, they were selling the tours.

We paid about $40 a person and it was a guided tour around the Bay that went to a sea lion colony, Pelican Rock, which is like a good diving area.

23:58

Neptune’s Finger, which is also another diving area, went to a spot called the Window of the Pacific where you’re in the Sea of Cortez, but you can see into the Pacific Ocean.

You also go by Lovers Beach and there was an option for them to drop us off there at the end and then come back and pick us up at a later time.

24:17

It also goes by the Cabo Arch and Land’s End, which is the dividing line between the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean.

Yeah, so instead of just doing the water taxi, just straight out to Lovers Beach, which would have been cheaper, we opted for that tour.

Why not?

You know, they got me with the UPS sell as I was walking the Marina because you know, everyone’s out there trying to hawk their tours, right?

24:36

Let’s go whale watching, rent A yacht, do this, do that.

So we thought we ended up getting a good price.

We did do that.

The boat that we went on also had a glass bottom, so you got to see some of the fish through the glass bottom, which was really cool.

They also have some boats that are completely made out of clear glass like material so you can see completely all around you versus the little window that we had.

25:01

So lots of really cool options and tours that you can pick up in the Marina area if you didn’t book necessarily in advance.

So we ended up going to do that tour as Brittany had mentioned, saw all those sites, the famous Los Colos Arch and everything else, but then stopped at Lovers Beach.

25:19

They asked you how long you want to stay at the beach.

We wanted to stay there an hour Lovers Beach also touches another beach on the other side on the Pacific side called divorce beach.

So we got to check both of those out and just lay out and relax for a little bit.

It’s lively beach.

The Lovers beach is actually a swimmable area where Divorce beach, it’s on the Pacific side, has much rougher currents and they do not recommend swimming there at all.

25:43

But to view them both at the same time is actually really cool.

And I just want to say too, this is also Mexico.

And I say that in a good way.

It’s a bring your own beer or booze type situation.

When we booked the tour, he said, oh, do you want to go to the store real quick, pick up some beers for the boat or the beach or anything like that?

26:00

And we’re like, well, absolutely, I do.

So then we ended up going to the store and getting that and of course had it on the boat, had it on the beach.

So just keep in mind you are able to do that.

But of course, as a tourist, just be respectful.

You don’t want to make a disgrace of yourself and disrespect someone’s country within the realm of responsibility.

26:18

Have a good time and enjoy your beverages, which is exactly what we did.

I think the guy at the Marina told us that these tours were originally 120 for the two of us, but then he said, but the best I can do for you guys is 80 bucks for the two of you, so $40 a piece.

And then when we were done, I looked to see what the going rate was on via tour.

26:38

It was $40 a person.

So yeah, they tell you it’s a higher price.

I was going to say when I went there on this most recent cruise and we were talking about getting a boat ride, we didn’t necessarily want to do the tour.

We just wanted a ride over to Mango Deck and then back and it was about 40 for the tour and we negotiated 20 just for the ride.

26:58

We did get a half tour out of it too.

I mean, they’re always going to stop at something on the and that’s what I was saying, like if you just do a water taxi, it’s going to be cheaper.

So of course, everything there is negotiable.

They’re always going to hit you with the highest price and then of course, go lower than that, right?

So don’t be afraid to do that.

27:14

This is an area in which you want to do that.

So after we were done with our tour and time on the water, which was amazing, really great time and fun, we ended up getting hungry, of course.

So we said we want to go to lunch.

We went to a place called El Pescador, which is very close to the Marina.

27:31

Of course, if you know Spanish, you could tell by the name that that is a seafood place.

Kim, you wouldn’t like it.

So sorry, but you know you weren’t with us.

So we opted for the seafood on this one.

We got some shrimp ceviche and a grilled whitefish and garlic butter sauce and it was absolutely delicious.

27:48

It was actually the recommendation off of the guy that got us to take the tour.

He told us where to go to lunch afterwards and it was really good.

And then after we went to lunch, we went to the Monkey Cave Bar, which is a well known spot for different types of margaritas.

Jamal got a Toronto pepper Margarita and I got one called the Mexican Monkey which had chili and coconut and it was really good.

28:09

I really liked it.

You know, I got really excited to go here because Brittany told me, oh, Monkey’s Cave Bar.

And, you know, in a touristy area, when they have something in the name, you really kind of visualize that, so to speak, right?

And I really thought we were going to some sort of cave bar, whether it be on the beach or a bar themed like it was actually a cave that it is not.

28:27

So do not go to Monkey’s Cave Bar with the assumption that you’re going to any sort of cave, because that is not the case.

But the margaritas here were actually really good and enjoyable.

Then we decided to walk to Madano Beach.

We laid out for a little bit.

When you were on Madano Beach or walking through the Marina area, did you see any iguanas?

28:46

Any big lizards?

Oh my gosh, we saw some iguanas that people were holding so that we could take pictures with them, and they were wearing sombreros.

Oh my God, we should have gotten that.

Picture, you know, they had some small ones, they had big ones, but I feel like we only saw the one with the sombrero.

29:03

Lots of people were holding them to take photos.

But one time we saw an iguana and it had like perfectly fit sombrero to its head.

And I was like, Oh my gosh, this is the cutest freaking thing I’ve ever seen.

Like I really want a photo.

And it’s one of those things that I feel like they get me all the time in Mexico this way.

You know, when we’re in Sochi, Melco, in Mexico City and we were too cheap to pay for the mariachi on the boat.

29:24

I really feel like I did myself a disservice me and Brittany by not taking a photo with the iguana cause normally like whatever but that sombrero really sold and then I opted not to do it and now I am having like regrets about.

It did you get a picture?

I do have some pictures and it’s funny, when I went there in 2018, we got the pictures with the big lizard and the sombrero.

29:44

When I was just there in 2024, Same.

I don’t know if it’s the same lizard, but basically same looking lizard, same sombrero.

Got a picture?

You just got to do it.

Jamal.

Quit being cheap over there.

I know.

Well, it wasn’t necessarily a thing of being cheap.

It was almost like, do I really need one?

30:01

And then in the moment I said I know, I know, I know.

Could have turned it.

Exactly.

To a nice ornament for your Christmas tree.

I know I could have.

I like, you’re right, I don’t need it.

But now that I’ve gone from it, I want it, you know?

So like when I have the impulsive want, I should just do when I’m.

30:16

On Is this your Africa?

Well, I wouldn’t say it’s that big of a regret like you’re Africa Kim, but very close.

You know, that iguana with the sombrero is actually something pretty freaking cool and cute and yeah.

Yeah, So after Madonna Beach, we went back to the hotel for a little bit relaxed.

Then Jamal wanted to go out for dinner, so we went to a place called La Lupita.

30:36

They actually had really good food.

They are known for their pastor tacos with a melted cheese crust as their Taco shell.

And they also had a pork belly Taco that was kind of like an Asian fusion that was was really good.

They had this corn, I wouldn’t say salad, but it was like this Alothe that was cut up and had a whole bunch of seasoning in it with chips.

30:58

That was a great appetizer.

Yeah.

You know, like Mexican St. corn that they have.

They did it up in a little fancy way over here and I really wanted to have some.

So that was really good.

And we ended with churros that had a chocolate dipping sauce and then a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

31:14

You know, Brittany did not want to go to dinner because she was still full from lunch, which I couldn’t even really believe because we didn’t eat that much for breakfast.

Lunch we split, which I didn’t feel like was a lot, but as soon as she took a bite of that pork belly Taco after I convinced her to just come with me and just get one thing or nothing at all, she got the one thing.

31:32

And she’s like, this sparked my appetite.

So the food at La Lupita was really good.

I enjoyed it.

I maybe would have liked to gone back there a second time.

We did not.

We tried a different restaurant the following day, but La Lupita really enjoyed.

Hey Squad Ace, I want to take a quick break to remind you about all of the resources that we have on our website, travelsquadpodcast.com.

31:52

Head on over there, sign up for our newsletter which comes out twice a month.

We have an episode page for every single episode that comes out, has links to everything we talked about, tours, products, hotels, all of that and a ton more resources.

So head on over to travelsquadpodcast.com to check it all out.

32:11

So day three, Sunday here, we woke up in the morning again, a nice sleep in, you know, Brittany said every day I want to wake up and go see the sunrise.

And every day when that time came, Brittany wanted to sleep in Kim, you wouldn’t even believe it.

I mean, this was a whole new Brittany on this trip in Cabo in terms of just taking it slow and with the flow.

32:32

I enjoyed it.

And I told Brittany, I said this is our first big trip with you at 35.

And now she’s kind of like over the hill here a little bit and doesn’t even want to get up full for sunrise anymore.

But nevertheless, after we had breakfast, we actually had a tour scheduled for today.

32:47

This was the only thing that we had booked specifically, which was a whale watching tour, because whale watching is very common and popular to do in Cabo San Lucas because this is actually where a lot of humpback whales come to do their breeding and everything like that and part of their migration.

33:05

So you’re almost guaranteed to see them around this time of year.

Where we went, our tour was scheduled for 9:00, but we got a message the day before saying not enough people were on the tour.

Is it OK if we move you to the 12:00, which they did?

So we had a 12:00 whale watching tour.

33:20

Yeah, so we got to the Marina a little bit early.

We went to a restaurant and bar.

We had a drink to kill some time and the company we went with was called Cabo Nature and we booked it through via tour.

We’ll link that in the show notes.

Our guides were Maria and Maria and they were marine biologists and they were super knowledgeable.

33:41

They were actually both certified to do whale rescue.

So if they come across any whales that are tangled in fishing net, their boat is able to help go out and rescue them.

So I thought that was pretty cool and they just made us had a great time and any pictures they took during this tour we would get for free.

33:58

We didn’t have to pay extra.

We didn’t mention this on the last tour where we went out to the arch and all of that.

They did have a photographer on board, but it was an extra price to purchase the pictures and this one was all included.

So we got out onto the water.

It was really an amazing time, honestly.

34:15

We’ve never been specifically whale watching before.

Of course we’ve been out on the water and seen whales, but from a distance.

But this is where you’re supposed to get up close, within reason of course, because you don’t want to harass the animals.

There’s lots of people affect their migration, breeding, etcetera.

But within 5 minutes of being on the water, we saw some whales.

34:35

They actually happened to be kind of in the well, not fully in the Marina, but in the Bay Area before you really get out.

And a lot of boats were around, of course, because lots of boats around in the Marina and Bay before you really get out into the open water.

So we saw them only for a little bit before they just decided, hey, we’ve had enough attention from all these boats around and they dove deep and did not come back up.

34:59

So they recommended for us to go out a little bit farther out to sea.

So we were on the Sea of Cortez side.

We went out looking for whales.

We spent a good amount of time cruising, and then we saw some breach in the distance, so we rushed out there.

But by the time we got there, we waited a few minutes to see if they would resurface.

35:17

So they did not.

But then we saw three more sprouts and water out.

So we got actually really close to three humpback whales and we got to see them just kind of hang on the surface for a little bit and then finally dive down.

When they dive, they stay like 5 to 8 minutes underwater unless they are just relaxing, then they can spend up to 40 minutes underwater.

35:40

So quite a bit of time that they can submerge themselves.

So that’s the closest that we got.

The best that we saw was like those 3 together and there was really no other boat around when we saw those 3.

So that was perfect.

It sounds like a really exciting whale watching excursion.

35:56

You typically hear about not seeing them at all, but you saw a bunch.

The first one right off the bat, the second one I don’t want to say was a bust.

I mean, we saw them, but by the time we got there, they were just gone.

We spent some more time looking, but that third time really where they were three of them at the surface just kind of lollygagging around a little bit and join themselves and join life before they took a dive.

36:17

But I would say we were no more than what, like 2025 feet away from them.

Yeah, we’re that really.

And of course you may think to yourself, well, that’s far, but of course you want to give them space.

But at the same time, these whales are huge and massive.

36:33

So 2025 feet away, you still get good visuals of them just because of how big they are.

So they were just kind of like floating up at the top, dove down.

We waited to see if they would come back up because again, our guides tell us, you know, hey, this is usually the average if they go down before they come back up.

36:50

And then after they didn’t for a while, then we said, OK, let’s move on.

Yeah, but we also saw some other sea animals while we were out there.

We saw some Marlins, which are fish that were jumping, jumping in the distance.

We passed a few sea turtles.

We passed a sea lion swimming.

37:05

And after a while of not seeing any more whales, they decided to go take us to the Pacific Ocean side of things because it had been a while since we saw any humpbacks.

And what was amazing about this is we came across a orca, one male orca whale that was swimming and we got to follow him for probably 15 minutes.

37:25

Yeah, he was staying up on the surface for quite a long time.

Of course he would go under, but when he went under, he was only under for maybe 30 seconds before he came back up.

And so our guide was telling us when we had got there and finally saw the orca, she said, you know, our captain got a message saying that there was an orca side and we didn’t want to say anything to excite you guys just in case that didn’t pan out and we didn’t find it.

37:49

But orca, this should not be here this time of year.

It’s really rare to actually see them.

And this makes sense as to why the humpbacks have gone, because orcas are predators to the humpback whales, right?

Orcas are smaller, but they are actually predators.

So she said it makes complete sense why we’ve stopped seeing the humpback whales.

38:07

They’ve dispersed.

So we got out there and he just stayed on the surface for quite a while and we got to enjoy watching him, which I thought was pretty cool.

I mean, I would have loved to see a whole pot of orcas, but to just see the I think was a really amazing experience of way to cap off the whale watching.

38:24

Did you see him jump through the air or anything like that?

No, unfortunately none of the whales did like a full jump and breach or anything like that.

All they did was go under, come up, be on the surface, of course, blow the water out of their spout or blowhole, whatever you whatever the official term is for that.

38:42

But none of them actually did a full blown jump.

I would have loved to see something like that.

That would have actually been the icing on the cake for this whale watching excursion if that happened.

And beyond the whale watching, it was an educational tour, too.

They were telling us facts about the humpback whales, about their breeding cycle, how they actually don’t eat when they’re in Mexico.

39:00

They are there for mating and giving birth only before they go up the coast.

And so we learned a lot about the humpback whales while we were on the tour.

It was a great tour.

We were out for about two to 2 1/2 hours on the water and squad tip, wear sunscreen because you know, Jamal didn’t, even though I made him packet along with the aloe Vera.

39:21

And guess who’s burnt?

No way I.

Mean, I got burnt, but I wouldn’t say I got fully burnt.

But in my defense, right, I really thought to myself, and this is stupid, I know.

Oh, we’re only going to be out there like a couple hours.

However, the boat ride the day before that did the tour around the Bay that took us to Lovers Beach.

39:40

It was a covered boat.

So I thought to myself, oh, we’re whale watching.

Of course they’re going to just have like a little cover over us.

You know, I’m not going to be fully exposed to the sun.

As soon as we walk down the deck and get to the boat, I realize, Oh my goodness, there is no cover.

So I was sun exposed out on the open water for a good bit of time.

39:59

So I, I would, I would like to say yes, I am a little red.

I do look a little red burned.

Well, you know, it’s going to be a nice brown glow after this fades a little bit, so.

We did stop at the Cabo Arch to be able to take some pictures again.

40:14

The pictures that they take are included in the price and they sent us a link with our pictures with them the next day, so that was nice.

And then we went back into the Marina.

When we went back, we decided to grab drinks at Baja Brewing and Jamal wanted to try their craft beers.

40:30

It’s on the 7th floor with a patio deck and it’s right on top of Medano Beach, so you look right down onto the beach and onto the water.

Really nice.

Just got a quick beverage there.

We got a quick beverage and we did also eat some chicken wings that they did have.

This was our first venture out from not eating actual Mexican food while in Mexico just for a nice light snack.

40:52

So I would say this is a great place to go for an amazing view of the entire area.

Enjoy a drink.

I got a pilsner, Brittany got got a Baja Raz which is a kind of Raspberry flavored beer, so pretty good overall spot I would say.

41:07

This is the only place where it took a long time for us to be served, so that would be my only complaint about it.

But nevertheless, I enjoyed the view here for sure.

We were going to go grab dinner afterwards, but we went in December, so sunset is around 6:00 PM.

You don’t have a super long day.

41:24

So I told Jamal instead of going to dinner first, why don’t we lay out on the beach until sunset?

He’s like, OK, that’s fine, but we have to actually lay in the sun, sun, because if the sun starts to tuck behind the mountains in the back, it does get cold on the beach.

So if we’re laying out, I’m reading a book, I finish it, then I’m just sitting there enjoying the water.

41:45

And I look up and I see that there’s a caution sign in an area of the beach being blocked off.

And I was like, what’s going on over there?

They were releasing baby sea turtles.

Hundreds of them.

Oh my God, how lucky to be there when that’s happening and you had no idea they even do that there.

42:03

We had no idea, you know, when I was looking at tours and things to do, I saw that it was an option to adopt A baby turtle and like, help release it out to sea and they go to different beaches, it said.

So you can’t predict where they’re going to do the releasing next.

42:19

And we just happened to be sitting there and he had like a whole box.

How many turtles would you say was in there?

Over 100.

Well, definitely over 100, it was hundreds, hundreds.

So they do because there is a lot of marine life in this area.

It is very biodiverse in terms of its marine life.

42:36

They do have a lot of rescue operations and things to help stabilize populations etcetera.

So as in real life, when turtles nest on the beach, they lay their eggs in the sand.

The turtles hatch and then they crawl to the water.

42:51

So they just bypassed the lay the eggs in the sand part.

Of course, they have hatched sea turtle hatchlings just to make sure that they’re actually safe.

And of course, no predators get them on the beach.

Of course, be disturbed by the fact that there’s tourism here on the beach.

So they blocked off the area and then started the whole process of hey, let’s release you on the beach, watch you crawl and swim towards the water like Mother Nature has planned for you.

43:18

And that’s what we got got to witness in the hundreds and I, I thought it was actually really cool.

It was the topping of my trip.

It was like we spent all day on the water.

We got to see 7 humpback whales and orca sea turtles, sea lions, and to watch these baby sea turtles get released into the ocean was amazing.

43:37

Once they finally got swept up by a wave we could just see their little heads bobbing in the water.

It was Oh my God I loved it.

It’s my dream to.

See that?

You guys are so lucky.

Well, we’ll definitely share the videos and photos online so that you squaddies can see it.

43:52

And of course, we’ll send them to you direct Kim so you can check it out.

But all the more reason to go to Cabo.

We’re just going to have to find out where they’re releasing them and go check it out again because that was pretty cool.

So then we went to Mango Deck, we got some more margaritas, watched a little bit more of the shows, and then we stopped in a Marisco’s place for our last and final dinner before we headed home the next day.

44:13

Yeah, we went to Marisco’s Cabo Seafood.

We got 3 fish tacos that we split and we ordered some shrimp and octopus ceviche.

It was super good, but by the time we got 3/4 of the way, that little subtle spice really started to kick it.

It was almost too much and I ran out of water.

44:30

I was slightly concerned for a little bit.

Thank God I had more water.

Oh yeah?

Did you have any more Margarita?

I did not have any more Margarita here because I had my Margarita at Mango Deck.

Then I got like a little half bucket O beer at Mango Deck just as well.

So I did not have a Margarita to cool it down.

44:49

I was like, I need water at this point.

And also sometimes when my mouth is like really hot and spicy, I feel like alcohol or anything carbonated that way kind of like makes it worse.

So water is usually my go to for that.

But super good.

If you really love seafood, I think Marisco’s Cabo Seafood was great.

45:06

So then we just went back to the hotel for the night.

The one complaint I will have of our hotel was it literally felt like we were right on top of a party every night.

There was karaoke going on at the bar next door.

The bar across the street was super loud.

45:23

They’re partying all night long.

It literally feels like you’re right there with.

Them OK well I have a tip for you and for all of our squaties.

I have now been doing this quite a bit when I go to hotels.

Either they’re too quiet or you can hear commotion in the hallway, door slamming or it’s loud.

45:40

There’s parties.

There’s actually going to be.

I’ve heard the hotel I have in Reykjavik coming up has this problem.

So here’s that’s what you do.

Turn on YouTube, look up brown noise.

There is several different brown noise.

They’re recordings for brown noise.

They’re 9 to 12 hours long with no ads.

45:57

Turn it on, flip your phone upside down and play that and it will drowned out all the outside noise.

I even brought my sound machine and my sound machine did not do the trick so.

You got to crank it up.

Brown noise, baby.

We will have to try that YouTube page with the brown noise because that is a good idea.

46:15

You know what’s funny is the first night for whatever reason, I had a little bit difficulty sleeping and I woke up in the middle of the night.

And by the middle of the night, you know, I’m talking like 2-3 AM, and the music was still going from one of the bars outside.

And I heard this one random noise with it too, that just sounded like static.

46:31

I was like, what is that?

And then I realized Brittany had the sound machine on too.

But the sound machine mixed with the music and noise going on outside.

It was just horrendous.

It was so much tougher for me to fall.

Back this sounds like Jamal over 40.

I’m almost at 40, Kim.

46:48

So, yeah, just grumpy old man status is coming early on, Jamal, apparently.

But yeah, nevertheless, like Brittany said that I would say that was the only complaint about our hotel.

But we still stand by the suggestion of if you’re not going to be at an actual resort that’s by the beach, stay in city center.

47:05

Yeah, you may be by a place that has that loud noise.

So that kind of is unfortunate, but you are so central to everything.

That kind of makes up for it in that sense.

So on Monday, it was our last day, we slept in, we had breakfast at the hotel, there was a coffee shop that I had my eye on, it was called Coffee Star Signature.

47:24

So we decided to go there for some morning coffee and Jamal got an iced caramel macchiato and I got a iced horchata cream latte and let me tell you that horchata cream latte was so good.

Highly recommend.

I made a mistake.

47:39

I don’t know what I was thinking, getting a caramel macchiato like an idiot.

I mean, I could get that anywhere.

No, no, it was.

And it was a hot day in the morning and we were walking and didn’t want to get too hot before our flight or anything like that.

So I mean, I in that sense, of course it was good.

Don’t get me wrong.

But I’m in Mexico.

47:56

I should have gotten an iced torchata cream latte.

And then I took a sip of Britney’s.

Like, this is tasty.

You know, it really put me in the the mood and essence of where I was.

Whoa.

Whoa, whoa, the mood.

Calm down.

I know, I know.

In that sense, I made a mistake.

48:11

The coffee shop was right next door to a pharmacy and we had been scoping out pharmacies while we were there and so we did pick up a bottle of Cipro so that we just had that on stock.

So that was.

Great.

No Viagra, no Plan B.

We did not pick that up or I should say I didn’t pick that up in front of Brittany.

48:30

I got some, a little stash at home.

Not, not the last thing that you mentioned, but the the former picked some of that up, you know?

And then we just waited for our hotel shuttle to pick us up at 12.

They were there pretty prompt.

We went back to the airport.

Terminal 1 does have a lounge, which was fantastic.

48:49

They had a build your own Nacho ball and they had some empanadas while we were there too, so in a full bar of course.

So we spend a few hours in the airport lounge before taking off on our flight 1.

Quick tip about Volatis is they don’t even serve water on there or any snacks.

49:09

So if you are taking a budget airline within Mexico, just keep that in mind.

I feel like that’s becoming a bigger and bigger trend.

A lot of budget European airlines are the same way.

So it’s like if I ever board a plane without a bottle of water, I know I’m really in for dehydration.

49:26

Yeah, for sure.

And let me say this though, Brittany mentions Volo Reese and yes, that is a good thing to know.

I’m not going to lie, I feel like only once have we ever flown Frontier, maybe twice.

But I remember the last time that we flew Frontier that they did not serve water also.

Now they may have changed that.

49:42

So if they have, I don’t mean to call it out in a bad way, but even domestic airlines here that are the budget airlines don’t serve water on their flights.

So always have a bottled water with you.

I mean, we always say this all the time.

We always travel with the bottled water.

You should always have. 1 maybe buy it at the airport or if your lounge that you’re in has the water dispenser you don’t want to fill water up in.

50:04

AI guess a water fountain’s probably safe in Mexico, but internationally I’m always a little wishy washy with public water.

Agreed.

All right, we’re just about to wrap up the episode here, but before we do, we have a question of the week.

This one’s coming in from Virginia, out of Sacramento.

50:23

Virginia’s asking what are the options for families and copies.

Not mango deck, I’m going to guess.

Not Mango Deck unless your kids are teens and you’re OK with them seeing that type of stuff.

It’s not necessarily entirely too vulgar, just FYI.

But of course it is a little bit more.

50:39

Yeah, well, that was that was one that happened.

But in terms of the entertainment that they do, it is more geared towards adults.

But I wouldn’t say vulgar necessarily.

But yes, skip Mango Deck if you’re really concerned about the full blown family friendliness.

I think the best option for families is to get on the water.

50:56

You can take a water taxi to Lovers Beach.

You could do the Cabo Arch tour, We could do whale watching tours.

There is also other areas we saw advertisements for ATV tours, horseback riding, kayaking and paddle boarding.

The sea turtle release that I mentioned earlier.

51:12

We can each adopt A sea turtle and help release it back to the ocean.

While we were cruising around the Marina we saw pirate ships and I did see that they offer sunset dinner cruises.

This area is popular for snorkeling and diving and right outside of Cabo there’s an adventure park called Wild Canyon Adventure Park and they have a suspension bridge, a wildlife sanctuary with rescue animals, water park with pool, water slides, zip lining and bungee jumping.

51:40

So a lot of family friendly options.

There are just of course know which bars and things are not.

But at the same time like you just mentioned Brittany, tons of options to do.

I enjoyed Cabo so much.

I’m actually really looking forward to go back.

I would say Cabo is such a great place to go.

51:56

Yes, you want to do some of the water activities and of course things that Brittany just mentioned, but it is also a great place to go to just kind of relax and let the day just dictate itself on what you’re going to do and just really relax.

As long as you do a couple of the highlights and not just sit around do nothing, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with how much you’ll enjoy your day just roaming around and doing what Cabo has to offer.

52:17

I can’t wait to go back to Cabo and do an all inclusive there.

Yes, I agree with you Kim.

I would like to do an all inclusive.

I don’t think I would want to do a week long, No, just all inclusive out there.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You want to find the 3-4 day all inclusive sweet spot on that one.

52:33

You don’t want to really do a full week.

Squatties, thank you so much for tuning into our episode this week.

Make sure to keep the adventures going with us on all the socials at Travel Squad Podcast and send us in your future Questions of the Week.

If you found the information this episode to be useful, or if you thought we were just plain funny, please be sure to share it with a friend that would enjoy it too.

52:52

And as always, be subscribe, rate and review our podcast and TuneIn every travel Tuesday and Fridays for new episodes.

And Squatty.

Hear about the latest tips, advice, and amazing adventures we have in store for you.