From my weekend travel in Los Cabos, Ben and I picked up on
a few things that were definitely different and I would highly recommend
advising anyone traveling there and is unfamiliar with the territory.
Cons of Los Cabos:
Timeshare
Salesmen:
There is a LOT of people at the airport
that will attempt to sell you a timeshare. If it is your first time there, you
may be very confused and not sure what you have signed yourself up for. After
passing immigration and customs, the Los Cabos airport has a section where
visitors initially think they are purchasing tickets to take a shuttle over to
the resort. During this time, the people talking to you will likely dive into a
talk about special offers where they will taxi you from your resort over to another
hotel for a free breakfast, tour of the hotel, and day excursion of your
choice. This is all yours for only some random cost of dollars (which varies by
the person) that you will be reimbursed for after you attend the event and
uphold your promises you made to them. It sounded too good to be true and it’s a
scheme to bring you over to a hotel so you can be pressured into purchasing a
time share. If you had this in mind, great! If not, avoid them and walk into the
next section of the airport or be prepared to have a 1-2 hour conversation
about timeshares only to realize that they were not going to even sell you a
shuttle ticket in the first place.
Hustlers in Downtown Los Cabos:
It surprised me that people were very
blatant about selling drugs in the touristic parts of Los Cabos. Ben and I
walked through the touristic parts of downtown only to be hustled by men who
tried to convince us to eat at their restaurant. When we told them we were not
interested, he tried to sell us more drugs than you would find in a
pharmacist’s cabinet. We also saw very amusing signs such as the one below. No
shame in drugs, you know… but only in Los Cabos.
Attempted
Pickpockets:
I was pretty sure a few kids tried to pick
pocket me while I was walking through downtown. Luckily I had no wallet for
anyone to steal or a purse for anyone to rummage through but small children
kept trying to grab my attention by doing random things like grab my hand and
bump into me.
Limited
Transportation:
Unless you are renting a car or taking a
taxi, it’s pretty difficult to travel to different parts of the Los Cabos area.
There aren’t any reliable sources of public transportation (not sure if there were
any at all) that connect the resorts to downtown. The Sheraton had a shuttle
that goes to the mall in downtown Los Cabos and back so we were able to use
that and sightsee a bit.
Long
Airport Check-Ins:
If you are an international traveler without
airline status, be prepared for potential hour-long+ queues at the airport upon
return. As an international traveler, I was not allowed to check in online and
go right through security. I had to wait in line so someone at the airline
kiosk could verify my ID/passport, take my travel visa, and print out my
boarding pass. There were no self-service kiosks either and a lot of people
with large luggage waiting in line. It can be quite brutal.
Pros of Los Cabos:
Resorts
Seem Safe:
I can only speak about what I saw at the
Sheraton but the resort we stayed at in Los Cabos seems to take measures to
ensure its visitors are safe. A lot of the resorts are located in between 2
cities/downtowns along a long stretch of highway with just about nothing in
between. The entrance of our resort is another long stretch of road that is
monitored and cars were checked before being able to pass a barricade. I felt
completely safe while in the resort and had no issues whatsoever.
Beautiful
Views:
If you are staying in a resort, you will
see some amazing scenery! The resorts are located right on the beach, giving
you an endless view of the ocean. The Sheraton also had beautiful buildings
painted in a plethora of vibrant colors and a couple of pools to fill your time
with plenty of tanning, swimming, and drinking margaritas (poolside, of
course). The infinity pool overlooking the beach and ocean is a must-see!
I could have spent my entire day here...
Nice
Temperatures:
In general, Los Cabos has nice and warm
temperatures year-round. This means being able to break out the monotony of
winter back home and swap it for some sunshine and a tan. They do have a
hurricane season though, so make sure to check on the weather advisories before
travel!
Favorable
exchange rates:
Los Cabos is definitely more affordable
than big cities in the United States (especially if you’re coming from San
Francisco). Everything here (even at tourist prices) was still affordable
whether you are in the resort or downtown. Another big pro about Los Cabos is
that running out of pesos doesn’t necessarily mean you have to find a bank to
get more money. Most places accept US dollars (at a less favorable rate) and/or
credit cards. We paid our resort bill using an Amex platinum card so there were
no foreign transaction fees and the exchange rates for this was better than
switching money at the airport.
Great
Food:
Los Cabos had a lot of fresh seafood. After
all, it is by the ocean! I had no complaints on anything I had tried there.
Safe travels, everyone!