Day beach in Cabo

[Diane F]

Can anyone recommed a beach to go to for a few hours in Cabo that has some shade and/or umbrellas that would welcome cruise ship passengers?Also, one that has a nice pool area that we could use the pool.

[Bob7]

Hi Di, we were thinking of the same thing, we like to go back and forth from the pool to the beach, and some ppl are happy throwing a towel on the sand, but we like a lounger and umbrella (and strong but cheap drinks :-))

 

The ones that look good are the Hacienda, Melia San Lucas, Solmar Suites Hotel, and the new Playa Grande Resort. We were going to email them to see if they take day guests, but haven't yet, we don't go till March. Have you got any more info yet?

-Bob

[ciship]

Bob,

 

We are going on the Pride March 13th. We figured we would just do the beach there also (we arent shoppers). Please keep us posted on your research and I will do some of my own as well and keep it on these boards.

 

cq

[Bob7]

Ok CQ, will do. One of the nicest cruise days we spent at a resort was the Ritz Carleton in St. Thomas, way down at the end of the island near Red Hook. No charge, great pools, beach, and lounge covers with hoodies on top to keep them slipping off! Locals said the Emerald Beach Resort does it there for free too. The Bolongo Resort charges $15. Here's the link to our photos of it:

http://community.webshots.com/user/rob42ca

and the rest of our cruise shots are under:

http://community.webshots.com/user/bob42ca

 

In Cabo the Pueblo Bonita Sunset Beach resort looks great but doesn't allow ppl to go in the water with the undertow, they even have a security guy to stop ppl.

The pools at the Club Cascadas de Baja didn't look very big.

The Finisterra Resort looks nice but is up on a hill, you have to go down to their Palapa Beach Club to be near the water.

And there was something we didn't like about the Terrasol Beach Resort, can't remember what tho'.

 

So our short list looks like the Solmar, Villa del Palmar, Melia, and Hacienda.

 

What day use resorts have you liked? ... in any location.

-Bob

Oh, P.S., the Playa Grande Resort is on the short list too.

[ciship]

Bob7,

 

Well, I'm not having much luck at all with Cabo. I have been trying to get on some Cabo "forums" and find some Cabo chat rooms so I can speak with the locals....but, still not much. This shouldnt be that hard???

 

Since we have our kids with us, we wanted a hotel that might have slides or a waterfall to jump off of and a swim up bar and....blah, blah, blah......I'm not asking for much am I?? lol

 

Keep me posted.

cq

[Escrowgal]

Bob7 and all,

A few of the hotels you mentioned are on the far side of the arch and while beautiful hotels with great beaches, don't plan to swim. The current is too strong at Playa Grande, Solmar, Finnesterra and any others on that side.

Not sure which Hacienda you are thinking of, probably the one just past the marina. That one, the Melia and the Pueblo Bonita group are probably your best options.

We have been to Cabo many times and always stay at the same place, the Villa del Palmar. It is a long beach walk or a short cab ride from where the tenders leave you. I would email them to see if they offer a beach day for cruisers.

This Christmas will be the first time we have cruised into Cabo!! Can't wait!

Kelly :cool:

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Ryndam Mexican Riviera Christmas Cruise 12/18-12/26/04

[Just_Cruising]

I can vouch for the great pools with swim up bar at the Finisterra in Cabo and the waterslide/ waterfall that you can jump off of at the El Cid Castilla in Mazatlan. (apparently they have a swim bar around to the right that I never saw.)

[Bob7]

Hi Kelly, thx for all the info. You must be an "ironwoman", walking from the tender to the Palmar, on the map it looks like you'd have to walk around the harbor and way down the road past the Pueblo and Cascadas to get to the Palmar, a few miles? You'd need a large margerita after that!

 

We wondered if the tender drops us at the Main Dock at the entrance to the harbor, or if it goes into the harbor to perhaps the marina near the Costa Real Cabo hotel?

 

Yes we were thinking of the Hacienda near the Melia, looks nice.

 

So with all your trips to Cabo I'll bet you know about the shopping. Where would you suggest for art, booze, and clothes? We wondered about the Plaza Nautica, Plaza Bonita, Puerto Paralso Mall, and a bunch of plazas ... Aramburo, Danza, Las Californias, Manachis, Mar, Sol, Femme. What streets are good?

Thx!

 

And CQ, here's a good Cabo map:

http://www.loscabosguide.com/maps/pics/cabo-san-lucasmap-04.jpg

If the tender stops at the Main Dock, #21 and 10 on that map, we're thinking of staying at the resorts you can walk to, so we don't have to spend time getting a cab back to the returning tender. So those are the Finisterra, Playa Grande, TerraSol, and Solmar. C. C. member Greg wrote in June that they had a nice time at the Finisterra, no day fee, easy walk up the hill from the tender. Here's their web site:

http://www.finisterra.com/htdocs/index.html

and the Playa looks good and has waterfalls:

http://www.loscabosguide.com/playagrande/

but as Kelly said the ocean in that area is dangerous. But the margeritas probably are too :-)

 

-Bob

[ciship]

Bob!!! I'm so impressed with the mountains of information you provide...youre my kinda guy!! THANKS!

 

CQ

[Bob7]

Oh cq you sweet smooth-talker you'll have me buying you drinks pretty soon.

"JustCruising" thx for your input on the Fininsterra.

 

Does anyone know this? ... we want to find out where the RCI tender drops us off, likely either the Main Dock where the Marinas de Baja is at the harbor entrance, or further into the harbor at the marina beside the Costa Real Cabo hotel. The way member Greg wrote about walking up the hill from the tender and turning in to the Finisterra on the left I think it has to be the Main Dock. I could post that question on the forum. If that turns out to be right, then the Finesterra is probably number one for lunch and hanging out at their pool/beach in the afternoon after shopping. Their web site says its walking distance from town, and it looks like maybe half a mile to a mile on the map.

 

You know what else would be cool, walking out to the Arch at land's end. I'm wondering if ppl can walk down the beach past the Playa Grande to Divorce Beach, then past Pirate's Cave, and right out to the end. It might be blocked off because of all the protected wildlife. Or maybe ppl can do down the other side of the peninsula past Lover's Beach (short stop there maybe) out to the end.

-Bob

[ciship]

Bob!!! I'll take you up on those drinks while you are being my tour guide for the port of Cabo!! You are doing some great research! Can't wait to hear what else you find out!

 

cq

[Just_Cruising]

Just to clarify, I don't recall the beach being that close to the Finisterra. As the hotel is up on a hill, I believe you have to walk down the other side to get to the beach. Also, I recall hearing that the rip currents are rough and swimming can be somewhat dangerous on that side.

 

Regarding the Finisterra pool area, however...very nice indeed. Apparently there is also a bar above the lobby that offers some great views.

 

We took a taxi here because it is up the hill, we have young kids, and it was really hot, however, the town IS close by and we walked with our kids down the hill and into town. No problem.

 

The tenders come right into the harbor...very close to the water taxis. Highly recommend renting one to see Los Arcos, Lovers Beach, and the Pacific Window. We did this first, then the Finisterra, then did some shopping in town.

 

Have fun!

[Escrowgal]

Bob,

 

Just to clarify, I walked from the VDP to town once and never again! That coarse sand makes it a pretty tough go.......I took a cab back to the hotel.

For as many times as I have shopped in Cabo, I am terrible at remembering where I went! One that does stand out is Plaza Nautica - it is the one with the funny looking "huts" in the middle of it. There is a great jewelry store there (the one with the cool stairs up the middle) and a fun store for bathing suits, shorts, shirts, all kinds of women's clothing. There is also a great little folk art shop tucked around the corner - you need to look to find it but they have great local crafts, not the mass produced items you find at alot of other stores. ;)

Kelly

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Ryndam Mexican Riviera Christmas Cruise 12/18-12/26/04

[Bob7]

Hey Kelly, that's good you fessed up, so we hafta leave the ironman and iron woman award with 2 ppl from our last cruise, Bill and Shelly, who did not get on an elevator the whole week on ship. (But by the time they got to the pool deck they were too tired to drink :-)

 

And Wendy thx you for the shopping tip, she found the Nautical Plaza on our map, it's right in the harbor. Any opinion of the Puerto Paraiso Mall at the other end of the harbor?

 

"JustCruising" thx for the detail on the Finisterra, yes were read somewhere you have to walk down a hill to the beach, not that we couldn't manage that on 6 margueritas. And we heard the water there was rough, it's fun in the waves if ya don't end up in the middle of the Pacific, wonder if you can go in up to your waist. Nice that the town is close enough to walk, if yer kids did it no way I'm paying for a cab :-)

 

And we've decided to do the Arch, likely private water taxi rather than the $20 ship tour. We wondered if you can walk out to Land's End at the Arch along the beach, either the Lover's Beach side or the Pirate's Cave/Divorce Beach (ocean) side.

 

Hey who's going to LA a day or 2 early? You ladies must be getting pumped to do some ultimate shopping on Rodeo Drive! Elbow those stars out of the way to get the bargains (like there's bargains on Rodeo :-( Parking might be tight, we could probably leave our rental cars in some star's driveway huh? They like helping tourists. Say you left yer car in Tom Cruise's driveway, he's probably have a sandwich and drink ready for ya when you get back! Introduce you to Penelope, oops, think she's history, he's probably unattached!!!!

 

Jeez the San Pedro hotels at the dock are a fortune, all about $100. Way better deals around LAX, lots around $50-60, and close to Venice Beach and Santa Barbara anyway.

-Bob

[coolcat12]

Bob and everybody: I was looking into spending the day at a hotel beach too. Has anybody used the Melia San Lucas for the day?

 

Jill

[ciship]

I emailed Hotel Hacienda Beach Resort yesterday and heard from them today welcoming all of us to come visit their hotel. Looks pretty awesome...

 

Here is what she wrote:

 

YES!!! YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO COME AND USE OUR FACILITIES. YOU WILL NEED TO TAKE A CAB FROM THE DOCKS. WE ARE ON THE BEST SWIMMING BEACH IN CABO SAN LUCAS.

HOPE TO SEE YOU IN MARCH

WILMA

 

Anyone been here? I'm checking out Hotel Solmar as well.

 

cq

[Escrowgal]

Bob,

If you're talking about the new mall with all the marble, it's pretty awesome. Lots of shops with pretty high end merchandise so you better watch your wallet! If I'm right it is a bit of a walk from where the tenders leave you off but you're young, right???:D

[Bob7]

Jill, yes the Melia was on our short list for awhile, C.C. member Mr. Mac posted that they had a nice time there, nice pool and beach, bought drinks and lunch, no questions asked. He's a travel agent, and they run the Mr. Mac Cruises site. The Melia site is at: http://www.solmelia.com and then you do a search for Melia San Lucas. It's rated 5 stars. It's a cab ride around the bay, so not so close to the tender and shopping as the 4 near the tender (Finisterra, Playa Grande, TerraSol, and Solmar). But your daugher might like the calmer water better where the Melia, Hacienda, and Pueblo Bonito are.

 

Hey CQ, good work. So that nails it, we can use for free the Pueblo Bonito, Melia, and Hacienda on the other side of the harbor, and the Finisterra on the ocean side. Let us know what you find out from the Solmar, their location looks really pretty with the rocks and the beach, here's their site: http://www.loscabosguide.com/hotels/solmar01.htm

I'd like to find out about the Playa Grande too, right next to the Finisterra, here's their site: http://www.loscabosguide.com/playagrande/ Hey, I think they've got yer picture on their page, isn't that you sitting under that umbrella in yer blue string 'kini???

 

Kelly, Wendy says thx for the shopping stuff, and she found this 3 page writeup, and it's a good description, but it also sounds like advertising

http://www.loscabosguide.com/magazine/articles9/shoppingloscabos9.htm

And Wendy says it doesn't matter how young ya are, ya shop till ya drop. Maybe there'll be a nice lounger and pool there when I drop.

 

I want to start a new thread for day resorts at Mazatlan, we could be doing the same thing there, is that a possibility for y'all too? I'll get that posted.

WEEKEND!!

-Bob

[eyegel]

I have visited Cabo San Lucas on half a dozen occasions since 1982 (when it was a dusty pueblo and the only place to get something to eat for lunch in town was a place which prepared racks of rotisseried chicken). The Pacific side (the Finisterra) can be extremely dangerous. The only safe swimming beach within walking distance of the port is Playa El Medano which begins in front of the Hacienda Hotel and continues east to Villa del Palmar. The further you go, the less crowded it becomes.

 

In Mexico, the beaches are public property. The adjacent hotels are more than glad to have you dine in their restaurants, drink at their bars, and rent you lounge chairs and umbrellas, for a price.

 

As for using a hotel's swimming pool, I would inquire at the hotel. Many hotels have signs reserving the use of their pools (albercas) for their guests (huespedes). If you plan to sneak a visit, refrain from "reserving" a poolside lounge chair by draping it with a ship's beach towel in a distinctive color scheme. You may be asked to move along.

[Bob7]

Hey everyone, Eyegel could be on to something here, they might wine and dine us but say "no pool". Of all those messages of ppl having a good time eating and drinking there, and saying the pools were lovely, I can't recall anyone saying they got in the pool, or were told not to. Can you fill us in? ... "Just Cruising", Greg, MrMac, Ed, "HouseHunter"?

 

So anyway Wendy and I have a pool plan for if we get hot. I walk over to the edge of the pool and say "Come here hon and look at this." She bends over and looks in the pool, and I grin at the staff, and push her in the pool. I'm still grinning at the staff, and she comes out, walks around behind me, and pushes me in. I swim over to the edge, grab her leg, and pull her back in. By then we're probably cooled off enough, so we get out, kiss and make up, and go back to our drinks, and the staff have a fun story to tell.

That could work huh?

-Bob

[Pearl Jammer]

Bob, you are a crackup! Your sneaky plan to use the pool will totally work! :) Go for it, I only wish I could be there to see it.

 

We will be cruising to Cabo in January & all of this information is SOO Helpful! I was wondering what I was going to do there, as it was the only port I didn't have any plans for.

 

Question...any of these hotels have jet skis for rent?? I plan to lounge (and hopefully boogie board) on the beach and DEFINITELY want to hit up some jet skis in Cabo.

 

Pls advise!

 

M

[Just_Cruising]

To reply to Bob7's question, at the Finisterra, my wife and I swam with our kids in the pool. Nobody hassled us or stared at us. For the most part the staff ignored us, that is, until I gave waiter Hector a $10 spot and asked for towels. After that, we couldn't have asked for better service (I did the same at the El Cid Castilla in Mazatlan - not cheap but wow do they take care of you).

 

We probably got there around 10:00 and frankly, it was kind of dead around the pool area until lunch time. I remember another poster mentioning this as well. I guess the hotel residents were too hung over to get up early. Around lunch time the pool restaurant started to fill up. For the two hours before lunch, I think only one other person was in/ around the middle pool. (There are three pools each on their own terrace; the middle one has the swim up bar and restaurant). Nice place; wifey was impressed with my research! I would imagine the other hotels are fine as well. Enjoy! We sure did!

 

Ahhh, the memories of watching the kids swim while sipping Coronas under the palapa with a gentle, warm hurricane-induced rain coming down...NO! I don't miss it at all!

[Bob7]

Hey JC, great info, thx!

 

Pearl, I doubt there would be jet skiis on the ocean side where the Finisterra is, they say it's too rough for swimming so I can't see them having sea equipment there. But the swimming beach around the harbor at the Hacienda, Melia, and Pueblo Bonito resorts would likely have them, jeez those guys are everywhere. And ya couldn't have big waves or you'd spill yer beer!

-Bob

[Escrowgal]

Pearl,

 

There's a place on the beach (I think in front of the Melia) that rents jet skis, etc......you can get banana boat rides and parasailing also. We've only used them for the last two since we have jet skis at home. I'll check around and see if I can't find out the name of the place......:)

[ciship]

Bob7.......yeah, I WISH I looked like the chick under the umbrella basking on the beach......lol!!

 

I've decided since we have the two kids with us, we need to stay on the calmer side of the waters in Cabo. They will want to get in the ocean.

 

I just can't decide which of the 3 to go to(Hacienda, Melia or Pueblo.....maybe we can get better info once we are on the ship?? I'm sure any will be great.

 

Man, the Holidays are going to go by FAST......and then it will be time to GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

 

cq