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USEFUL INFORMATION
AIRPORT
The San Jose Del Cabo International Airport (SJD)
is located about 29 miles (48 km) North of Cabo San Lucas and about
8 miles (13 km) North of San Jose del Cabo. The best way to
get to and from the airport is to use one of our convenient
pre-reserved airport transfers.
The Los Cabos airport is served by Aero
California (from Los Angeles and Tucson), AeroMexico
(from San Diego, Ontario, and Los Angeles), Alaska
Airlines (Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Jose, San
Diego, and San Francisco), America West (Phoenix),
American Airlines (Dallas Ft. Worth, Chicago, and Los
Angeles), Continental Airlines (Houston and
Newark), Delta Airlines (Atlanta), Frontier
Airlines (Denver), Mexicana (Los Angeles and
Denver), and Sunquest (Calgary and Vancouver). For
good deals on flights to Cabo San Lucas,
click here.
CALLING HOME
By far the most popular way to call home from
Cabo San Lucas is with a calling card. Calling cards are
readily available in Cabo San Lucas, but you will find better deals
on the internet.
Click
Here to find great deals on calling the U.S. from Mexico.
Another way is to use Voice Over IP. When
we travel, we use
Skype from our laptop computer and it is free to call anyone
else with Skype, or a mere 2 cents a minute to call a regular phone.
All you need is a headset. There are also internet cafes around town
where you can use their phones to call.
CELL PHONES
If you want to use your cell phone in Mexico, you
will have to contact your cell phone provider prior to your trip and
arrange an international roaming waiver that will apply only for the
month you are using it. Prepare for steep rates, though.
We recommend using cell phones only for an emergency. For
other calling methods, see "telephone" below.
CREDIT CARDS
Most restaurants accept credit cards, as do many
stores. However, not all stores accept them, or may give you a
better price if you use cash. The downside of this is that
with credit cards, you normally get 100% fraud protection, where you
can get your money back if you are scammed. With cash, you're
out of luck.
CURRENCY
Mexico's currency is the Peso. U.S. Dollars
are widely accepted in Cabo, but expect bad exchange rates if you
choose to use dollars. The peso is normally closer to 11 pesos
to a dollar, but local merchants are likely to charge you 10 pesos
to a dollar for purchasing their goods. The best exchange
rates are normally when taking money out of an ATM or using a credit
card. Banks and local currency exchange booths are normally
next, with hotels being the worst exchange rates, along with
exchanging before leaving your country. We recommend taking
cash out of the ATM when you arrive in Los Cabos.
DRINKING AGE
The legal drinking age in Mexico is 18 years old.
ELECTRICITY
Mexico uses 110V electricity just like the United
States and Canada. If you're coming from Europe or Asia,
you'll need the proper adapters. What you may need is a
three-prong to two-prong adapter or two. Many hotels in Mexico
have only two-prong outlets, particularly the older ones.
You can buy three prong adapters here.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
As of December 31, 2006, all U.S. citizens will
need to have a valid passport to enter Mexico. For now,
though, you can get in with a certified copy of your birth
certificate (NOT a hospital birth certificate or a photo copy) and a
photo ID. We recommend you get a passport before you go - it's
good for 10 years and you'll never have to hassle with it again.
Read:
How to get a U.S. Passport.
You can get a passport here.
From Canada, we also recommend you have a
passport, but you can still get in with proof of citizenship
(original birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or
notorized affidavit of citizenship) and a photo ID (drivers license
or health card). People born in Quebec must present a birth
certificate issued after January 1, 1994.
INTERNET
Most hotels have either Wi-Fi or an internet
kiosk. In town, there are numerous internet cafes, including
Cafe On Line, Cabo Clipper, and the Corner Cafe. Free wireless
internet is available at the Hangout Cafe, Oasis Bar and Grill at
Marina Sol, and the San Francisco Coffee Company in the Hotel Marina
Cabo Plaza.
LANGUAGE
The national language of Mexico is Spanish.
In Cabo San Lucas, English is very common - at least enough to get
by. They know their clientele. However, it's always
appreciated for you to at least try to speak a few words. If
you decide to try to pick up a bit of the language before going,
which we recommend, we like the
Unforgettable Languages course. It's the one we use
whenever we go on vacation.
NUDE BEACHES
Although there are a few places that are secluded
enough to sunbathe nude without detection, nude beaches are illegal
in Mexico. The best rule of thumb is to do as others are doing
around you.
RENTAL CARS
If you're going to rent a car for your stay, we
recommend doing so at the airport - that way you save yourself the
money of the airport transfer back and forth. At the airport,
you'll find all the major companies like Avis and Dollar.
Click Here for the best rates - it's the site we use ourselves.
Just type in "SJD", which is the Cabo San Lucas airport code.
There are several rental car companies in Cabo
San Lucas, including
Dollar Rent a
Car, Avis, Alamo, National, Payless and
Thrifty Car Rental.
In San Jose del Cabo, you'll find Dollar,
Europcar, Hertz, National, and Thrifty.
If renting a car, you will be required to
purchase Mexican Liability insurance. Check with your credit
card company, because they will often cover the theft and collision
insurance on the vehicle, saving you some money. You don't
need an international drivers license - but you do need a valid
drivers license in your country.
SAFETY
Cabo San Lucas is very safe to walk around, even
at night. You will probably never see an incident of any kind.
However, do use common sense, as you would anywhere.
TIMESHARE
Los Cabos is filled with timeshare salesmen
trying to get you into a presentation. They'll normally start
a conversation with "where are you from?" or "when are you leaving?"
and will progress into offering you money or cheap activities in
exchange for attending their presentation. Unless you are
actually in the market for timeshare, please don't humor these
folks. Just say "no gracias" and move on. Trust us -
you'll be glad you did. This includes "welcome packages",
"free taxis", and the like.
TIME ZONE
Cabo San Lucas is on Mountain Standard Time, 1
hour ahead of the west coast, and 2 hours behind the east coast.
TIPPING
Normal tipping for restaurant service and tours
is 10%. It is not customary to tip taxi drivers unless they
help you with your bags or expend some extra effort to help you.
TRANSPORTATION
Taxi rates vary from company to company, time to
time. There are no set rates in Cabo San Lucas. Make
sure to get a price BEFORE entering the taxi. We recommend
asking your hotel front desk when you arrive what the taxi rates
should be so you don't get ripped off. Taxi fares from the
corridor are expensive, especially at night, so be careful.
The public bus is very cheap and runs all day
along the main highway from Cabo San Lucas to San Jose and back from
about 5:00AM to about 9:00PM, passing each stop about every 20
minutes or so. There are official bus stops with covered
waiting areas, but you can stand anywhere along the side of the road
and wave the bus down and they'll usually stop. The fare is 16
pesos (about $1.40) to go from San Jose del Cabo to Cabo San Lucas
or vice-versa, less if you're only going part of the way.
Also see our information on Rental Cars above.
WATER
Most hotels and restaurants use purified water
(it's bad for business if the guests get sick), but if you're in a
private home or condo you may want to get bottled water. It's
better safe than sorry.
WEATHER
We have a whole page on
Cabo San Lucas weather.
Have more questions? Just give us a call
toll-free at 1-866-348-6286 or
e-mail us.
We're happy to help.
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