San José del Cabo travel guide
Plaza Mijares galleries, the estuary and the road to the East Cape
The historic, gallery-filled half of Los Cabos, a short ride from the airport, with surf at Costa Azul, coves in the Corridor and whale season in winter. November to May is dry and warm; plan four or five days to mix town, beaches and an East Cape trip.
Los Cabos is two towns, and this is the older, calmer one. San José del Cabo sits on a shallow bay of the Sea of Cortez near the southern tip of Baja California Sur, about 32 km north-east of Cabo San Lucas. The neighbour does party boats and spring break. This side of the cape does galleries, mezcal bars and dinner on the plaza.
Development was deliberately kept out of the historic centre and pushed towards the beaches to the south. That left cobbled streets and adobe houses shaded by jacaranda trees around Plaza Mijares. Families still gather by the mission church in the cooler evening air. Most of the 19th-century houses now hold restaurants, silver shops and art galleries.
Beyond town lie the reasons to linger: the surf breaks of Costa Azul, snorkelling coves in the Corridor towards Cabo San Lucas, humpback whales in winter, and the rough East Cape road to the reef at Cabo Pulmo. Rain almost never falls between November and July.
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Top things to do in San José del Cabo
A mission plaza and gallery district, a bird-filled estuary, surf breaks, Corridor coves, whale trips and the reef at Cabo Pulmo.
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Best time to visit San José del Cabo
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Highs of 28 to 33 C, nights down to about 12 C in January and almost no rain; the sea in the Corridor coves is at its calmest.
Highs of 34 to 35 C, warm seas and storms building from August; September averages about 168 mm, much of it from Pacific hurricanes.
The Thursday evening Art Walk around Plaza Mijares runs from November to June; arrive by 5 pm to look at the galleries before the crowds.
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Getting there
SJD's two terminals, the Ruta del Desierto bus and Highway 1
Los Cabos International Airport (SJD), about 16 km north of downtown San José del Cabo, has two terminals with flights from across Mexico, the US and Canada and a seasonal Condor link to Frankfurt. The Ruta del Desierto bus is the cheapest way into town. Shared shuttle vans and taxis take you straight to the hotel in about 20 minutes, and all the main car rental firms operate there, some via shuttle to off-site lots. By road, Highway 1 links town with Cabo San Lucas to the west and La Paz to the north, and long-distance buses stop in town.
- Ruta del Desierto bus
- From outside Terminal 1, every 10 minutes or so, along Highway 1
- Taxi or shared shuttle
- Downtown or the hotel zone in about 20 minutes
- Rental car
- Desks in both terminals; off-site agencies run shuttles
- Cabo San Lucas
- About 32 km by Highway 1 or the toll road
- After customs at Terminal 2 you walk through a gauntlet of timeshare and transfer salespeople; keep walking to your pre-booked driver outside.
- Read rental reviews and check exactly what insurance is included before you book; quoted rates often exclude mandatory cover.
Where to stay
Gallery District, the Paseo Malecón hotel zone or La Playita
Decide first between town and beach in San José del Cabo. The Gallery District and historic centre have the food and evenings, the Paseo Malecón beachfront hotels are a short taxi or long walk south, La Playita is quieter by the marina, and Corridor resorts trade local life for coves.
- Centro and the Gallery District
- Small hotels and posadas around Plaza Mijares, steps from restaurants and the Art Walk; no beach on the doorstep
- Zona Hotelera, Paseo Malecón San José
- Big all-inclusives on a long sandy beach, five minutes from downtown; the shorebreak is strong and often unsafe for swimming
- La Playita and Puerto Los Cabos
- Quiet area east of the estuary around the marina, with a fishing-village beach and newer resorts; you will want a car or taxis
- Costa Azul and the Corridor
- Surf spots and luxury resorts on the road to Cabo San Lucas, with calmer bays such as Palmilla and Chileno nearby; isolated without a car
- Look for red or black flags on hotel-zone beaches before going in; many visitors swim in the pool there and drive to sheltered bays for the sea.
Getting around
Walking the Centro, local buses on Highway 1 and a hire car for the cape
Central San José del Cabo is compact, with most sights a walk from Plaza Mijares, and the hotel-zone beach is about 30 hot summer minutes down Boulevard Mijares. Cheap, frequent local buses run along Highway 1 to Cabo San Lucas, and a hire car makes the rest of the cape easy. Taxis are plentiful but expensive, so agree a fare first. A rental car makes sense for the beaches of the Corridor, the East Cape and day trips to Todos Santos or La Paz. The toll road is faster than Highway 1, which crawls through traffic lights. Bikes are pleasant for the flat run along the estuary and the Paseo Malecón.
- Local bus
- San José to Cabo San Lucas along Highway 1 in about 40 minutes to an hour
- On foot
- Plaza Mijares to the hotel-zone beach in roughly 30 minutes
- Car
- Palmilla in about 10 minutes, Cabo Pulmo in two to three hours by the coast road
- Check your rental agreement before driving the unpaved East Cape road; some agencies void their insurance on it.
Know before you go
What makes San José del Cabo worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- The Thursday Art Walk, when galleries stay open late and artists set up stalls around Plaza Mijares.
- Paddling the Estero de San José, a freshwater estuary full of birds right beside the hotel zone.
- Watching humpbacks blow offshore between December and March, sometimes straight from the beach.
Good to know
- The town beach is for looking, not swimming: heavy shorebreak and undertow make much of it dangerous.
- Taxis are pricey and unmetered; agree the fare before getting in, or use the local buses on the highway.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in San José del Cabo, month by month
San José del Cabo is dry most of the year, with warm, sunny winters and storms in late summer. Tap a month for averages.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for San José del Cabo (Servicio Meteorológico National, via Wikipedia).
Plaza Mijares, the estero and Cabo Pulmo over three days
Spend your first San José del Cabo day in the old town. Have coffee on Plaza Mijares and look at the mission church on its west side, a 1940 neoclassical building on a 1730 mission whose tile mural shows the killing of founder Nicolás Tamaral by the Pericú, then browse the Casa de la Cultura and nearby galleries.
In the afternoon, walk down Boulevard Mijares to the Estero de San José for birdwatching at the river mouth. On a Thursday between November and June, finish at the Art Walk.
Day two, the Corridor. Drive or bus west along the coast. Surfers stop at Costa Azul; snorkellers head for the calm, clear coves of Palmilla and Chileno, where the reef fish come close to the sand. Book an evening table back in town, or try a mezcal tasting in one of the bars near the plaza. In winter, swap the morning for a whale-watching boat from Puerto Los Cabos.
Day three, the East Cape. Leave early on the coast road through La Playita, past near-empty beaches and surf spots. Much of it is unpaved. Cabo Pulmo, a reef national park, has some of the healthiest coral in the Sea of Cortez; snorkel or dive with the local outfitters, then eat in one of the village's small restaurants before heading back in daylight.
Chocolate clams, mezcal bars and fish tacos west of Plaza Mijares
San José del Cabo's kitchen is about the sea, and the fish taco is the classic: battered, fried fish in a corn tortilla with cabbage, crema and salsa, done well at stands west of the plaza such as Las Guacamayas. Almejas chocolatas, brown-shelled local clams, come raw with lime or baked over coals with butter and cheese.
Ceviche, shrimp cocktails and stone-bowl molcajetes of seafood in hot salsa fill the menus at local favourites like El Toro Güero, a thatched palapa four blocks west of Plaza Mijares that packs with families for the afternoon meal. Service slows at the weekday lunch rush, but the aguas frescas make up for it.
The town's restaurant scene runs higher too. Farm-to-table places in the hills behind town grow their own vegetables, and the restaurants around the Gallery District cater to visitors who come back year after year.
For drinking, San José beats its party neighbour on character. Several bars specialise in mezcal, offering tastings of Baja bottles alongside artisanal mezcals from Oaxaca, and a handful of local craft breweries have opened. Try a glass of damiana, a sweet herbal liqueur made from a shrub that grows wild in Baja California Sur, sold in bottles shaped like a woman's figure.
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How we research our San José del Cabo travel guide
San José del Cabo's airport transport, Art Walk season and Cabo Pulmo notes are checked against the official San José del Cabo website and the town's Wikipedia record, with entry rules from the Instituto Nacional de Migración.
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Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of San José del CaboInstituto Nacional de MigraciónUNESCO World Heritage Centre
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting San José del Cabo.
Getting there
The Ruta del Desierto, an air-conditioned bus that leaves from outside Terminal 1 every 10 minutes or so and stops along Highway 1. Signs inside the airport point the way.
By car. The East Cape coast road is partly unpaved and takes two to three hours; the inland route via Highway 1 is paved for most of the way and usually quicker. Check that your rental insurance covers dirt roads.
Usually 40 minutes to an hour along Highway 1, depending on traffic. A car on the toll road is faster.
General
San José suits travellers after galleries, restaurants and a quieter evening; Cabo San Lucas is the place for nightlife, boat trips and the Arch.
It shows the death of Nicolás Tamaral, the Jesuit who founded the mission in 1730, at the hands of the Pericú people.
Large local clams named for their chocolate-brown shells, eaten raw with lime or grilled with butter, garlic and cheese.
A sweet herbal liqueur from a wild Baja shrub, sold in curvy bottles and used in local margaritas.
Central San José del Cabo is compact, with most sights a walk from Plaza Mijares, and the hotel-zone beach is about 30 hot summer minutes down Boulevard Mijares. Cheap, frequent local buses run along Highway 1 to Cabo San Lucas, and a hire car makes the rest of the cape easy. Taxis are plentiful but expensive, so agree a fare first.
Timing & weather
Thursday evenings from 5 to 9 pm, November to June, around Plaza Mijares and the Gallery District. Entry is free.
Humpbacks pass the cape from about December to March, and boats run from Puerto Los Cabos. They are sometimes visible from the shore.
The best time to visit San José del Cabo is Nov to May. Dry, sunny days of 28 to 33 C with cool winter nights and almost no rain.
- Dry high season: November - May (Highs of 28 to 33 C, nights down to about 12 C in January and almost no rain; the sea in the Corridor coves is at its calmest)
- Hot summer: June - October (Highs of 34 to 35 C, warm seas and storms building from August; September averages about 168 mm, much of it from Pacific hurricanes)
July is the warmest month in San José del Cabo, with average highs of 35°C, and January the coolest, with lows of 12°C. September is the wettest month, at about 168 mm of rain; April is the driest. San José del Cabo is dry most of the year, with warm, sunny winters and storms in late summer.
Stay & facilities
Often not safely; the shorebreak and undertow are strong. Palmilla and Chileno, in the Corridor towards Cabo San Lucas, are calmer.
Visa & documents
Tourist stays in Mexico are visa-free for citizens of the US, Canada, the UK, the EU and many other countries. Immigration officers decide how many days you can stay (up to 180) and stamp your passport or issue a digital record. Holders of valid US, UK, Canadian or Schengen visas may also be exempt.
Health & safety
Most tourist areas are visited without problems, but violent crime linked to organised crime is high in some states. Governments advise against travel to parts of several states. Petty crime and scams occur in tourist areas.
