To somewhat finish up my Mexico posts, I wanted to stop for a moment and reflect on our long weekend in Cabo.  In the end, sadly we left not loving Cabo with its never ending hotels and Cabo San Lucas’ bar culture.  It was incredibly hot while we were there which drained us even further and we had some issues on the last day leaving which didn’t end the trip well either.  But such is the truth about certain places we visit, we might not love them, we might not fall in love with them, we might have issues.

Not every place we visit is going to be perfect for us, but the goal is to walk away understanding the place, understanding maybe why we didn’t connect or why it affected you a certain way.  I didn’t love Los Cabos, but on that same note, I did fall in love with a lot about Mexico as a country.  I loved the passionate kindness from the locals, the bright exotic colors everywhere, the gorgeous landscape, the overall feel of the country.  Those things I loved and it actually made me want to explore other, more authentic parts of the country in the future.

I think that perhaps had the weather been cooler, had we not had so many issues, perhaps our visit would have been different.  But such is travel, things always don’t go according to plan, places don’t jive well with your travel style or the weather isn’t what you expected.  So with all that we experienced on our long weekend in Mexico, I took away from it that while Cabo may not be a place we return to, I would love to return to other parts of the country and take the things I loved about Cabo and experience those in other places in Mexico, to celebrate the beautiful country that it is.

Nick and I were looking forward to the food in Mexico for months before our trip.  Honestly we would literally discuss it non-stop how excited we were for the food on our trip to Cabo.  Then we went and experienced both food in both Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo and at our resort and we were a little disappointed to be honest.  As people who love Mexican food, we felt pretty overcharged for not the best food, however that’s not to say we didn’t have good food at all, it’s just that it didn’t really live up to the hype we had created.  I will say though, I did have the best fish taco of my life in San Jose del Cabo at a place called Ten tu Tacos and kept ordering more because they were so good.  So I guess the moral of the story is: you win some and you lose some with food while traveling, but one thing is for sure, the food was really photogenic.  So the food of Los Cabos in picture form…

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After arriving home from Mexico and looking back through the photos that Nick took, we realized that because most of our time was spent at the resort, we had a lot of great memories and photos from the resort itself that I couldn’t fit into my hotel review post.  So, to really show off the true beauty of the Esperanza Resort and its location on the Sea of Cortez, it’s definitely worth a second post.

Because this trip was one that we stayed at the resort for most of the time, we spent a lot of time wandering the grounds, taking in the hundreds of candles that they light at night, the cacti of every shape and size, and the vista views over the Sea of Cortez.  From the beach to the infinity pool overlooking the ocean to the architecture, the resort itself was a true experience.

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Before our trip to Mexico a few weeks ago, I spent one Saturday afternoon googling “travel tips for Mexico.”  I’d only been once before when I was in High School with my family and obviously back then, I wasn’t the one doing any of the planning or preparing, I was just along for the ride.  So this time, I wanted to find out basic tips for preparing for our trip.  I was shocked at how I couldn’t find a true, just general tips post online.  So, after returning from our trip, I wanted to put my own true travel tips for Mexico post out there on the internet, so if you’re looking to head that direction, here’s what you need to know for travel to Mexico.

You can use American Dollars or Pesos.

At least in Cabo, everything was quoted to us in US Dollars, much to my disappointment.  Usually when foreign places quote in USD, it means they cater to a majority of Americans and usually their conversion gouges you a little, so whenever possible, pay in the local currency.  (This is the same in Europe by the way, when you pay by credit card and they ask if you want it in dollars.  Say no and pay in the local currency, you’ll get a much better exchange rate.)  We had pesos with us on this trip, so we always asked what the amount would be in pesos, but have a quick idea of the conversion so you don’t get ripped off.

Don’t drink the water and be careful of where you eat.

This is an important one and one to even follow at the resorts.  We stayed at a really well known, high-end resort and we still got sick when we got home.  So whether in town or at the resorts, don’t drink the tap water and be wary of ice when served it at restaurants.  As well, be careful of where you eat and what you order and make sure to bring some sort of medication with you in case you do get sick while there.

Bring bug spray and sun block.

For me, this is a really important one.  With Mexico’s heat and humidity, that brings a lot of sun and a lot of bugs.  The first night there I didn’t put any bug spray on and was getting eaten alive at dinner outside.  The following two days I coated myself both days and had no issues, so don’t forget this!  Also, make sure to apply sun block regularly, the sun and heat is quite intense so protect your skin.

Bring clothes that breathe well.

My outfits ended up being ok, but to be honest, I wasn’t at all prepared for how hot Mexico was in mid-October.  The heat and humidity completely wiped me out (it was about 104 one day we were there on the heat index).  So be aware of what the weather will really be like whenever you travel to Mexico and pack clothes that breathe well.  I had a couple things I packed that I actually never wore because they were thicker fabrics and I literally couldn’t even handle wearing anything other than light cotton since it was so hot and we were sweating profusely.

Taxis are safe in resort areas, but still take caution.

In Cabo, we were told that taxis are safe in both San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, though if you venture further away from resort areas, take caution.   A lot of places in Mexico are still not super safe for tourists, so just be careful and be aware of your surroundings.  Also know a decent sense of direction, so if you are headed in the completely wrong direction you’ll know right away.  We had one taxi driver taking us back to the resort from Cabo San Lucas that started going in a weird direction away from the highway.  I asked him what was going on in Spanish and he then replied that because there as a big bike race (which there really was), that part of the highway was closed so we were catching it in a different spot.  At least then, I knew what was going on.  So with that, on to the next….

Know a little bit of Spanish.

I took Spanish all through High School and College and while I haven’t used it in a while (other than our trip to Spain earlier this year), I can get by with somewhat broken Spanish when I need to.  I can understand a lot more than I can speak, so when traveling to Mexico, it’s a great idea to either brush up on your Spanish skills or learn a little.  I was pretty surprised that even in such resort towns, a lot of people still didn’t speak great English, so it was really helpful to know a little Spanish.

Ignore the pushy sales people + tourist traps.

Particularly in Cabo San Lucas, you’ll encounter a ton of pushy sales people and tourist traps seemingly attacking you on the streets to use them for whatever it is they are selling, just ignore them and keep walking.  Restaurants will yell out at you to come in, ignore them or say “No Gracias.”  If you feed into them at all, they will come on even harder, so ignoring them is the best way to handle it.

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Where to Stay in Mexico

I had heard a lot of stories from friends and people I know about Cabo San Lucas before we went.  It is a self-described party town with pushy shop keepers and time share workers endlessly hassling you.  Everything I had heard ended up being true and I wouldn’t choose to go back to this part of Los Cabos, much preferring the quiet streets of San Jose Del Cabo at the other end of the area.  With that said, we spent a few hours wandering Cabo San Lucas, mostly dying from the heat and humidity and looking for a place to eat.

We were hounded by restaurants as we walked by, “come in, have a beer, it will cure your hangover.”  I wanted to scream back, “I don’t have a hangover, leave me alone.”  The whole town felt very aggressive and the overall feel was that if you don’t go there to party, there isn’t much else to do.

Actually though, the scenery at this part of Cabo is gorgeous.  Cabo San Lucas is backed up to beautiful green mountains and sitting on a lovely marina, so it’s actually kind of sad that the town has been overthrown with nightclubs, bars and posters of bikini-clad girls feeding alcohol to men.  It definitely wasn’t a place I loved or would return to, but definitely worth while seeing as many places in the world are.  Sometimes you don’t like a place, but seeing it and coming to your own conclusions is worth the effort to explore a bit.

Where to Stay in Mexico

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One of my favorite parts of our long weekend in Mexico was watching the sunsets over the Sea of Cortez.  Both evenings we were there, we wandered through the Esperanza Resort property on our way to dinner as the sun was setting and it was a beautiful site.  The evening in Mexico was also when the heat started to dissipate and so it made it even nicer to enjoy the scenery without the intense heat of the day.

The Esperanza Resort is full of vistas that show off the beauty of the area and there are many places to watch the sunset from.  My favorite spots ended up being the smaller, less grand spots on the property; places where the reflections in the water of the infinity pool or fountains reflected the pastel colors in the sky or where the reflections of the palm trees around the resort created long shadows against the water and sidewalks.  I was blown away by the natural beauty of Los Cabos (something I wasn’t expecting) and I felt it was the most beautiful at sunset, when the bright sun of the day was replaced with beautiful soft reflections, shadows and soft colored skies.

Where to Stay in Mexico

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On our first full day in Cabo, we ventured into the town of San Jose Del Cabo.  About 25 minutes drive from the Esperanza Resort where we were based, we took a taxi into town.  Our destination: Plaza Artesanos, a group of stores selling authentic Mexican souvenirs and trinkets.  We wanted to at least see a little bit of the town itself while in Los Cabos (which describes the general areas with both San Jose Del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas) and this was the perfect place to start.  Selling everything from clothing to silver jewelry to Mexican glass and clay dishes, you can pick up any souvenir you wish here.  The shop owners weren’t too pushy as well, which was a nice change from Cabo San Lucas and we wandered the shops for a bit, picking up a few souvenirs.

Even though we hadn’t had lunch yet, as we wandered the shops we were dying from the heat and humidity and stopped for a quick ice cream at a local vendor.  A brief stop in air conditioning and cool ice cream helped us regroup and then we headed out to the main road and wandered back to a mall/group of restaurants we had seen on the way in.  We ended up stopping at a place called Ten Tu Tacos and immediately ordered a bunch of different things.  It was here that I had the best fish taco of my life, literally I’m still thinking about it over a week later.  The others were great too, but if you’re in this area and end up going here, DO NOT MISS their fish taco.

After a nice leisurely lunch (which actually ended up being our favorite meal of the trip), we ventured back out into the heat and grabbed a nearby taxi to take us back to the Esperanza Resort.  Even though we didn’t get to explore San Jose Del Cabo as much as I would have liked, we definitely liked it a lot better than Cabo San Lucas and if in the area again, I would defiantly stay closer to this little town as it felt much more authentic.

Tips for San Jose Del Cabo:

-The locals quote everything here in US Dollars, but we had pesos and that worked fine too.  Just have an idea of the conversion rate so you don’t get ripped off.

-When we were there in mid-October, the heat was extremely overbearing, so be ready for extreme heat and humidity while there and adjust your clothing and schedule accordingly.

-Bring a map.  We didn’t have a plan of what we wanted to do on this trip and I wish I would have done a bit more research and brought of map of the area to get around better.

Headed to Mexico?

Take a look at the rest of our archives on Los Cabos here!