Itineraries

7-Day Cabo Itinerary: A Full Week, One Base or Two

By Cabo Wander

When a friend tells me they've booked a whole week in Cabo, the next text is usually "is seven days too long?" It isn't. A week is the first trip length where I stop telling people what to cut.

A seven-day trip is an arrival afternoon, five full days and a departure morning. My 5-day Cabo itinerary has three full days, and it spends them on a boat morning, a swim at Chileno Bay with an evening in San José del Cabo, and a day in Todos Santos. All three of those stay. The two extra days are what make a week better. San José gets a day of its own, there's a whole day with nothing in it, and there's room for a sunset sail and a dinner at one of the farms. A week is also the first trip where I'd say yes to one bigger trip out of town, which means a night in La Paz or a day at Cabo Pulmo.

There's one decision to make before any of that, and it's whether you sleep in one hotel or two. My answer is two, if you're coming between November and June and you don't mind packing once. I'd do three nights in the middle of Médano Beach and then three in San José's historic center, in that order. If you have small kids, you're coming from July to October, or you want to walk into the ocean every morning, stay on Médano for the whole week. The days below work both ways, and I'll point out where they part.

This plan is for a first or second trip, for a couple or a few friends, with a rental car for one day. Even with a week, I'd still leave out La Paz as a day trip, an ATV morning and the dinner boat. If all you have is a long weekend, the short version is my 3-day Cabo itinerary.

Check which day of the week you land, too, because it shapes this plan more than the month does. The gallery night in San José is Thursdays only, Todos Santos is at its best from Thursday to Saturday, and Chileno fills up on Sundays. I've written the days for a Monday arrival in whale season, and there's a table further down that reorders them for the other six.

The Quick Version

The bigger trip, if you want one, takes the place of Days 5 and 6. That part has its own section after Day 7.

One Base or Two

San José has the better town and Cabo San Lucas has the better ocean, and no single hotel gives you both. On a short trip you pick one and visit the other. With six nights you can sleep in both, and I think that's the best use of a week here. I weigh the two towns against each other in Cabo San Lucas vs San José del Cabo.

The Split I'd Book

Three nights in the middle of Médano Beach, then three in San José's historic center.

On Médano, the middle of the beach is the safest bet for swimming, and the marina is five to fifteen minutes away on foot, which matters at 7:30 on a boat morning. I'd skip the far east end for this plan. The sand gets steeper and the sea rougher out there, and the walk into town turns into a ride. Rooms on Médano run about US$150 to $450 a night before tax, and my picks are in the best hotels on Médano Beach.

In San José, stay in the historic center, in one of the small hotels within a few blocks of Plaza Mijares. They're room only, at about US$150 to $300 a night. Check the map pin against the plaza before you pay, because plenty of rooms sold as San José del Cabo are in the hotel zone, a half-hour walk away on a beach you can't swim at. The ones I'd look at are in the best hotels in San José del Cabo, and every other area on this coast is in where to stay in Cabo.

Why Cabo San Lucas Goes First

The airport is next to San José, so it's tempting to start there. I'd finish there, for four reasons.

• The boats. Every boat in this plan leaves from the Cabo San Lucas marina, and I want the boat on your first full morning. If wind closes the port or the morning is a dud, you have days left to go again.
• The first swim. Arrival day has one job, which is getting you into the ocean. On Médano that's a walk from your room. San José's center has no beach you can swim at.
• The last morning. San José's center is 15 to 30 minutes from the terminal, and Médano is 45 minutes to an hour. That gap is worth more on the way out, when there's a flight to catch. From San José your last morning is a real half day.
• What's nearby. The farm restaurants are 10 to 15 minutes from San José's plaza, and Cabo Pulmo is a shorter drive from that side.

I'd reverse the order in two cases. If your flight lands in the evening, the short ride and a dinner you can walk to make San José the kinder first night. And if you land on a Wednesday or Thursday between November and June, the Art Walk is outside your door at the start of the trip. You then move to Médano and take the boat on your first morning there, with a spare day behind it.

What the Split Costs You

It costs half a day, and one weak spot in the plan.

The half day is Thursday. Checkout is usually late morning, the ride between the towns is 35 to 45 minutes and about 600 pesos by Uber, and San José is hot and shut from about 2:30 until 5 anyway. Leave your bags at the desk if the room isn't ready.

The weak spot is Todos Santos. From Médano it's about an hour's drive. From San José it's 75 to 90 minutes each way, to see a smaller old town than the one you're sleeping in. I'd still go for the lunch and the beach at Cerritos. If Todos Santos matters more to you than a second morning in San José, there's a lighter version of the split. Do the Art Walk by Uber on Thursday, drive to Todos Santos from Médano on Friday, and move on Saturday morning for one night, a farm dinner and the short ride to the airport.

When I'd Stay Put

• You have small kids. Calm water outside the hotel every morning beats a second town.
• You're coming from July to October. The Art Walk is off, San José is hot and very quiet, and some of its kitchens cut their hours. Stay on Médano.
• You're doing more than two boat trips. Add a fishing morning to the whales and the sunset sail and you want the marina on foot all week.
• You want late nights. San José winds down by one.
• You're taking the night in La Paz. Three hotels in six nights is too much packing.
• You just don't want to move. That's a perfectly good reason.

A week in San José's center alone also works, and it's what I'd pick for a couple who came to eat. Put everything Cabo San Lucas has into one long day, with the 8am boat, lunch, Médano and a sunset drink, so you only cross once for the water.

If you're at a Corridor resort, this plan shrinks to two or three outings and a rental car for the middle days.

What to Book Before You Fly

It's a short list, and this is the order I'd do it in.

• Both hotels, if you're splitting.
• The airport ride in. A private car, booked ahead, with the confirmation saved to your phone. Uber won't pick you up at arrivals. It will take you back at the end.
• The whale boat, in season. An 8am trip on a small covered boat, on the company's own website. For January and February I'd book a week or two ahead, and earlier for Christmas week and Presidents' Day weekend.
• Thursday's dinner in San José. About a week ahead, and two weeks or more from Christmas through Easter.
• The farm dinner. Two to three weeks ahead for a prime hour at Acre in winter.
• One big dinner in Cabo San Lucas, if you want one. El Farallón as soon as your flights are booked for any trip from December to April. Metate needs a few days, and a week or more in winter.
• The sunset sail. A few days ahead, and a week or more around the holidays, because a boat for fourteen sells out at seven couples.
• The one-day rental car. A few days ahead.

Leave everything else open. The water taxi to the Arch, Chileno, the hike, the seafood hall and the taco places don't take bookings, and your afternoons are meant to be empty.

Day 1: Land, Swim, Walk to Dinner

Morning. This one belongs to the airline. After customs, walk straight through the rooms of friendly salespeople until you're outside, where your driver is. The ride to Cabo San Lucas is 45 minutes to an hour.

Afternoon. Check-in is usually mid-afternoon. If the room isn't ready, hand over your bags and go to the beach. Walk to the middle of Médano and swim inside the buoys. The water is calm, the slope in is gentle, and the Arch is across the bay the whole time. After a travel day that's all the activity you need. Which stretch of sand to sit on is in my Médano Beach guide.

Evening. Walk to Mariscos Las Tres Islas, a few blocks inland from the marina. It doesn't take reservations, it's loud and cheerful, and the garlic shrimp or a whole fish with a drink runs about US$25 to $35 a head. The plainly cooked seafood is good for the money.

Book nothing with a start time today. A late flight or a slow baggage carousel will take it. Go to bed early, because tomorrow's check-in is at 7:30.

Day 2: The Boat Morning

Morning. Walk to the marina for a 7:30 check-in and an 8am boat. In whale season that's a small covered boat for about a dozen people, which passes the sea lions and the Arch for photos and then heads out to find humpbacks. Bring small bills for the dock fee, which is a few dollars each in cash at the gate, and a windproof layer, because it's cold on the water at that hour. You're back on the dock around 10:30, just as the cruise ship passengers are coming ashore. For two people walking from a Médano hotel, the morning comes to a little over US$200 with the dock fee and tip, and I think it's the best morning you can buy here. Which boat and which company are in my post on whale watching in Cabo.

The boat goes first on purpose. The "guarantee" these companies offer is a free second trip, and that's only worth something if you have mornings left to use it. This week you have four.

Afternoon. Have lunch a few blocks inland. Los Claros is my pick, for the battered fish taco and the smoked marlin. Then do nothing. Go back to the middle of Médano or to your hotel pool.

Evening. This is the night for one of the two dinners you booked. Metate is the best cooking for the money in town, on a patio in El Tezal, a short Uber away, at about US$50 to $75 a head. Its kitchen is closed from 5 to 7 and dinner starts at 7, so have a snack after the beach. El Farallón is the splurge on the cliff, where two people spend about US$450 to $600 with wine. The fish is good and simply cooked, and about half of that check is for where you're sitting. Book it for 45 minutes before sunset.

Day 3: Chileno Bay, Then a Sunset Sail

Morning. Take an Uber at 7:45. It's 20 to 25 minutes, and I'd budget roughly US$15 to $20 each way. Walk to the right-hand end of the sand as you face the water and snorkel along the rocks, which is where the fish are. Then float in the roped area in the middle. Pack your own mask, water, snacks and toilet paper, with nothing in glass, because there's no food on the beach and no free shade. The first tour boats anchor around 10. Be dry and walking back up before 11, and request your car from the parking lot, where the signal is better. The full rundown is in my Chileno Bay guide.

Afternoon. Lunch back in town, then a nap. I know it feels odd to schedule one. Tonight is on a boat.

Evening. A week has room for the sunset sail the shorter plans skip. Book a boat that carries fourteen people or fewer and goes around Land's End to the Pacific side, because from inside the bay the sun sets behind land. It's about US$100 to $140 a head with the dock fee and tip. In winter it leaves around 4:30 or 5 and you're back by about 7. The food on board is snacks, so plan a 7:30 dinner on foot afterward. Nicksan, a few steps off the boardwalk, has very fresh fish at US$90 to $150 a head, and tacos work too. Bring a jacket. The boats are compared in my Cabo sunset cruise post.

In whale season this is the most optional thing in the week. It covers the same water as yesterday's boat. Outside whale season, when your boat morning was a 45-minute water taxi, it's worth more.

If you're splitting your stay, this is your last night in Cabo San Lucas.

Day 4: The Hike, Then Thursday Night in San José

Morning. Do the Mt Solmar hike. It's the best view in Cabo San Lucas, with the marina, Médano and both sides of the cape in front of you at once, and it's free apart from a tip of US$5 to $10 each for the guide. The hill is private land, so the only way up is with him. He takes a group at 8am from his dog training camp by the marina, and you show up fifteen minutes early. It takes under two hours, and the top is steep with loose footing. It never runs on a Saturday, and it's one man's schedule, so confirm it the week you're there.

If steep and loose isn't for you, take the water taxi to the Arch at 8 and get off at Lover's Beach for an hour. The whale boat showed you the Arch but didn't land.

Afternoon. If you're splitting, check out, take an Uber to San José and drop your bags. Either way, this is the dead part of the day over there. The old town is hot and half closed from about 2:30 to 5, so find shade or a pool.

If you're staying on Médano, leave by about 4. Traffic into San José builds all evening. An Uber is about 600 pesos, and at that hour I'd allow 45 minutes to an hour. Don't drive, because parking in the center on a Thursday is close to impossible.

Evening. From roughly November through June, Thursday is Art Walk night. The main gallery street closes to cars from about 5pm to 9pm, the plaza fills with stalls and music, and the whole town is out. Go to the galleries first, between 5 and 6, while there's room to look. When the street gets tight, move to the plaza for the stalls and a bag of churros. Then sit down around 7:30 at a table you booked. Don Sanchez is the dressed-up one and the best dinner you can walk to, at US$100 to $150 a head. La Lupita is the fun one, with tacos, mezcal and a band in a courtyard for about US$30 to $50 a head, and its kitchen closes earlier, so take an early table there. It's my favorite evening in Los Cabos, and I've planned it out in my post on the San José Art Walk.

If you're sleeping in San José, you walk home, and that's the best argument for the split.

If you're going back to Cabo San Lucas, sort out the ride before dessert. The bus has stopped by the time dinner is over. Walk a block or more away from the closed street, open Uber, and aim to be in the car by 10. Have a sure thing as well, which is a taxi at a price you agreed on first (they usually open at US$50 to $70) or a driver your hotel arranged. For two people the Ubers come to about US$65 to $75 round trip.

Day 5: Todos Santos and Cerritos by Car

This is your one day in a rental car, and the rule that shapes it is being home before dark. Cows wander onto the highway at night, and I don't drive it after sunset. In winter that means starting back by mid-afternoon.

Morning. Pick up the car around 8 and fill the tank. For one day in a small car I'd budget roughly US$60 to $100 all in, plus gas, which is under US$20 for the round trip from Médano. The number that matters is the one with liability insurance included, which the few-dollars-a-day quotes online leave out, and I explain the coverage in renting a car in Cabo.

From Médano, Highway 19 is a free four-lane road up the Pacific coast, about an hour to Todos Santos. From San José, add about half an hour each way. Take the toll bypass from the airport road, which joins Highway 19 north of Cabo San Lucas, and carry pesos for the booth.

Be in town by 9:30. The tour vans arrive around 11, and until then the streets are cool and quiet and you can park. Walk the plaza and the gallery streets, which takes an hour to an hour and a half. The Hotel California is a ten-minute photo stop, and it has nothing to do with the song.

Then eat, because lunch is the real reason to come. For tacos, go to Tacos George's by 11:30, before the fish runs out. For the long lunch, book Jazamango for 1pm and check the day before that it's open.

Afternoon. Stop at Cerritos on the way home. It's 10 to 15 minutes back down the highway, a wide Pacific beach where beginners take surf lessons. If you want to get in, do it in the corner under the rocky point, in front of the lifeguards, and only when the flag allows it. Leave the beach by about 4:30 in winter if you're headed to Médano, and half an hour sooner if you're headed to San José. The whole route is in my Todos Santos day trip post.

Evening. Drop the car and keep dinner easy and on foot. On Médano that's Las Tres Islas again or tacos. In San José, it's the tamale cart on the plaza, or a fifteen-minute walk to Taquería El Fogón for beef off the charcoal.

For two people this day runs about US$110 to $190 with a taco lunch and about US$180 to $300 with the long one.

This day splits people. I love it for the shade, the old buildings and the lunch. If galleries and old streets do nothing for you, this is the day to trade, and the trades are in the bigger-trip section below.

Day 6: The Day With Nothing in It

The rest day goes right after the car day, and I mean it as a real one. Nothing today has a start time before dinner.

Morning, in San José. Have a long breakfast at Lolita Café, in a courtyard a block from the church, and order the chilaquiles divorciados. It's closed on Mondays. In the cooler months there's a Saturday organic market a short way behind the gallery district, so check that it's on. Then take a short ride to Palmilla, ten minutes west, for the calmest sandy swim in Los Cabos. I'd go on any day but Sunday, when it fills with local families.

Morning, on Médano. Swim in the middle of the beach before ten, when the water is flat and nobody has started selling yet.

Afternoon. A pool, a book, a nap. The rest of what San José has within a short ride is in my San José del Cabo guide, if you get restless.

Evening, in San José. This is the night for a farm dinner, because the farms are only 10 to 15 minutes from the plaza. Acre is the one I'd book. It has the most polished cooking and the best service of the three farm restaurants, and it also costs the most, at about US$120 to $165 a head. Get there around 5 or 5:30, so you see the palm grove in daylight and have a drink at the bar first. Start with the cheddar biscuits and order the short rib. Bring bug spray, and know that you have to cancel two days ahead or you'll be charged about US$50 a person.

An Uber gets you out there easily. For the ride back, ask the host to call a taxi early in the meal, and treat an Uber showing up as a bonus. If you'd like a smaller check and more Mexican cooking, Los Tamarindos is about US$75 to $110 a head, and I'd arrive at 5:30 so you find it in daylight. I compare all three in Flora Farms vs Acre vs Los Tamarindos.

Evening, on Médano. I wouldn't do a farm dinner from here. It's the best part of an hour each way, and the taxi quotes for the round trip run about US$150 to $180 on top of an expensive dinner. Have whichever of Metate and El Farallón you didn't have on Day 2. If a farm matters to you, keep the rental car through Saturday morning and drive over for brunch at Flora Farms, which is the daytime farm and costs about US$55 to $80 a head.

Day 7: The Departure Morning

Work backward from your flight. I'd leave three hours for a midday flight on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday in high season, and two on a quiet weekday.

From San José, the airport is 15 to 30 minutes away and an Uber is about 250 pesos. That gives you a proper morning. Have breakfast in town, and if your flight is after lunch, take a flat swim at La Playita, 10 to 15 minutes away by car.

From Médano, add 40 to 50 minutes on the road, and an Uber is about US$35 to $55. With a flight around 11am, it's breakfast and out. With a flight after about 2pm, one early thing fits, and a last swim before the vendors start at ten is the one I'd pick.

Eat before you go. The food past security is expensive and not good.

Trading Days 5 and 6 for a Bigger Trip

A week has room for ONE big trip out of town, and there are three ways I'd spend it.

A Night in La Paz

La Paz is two and a half hours from Cabo San Lucas each way, whatever you've read, and its three draws all run on somebody else's clock. So I wouldn't do it as a day trip, and with a week you don't have to.

Leave on Day 5 around 8, stop in Todos Santos for coffee or an early taco, and be in La Paz around midday. The afternoon is a whale shark boat if you were handed an afternoon slot, or the second session at Balandra beach. Then it's sunset on the waterfront and dinner. On Day 6, do the one you didn't do, early, have lunch and be on the road by about 2:30 so you're home in daylight.

One night gets you two of La Paz's three big things. For two people it runs about US$600 to $1,250 with the car, the hotel, two boat seats and meals. It costs you the rest day and the farm dinner, and Todos Santos becomes a coffee stop.

You don't choose your whale shark time, and the swims get suspended when too few sharks are counted, so book a boat that refunds. There are no whale sharks at all from May through September. And Balandra lets in a capped number of people per session, so check the park's page that week and get in line early. Everything else is in my La Paz day trip post.

If your last night is in San José, you can come home the other way, down Highway 1 through the old mining village of El Triunfo. It's two lanes with curves, and it's roughly two and a quarter to two and a half hours from El Triunfo to San José, so only do it with an early start.

La Paz is more comfortable on a seven-night trip, where it doesn't cost you your only rest day.

A Day at Cabo Pulmo

If you love snorkeling and you're here in the fall, swap Todos Santos for Cabo Pulmo on Day 5. It has the best snorkeling within reach of Cabo, on a real coral reef, and it's a long day on a partly unpaved road. From San José it's about an hour and a half to an hour and three quarters each way. From Cabo San Lucas it's more than two hours each way, which means leaving by about 6:15.

Book a 9am boat with a shop in the village a few days ahead, at about US$80 to $100 a person, and message them that morning about the wind before you leave. Bring pesos and a full tank, ask your rental company by email whether the dirt road is covered, and be back on pavement by mid-afternoon. For two people driving themselves, the day comes to about US$300 to $400.

October and November are the months for it. From January to March I'd skip it, because the water is cold and the wind cancels boats. And don't put it the day after Todos Santos. The full plan is in my Cabo Pulmo day trip post.

This is where finishing your week in San José pays off most.

Both, for a Diver

If the water is the whole trip, you can fit both, and it takes most of the week. Do the boat on Day 2, La Paz on Days 3 and 4, a rest day, and Cabo Pulmo on Day 6 from San José. Keep the car across all of it so you only rent once. You give up Chileno, the sunset sail, the farm dinner and most of Todos Santos, and Thursday night in San José only survives if the days line up.

The months barely overlap, too. Cabo Pulmo is at its best in October and November, and the whale sharks often aren't running until the middle of November or later. Late November into early December is the window I'd aim for, and neither one is a promise. Certified divers should sleep at Cabo Pulmo if they can.

If You Land on a Different Day

Here's the one-base week reordered for each arrival day. Five rules drive it. The boat goes on your first full morning. Thursday is the San José evening whenever your trip has one on a full day. Todos Santos falls on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday, when all its kitchens are open. Chileno never falls on a Sunday. And the hike never runs on a Saturday.

Monday and Tuesday are the two arrivals where everything lines up, with Thursday in San José, Todos Santos on a Friday and the rest day right after the drive. I'd land on a Monday for the split, because the move falls after three nights on Médano. For one base, either day is as good as the other.

Friday is the hardest. There's no Thursday on a full day, and Todos Santos falls on a Sunday. That's still a good day up there, with a market at the coffee stop in Pescadero and a full beach at Cerritos. It just isn't the quiet version.

For a Saturday arrival, Todos Santos falls on a Wednesday. Closing days up there are scattered across Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, so pick your lunch spot the day before and check it's open.

For a Sunday arrival, there's no rest day after the drive, so I've put it in the middle of the week. You also fly home on a Saturday, the busiest day at the airport.

Mondays are the day to double check. Lolita Café is closed, La Lupita's Monday hours are worth checking, and Flora Farms serves dinner only.

Where the Split Fits

The split in this post, Médano first and San José second, works for Monday and Sunday arrivals. In both cases you move on the Thursday.

For Wednesday and Thursday arrivals, reverse it. Start in San José, where the Art Walk is outside your door on your first or second night, and move to Médano on Saturday or Sunday. Take the boat on your first morning there.

For Tuesday, Friday and Saturday arrivals on a six-night trip, I'd keep one base.

If Your Week Is Seven Nights

A lot of weeks run Saturday to Saturday, which gives you a sixth full day. It also happens to be the best fit for the split. Do four nights on Médano and three in San José, moving on the Wednesday. Thursday is the Art Walk on foot, Friday is your car day, and on Saturday you have the short ride to the airport on its busiest day.

With the extra day, I'd add a second swim morning, a fishing charter or a round of golf if either one is your thing, or the second night in La Paz that gets you all three of its draws.

Swap-Ins by Season

The shape of the week holds all year, with a few pieces that move by season. Every month is in the best time to visit Cabo.

Whale Months

Whale tours start in mid-December. The licensed season runs to the end of April, and most companies stop selling and guaranteeing trips around mid-April. The plan above is this version. Late January and February are the best weeks, so book the boat earlier then.

The trade is the water. The ocean is in the low to mid 70s, and it's around 71°F from February to April, so Chileno is a short, brisk swim and Cabo Pulmo is off the list. It gets dark before six, which pulls the drive home from Todos Santos into mid-afternoon. Bring a layer for the boat and for dinner.

Mid-April to Mid-December

The Arch takes the boat morning on Day 2. Be at the marina by 8 or 8:30 for a shared water taxi. The fair price is about US$20 a person round trip with an hour on Lover's Beach, plus a few dollars at the dock and a tip. Before you pay, ask "can we get off at the beach today?", because landing is decided each morning. Pay half, look at the name on the side of your boat, and pay the rest when it comes back for you. The whole routine is in my guide to El Arco and Lover's Beach.

With no whale boat in the week, the sunset sail earns its evening.

Summer Heat

From July to September the highs are in the mid 90s and it's humid, so everything outdoors is finished by 10:30. Go to Chileno at 7:30. The hike leaves earlier in the hot months. Todos Santos turns into a morning, where you're in town by 8:30, out by 11:30 and home by 3. A good many restaurants up there close for weeks in these months, so check your lunch spot or drop the day.

The good news is the ocean. It's 78 to 85°F, and you can stay in as long as you like.

Storm Months

From the last days of August to about the third week of October, a storm far offshore can close the port to small boats and put black flags on the swimming beaches on the same day, sometimes for days under a blue sky. The whale boats, the water taxis, the sunset sail and Chileno all go together.

A week gives you more room to wait than a short trip does, and I'd still plan for it. Keep the boat on Day 2, keep anything boat-shaped off your last two days, book things you can cancel, and don't prepay. If the port closes, move the car day into the gap, because Todos Santos town needs neither the port nor a flag.

When the Art Walk Is Off

From July through October there's no gallery night, so the Thursday rule drops out of the plan. Your San José evening can go on any night, and I'd make it a farm dinner at dusk over a walk around the old town at 5pm in the heat. Check the farm's hours that week. The farm dining rooms are open-air with fans, so a summer dinner can be a warm one.

I wouldn't split the stay in these months. The best reasons to sleep in San José are both seasonal.

Late October and November are the pick of the off-season. The water is warm and at its clearest, Chileno is the best morning of the week, Cabo Pulmo is at its best, and the Art Walk comes back in November.

If You Have Kids

Keep one base, in the middle of Médano, and change five things. The longer version is in my guide to Cabo with kids.

• The boat. With kids under five, book a whale catamaran for 25 to 35 people in place of the small boat. It's steadier and it has a bathroom.
• The swim. Chileno works from about four and up, inside the ropes and before 10, with a snorkel vest you brought from home. With under-fives, go to Palmilla, or to the corner of Médano by the marina before ten, where the water is at its calmest and shallowest.
• The hike. Skip Mt Solmar with kids under about eight.
• Thursday night. The Art Walk is a good one for kids. Go from 5 to about 7:30, eat from the stalls on the plaza, and leave before the street gets tight.
• The farm. Make it brunch at Flora Farms, which has a playground and pizza. It serves brunch Tuesday through Sunday.

Todos Santos town will bore a child under ten in half an hour. Make that day about the beach at Cerritos with a taco stop, and keep them close in the water, or trade it for a second swim morning.

I'd leave out the bigger trips. I'd skip the Cabo Pulmo boat with kids under about eight or ten, and the whale shark tours in La Paz start at age 8.

No taxi or Uber here carries a car seat. A private transfer will bring one free if you ask when you book, so book the airport rides that way and say so.

If You Don't Want to Rent a Car

You can do this whole week without one. Six of the seven days are on foot or by Uber already, and how the rides compare is in getting around Cabo.

The only day that changes is Day 5, and I'd handle it one of three ways.

• Take a small-group tour to Todos Santos. It's roughly US$100 to $150 a person. Ask how many minutes of free time you get in town before you book, because on some it's only an hour, and none of them stop at Cerritos.
• Hire a driver for the day. A Suburban and a driver runs roughly US$450 to $600 before the tip. For four to six of you it's about the same per head as the tour, and everyone gets a margarita at lunch. For two it's a lot of money.
• Stay close. Take a second swim morning at Santa María, by Uber before 9, and screenshot the pickup spot before you walk down.

Uber will take you to Todos Santos, but it won't bring you home.

For the bigger trips, Cabo Pulmo by tour runs about US$550 to $700 for two. La Paz without a car is a tour for the whale sharks, booked somewhere that refunds, or the long-distance coach for an overnight.

If you like a bus, the purple and orange coach between the two towns is a money-saver. It's about 45 to 50 pesos a person and stops near Chileno, where it's a ten-minute walk down to the sand. It stays out on the highway, and it's done for the night around 10pm.

What the Week Costs

These totals come from my post on how much Cabo costs. They're for two people sharing a room, with the room, tax, food, rides, activities and tips all in, and flights left out. They're for the in-between months, which are May, June and October to mid-December. That post prices five nights and seven nights. This plan is six, so you'll land between the two columns.

Mid-range is this plan as written. That's room-only hotels on Médano and in San José's center, a private car from the airport and Uber after that, a whale boat, one day with a rental car, and a good sit-down dinner most nights.

Budget is the same week from a small hotel downtown or by the marina, with tacos and the seafood hall for dinner, the bus where it works, the water taxi to the Arch in place of the whale boat, and the free hike. It works. What it leaves out is the sunset sail, the farm dinner and a room that looks at the water.

Upper is a nicer Corridor hotel or an upper-level all-inclusive, taxis in place of Ubers, and extras like a daybed or a fishing morning.

From January to April, add roughly a fifth to the whole trip. Christmas through New Year's, Presidents' week and the spring break weeks sit above all of that. A winter week also has about US$200 more in it for two than a summer one, which is the whale boat.

Here's what the pieces of this plan cost for two, so you can add and subtract.

• The whale boat morning: a little over US$200
• Chileno by Uber: about US$30 to $40 in rides
• The sunset sail: about US$100 to $140 a head
• Thursday in San José from Médano: about US$65 to $75 in Ubers, plus dinner
• Todos Santos by rental car: about US$110 to $190 with tacos, or US$180 to $300 with the long lunch
• Dinner at Acre: about US$120 to $165 a head
• The Cabo Pulmo swap: about US$300 to $400
• The night in La Paz: about US$600 to $1,250

The split doesn't add much. The move between towns is about 600 pesos by Uber, and the ride to the airport at the end is shorter and cheaper from San José.

What moves you from the bottom of a range to the top is mostly drinks, and how many of your dinners are the sit-down kind.

The Verdict

A week in Cabo is five real days. Give three of them to the same things I'd do on a shorter trip, give San José a day of its own, and leave one day completely empty. If you're here between November and June, sleep in both towns, Médano first and San José second.

What I love about this plan is that nothing in it is rushed. Every boat and every swim is finished by mid-morning, every afternoon is free, and the two best dinners of the week are a short ride or a walk from your bed.

What I wish were different is how the split and Todos Santos line up. The day works best from Cabo San Lucas, and Thursday puts you in San José the night before. If that drive matters to you, move on Saturday morning and take one night in San José, or keep one base.

Here's how I'd adjust it for you:

• Families with small kids: one base in the middle of Médano, a catamaran for the whales, Flora Farms for brunch.
• Couples who came for the food: the split, or the whole week in San José's center with one long day in Cabo San Lucas.
• Snorkelers in October and November: the split, with Cabo Pulmo in place of Todos Santos.
• Whale sharks are why you came: one base, and the night in La Paz in place of Days 5 and 6.
• Anglers: one base near the marina, with a half-day charter early in the week.
• July to October: one base on Médano, everything done by 10:30, and nothing prepaid in storm season.
• Non-drivers: the same week, with a small-group tour or a second swim morning on Day 5.

Boiled down, the week goes like this: land Monday, three nights mid-Médano, three in San José's center. Day 1, swim and walk to dinner. Day 2, whales at 8 (the Arch if it's not winter). Day 3, Chileno by Uber at 7:45, nap, sunset sail on a small boat. Day 4, hike, move to San José, Art Walk, dinner booked a week out. Day 5, rent a car for Todos Santos, home before dark. Day 6, nothing, then dinner at Acre. Day 7, breakfast and a fifteen-minute ride to the airport. And the afternoons are still for doing nothing, even with a whole week.

Quick Answers

Is seven days too long for Cabo? No. A week gives you five full days, which is enough for a boat morning, Chileno, an evening in San José, Todos Santos, a real rest day and one bigger trip if you want it.

Should I split a week between Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo? Yes, from November to June, if you don't mind moving once. I'd do Médano first for the boats and the swimming, and San José last for the dinners and the short ride to the airport. With small kids, or from July to October, keep one base on Médano.

Do I need a rental car for a week in Cabo? Only for one day, the Todos Santos day, or for two if you take the night in La Paz. Everything else is on foot or by Uber.

Can I fit La Paz into a week in Cabo? Yes, as an overnight in place of the Todos Santos day and the rest day. It's two and a half hours each way, so I wouldn't do it as a day trip.

What's the best day to arrive for a week in Cabo? Monday, or Tuesday if you're keeping one base. Thursday then falls on your San José evening, Todos Santos falls on a Friday and the rest day follows the drive.