Best Beach Clubs in Cabo: My 8 Picks and What You Really Pay

By Cabo Wander

Almost no beach club in Cabo charges you for the chair. That surprises people, because "how much is a chair?" is the first thing everybody asks. What you agree to is a bar tab, set in advance. The clubs call it a minimum spend or a day pass with credit, and it's the same idea at different sizes. You commit to an amount per person, and it comes off what you eat and drink that day.

The best beach club is the one whose minimum I'd have spent on lunch anyway. By that test my number one is SUR Beach House on Médano Beach, booked directly. It's about 1,750 pesos a head, roughly US$100, all of it comes back as food and drink, and the kitchen is good enough that spending it is easy. Corazón, on the same beach, is second and it's the bargain at about 800 pesos a head. And if what you want is a calm swim somewhere quieter, the Hilton's day pass out on the Corridor is third.

I ranked these eight on four questions. Would I have spent the minimum anyway? How much of it comes back as credit? Can I swim in front of the lounger? And is the food good? The swimming question knocks out more places than you'd guess. Most resort day passes in Los Cabos buy you a pool next to water you can't get into, and the reason is in the best swimmable beaches in Cabo.

The credit is never the whole check. Tip and service land on top, a cocktail at these places runs about US$18 to $28, and a realistic day for two at a Médano club is US$150 to $300. I do that math for every level further down.

1. SUR Beach House

SUR is number one because it's the best all-around day on Médano. You get a real kitchen, a swim and a lounger, and a minimum that comes back in full if you book it the right way.

It's the beach house that belongs to the Bahia hotel, on the busy half of Médano toward the marina, with wooden loungers on the sand under a big palapa terrace. The food is the reason it beats everything else on this beach. The sashimi and the tuna tartare are what I order, the sushi rolls are good too, and the passion fruit margarita is the drink. A saxophonist plays every day. It's lively, and nobody is running a drinking contest, which on this stretch of sand is worth a lot. I've seen couples and families with kids there on the same afternoon.

The most useful tip in this post is to book the beach day directly, through SUR's own reservation listing, where it's about 1,750 pesos a person with every peso credited. The same lounger sold through a day pass site costs about the same and gives you back only around three-fifths of it.

For two, that's 3,500 pesos of credit, which went on lunch and about three drinks each. With service on top, I'd plan on US$225 to $265 for the day.

What I'd want to be different is the crowding. On a busy day I've found it very full with not many seats left, so reserve, and get there early. It's also right in the loud zone, with boats and jet skis working the water out front. You can swim, and you should stay inside the buoys and check the flag first. Prices are on the high side for this beach, and I think the food earns it.

Bottom line: if you're only doing one beach club day, do this one, and book it direct.

2. Corazón Beach Club

Corazón is the cheapest good lounger on Médano, and that's what puts it second. It's about 800 pesos per adult, roughly US$45, and all of it is credit. Kids from six to twelve are half that, also fully credited, and children under six are free.

It's the beach club of the Corazón hotel, the one with the brewery on its roof, at the marina end of the beach beside one of the public access lanes. The hotel calls it the biggest beach club on Médano. Your pass gets you the loungers and umbrellas on the sand plus the hotel's pool and its bar, which is why I think it's the best pick for families. A pool and a beach for 800 pesos, with the little ones free, is hard to beat anywhere on this coast.

The food is good. I liked the ceviche, the espresso martini was better than a beach club drink needs to be, and the chilaquiles at breakfast with that view are a nice way to start. It's a notch below SUR, and that's most of the difference between the two.

That 800 pesos sounds like a full day, and it's really a start. Cocktails are about US$18 to $21 and a beer is US$5 to $7. My first two cocktails took 700 pesos, so I was most of the way through my credit before lunch. For two people having lunch, something to share and three drinks each, plan on US$165 to $210 with service.

Here's what to know before you book:

Email or call a day ahead. It's sold subject to availability.
Ask for the lower deck. It's nearer the water, and it fills by late morning.
Ask if there's an event that day. Events take over the club, and I've turned up with a reservation on one of those days and it didn't count for much.

It's also LOUD. There's a resident DJ, and by the afternoon I couldn't hold a conversation. And because the front is open to the sand, the vendors walk past your view all day. Neither of those bothered me much with a drink in my hand, but if you came to read, this is the wrong end of the beach.

For value, and for families, it's my first pick.

3. The Hilton Los Cabos Day Pass

The Hilton is third overall and first for a calm swim. It's the only resort day pass on the Corridor that gets you into the ocean, in a cove behind a man-made breakwater, and I think that's worth knowing about even if you never buy it.

The pass is about US$135 for an adult, with about US$80 of it back as food and drink credit. That's the weakest return of anything in my top six, and you should know it going in. What you're buying with the rest is the place. There are four pools, including an adults-only one with a swim-up bar, a waterslide for the kids, and loungers by the pools and down on the beach. There was no music at the pool at all, and no vendors, because it's a hotel beach. After a morning at the marina end of Médano, the quiet is lovely.

Swim in the morning. The cove is flat behind the rocks until the afternoon breeze comes up. It faces south, so in summer and fall a swell can close it, and a day pass doesn't change the color of the flag. I can't tell you whether you'd get your money back on a red-flag day, so read the cancellation terms before you buy.

The food is resort food at resort prices, and it's fine. Cocktails are about US$16 and lunch is US$20 to $25, with 20% service on top. My US$80 covered one lunch and two drinks. After that it's the full price plus service.

Kids from two to twelve pay about US$115, which is nearly the adult price, so a family of four is around US$500 before anyone orders a second lemonade. And from Cabo San Lucas the ride is 20 to 30 minutes, about US$30 to $50 each way by taxi and roughly half that by Uber. I compare the two in getting around Cabo. If you drive, parking is free with the pass. For two adults coming from town, the whole day is US$370 to $470.

Chileno Bay is a few minutes down the highway, it's free, and it's a better swim. The Hilton pass is for the day you want the swim and a pool, a bathroom, a lounger and lunch brought to you. If you're staying at one of the Corridor resorts where the beach is only for looking at, it's the fix I'd use, and the rest of that coast is in my Tourist Corridor guide.

4. Hotel El Ganzo's Beach Club

El Ganzo's beach club has the quietest lounger on swimmable water in Los Cabos, and bought directly it's one of the cheapest. If you're staying in San José, this is your beach club and you don't need to ride 40 minutes to Médano for one.

It sits inside the breakwater at Puerto Los Cabos, across the marina channel from the hotel, and getting there is half the fun. A little hotel boat runs you over in a couple of minutes, and it's included. On the other side there are beach chairs, a bar and a kitchen, a few art installations, and sometimes a musician. The hotel is adults-only for overnight guests, but the beach club takes kids.

The pass has been about US$50 bought from the hotel, with most of it credited toward what you eat and drink. On a day pass site I've seen it at roughly double that. So call or email the hotel, and check the current terms, because I've seen more than one direct price for it. As far as I can tell it doesn't take reservations for the chairs, so call ahead and go early. For two, with lunch and drinks past the credit, I'd plan on US$170 to $210 plus your ride.

I don't know the kitchen well enough to tell you what to order. I come here for the water.

The catches are about where it is. From Cabo San Lucas it's 45 minutes and about 600 pesos by Uber just to reach San José, so I wouldn't cross Los Cabos for it. The protected part is small, and the open bay beside it is a working boat channel, so stay inside the buoyed area. And the hotel's rooftop pool is a separate, adults-only pass.

From San José's plaza it's 10 to 15 minutes by car, and it pairs well with a dip at La Playita next door. Both are in my San José del Cabo guide.

5. Veleros Beach Club

Veleros is El Ganzo's neighbor on the same protected beach, and it's the one I'd pick if lunch matters as much as the swim. The price is also the most straightforward one on this list.

A sunbed is about 1,400 pesos a person, close to US$80. About 1,000 pesos of that is credit, and an 18% tip is already built into the price. So don't tip again on top. A cabana for three or four people is sold at the same per-person price.

It looks like the expensive option next to El Ganzo, and once you count the tip it mostly isn't. For two I'd plan on US$190 to $230 for the day, plus the ride.

The oysters are the thing to order, with a set of marinades that I'd happily go back for. The seafood in general was really good for what it cost, and the service was too. The cocktails are the weak spot. Mine were on the watery side, so I'd lean toward the wine list.

It's very calm. The swimming is in flat, protected water, and I've seen families and dogs there. I've also heard it described as not a place for kids, so if you're bringing little ones, ask when you book. It runs from about 10am to 5:30pm, every day.

For a quiet lunch with a swim in San José, this and El Ganzo are a coin flip. El Ganzo is cheaper and Veleros feeds you better.

6. Casa Dorada's Beach Club Pass

Casa Dorada is the most grown-up resort day at the busy end of Médano, and it's sixth because the hotel makes you choose between its beach and its pools. It sells two passes with nearly the same name, and each one leaves out half the property.

The beach club pass is about US$110, with about US$85 back as credit. You get the hotel's beach club on the sand, towels, and a bottle of sparkling house wine and two waters per adult. It does not include the pools.
The resort pass is about US$140, with about US$115 back as credit. You get the two pools, the hot tub and the swim-up bar, with the same wine and water. It does not include the beach club.

Kids from six to twelve are half price on both. So decide which day you want before you click. For a swim in the ocean, it's the beach club pass. For kids who want a pool, it's the resort pass. It's an easy one to get wrong, because the two names are so close.

The credit is the best return of any hotel pass on Médano, around four-fifths of what you pay, and the bottle of wine is a nice touch. For two on the beach club pass, I'd plan on US$300 to $330 once you've spent a bit past the credit and tipped.

There's also a cabana for two at about US$250, with about US$200 back as credit, a bottle of wine and your own server. For a shaded daybed on Médano, I think that's the best-value treat on the beach.

I don't know the food here well enough to tell you what to order. And like every hotel pass, the loungers are first come, first served.

7. Taboo at ME Cabo

Taboo is on this list as the party splurge, and it's a different product from everything above it. It's a day club with a pool, a DJ, a saxophone and sparklers, inside an adults-only hotel at mid-beach, and it charges like a nightclub.

The minimum for a lounger is about US$150 a person, and more for a bed or a cabana, which can run from several hundred dollars into the thousands for a group. It all counts against what you eat and drink. You need a reservation. For two on loungers, plan on US$350 to $450 by the time service is on. A cabana day for six starts around US$1,000.

If the scene is what you came for, it's good. The room is fun, the service is attentive, and the food is better than it needs to be. It's Mediterranean, and the octopus is one of the best things on the menu. The steaks get flambéed at your table, which tells you the mood.

If there are four or more of you, take a cabana and skip the single loungers, because the minimum goes further and you get a home base. Ask the price of bottled water and anything else you didn't see on a menu, because the extras add up fast. And if you're a group, ask how they split the check before you order. It's too loud to sort that out afterward.

The beach is right in front, but most people stay by the pool. If you want a swim and a quiet lunch, this is a lot of money for the wrong thing.

8. Mango Deck

Mango Deck is the best-known beach party in Baja, it costs nothing to walk into, and it has the most unpredictable check on the sand. It's last on my list, and I'd still send the right group there.

It's toward the marina end of Médano, in the loudest cluster of clubs, with tables and loungers on the sand that go to whoever gets there first. There's no cover. From about one to five an MC runs dance contests, bikini contests and tequila shots, and with a group it's a really fun afternoon. The servers are a big part of why, and I've had great ones. The food is better than I expected too. The shrimp tacos and the guacamole made at the table are what I'd get.

It's two different places depending on the clock. At breakfast it's a family-friendly restaurant on the beach. After about 1pm I wouldn't bring anyone under sixteen. In mid-March, at spring break, it's a whole other level.

I say this kindly, because I've had good days here. Mango Deck doesn't publish a minimum spend and it doesn't publish its prices. When I sat down, the waiter asked what I was drinking and there was no menu in his hand. I've paid close to US$30 for a single drink, and one round of three drinks and five waters came to about US$100. So this is what I do:

Ask what the minimum is before you sit.
Ask for a menu with prices, and order from it.
Buy the bucket. Five beers cost about US$25, and one beer by itself is about half that.
Ask the price of a bottle and what comes with it. The mixers are charged separately.
Pay as you go, in pesos if you can, and read the check for a tip that's already on it.

Done that way, two people can have a couple of buckets, two cocktails, lunch and a tip for US$130 to $220. Without asking, I can't tell you what it costs. The rest of how I handle a night out here is in my Cabo San Lucas guide. The bars and clubs for after dark are in my post on Cabo nightlife.

Bottom line: go before noon for breakfast, or after noon on purpose. Just don't wander in at 2pm hoping for a quiet lounger.

Others Worth Knowing

These didn't make the eight, and a few of them are the right answer for a particular day.

Breathless sells an all-inclusive day pass at the marina corner of Médano, adults only, for about US$160. It's a fixed-price drinking day. If two of you would each have five or more cocktails, it comes out cheaper than any tab on the beach. Pass holders are kept to one building, the loungers aren't reserved so be there by 9:30, and you need to buy it at least a day ahead. I'd pick it for the price and wouldn't expect a quiet chair.
Tamara is the other beach venue at ME Cabo, down on the sand, adults only, with tacos and ceviche and loud music. It's cheaper than Taboo. I've seen three different prices for it, so ask what the pass is and what's credited on your date.
Bagatelle is a French restaurant at the marina corner that turns into a day party with a DJ. Go for the afternoon. The avocado pizza was the best thing I ate there, and the rest was expensive for what it was.
The Sand Bar is the low-key one, a beach restaurant with loungers, umbrellas and a massage platform where an hour runs about US$35. Cocktails are about US$13 to $16. As far as I know there's no minimum, but ask. The portions are on the small side and the music can be loud.
Solaz, on the Corridor, sells a pass for about US$200 with about half back as credit. It's a beautiful pool and spa day, and I wouldn't count on a swim in the ocean. With rides it's US$600 to $750 for two, and at that price the Hilton down the road gives you the sea. The hotel itself is in the best luxury resorts in Cabo.
Hacienda Cocina y Cantina has the best lunch table on the calmest corner of Médano, with an Arch view and guacamole made tableside. The loungers there belong to the residences, so think of it as lunch. It's in my guide to where to eat in Cabo San Lucas.
Cascadas Beach Grill is at mid-beach, where the quiet half starts. The red snapper and the crab cake are good. I can't tell you whether lunch gets a non-guest a lounger, so ask.

The Office on the Beach is one of the longest-standing names on Médano, and it takes a break every late summer, so I'd check that it's open before you walk over.

In my opinion, the best-known places on this beach are the ones where the afternoon is great and the math is the problem. People come away from Mango Deck or Bagatelle having had a good time and a surprising check. The quieter hotel clubs, where the price is written down in pesos before you arrive, are the better deal.

Minimum Spend, Credited Pass or Cover: What You're Actually Buying

Okay, now the part nobody explains on the booking page. There are five ways a lounger gets priced in Cabo, and a true cover charge is the one you'll almost never meet.

Pay as you go. Nothing up front, and you're expected to order. This is Mango Deck. The risk is the check.
A minimum spend, fully credited. You commit to an amount, and all of it counts toward food and drink. Corazón, SUR booked direct, and Taboo work this way.
A day pass with partial credit. You pay more than you get back. The return runs from about three-fifths (the Hilton) to about four-fifths (Casa Dorada), and the difference is what you're paying for pools and towels.
An all-inclusive day pass. One price, unlimited food and drink. Breathless is the one on Médano.
A cabana or daybed. A reserved spot for a group, with anything from a small credit to most of the price back.

Whichever one you buy, the credit is for that day only. You can't carry it over, cash it out, or spend it on takeout.

A pass doesn't reserve a chair. Everywhere I've bought one, the loungers were first come, first served, so arrive when it opens. A daybed or a cabana is the only thing that's held for you.

And the credit doesn't cover the whole check. Tip sits outside it. A service charge of 15 to 20% is often added on top, and whether the credit covers that, or the tax, changes from one venue to the next. I can't give you a rule, so ask one question when you book: does the credit cover tax, service and tip? Veleros is the only place on my list that answers it for you in the price. The mechanics of reading a check here are in how much Cabo costs.

Will a Club Keep the Vendors Away?

Partly. The resorts at the east end of Médano rope off their sand, and the vendors stay outside the rope. The open-fronted clubs toward the marina don't have that, so you'll still watch hats and blankets go by from your lounger. If being sold to bothers you, the Hilton and the two San José clubs are where it stops.

Protecting Your Tab

Surprise checks are a real pattern at the pay-as-you-go party clubs on this beach. Rounds nobody ordered, a bottle priced on the check and nowhere before it, mixers charged one at a time, a tip added and then asked for again, and a total in dollars when you were thinking in pesos. It's all avoidable:

Get a menu with prices before you order anything.
Pay as you go, or ask to see the running tab every couple of rounds.
Read the check for service already added before you touch the terminal.
Pay in pesos where the menu is in pesos, and pick pesos on the card machine.
Keep your card in your hand.

The hotel clubs publish their prices in pesos, and I haven't had a surprise at SUR or Corazón. I still read the check. The wider picture on cards and scams is in is Cabo safe.

When the Same Club Is a Different Place

Every club on Médano is calmer before noon. The contests and the DJs peak from about one to five. In mid-March the marina end belongs to spring break through those same hours, and on cruise ship days it fills from mid-morning until about 3:30. The east end, the Hilton and San José don't notice either one.

September into early October is the quiet stretch. Some places take their yearly break, and a storm swell can close Médano and the Hilton's cove for days at a time. From February to April the sea is at its coldest, so a pass with a pool earns its money. Late October and November are my favorite weeks for a beach club day, with warm, clear water and everything open. The month-by-month version is in the best time to visit Cabo.

The Public Beach Option

You don't have to pay anyone to sit on Médano. All two miles of it are public, and you can put a towel down anywhere, including right in front of a resort. What you can't use is the resort's furniture. Hotel security is very quick about that.

If you want shade without a club, men with stacks of chairs and umbrellas work the open stretches of sand. I'd expect roughly US$10 to $15 a chair, or US$25 to $35 for a set of two chairs with an umbrella. Treat those as rough, because nothing is posted. Agree on the price, for the whole day, before you sit down.

You can bring your own drinks and snacks onto the open sand, just no glass. There's a free public bathroom block with foot-rinse showers, and otherwise the bathrooms are pay ones. For lunch, Tacos Gardenias is on the walk between the marina and the beach.

For quiet, go before 10am, or walk east. Around the middle of the beach the resorts' roped sections begin and the vendors thin out. The licensed vendors wear white and carry an ID badge, and "no, gracias" works on all of them. Wherever you sit, swim inside the buoys and look at the flag first. Which stretch to choose is in my Médano Beach guide.

Getting there is easy. From the mall side of the marina it's a short, flat walk. From the cruise tender pier it's the long way around the harbor, so take the water taxi across. You'll be asked US$10 to $15 a head, and US$5 to $7 is fair.

Two people on the public sand with rented shade spend about US$100 less than two people at Corazón. That hundred buys a pool, a bathroom, towels and someone bringing you lunch. I think most people should make that trade once and then decide for themselves.

Day Pass Sites vs Booking Direct

Two day pass sites list Los Cabos hotels, ResortPass and DayPass, with a couple of dozen properties each. They're useful, and I have a few cautions.

Compare with the hotel first. Wherever I've been able to check, direct was the same price or cheaper, and the credit was better. SUR and El Ganzo are the two big ones. The Hilton is the exception, because it sends visitors to the pass site.

The two sites don't match each other. The same hotel can be a few dollars apart, and neither one is always the cheaper.

Read the address. Hotels in San José get filed under Cabo San Lucas, and some of the listings are pools at hotels that aren't on a beach at all.

Read the cancellation terms before you pay. The cutoff is usually the night before, and it may be set in US Pacific time. I can't tell you what gets added at checkout, which dates are blocked, or whether you're refunded when the beach is closed for weather, so check all three. Around Christmas, Presidents' week and spring break, the dates sell out.

Most of these passes aren't beach days. Outside Médano, the Hilton and the two clubs at Puerto Los Cabos, a resort pass is a pool day beside water you can't swim in. That can still be a great day. Just buy it for the pool.

What the sites do well is give you a confirmed, dated booking in English that you can cancel. They're also a smart way to test a hotel. If you're thinking about a week at an all-inclusive, one day on a pass tells you a lot about the food and the pool before you commit, and I get into that in whether a Cabo all-inclusive is worth it.

What a Day Costs for Two

This is my own rough arithmetic. It assumes lunch for two, about three drinks each, and service at around 15% where a tip isn't already in the price. No bottle service. Rides are counted wherever you can't walk.

Public sand, your own towel: US$35 to $60
Public sand with rented chairs and an umbrella: US$60 to $110
Mango Deck, asking prices first: US$130 to $220
Corazón: US$165 to $210
El Ganzo, booked direct: US$170 to $210, plus the ride
Veleros: US$190 to $230, plus the ride
SUR, booked direct: US$225 to $265
Casa Dorada, beach club pass: US$300 to $330
Casa Dorada, cabana for two: US$330 to $380
Breathless, all-inclusive: about US$335 with tips
Taboo, on loungers: US$350 to $450
The Hilton, with rides from Cabo San Lucas: US$370 to $470
Solaz, with rides: US$600 to $750

Corazón to SUR is about US$60 more, and what you get for it is the food. From SUR up to a hotel pass is another US$60 to $100. And once you're past about US$350 for two, the extra money is going toward a DJ at Taboo or a spa at Solaz, and that's fine if that's the day you wanted.

The Verdict

In Cabo you're buying lunch ahead of time and the lounger comes with it. So pick the place where you'd have wanted lunch anyway. If you only have time for one, book SUR directly and get there early.

Here's what I'd pick for you:

A calm swim and lunch: the Hilton day pass. El Ganzo if you're staying in San José. On Médano, SUR before noon.
Families: Corazón, for the pool, the beach and little kids free. The Hilton for the waterslide and the cove. Veleros for a quiet one in San José.
A party: Mango Deck if you want it cheap and loud, and you ask the prices. Taboo if you want it expensive and loud.
A splurge: a cabana at Taboo with a group. For two people, Casa Dorada's cabana gets you a shaded daybed on Médano for a lot less.
Value: Corazón at 800 pesos, all credited. El Ganzo booked direct. And the public sand costs nothing at all.

Adults-only places like Breathless and Tamara are out if you have kids, and so is Mango Deck after lunch. I wouldn't pay US$200 at a Corridor resort hoping for a swim. And if you're off a cruise ship, book Corazón or SUR before you sail, because the passes that need a day's notice can't be bought on the pier.

If you find yourself wanting a lounger every day, it's cheaper to sleep on the beach than to buy your way onto it, and that's a question for where to stay in Cabo. And if you're fitting one beach day around everything else, my list of things to do in Cabo has the order I'd do it in. If it's lunch you care about more than the lounger, start with the best restaurants in Cabo.

I'd do a beach club day again, about once a trip. I love having lunch brought to me with my feet in the sand... I just want to know what the margarita costs before I order the second one.

Here's how I'd text it to a friend: SUR, book it direct, 1,750 pesos and you eat all of it. Corazón if you want cheap or have kids, 800 pesos. Hilton pass if you want a quiet swim. In San José, El Ganzo or Veleros. A pass doesn't hold a chair, so go early. Ask if the credit covers tip. At Mango Deck, ask the minimum and get a menu before you sit. Pesos, always.

Quick Answers

Do you have to pay to sit on Médano Beach? No. The sand is public and free, and you can put a towel down anywhere. You pay for furniture and shade, either through a club's minimum spend, a day pass, or a vendor's chairs and umbrella.

How much is a beach club in Cabo? On Médano it runs from nothing up front at Mango Deck, to about 800 pesos a head fully credited at Corazón and about 1,750 pesos at SUR, to about US$150 a head at Taboo. Resort passes are roughly US$100 to $200 with part of it back as credit. For two people, a realistic day is US$150 to $300 at a Médano club.

What does "minimum spend" or "credit" mean? You pay or commit to an amount per person, and it's set against what you eat and drink that day. You can't carry it over or cash it out, and you should assume the tip and any service charge sit on top.

Can I use a resort's pool without staying there? Yes, at a couple of dozen hotels, through a day pass site or directly from the hotel. Most of them are pool days beside water you can't swim in. Away from Médano, the Hilton and El Ganzo are the ones where the pass gets you into the ocean.

Is it cheaper to book direct? Usually, where the hotel sells it directly. SUR gives all of your money back as credit when you book direct, and El Ganzo has been about half the price. What the pass sites give you is a confirmed booking with a clear cancellation rule.