Things to Do

Médano Beach: Three Beaches in One, and I'd Pick the Middle

By Cabo Wander

Médano Beach has a reputation as the loud tourist beach in Cabo San Lucas, and it has earned part of it. It's still worth it, for a morning. Get there before ten, walk about ten minutes east along the sand from the party clubs, and sit in the middle.

Most people will tell you Médano has a loud end and a quiet end, and I used to say the same thing. After a lot of days on it, I think it's three beaches. There's the loud west end by the marina, which also has the calmest water. The middle is the part worth sitting on. And at the far east end, the sand gets steeper and the sea gets rougher than anybody mentions when they send you out there for peace and quiet.

It's the one beach in town where you can walk from your hotel, swim, and have a drink brought to you, and I'd give it a morning on any trip. I wouldn't make it the quiet beach day of your vacation. For that I'd send you to one of the coves in the best swimmable beaches in Cabo, where Médano comes in third.

So let's walk it, west to east.

The West End, by the Marina

This is the end everybody sees first, and it's two very different things packed close together.

Right in the corner by the marina, the water is the calmest and shallowest on the whole beach. The slope in is soft, the waves are small, and there's a lifeguard. Before ten in the morning it's where I'd take a small child or a nervous swimmer. On a clear day I've stood in it with little pufferfish swimming around my feet.

A few minutes along the sand is the club strip, around Corazón and Mango Deck. From about midday there's an MC on a microphone, the vendors are at their thickest, and the small boats run right up onto the sand to load. It's a short strip. It's also the first place most visitors sit down, and I think that's how the whole two miles got its reputation.

This end suits groups, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and anyone who wants a loud afternoon on purpose. If that's you, you'll have a great time, and you should ask for a menu with prices before you order anything. Everyone else, come here early for the water and then keep walking.

The Middle

I'd put almost everyone here. It starts just past the party clubs, around SUR and the Sand Bar, and runs past ME Cabo and the two Pueblo Bonito hotels to Club Cascadas, where the buildings stop for the first time and a dry riverbed meets the sea. Give it about ten minutes of walking from the clubs and the microphones are behind you.

The water is still gentle, there are lifeguards, and lunch is close enough that you don't have to plan it.

It's quieter here, but it still isn't quiet. ME Cabo has its own DJ, so the music fades more than it stops. Vendors work the whole beach, and they'll find you here too, just less often. The water in front of the hotels is busy with jet skis and other toys, so the buoy line matters as much here as it does by the marina.

If you keep going past Club Cascadas you reach the Villa resorts. That's the quietest sand I'd still call a reasonable swim, and the resorts post their own flags, so look at them before you get in. There's nothing to buy out there unless you're a guest, so carry water.

The middle is the stretch for first-timers without a car, couples who want a calm lunch with their feet in the sand, and anybody who brought a book.

The Far East End

The far end, out by the Riu resorts, is wide and uncrowded and a very long way from the MC. I understand why people get sent there. I've sent people there.

What I'd want to know first is that the slope gets steeper and the surf gets rougher the farther east you go. In the swell months of summer and fall, I've seen the flag out there stay red day after day while people were swimming happily back toward the marina. I can't tell you how much calmer it runs in winter, so I wouldn't promise you a swim out front in any month.

If you're staying at that end, ask the hotel one question before you book: how often can I swim in front of you in the month I'm coming? Then watch the flag once you're there. And if you see a Blue Flag sign on that stretch, know that it's a certificate for water quality and beach management. It has nothing to do with whether the sea is safe to get into.

The selling doesn't stop out here either. I've seen souvenir stalls set up right along the hotel line. And it's a good half hour of soft sand from one end of the beach to the other, so "walk into town" turns into a ride pretty fast. Which hotels sit on which part of the beach is in where to stay in Cabo.

Bottom line: book this end for the resort and its pool, and treat an ocean swim as a bonus. Please don't walk a toddler out here looking for calm water. The gentle slope is at the other end.

When to Go

Before ten. That's when the water is flat, the sand is nearly empty and nobody has started selling. Hotel staff are still raking, and the Arch across the bay has the morning sun on it. If you only do one thing I suggest in this post, make it this.

The first vendors show up around ten, and on a cruise ship day the west end fills from late morning. The contests at the clubs run from about one to five. A breeze comes up in the early afternoon and blows fine sand along the beach and across your lounger, which is my usual cue to go find lunch.

On a ship day the crowd thins when passengers head back for their tenders, which can be mid-afternoon or not until evening depending on the ship. After five the beach half empties and the selling thins out. It's a nice hour for a walk.

This is what changes by season:

• December to February: the busiest months, with ships in most days. The water is around 71 to 75°F, so I swim quick.
• March: spring break, heaviest in the second and third weeks. I stay off the west end from noon to five. The middle barely notices.
• Easter week and Sundays all year: local families fill the public sand. It's cheerful and crowded.
• July and August: hot, with the water finally warm. Jellyfish flags are possible.
• September to mid-October: the warmest water and the emptiest sand, and the beach can close for days at a time after a storm, even under a blue sky. The water can run brown for a few days after heavy rain, too.
• Late October and November: my favorite. The water is around 80°F, the sea has settled down and everything is open.

The month-by-month version is in the best time to visit Cabo.

Can You Swim at Médano?

Yes, at the west corner and through the middle, on most days of the year. That's what sets it apart from nearly every other beach in Los Cabos. The far east end is the part I'd treat with caution, for the reasons above.

Two habits cover almost everything.

Read the flag. It's set each morning and changed through the day, so look again after lunch. Green means swim, yellow means be careful, red means don't go in, and black means the beach is closed and you should stay off the wet sand too. A white flag means jellyfish. The beach stays open under that one, and the people who go in anyway get stung. There are lifeguards on the main stretches during the day.

Stay inside the buoys. The real hazard at the west end and the middle is traffic. Water taxis, glass-bottom boats, parasail boats and jet skis all work this water, and the buoy lines are what keep them off you. Outside the lines, that water belongs to the boats.

As for the swimming itself, it's pleasant more than special. The water passes its official testing, but it sits next to a harbor and there's nothing to see with a mask. From February to April it's cold, around 71°F. I've loved it most in the fall, when it's in the 80s and I don't want to get out.

The Vendors, and How to Say No

You came to swim, and you'll spend a good part of the day saying "no, gracias." I'd rather you hear that from me than discover it at noon.

At the west end, somebody stops at your towel every few minutes from about ten until late afternoon. It's silver jewelry, hats, blankets, sunglasses, carvings, hair braiding, henna, massages, cigars, fruit, and boat rides. The same sellers come around again. One afternoon by the clubs I gave up and lay face down on my towel, which I can't really recommend as a strategy.

People call the vendors aggressive, and what they mean is frequent. Everyone I've dealt with was polite, and one refusal worked every time. It just doesn't stop the next person. The licensed sellers are easy to spot, in white from collar to ankle with a red stripe down one side and an ID badge.

Here's what works:

• "No, gracias," once, with a smile and a second of eye contact. Ignoring someone completely comes across as rude.
• Don't ask a price to be polite. That opens a negotiation that can run ten minutes.
• Wear sunglasses. It helps more than it should.
• Carry small bills. Nobody has change.
• If you do want something, the first price is an opener. Starting at about half is normal, and walking away usually brings it down.

Prices on the sand aren't posted and I've rarely seen the same one twice, so I won't quote you hats and blankets. The one fixed price I've found is the fruit. Mango on a stick was US$5, and no, that one wasn't up for discussion.

I'd leave the "Cuban" cigars alone, because here they're almost always fakes. Silver stamped 925 is something you can't test from a lounger. I'd never hand over a cash deposit on the sand for a tour tomorrow. And I don't buy from kids.

A beach club only partly gets you away from it. The clubs with open fronts have vendors working the waterline right in front of your table, and from inside a roped-off area I've still had people calling to me from the other side of the rope.

Where to Sit

The sand is free and public for the whole two miles. Shade, a chair and a bathroom all cost something, and none of the prices are posted.

You've got three options:

• Your own towel. Free, anywhere on the beach, including right in front of a hotel. The loungers belong to the hotels, and security is quick to tell you so. Bring your own drinks and snacks if you like, just nothing in glass.
• A rented chair. Men with stacks of chairs and umbrellas work the open stretches of sand. Expect roughly US$10 to $15 a chair, or US$25 to $35 for two chairs and an umbrella. Agree on the price, for the whole day, before you sit down.
• A beach club. You commit to a minimum and it comes back as food and drink. Corazón is about 800 pesos a head, roughly US$45, and SUR is about 1,750 pesos, roughly US$100, when you book it directly. The party clubs are pay as you go, and that's where I ask for a menu with prices first.

For two people with lunch and a few drinks, a day on a towel runs about US$35 to $60, rented shade makes it US$60 to $110, and a club is US$165 to $265. I've ranked the clubs, with the full math, in the best beach clubs in Cabo.

One nice extra in the middle stretch is a massage at one of the beach bars, about US$35 an hour. It's on an open deck with a view of the bay and a few other tables right beside yours, so don't expect privacy. I thought it was a good hour for the money. Agree on the price and the length before you lie down.

For food, the fruit sellers are fine by me when the fruit is cut in front of you, and so is anything cooked and hot. Raw shellfish from a tray that's been out in the sun is where I draw the line. Lunch gets a lot cheaper once you leave the sand, and the places a few blocks inland are in the best tacos in Cabo.

Bathrooms are the weak spot. There are public restrooms on Médano, but they're hard to find, and I couldn't give you directions to them. Most people use a club's, or buy a drink somewhere so they can use that one.

Jet Skis, Parasailing and the Arch Boats

All of it is sold right on the sand, and all of it is negotiable. I can't give you a firm beach price for any of it, so use the online listings as a rough guide: about US$85 to $90 for half an hour on a jet ski, and about US$80 to $100 to parasail, which is an hour's outing with maybe ten or fifteen minutes in the air. A paddleboard or kayak is about US$25 to $30 an hour. Agree on the price and the time before anything starts.

The one that deserves care is the jet ski. People have been killed on rented jet skis in this bay. If somebody in your group wants a turn, here's how I'd do it:

• Go in the morning, when the water is flat and the bay is less crowded, and nobody's had a drink.
• Rent from a tent with a name on it, and skip the promoter walking the beach.
• Take photos of the machine before you leave. The dispute I'd guard against is a bill for scratches that were already there.
• Wear the life vest, clip the kill-switch lanyard on, and have them show you the buoys.

Rented jet skis aren't allowed out to the Arch. There's more on rented machines in general in is Cabo safe.

With kids, look for the floating inflatable park that's sometimes anchored a little way offshore. It was about US$10 a child, and I've seen four kids go on for US$30 after a bit of bargaining.

The boats to the Arch load right off the sand near the clubs. The man with the laminated card will open at around US$40 a head, and about US$20 round trip is the price. You wade out to board, so in any kind of swell I'd think twice with a small child or a camera. The whole trip is in my guide to El Arco and Lover's Beach.

Getting There and Getting On the Sand

If you're staying in town, walk. From the mall side of the marina it's under ten minutes on flat ground, on the path behind the Puerto Paraíso mall. That's also the easiest way on if anyone in your group has trouble getting around. The other public way in I use is the pedestrian alley beside Corazón, which drops you right into the club strip. How the beach connects to the rest of town is in my Cabo San Lucas guide.

On the boardwalk on your way over, the friendly people in polo shirts and lanyards are selling timeshares. What that trade really costs you is in my post on the Cabo timeshare presentation.

From the cruise tender pier it's a different story. The beach looks close, and on foot it's the long way around the whole harbor in the sun. Take the water taxi across. You'll be asked US$10 to $15 a head, and US$5 to $7 is fair. From the mall side, skip the boat and walk.

A ride inside town is about US$10 to $15 by taxi and a few dollars by Uber, and I compare them in getting around Cabo. I wouldn't drive. There's paid parking near the dry riverbed by Club Cascadas, as far as I know, but I wouldn't count on finding anything free, and most people walk or take a ride.

There are beach wheelchairs on Médano, the kind that can go into the water. I can't tell you exactly where they're kept, so ask a lifeguard or ask at the main access.

I don't walk the sand after dark. The club strip stays lit and busy into the evening, and past the hotel lights the beach is dark and empty. That's just my preference, and it's the same one I have for any empty stretch at night. From the east half, I take a ride home after dinner.

Médano With Kids

Go to the west corner, early. Before ten it's flat, shallow and has a lifeguard, and it's the best water on this beach for little ones. Stay inside the buoys, have lunch, and head back for a nap before the clubs get going.

After lunch, I wouldn't keep kids at the Mango Deck end. For a family that wants a lounger and a pool for the whole day, Corazón's pass is the one I'd look at first.

If your hotel is at the far east end, plan on the pool for the kids and check the flag before anyone goes near the water.

The Catch

The calmest water on Médano is right next to its loudest sand. You can have the easy swim or the peaceful chair, and getting both at once takes an early alarm.

The rest of it is the price of the convenience. You will be sold to all day. Everything you sit on, shelter under or flush costs money. And there's nothing to snorkel.

I LOVE this beach at 8:30 in the morning. By one in the afternoon I'm usually ready to leave, and that's fine, because by then I've had what I came for.

If being approached at your towel bothers you, I'd skip the afternoon here altogether and spend your beach day at Chileno Bay, where almost nobody is selling anything.

The Verdict

Médano is the most useful beach in Los Cabos and the least restful one. Go for a morning, go early, and don't judge it by the first stretch of sand you step onto.

Here's where I'd put you:

• First trip, no car: walk on from the marina before ten and settle in the middle.
• Small kids: the west corner in the morning, then lunch and out.
• A group that wants a party: the club strip, from noon, with a menu in your hand.
• A calm lunch on the sand: SUR or the Sand Bar, at the start of the middle.
• Off a cruise ship: water taxi over, a lounger at Corazón or SUR booked before you sail, and back across well ahead of your last tender. The whole day is in my Cabo cruise port guide.
• Staying at the far east end: ask the hotel about swimming, watch the flag, and come west for the sea if you need to.

I'd tell snorkelers to skip it, along with anyone who can't stand being sold to and anyone here in the second or third week of March who isn't on spring break, at least between noon and five.

I go back every trip, for one morning and sometimes two. If you're fitting it around everything else, the order I'd do it all in is in things to do in Cabo.

If you want to stay on this beach, I've covered the hotels in the best hotels on Médano Beach, the Cabo resorts with swimmable beaches and the best affordable hotels in Cabo.

Do Médano before ten, and walk in from the marina. Swim at the west corner, then walk ten minutes east and sit in the middle. Inside the buoys, always. "No, gracias" and small bills. Agree on every price before you sit, ride or lie down. If you're at the far east end, check the flag... don't just assume.

Quick Answers

Is Médano Beach free and public? Yes, all of it. You can put a towel down anywhere, including in front of a hotel. The loungers, umbrellas and bathrooms are what cost money.

Can you swim at Médano Beach? Yes, at the west corner and through the middle, inside the buoy lines, on most days of the year. Toward the far east end the beach gets steeper and the surf rougher, and red flags are common there in summer and fall, so check before you get in.

Which part of Médano Beach is best? The middle, about ten minutes' walk east along the sand from the party clubs. For small children, the corner by the marina has the calmest, shallowest water, early in the morning.

How bad are the vendors? At the west end, someone comes by every few minutes from about ten until late afternoon. They're polite, and one "no, gracias" works each time. The middle is quieter, and nowhere on the beach is free of them.

Are there bathrooms on Médano? There are public restrooms, but they're hard to find. Most people use a beach club's, or buy a drink somewhere to use that one.