Things to Do in San José del Cabo: The 10 I'd Actually Do

By Cabo Wander

When a friend books a hotel in San José, I usually get the same text about a week later: "Okay, but what do we DO there?" Here's my honest answer. San José has a handful of really good things, and nearly every one of them is an evening, a meal or a ten-minute ride. The best of them is the old town from five o'clock on, and if you can make it a Thursday between November and June, that's the Art Walk and it's the best evening in Los Cabos.

It took me a few stays to stop fighting the shape of the day here. The good stuff happens before 10am or after 5pm. The hours in between are for water, and the water is a short ride away, because you can't swim at the beach in front of the hotels. So my days in San José go like this: something early by car, nothing at all from two to five, and the town from five until the kitchens close.

There's also a short list of things that are easier from here than from Cabo San Lucas, and most of them are seasonal. A whale boat that leaves from the marina on this side of town in winter. A surf lesson ten minutes away in summer. The Saturday market. The waterfall and the reef out east, which are a good 40 minutes closer from here.

I ranked these for someone sleeping in San José who doesn't want to ride to the other town every morning. That's why the order is different from my bigger list of things to do in Cabo, which I wrote for a first trip based in Cabo San Lucas. And if you're not sure which of the four places called San José you've booked, read my San José del Cabo guide first, because the old town and the hotel zone are a half-hour walk apart.

So let's get into it.

1. The Old Town From Five O'Clock, Best on a Thursday

This is the reason to stay in San José, and it isn't close. If you're in the old town it costs nothing, and from the hotel zone it's a US$5 Uber.

I start at the plaza and give the church about twenty minutes. Look up before you go in, because the tile picture over the door shows the priest who founded the mission being killed. Then I walk the gallery streets behind the church, which are only a couple of blocks each way. There are three doors I go through on purpose. Ivan Guaderrama's is the one where you're invited to touch the paintings and they play music. Sillvermoon, on the plaza, sells folk art you can actually carry home. Frank Arnold's has the big abstract paintings and bronzes. After that it's a beer in the garden at Baja Brewing, and dinner is never more than three blocks away.

On Thursdays from November through June, the galleries stay open from 5 to 9pm and the main gallery street closes to cars, with stalls and performers out. It's off from July to October, and the first Thursday of the season moves a little, so check this season's dates before you plan around it. I get there at 5 in winter and closer to 6 from April on, when it's still hot at five.

Any other night you get the same streets without the crowd, and I like that just as much. The galleries keep shop hours on those days. A lot of them shut by 6 or 7, some are closed on Sundays, and a few are by appointment, so expect a pleasant forty minutes of doorways with some of them closed.

A few things I'd plan around:

Book dinner about a week ahead for a Thursday in season. The good tables go first.
Mind the closed days. Lolita Café and La Lupita are closed on Mondays, and Lumbre is closed on Tuesdays. La Lupita's kitchen also stops at 9:30.
Don't walk back to the hotel zone at 9:30. It's a dark road behind the hotels, and the ride is about US$5.
Go to Baja Brewing early. It opens in the early afternoon, and I wouldn't count on it much past ten.

The catch is that it's small and it's early. Before five there are maybe two hours of sightseeing in it, and if you show up at 1pm looking for something to do, you'll find closed doors and empty streets.

Dinner can be a 40-peso tamale from the cart on the plaza or US$250 to $330 for two at Don Sanchez or Lumbre. Which table I'd book is in the best restaurants in San José del Cabo, and the Thursday itself, hour by hour, is in my post on the San José Art Walk.

2. One Farm Meal

From San José, the farm restaurants are a 10 to 15 minute ride, and that takes away my main argument against them. From Cabo San Lucas they're an hour each way for dinner. From here they're closer than the airport.

I'd pick by who's at the table. Acre is the one I'd book for dinner. Flora Farms is better in daylight, at brunch, with kids or parents along. Los Tamarindos has the most Mexican plate and the smallest check. Per person with drinks and tip, I'd budget about:

Flora Farms brunch: US$55 to $80
Flora Farms dinner: US$90 to $140
Acre dinner: US$120 to $165
Los Tamarindos: US$75 to $110

If you'd rather do something than just eat, the cooking class at Los Tamarindos is the best activity out here. It runs every day, morning and afternoon, takes about four hours with a farm tour and a four-course meal you help cook, and costs about US$160 a person. And if you have kids, Acre's animal area and dog rescue are open from 8am to 3pm with no booking and no charge, which is the best free thing at any of the three.

Here's my tip for the ride. An Uber gets you out there with no trouble. For the way back, use the taxi stand next to Flora, or ask the host to call a car when you sit down. The last stretch is a dark dirt road, and I wouldn't leave it to the app at 9:30 at night. Flora and Acre are about a quarter of a mile apart, so the taxi stand works for both.

What I'd want you to know before you go is that Flora is American and Italian food in a garden with shops around it. If you're picturing a farm visit, you'll wonder where the farm went. Flora serves nothing between 2:30 and 5:30pm, so don't show up at 3:30. Both Flora and Acre charge roughly US$50 a head if you don't show. And a farm dinner and the Art Walk don't fit into one evening, so give them separate nights.

I compare all three in Flora Farms vs Acre vs Los Tamarindos, and if the famous one is the only one you're considering, read whether Flora Farms is worth it first.

3. A Swim at Palmilla

Palmilla fixes the one thing San José is missing. It's a sandy cove about ten minutes west of either the old town or the hotel zone, it's free, and it's the calmest ocean swim near town. There are lifeguards, free bathrooms and showers, and a handful of free palapas if you're early.

Getting in is easier than it looks. Take the Palmilla exit, cross the overpass, and turn left just before the resort's guardhouse. Nobody stops you. I take an Uber, because the parking lot is small and it's a headache by mid-morning.

I go on a weekday morning. Sunday is the local family day, and the beach is usually full by about 1pm. I rent an umbrella and two chairs from the guys by the parking lot for about US$20, and you can rent a kayak, a paddleboard or snorkel gear there too. Nothing to eat or drink is sold on the sand, so bring water and food or you'll be leaving hungry.

Two honest things. It's a working beach as well as a swimming one. Fishing boats sit on trailers at one end, and they come back with the catch around noon, which I like watching, but it isn't a postcard. And the ride home is yours to sort out. Request the car before you start packing up, because it can take a while to arrive.

The water is in the low 70s from February to April and in the mid 80s by late summer. From about May to October, a swell from the south can close the beach for a day or two, and you'll sometimes see jellyfish flags in late summer, so look at the flag before you unpack.

It's one of my top picks in the best swimmable beaches in Cabo, and it's the one I'd choose for small kids.

4. A Half Day at Puerto Los Cabos

This is a nice, cheap half day, as long as nobody in your group was promised a marina village. Puerto Los Cabos is the marina development across the estuary, 10 to 15 minutes from town by car over a bridge.

What I do there is short. I swim at La Playita, a tiny buoyed area just inside the harbor entrance with almost no waves. It's more of a float than a swim, and it's great for toddlers, with palapas, bathrooms, showers and free parking. Then I walk the marina path to see the bronze sculptures by Leonora Carrington, which are free and a real surprise in a place this quiet. Then it's ceviche and a beer at one of the casual places by the water.

If you want a chair and a waiter, there are two paid versions. Hotel El Ganzo's beach club takes day guests, kids included, for about US$50, with most of that credited toward food and drink, and a little hotel boat takes you across in a couple of minutes. Veleros, the beach club at La Playita, is about US$80 a lounger with most of it back as credit. The fish and the ceviche at Veleros are good and the service is slow. Check the current terms on either one before you go.

Okay, the honest part. If you come for shops and restaurants around a harbor, you'll find a packed-dirt path, some gated resorts and a lot of empty lots. The path is about a mile and a half one way with no shade, so go early or late. La Playita sits next to the boat channel, so stay inside the buoys. The open beach outside the breakwater is not for swimming. And go midweek, because Sundays belong to local families here too.

I'd give it two to four hours and be back for the afternoon nap.

5. A Whale Boat From Puerto Los Cabos, Mid-December to Mid-April

This one only exists in winter. Whale boats are licensed from mid-December through April, and the dependable stretch is Christmas to late March. On a year-round list it's number five. If you're here in January or February, move it up to number two.

Nearly every boat trip in Los Cabos leaves from the other town. This is one of the two exceptions, along with the fishing boats further down this post. A small licensed whale boat runs from the Puerto Los Cabos marina, 10 to 15 minutes from your hotel. It's about two hours on a boat of around 26 feet with full shade and a guide, and it drops a hydrophone in the water when conditions allow. The operator I've seen selling it is Salty Cabo Excursions. It's one small outfit, so confirm it's running the week you're there before you plan a morning around it.

It runs about US$95 a person for the group trip, and about US$110 to $125 once you've tipped. Check the price when you book. A private boat for two is close to US$500.

Here's the trade, as plainly as I can put it. Going from this marina saves two people about 1,200 pesos in Ubers and a couple of hours on the highway. What you give up is the pass by the Arch, because this boat doesn't go there, and the choice of a dozen operators that Cabo San Lucas has. I also can't tell you the whales are as thick off San José as they are off Land's End. This stretch of coast is part of the same protected whale area with the same season, and mothers with calves do get seen off the hotel beach, but I don't have a fair comparison to give you.

So here's who I'd send where. If you just want a morning with whales and no commute, take this boat, and book it for early in your trip so there's time to go again if the first morning is quiet. If you want a specific operator, a catamaran with a bathroom, or the Arch on the same trip, ride to the other town. The boats, the questions to ask and the etiquette are all in my post on whale watching in Cabo.

Go in the morning, when the water is flat, and bring a layer. It's cold out there in February.

6. The Saturday Organic Market, November to Late April

On Saturdays from roughly November to late April, from 9am to 3pm, this is the best morning in town and the one daytime thing here that feels local. It's off from May to October, and the opening weekend shifts from year to year, so check this season's dates.

It's about 80 stalls of produce, bread, cheese, seafood and crafts, and the person who made the thing is usually the one selling it. There's a small stage with live music, and there's cooked food, so go hungry. Grilled tuna tacos and fresh oysters are what I'd look for. I'd give it an hour or two and then walk the galleries afterward, when about half of them are open.

The thing that trips people up is where it is. It isn't on the plaza. It's a short way behind the gallery district, off Avenida Centenario, and the walk from the plaza is on dirt lanes, so wear real shoes or take a short cab. Bring pesos in small bills, because the stalls are cash. If you're driving, go early. The parking fills up.

The catch is just the calendar. It's five or six months a year, and if you're here in summer it doesn't exist.

7. Tacos by the Highway and a Tamale on the Plaza

This is the cheapest good thing in San José, and it's the one most visitors never find. Two of you eat for US$15 to $25.

Taquería El Fogón is about fifteen minutes on foot west of the plaza, toward the highway, and you'll smell the charcoal before you see it. Order the carne asada or the arrachera at the grill. Tacos start around 40 pesos, it's cash only with no alcohol, and it's open until midnight. Taquería Rossy, a few minutes away, is the seafood half. Get the smoked marlin taco and go at lunch, because it closes in the early evening. Back on the plaza, the tamale cart sets up from about 5pm, and a tamale is around 40 pesos.

It's plastic tables beside a highway, and I love it. The walk is fine in the evening and not much fun at midday or in summer, when I take a short Uber.

From the hotel zone, none of this is walkable. Take the ride, or go to Las Guacamayas in Chamizal for a sit-down taco dinner, or walk across the road to Latino 8.

There's also an organized version. An evening taco tour of the town is sold for about US$80 a person, with five stops and tequila tastings over close to three hours. Check the price when you book. That's about five times what the same tacos cost on your own, and what you're paying for is the route and somebody doing the ordering. If you're nervous about ordering at a grill in Spanish, that's worth something. Just know that it IS dinner, so don't book a table for afterward. Me, I'd walk to El Fogón with pesos in my pocket.

The rest of the taquerias, in both towns, are in the best tacos in Cabo.

8. A Horse Ride Along the Beach and Into the Estuary

This is the only way I'd send you into the estuary, and it starts right on the hotel-zone boulevard. Bonanza Horseback Riding is a family stable on Boulevard Mijares with a couple of dozen horses, and it's the one horse ride sold to San José guests that doesn't begin with an hour and a quarter in a van.

The one-hour ride goes along the beach to the freshwater lagoon. The longer rides, an hour and a half to two hours, go through the palm groves and the dry riverbed and out to the edge of the fishing village at La Playa, and you're likely to pass cows, goats and chickens on the way. A border collie leads the group. The guides will take photos on your phone and don't charge for it.

Booked directly, it's about US$50 for an hour and about US$70 for an hour and a half, plus a tip. Those are round numbers, so check when you book. Go early in the morning for the heat, and wear long pants, socks and closed shoes.

I think it's the best thing on this list for a family at one of the hotel-zone resorts, because it's on your doorstep and the horses are well kept. A few things I can't answer for you, so ask when you call: the minimum age, any weight limit, whether there are helmets, and what the route is after heavy rain, when the estuary floods. Also remember that the beach you're riding along is the one I keep telling you not to swim at. Stay on the horse and out of the water.

For comparison, every other horse or ATV ride marketed to San José guests happens at Migriño on the Pacific coast, at US$85 to $125 plus a fee of about US$25 at check-in.

9. A Surf Lesson at Old Man's, Mid-March to Mid-November

Lessons here are sold from about mid-March to mid-November, and the waves are best from late May through September. In winter it's flat, and nobody should sell you a lesson in January.

In season, the San José guest has the better deal. Old Man's is a slow, gentle wave right in front of the Cabo Surf Hotel at Costa Azul, about ten minutes from town, and it's the usual place to learn. The year-round beginner beach is on the Pacific side, 75 minutes or more from here, and I compare the two in my guide to Cerritos Beach.

A group lesson runs about US$50 a person, with hotel pickup, a foam board and around three hours door to door. Private lessons cost more, up to about US$145. The surf school inside the Cabo Surf Hotel teaches private, semi-private and group lessons too. Photos are usually extra. Check prices when you book.

That's why it's number nine on a year-round list and somewhere in my top five from June to August, if anybody in your group wants to try.

What to know before you paddle out:

The bottom is rock, and there are sea urchins. Don't stand up in the shallows.
It's not a swimming beach in any month. Don't plan the family beach day around the surfer's lesson.
Parking is tight. Public access is through a tunnel under the highway.
Jellyfish show up in summer. Ask the instructor that morning.

Zipper's, the bar on the sand above the break, is good in any month. I go for a beer at sunset with the surfers out front, and I eat dinner in town.

10. A Day East by Car: the Santiago Waterfall or Cabo Pulmo

From San José, the map points east and north. The waterfall at Santiago is about an hour to an hour and a quarter away. Todos Santos, the day trip everybody else recommends, is 75 to 90 minutes each way from here. In my bigger list I put Todos Santos well above anything out east, because that list starts from Cabo San Lucas. From this side, I'd go east first.

There are two versions of this day.

The easy one is the waterfall. You drive north to the village of Santiago, then 15 to 25 minutes on dirt to a ranch where you pay about 250 pesos a person in cash and get a wristband. From there it's a short, steep walk down rock steps with a rope to a waterfall of about thirty feet, with deep green pools you can swim in. Go in the morning, because the canyon is in shade by early afternoon. How much water is coming over depends on the season. From there, Los Barriles is another 45 minutes north for fish tacos on the Sea of Cortez, and you're home by late afternoon.

There's also a hot spring up a different valley, at Santa Rita, for about 160 pesos. It's closed on Wednesdays. The other hot spring you'll see on older blogs, El Chorro, has been closed for years.

The big one is Cabo Pulmo, and it's best from June to early December. If you snorkel or dive, this goes in your top three, and it's 40 to 50 minutes closer from here than from Cabo San Lucas. It's still an hour and a half to an hour and three quarters each way, with the last six miles on dirt. Boats from the village go out around 9 and cost about US$80 to $100 a person with gear, a guide and the park fee. October and November are the best months. From January to March I'd skip it, because the water is cold and the north wind cancels boats. My Cabo Pulmo day trip post has the full day.

Either way you need a car, since there's no Uber out there. Read what your rental contract says about dirt roads, which I explain in renting a car in Cabo. Fill the tank and bring pesos. There's no cell signal at the waterfall, and the only bathrooms are at the ranch. Don't cross a flooded riverbed after rain, and don't drive back after dark.

The towns, the beaches and the roads out there are in my East Cape guide. If you'd still rather have a town with galleries and a long lunch, that's my Todos Santos day trip, and from San José I'd leave by 8.

The Free Stuff, Including Sunrise and the Turtles

A lot of what's good here costs nothing. The plaza and the church, the galleries, the Art Walk, the bronzes at the marina, both swimming beaches and the Saturday market are all free.

The one I haven't covered yet is the hotel beach at sunrise. It's the only honest use of that beach, and if you're staying in the hotel zone it's right outside. Walk east on the firm sand at the waterline to where the bike path ends and the lagoon meets a sandbar. From the west-end hotels it's about 25 minutes. You'll see pelicans, herons and egrets on the sandbar without setting foot on any trail. Don't swim there, or anywhere else on that beach.

Turtles, late August to November. Olive ridley turtles nest on this same beach, and a local turtle camp protects the nests near the estuary. Hatchlings are released at dusk, mostly from late August to November, with September and October the peak. There's no schedule, because a release happens the day a nest starts hatching. So ask your hotel's front desk which camp is releasing that week, and ask again each morning. Some hotels on the strip run their own releases for guests with same-day notice.

I wouldn't buy a paid "turtle release" tour without asking which beach it goes to. They run about US$70 to $95, and some of them drive you to the Pacific side, which from San José can mean two hours in a van for ten minutes with the turtles. And never pay somebody on the sand for a "release". Only the authorized camps are allowed to handle hatchlings.

Worth It If This Is Your Thing

These aren't for a general list, but one of them might be the reason you picked this side of Los Cabos.

Panga Fishing From La Playita

If you fish, this is in your top three, and it's better from here. The offshore banks the anglers come for are about ten miles from this marina and more than twenty from Cabo San Lucas. It's the other boat you don't have to cross town for.

A panga for two or three people is roughly US$300 to $400 for six hours. Then add a license of about US$20 each, bait, and a tip of 15 to 20%, so two people on the smaller boat spend more like US$420 to $600 all-in. Here's the part that catches people: the balance is due in US cash on the morning you fish. No cards, and there's no ATM nearby. September can be very slow. What to ask and how to book it directly are in sport fishing in Cabo.

Golf at Puerto Los Cabos

This is the best course a visitor can book in Los Cabos, and it's 10 to 15 minutes from your hotel. A round is about US$210 to $395 depending on the season and the tee time, and all the food and drink at the stops on the course is included. The marshals keep things moving, and the common complaint is being hurried past the taco stand. Club Campestre, 15 minutes north, is the cheapest round I'd still call worth playing, at US$130 to $260. The rest are ranked in the best golf courses in Cabo.

A Tequila and Mezcal Tasting

A one-hour sit-down tasting of five agave spirits is sold at a bar at the Costa Azul end of the hotel zone for about US$60. Check that it's running and what it costs before you plan around it. It's a pleasant hour if somebody in your group cares about agave, and I wouldn't build a day around it. The version with no booking is the mezcal list at La Lupita, which takes a while to read and comes with tacos.

What's Still Worth the Ride to Cabo San Lucas

Go once, and stack it. The other town is 35 to 45 minutes away and about 600 pesos each way by Uber. If you'd rather take the bus, it's a few dollars from the highway and stops around 10pm, and the details are in getting around Cabo.

Here's what I'd put in that one day:

The Arch by water taxi. This is the one thing San José can't replace. Be at the marina by 8:30, pay about US$20 round trip, ask "can we land today?" before you hand over the money, and come back on the same boat. The rest is in my guide to El Arco and Lover's Beach.
Or the Mt Solmar hike at 8am. It's free and it's the best view in town, Sunday through Friday. You can't do it and an 8:30 water taxi on the same morning, so pick one.
A small-boat sunset sail to end the day. About US$100 to $140 a person all-in. You'll be in an Uber home around 8, which works fine. I compare the boats in my Cabo sunset cruise post.
Chileno Bay, on the way or as its own morning. It's on the highway between the towns, about 20 to 25 minutes from San José, and it's free. Go before 10am. Everything else is in my Chileno Bay guide.
One night on the bar strip, if that's your thing. Have a sure ride home lined up first. My picks are in Cabo nightlife.

What I wouldn't ride over for: Médano Beach just for a swim, since Palmilla is ten minutes from you. A glass-bottom boat for its own sake. The marina boardwalk. And a second or third boat morning. Each one costs you about an hour and a half in the car and around 1,200 pesos in Ubers.

If you find yourself in an Uber to the San Lucas marina every morning, you've booked the wrong town, and I say that kindly. I go through that choice in Cabo San Lucas vs San José del Cabo.

The Ones That Didn't Make It

A lot of lists for this town were written for a San José that isn't there anymore. Some of these are closed, some are just dull, and a couple I'd talk you out of.

The estuary as a walk. The paths flood, the entrances are hard to find, and some of the trails are simply gone. See it from the beach end at sunrise, or from a horse.

Kayaking the estuary. You'll still read about it. I haven't found anybody renting kayaks there.

The Wirikuta cactus garden and its Wednesday show. Plenty of websites still describe it as open daily. It's listed as closed, and I can't find any sign that it's taking visitors. Don't plan around it, and don't pay for a taxi out there to check.

Dolphin swims. The dolphins are captive, and that's not where I want my vacation money to go. You'll make your own call on that one.

ATV, UTV and camel tours "with pickup from San José". The pickup is in San José. The tour is at Migriño on the Pacific coast, an hour and a quarter or more away, with a fee of about US$25 a person waiting at check-in. If your group is set on it anyway, read Cabo ATV and camel tours before you pay.

Packaged Art Walk tours. They sell for US$70 to $215. It's a free street event that you walk into on your own.

The covered town market. It's small and there isn't much to see.

The craft market on the boulevard, as a plan. It has the same things you'll see in Cabo San Lucas. It's cash and bargaining is expected. Stop if you're passing.

Dinner at Zipper's or Jazmín's. Have a beer at the first and breakfast at the second.

Swimming at the hotel beach or at Old Man's. One has a steep drop-off and an undertow. The other has rocks and urchins.

The Verdict

San José is a great trip built from a short list. Don't arrive expecting attractions. What you get is the best evening in Los Cabos as many nights as you like, food at every price, two calm swims a short ride away, and an easier drive to everything out east. The mistake is treating it like the other town and looking for something to do at one in the afternoon.

If you only have time for one thing, make it the old town from five o'clock, on a Thursday if you're here between November and June.

Here's what I'd build the stay around:

A couple in the old town for four or five nights: evenings in town, one farm dinner, Palmilla in the mornings, a half day at Puerto Los Cabos, one day out east and one stacked day in Cabo San Lucas.
A family at a hotel-zone all-inclusive: Palmilla and La Playita for the swim your hotel doesn't have, the horse ride from the stable on the boulevard, brunch at Flora Farms, and the Art Walk from 5 to 7:30. There's more by age in Cabo with kids.
Staying at Puerto Los Cabos: La Playita, the bronzes, golf, and the pangas and the whale boat from your own marina. Just don't stay inside the gate all week.
Winter, mid-December to March: the whale boat, the Art Walk, the market and the farms. Skip the surf lesson, and skip Cabo Pulmo if the north wind is blowing.
July to October: a surf lesson early, turtles at dusk, dinner after dark and golf at dawn. Don't plan around the Art Walk or the market, because both are off.
Under thirty and here for nights out: one ride to Cabo San Lucas. You won't find it here.

Two last things. Seasons change this list more than anything else, so check your dates against the best time to visit Cabo. And where you sleep changes how many of these are a walk and how many are a ride, which is what I sort out in the best hotels in San José del Cabo.

Here's how I'd text it to a friend: old town at five, Thursday if it's November to June, book dinner a week out. Uber to Palmilla before ten, bring water and snacks, call the car before you pack up. One farm dinner, sort the taxi home first. Tacos at El Fogón, bring pesos. Whale boat from Puerto Los Cabos in winter, surf lesson at Old Man's in summer, market on Saturday if it's on. The Arch once, early, with everything else in San Lucas stacked into the same day. And from two to five... do nothing. Everybody else in town is doing the same.

Quick Answers

What is there to do in San José del Cabo? In town, the plaza, the church, a dozen galleries and dinner, which is an afternoon and an evening. Within fifteen minutes by car there are two swimming beaches, three farm restaurants, the marina with its bronzes, a surf break, a golf course, a horse ride by the estuary and, in winter, a whale boat.

Is there enough to do in San José for a week? Yes, if you eat out, take a short ride to swim, do one or two day trips east and spend one day in Cabo San Lucas. No, if you expected to fill your days in the old town, because it's about six blocks.

Do I need to go to Cabo San Lucas at all? Once, for the Arch by water taxi early in the morning, with whatever else you want stacked into the same day. Whale watching and panga fishing you can do from the Puerto Los Cabos marina.

Can you see whales from San José del Cabo? From January to March you can sometimes spot them from the beach with binoculars. By boat, a small licensed trip leaves the Puerto Los Cabos marina for about US$95 a person, and it doesn't go past the Arch.

When can you see baby turtles in San José? Mostly from late August to November, at dusk, with no fixed schedule. Ask your hotel which camp is releasing that week, and don't pay anyone on the beach for a release.