TRIP OVERVIEW: Here’s What My $600 Cabo Holiday Worth Over $13K Was Really Like. Part One – San José del Cabo

Los Cabos is located at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean. It comprises two main towns with distinct vibes to each area so I opted to split my time and experience a bit of both. I would start in San José del Cabo which is the quieter, artsy colonial town with a more authentic Mexican charm before heading to Cabo San Lucas which is known for its lively nightlife, luxury resorts, and the iconic El Arco.

Just a heads up that this post covers the specifics on what I ate/drank/did whilst in Los Cabos, Mexico. In the same way that I decided to break up my holiday, I am also splitting up my write of Los Cabos in two and this covers specifically San José del Cabo . If you want the nitty, gritty travel hacking details, read this trip report that dives into what I spent (both miles/points and cash) and where my savings (beyond the cash value of flights/hotels booked with points) come from as well as deep dives into the travel hacking aspect of planning the trip. Note that I do include specific costs here that aren’t discussed in detail on the trip report (might as well since I’ve gone to such lengths to record everything!).

Day One – San Jose del Cabo

Wednesday Morning

Priority Pass Restaurant and UA flight from DEN to SJD

RIP to one of my beloved travel perks from a credit card: Priority Pass (PP) membership that includes restaurants. Amex did away with this bene in 2019, Capital One at the beginning of 2023 and sadly Chase followed in June 2023. With DEN as my home airport, this was a perk that I and my lucky authorized users on my Ritz Carlton card got so much mileage from…the Greek eggs from Mercantile were one of the few things that could get me to an airport early. Anyways – my digression is to remind you to use the benefits on your card as often as you can to make the most out of your money/offset annual credit card fees! Cost: $5.80 The bill including tip was $33.80 – $28 is taken off due to my PP card
I love that I was able to find a nonstop reward flight on United so I would be able to maximize my time on this trip. It was a quick 3 hr 10 min flight and we landed a few minutes early at 12:59. Cost: 20K UA miles + $47.60

Wednesday Afternoon

I was able to breeze through Mexican Immigration and Customs check points and had pre-booked hotel transportation through Viator. I used Epic and I loved that they were so great about communicating – the message that they sent me shortly after I booked included this helpful map on where to meet them at SJD. Not only was it easy to find them but it really helped with orientation in the airport and conveyed important information about where to go and avoiding time share presentations. The only downside to my booking (and one of the downsides to solo travel in general) was that it was a shared shuttle so I had to wait 15-20 minutes for the other guests. Cost: $44.08: $43.08 was the cost for a round trip booking + $1 cash tip

Check into Hotel: Hyatt Place Los Cabos

The airport ride is about 30 minutes from the airport to Hyatt Place. The front desk experience was great with the staff giving me a few recommendations on what to see and where to eat in San Jose. I was planning to just drop off my bags and head to lunch but they were already able to get me into a room – it’s little things like this that make a difference when traveling as lugging around my duffel bag plus the humid, hot weather made a cool shower a very welcome respite before getting on with the rest of my day.

I didn’t spend a lot of time at the hotel so I won’t do a review post on it so here’s my mini recap of the Hyatt Place Los Cabos. I was in a King (with sofa bed) room that 242 sq feet with separate sleeping and living areas. Bathroom has a walk-shower and is decently sized. A typical Hyatt Place all in all. With all my medical expenses in the last few years, keeping costs down is the biggest consideration when traveling ie: being able to book on points vs paying cash led me to choosing this hotel. Plus it worked out that staying here vs a hotel more centrally located in San Jose was that it was close to the beach. While it does not have direct beach access, Playas Las Palma is a convenient 6 min stroll from the hotel. Cost: 6,500 World of Hyatt Points

Beach Time (w/Quick Detour to Chedraui)

I also loved that this hotel was close to Chedraui which is a Mexican grocery store which I lovingly describe to friends as an upscale supermarket akin to Whole foods but with crazy affordable prices and this one did not disappoint. I loved that there was a pedestrian bridge that made it easy to get to from the hotel and was only a 10 min walk away. I went there to pick up a quick ready made lunch and some drinks to take to the beach. Cost: $32.67 Mixed ceviche,fruit, drinks for lunch and then I also picked up some bread, pastries, sandwiches and drinks for the next day

This was my first trip after a few years of not being able to travel (first Covid, then a nightmare knee injury/recovery that was had just reached 3.25 years and was still ongoing) and I was only a few months post-op from my latest surgery. But there is something about the sea – sometimes you need salty water to heal your soul and body. Most places in Los Cabos are not suitable for swimming but Playa Las Palmas was fairly calm this day and allowed me to see what my body could and couldn’t handle. Only in the past few years have I become an ocean person – and this was the perfect place to spend some time just relaxing/journaling and getting some perspective/acceptance. Cost: $0

Wednesday Evening

Life is so funny and weird isn’t it? Somehow a friend that I had met almost 9 years was in the Cabo area at the same time as I was…but our trips would only overlap on this Wednesday. It worked out really well that the reasonable award tickets weren’t available for a Thursday flight as I would have missed out on the opportunity to meet up!

Dinner at Huerta Los Tamarindos

I had a lovely dinner at the farm to table restaurant located onsite of the organic farm. I love that we came early and before sunset so I was able to walk around the gardens before dinner – we ended up taking so much time that I didn’t have a chance to really experience/check out the bar area. The service was really great from the moment we walked in through the entirety of our dinner. It was such a lovely place to catch up with an old friend and we enjoyed a delicious dinner. Cost: $0 Dinner was a treat from my friend.

Day Two – San Jose del Cabo

Thursday Morning

I had breakfast at the hotel which was actually really good. Cold foods included fresh, delicious fruit, a yogurt bar with fixings, cold meats/cheeses/veggies. And a hot food area that had roasted potatoes, scrambled eggs, shredded pork and chilaquiles. As it would turn out this would be the best chilaquiles I would have all trip! Cost: $1.50 Brekkie was free and I left 20 MXN as a tip for the attendant

More Beach Time

I spent the rest of the morning at the beach and checked out at 1 PM. I was leaving my bags at the hotel and would pick them up en route to Cost: $11 10 housekeeping tip and $1 tip to host getting my duffel

Thursday Afternoon to Evening

The public bus is called Ruta del Desierto that is a safe and affordable way to travel – with the added benefit that the buses are air conditioned. It goes from the airport through San Jose, along the main highway and to Cabo San Lucas) There are also smaller buses called collectivos that run along the main highway – I took a collectivo that picked up right outside the hotel and was able to be dropped off at the edge of the downtown/historical area. I couldn’t figure out the stops but then was told that I could request a stop wherever I wanted…thank goodness for knowing some Spanish (and having T-mobile to navigate)! It was ~8 minute walk to get to my first destination. Cost: $1.08 16 MXN

Explore San José del Cabo

I spent the afternoon walking around the historic district -practicing my Spanish with locals and chatting with other visitors. Of course there was an ice cream stop and I had lunch at a cute little cafe. Cost: $15.87

San José Art Walk

San Jose del Cabo Art Walk is a popular weekly event held every Thursday evening from 5-9 PM between the months of November and June.  The galleries stay open and often have artists in residence mixed with a street experience that has live jazz, mariachis, fire dancers and pop-up artisan vendors, handmade jewelry and lots of vendors selling food

The Art walk continues to grow in renown and popularity and was one of the main things that I was looking forward to when I was in Los Cabos…but I was only able to see a little bit of it. One of the craziest things that happened during this trip was an expat had her dog off leash that barreled into my leg…of course, it was my right leg and it was on the side of my knee! Crazy in that instead of apologizing she doubled down in saying that everyone was making a big deal out of it (I was talking to a few people and with the pop, there were a couple that assumed I tore my ACL…again). But it did immediately swell up so that was the end of my night. One of the couples was so sweet and took me back to the hotel and offered to take me to Cabo. I declined and after icing and elevating my knee for a little bit, took an Uber over to the next hotel (lol wish I hadn’t declined because that was a fear for my life type ride!) And here’s the craziest thing about my knee is that it was a semi blessing in disguise as it did tear up a lot of scar tissue (audibly so as that was what the popping probably was!) Cost: $22.84

Check into hotel: Fairfield By Marriott Los Cabos

I had a Marriott Free Night Certificate (FNC) that was expiring and decided that it made more sense to use it on this trip than try to find some time for a quick staycation in Colorado. The location for this hotel was ideal as it was central in Cabo San Lucas so I opted to move hotels – while not ideal, it ended up working out really well for the trip Cost: 35K Points FNC

Day Three – Five: Cabo San Lucas

Hotel: Hotel: Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal

Here’s how the Cabo San Lucas part of my trip went