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Wednesday, January 2, 2013

The Perfect Spot for a January Vacation

San José Del Cabo

This is the first time in many years that our family will be spending time together, and it so exciting. We hope that it will be the first of many more such holidays in the future. The two hotels where our vacation is situated are located just over a mile apart.

Photos of each hotel are at the bottom of this page. Scroll down to see them. To see photos of our last Cabo vacation, click on my vacation website.

Transport

Taxi drivers are required by law to display a sanctioned price list. The official, government-run company runs bright yellow taxis and minibuses to the airport for about M$150. Local buses from the main bus terminal to the airport junction cost less than M$25, but taking one means a half-hour walk to the air terminal. The toll road costs M$27.

Currently, the exchange rate is one peso equals eight cents U.S., so $1.00 will buy 12.74 Mexican pesos. So, if you see something priced at $100 Mexican, it is about $7.83 U.S. as of the time this is written. Most cell phones have a currency converter, so it's best to use that rather than calculate mentally.




  1. Charter sailing
  2. Snorkeling
  3. Deep sea fishing, 
  4. Golf,  
  5. Whale Watching, (December through March with peak sightings in January),
  6. Off-roading,
  7. Swimming with dolphins
  8. Shopping, 
  9. Nature preserves, and 
  10. Sunbathing.
A short trip into town

One event they omitted was the beach camel ride in Rancho San Cristobal, which is also available at a reduced price of $84 at this website. It also books sunset, dining, jazz and show cruises as well as fishing trips. One inexpensive sunset cruise option is available for $33. An additional catch-all activities site shows many options of interest:

Water Taxi in glass-bottomed boat
Not to mention eating in Cabo San Lucas near the marina.
Walkway around marina with shops to the left

Restaurants to the right of the harbor


Video shows Cabos Cantina in downtown area and another video gives a quick tour of the markets and shopping in town.

Deep Sea Fishing

We've been to Cabo San Lucas many times, but t his will be our first time to stay in San Jose del Cabo, as well as our longest stay--twelve days. Since my brother will be going this time, and he's a consummate fisherman, it might be a great opportunity to charter a fishing boat. What are the options?




Baja Raiders

One charter service is Baja Raiders, which gives its price list on its website and also shows pictures of the boats. and rental covers an 8-hour day beginning at 6:30 a.m. with an approximate return at 2:30 p.m.

If all six person went, that would mean a cost of $525 for a 33-foot craft, or $725 for a 35-foot one, plus an extra $30 per person to cover lunches, beverages (water, soda and/or beer), fishing licenses and live bait fish. Another page on the website states: "Every passenger on board, fishing or not is required to have a fishing license. Fishing license cost is approximately $14 to $15 (depending on the peso rate for that day)." You are expected to tip the crew 15%.

So it sounds as though it's a good value. You are also allowed to keep the fish you catch and can ship them home under certain circumstances. To charter this, you have to fill out the boat reservation form at their website or call toll free at 1-877-761-1182; local number: 104-3649.


PFISH Launched from San Jose del Cabo

At their website, Pacific Fishing tells us that in January the "focus is on live bait fishing on and near the seamounts and banks for Striped Marlin, Wahoo, small-medium-large Yellowfin Tuna, and Dorado, as well as inshore fishing for roosterfish, grouper, snapper, sierra, cabrilla and other local species....PFISH will provide all professional tackle and filet any fish that you catch. We'll have all the ice and coolers dedicated to your food and drinks along [which you bring yourself] with the jumbo ice-filled fish cooler. You will be required to have a Mexican fishing permit (about $12/day), licenses can be obtained on-line or in either the San Jose or San Lucas marinas.'

$695.00 Full Day (up to 4 passengers, $50 each beyond that up to 8 total) on their 32-foot boat. This is significantly pricier than the cost of Baja Raiders and would also be more crowded.

Our Hotels

Grand Mayan to the right and Coral Baja to the left
Grand Mayan


















Coral Baja (Minors' 1st hotel)

















Santa Maria Suites (Minors' 2nd hotel)