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Heading to San Jose del Cabo - Suggestions/Tips

Travel1

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Heading to San Jose del Cabo in a few weeks (myself, wife and 3 teenage girls, all 18). Appreciate any suggestions or tips on our upcoming trip. Of course we know to avoid all timeshare presentations. Some specific questions are:

1) Transportation to and from airport to Worldmark resort

2) Purchasing food at the Mega Store....what is safe to eat, and what to avoid (such as meat, chicken, vegetables, etc).

3) Eating out at restaurants...what to eat, what to avoid

4) How best to pay for things....I assume credit cards are best (with no foreign transactions fees). What about debit cards? Safe to use?

5) Where is it best to exchange and buy pesos? Also, when is it best to use pesos over credit cards?

6) Recommended boat trip in Cabo San Lucas? Don't need a party boat....just looking for an affordable boat trip to see the Arches, etc during the day (We plan on taking the bus....any things we should be aware of)

7) Recommended fun things to do in San Jose del Cabo. or Cabo San Lucas We will be taking the bus for shopping in the downtown area. Would like to spend one day at a swimmable beach. Any other fun suggestions?? Is the Dolphin experience worth the cost?

Thanks in advance for you inputs and comments.....Very much looking forward to our first trip there!
 

geist1223

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DRI Cabo Azul 50,500
Royal Solaris San Jose del Cabo
We have stayed in San Jose del Cabo many times. We tend to avoid the obvious tourist restaurants that are high priced. We have eaten at hole in the walls (where all the other customers are local workers) and had wonderful tasty food and never gotten sick. We have also eaten at many nice restaurants in San Jose del Cabo. Coral Baja is one of our favorite Resorts. We always rent cars so we can go where we want when we want. We buy meat, eggs, fresh fruit, juice, fresh vegetables, dairy, bread, etc at Mega Foods. You can get to swimming/snorkeling beaches by bus. Just tell the Driver that you are going to (choose one) Santa Maria/Chileno. But after the bus drops you off on the HWY you have about a mile walk to the beach with all your gear. Then a mile walk back up to Hwy at the end of the day with all your gear. Don't waste time and money on an arranged tour to Todos Santos and Hotel California. We greatly enjoyed swimming with the Dolphins at the San Jose del Cabo Harbour. We try and pay Pesos in cash for most of our purchases. We always take about $500 US in Pesos - so currently about 10,000 Pesos. We use ATM'S at Banks to get more as needed. Any tours you have arranged at Coral Baja will pick you up and deliver you back to Coral Baja. There is an Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo on Thursday nights. Last May we were paid 8,000 Pesos to attend a Timeshare presentation. They want to pay US but we negotiated for Pesos and how much. It can be fun and a challenge. But then we were there for 3 weeks and have been to Cabo many times. It is about a 2 mile walk from Coral Baja to downtown San Jose del Cabo.
 

Travel1

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geist1223, thanks for your comments.

Couple of quick questions....why did you choose to use cash (Pesos) over credit cards and what resort offered you 8,000 Pesos for their presentation...that is a great offer and how long were you there?

Thanks again for your comments....much appreciated!
 

PamMo

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We use pesos for almost everything, too. We use a credit card to pick up groceries at WalMart and to settle our final hotel bill, but for day-to-day living it's all cash. It's just simpler for you and the local merchants. If you're going out for big meals at fancy restaurants (like Flora Farms), then I'd use a credit card.

Don't know about the $8,000MXN, but two couples traveling together got $600USD for a Vidanta (Grand Mayan) presentation. The resort they're staying at in CSL matched that offer and cancelled their tour with Vidanta. If I was here only a week, I would never waste a day doing a presentation, though!
 

pittle

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You get better deals with Pesos and some places do not take credit cards. Local restaurants and shops do not give you the same exchange rate as the ATM's do. We always use the bank ATM's and like geist1223, come home with about $500 USD to have for taxi from the airport, first meal, tips, etc on our next trip. We feel that it is safer to use the bank ATM's instead of a credit card. We also love going to the restaurants where we see the local people eating and most do not take CC. When you can see the food prepared, it is generally safe.

There are quite a few restaurants in the town square area. We went to several and they were all good. The were a comfortable walking distance, and there is a city bus that is very cheap if you want to take it at night.

When we went several years ago, we were at the Grand Mayan. Along the beach was as pink carport looking structure with curtains - they did massages on the beach for less than half of what the resort charge - the girls might like that. (You keep your swimsuit on.)

We buy fresh pico de gallo and limes and avocados to make guacamole. The rotisserie chickens are great. We also by the cooked rice in the deli and fresh flour tortillas and shredded white cheese. You can make lots of things with these ingredients. Mega is a really nice grocery store - similar to a a Walmart Super Center. They should have everything you need.

We did a sail in Cabo once. It was about $300. You have to negotiate in advance. There will be folks at the marina who will offer you various deals.

You catch the bus into Cabo San Lucas across the street from Mega. It takes longer, but the cost is certainly less than a taxi.

Have fun!
 
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