Cabo, Mexico

Hi friends. I recently went to Cabo, and here are some of my recommendations. I went in August for about a week. The first 4 days I spent at a luxury resort (the truly amazing Viceroy Los Cabos) and the last three days I spent diving some sites around the San Jose del Cabo area. Note that August is considered the off-season for Cabo, so prices are lower, but San Jose del Cabo is extremely quiet (it seemed like a ghost town at times).

A TALE OF TWO CABOS

First, there are two towns that make up the “Cabo” area. The one most commonly known to spring-breakers, day club partiers and general mayhem-causers is Cabo San Lucas. A little up the coast is San Jose del Cabo, which is the grown-up sister of San Lucas. I ventured out to Cabo San Lucas once for a sailing excursion and found it…overwhelming. I much, much prefer San Jose del Cabo. That being said, there are a few amazing-looking hotels that I want to visit (specifically The Cape, a Thompson Hotel) and a few restaurants that have prime sunset views.

This was pretty much the view from our hotel. Absolutely nuts.

WHERE TO EAT IN SAN JOSE DEL CABO

La Lupita Tacos & Mezcal: To be honest, not a ton of great dining options in the San Jose area (note: I did go in the relative off-season). I mostly ate in the hotel restaurants & spent way too much money on room service, but I ate at La Lupita twice during my trip. Even when every single restaurant in the town seemed to be empty, La Lupita would have a full house and a line of hopeful diners loitering outside. It probably has to do with the extensive menu of tacos (the meat-based ones were much better than the seafood ones), the mezcal tasting flights (although the actual cocktails themselves were watered down) - and the live band that plays on a platform high above an outdoor courtyard. Best of all, it is super reasonably priced. Unlike room service.

Acre: This was hands-down the best meal I had during my Cabo trip. (Editor’s note: I am mad as hell because I wrote a scintillating review of this place and then it got deleted. Fuck you, Squarespace.) I would basically describe my experience as “magical jungle dining”. A full restaurant with open air-kitchen and a separate bar and boho-chic furnishings straight outta Instagram - I would have gone for the aesthetic alone (I mean, I’m a millennial) but the food turned out to be shockingly good: I had this terrifyingly named dish called the “Porktopus” with local-raised pork belly and fresh octopus that was a lot better than it sounded, refined-Red-Lobster cheese biscuits with honey butter (random, but so good) and some very good cocktails. 10/10 would recommend.

Flora Farms: This was white-girls-on-a-girls-trip or white-couples-with-the-parents central. So many ruffles, so many badly sunburned white people taking Instagram photos. Flora Farms is farm nestled in the hills above San Jose del Cabo (although you can’t tour the farm unless you book ahead) - and well-known as being the place Adam Levine got married to some supermodel. The food was fine - on par with the “farm-to-table” places in San Francisco, but boring - we had an arugula pizza, some pate on toast, a roast chicken and the like. It was cute in a very…Pinterest way. It was also very expensive. It would have been much more interesting if you could actually see the farm, but instead you’re limited to the restaurant itself (housed in what I referred to as a “bougie barn”) and some glass structures containing a few pop-up shops catering to the well-heeled clientele (have you ever wanted to buy a James Perse towel for 200 bucks? You can get it at Flora Farms!). If you’re deciding between Flora Farms and Acre (which are about 5 minutes apart), definitely go for Acre.

Hunger Park: A cute collection of food trucks in the art/gallery area of San Jose del Cabo town with some picnic tables in the middle. There’s this Argentinian taco truck that served up the best tacos I had all trip - for way-too-good prices. The rest of the stuff was mediocre. It’s a good place for a quick meal, or to get take-out to take back to your hotel. I also had a cricket with a shot of mezcal!

WHERE TO STAY

Viceroy Los Cabos: One of the most stunning hotels I have ever stayed at. While properties like One & Only strive to be classically lavish, the Viceroy has perfected minimalist luxury. The entire property is white, spare, and showcases their collection of stunning pools (including one surrounding the entire property). The main architectural feature is a single walkway leading to a striking “bird’s nest” structure housing a hotel restaurant and bar. The room service food is surprisingly good, and actually not as expensive as I expected.

Acre: Bohemian retreat in the hills above Cabo, attached to a working farm. The primary accommodation is a very finely honed form of glamping - highly styled treehouses nestled among the palms in the hills above Cabo. I am definitely coming back with a boo - it’s very private and romantic, and reasonably priced - being that most people are in Cabo for the beach (although there is an excellent pool). 



Hotel el Ganzo: The Ace Hotel of Cabo. It’s a bit far removed from the main resort trip of San Jose del Cabo, and the prices reflect that - it’s more in the 120 a night range vs. the 3-400 USD range like the other resorts such as the Viceroy. It has a very good rooftop infinity pool and also has a little beach club, but I found the food offerings very mediocre, and going anywhere else to eat in the town will require an Uber ride. A decent offering for those who may be more on a budget but not worth visiting for dinner or drinks - I only stayed there because the outfitter I was diving with was a 2 minute walk from there.

One & Only Palmilla: A celebrity favorite, but in my opinion, classic luxury gone stale. It is extremely secluded even from the other resorts in the area, and has what has to be the most stunning infinity pool in Cabo. We went for dinner & drinks, and were personally escorted around the property (either a sign of great service, or a sign that we look untrustworthy. With rooms ringing in at around 600 USD a night, I guess they’re fiercely protective about keeping the rabble out). That being said, it was closed when we visited for drinks and the clientele trended towards honeymooners and old white people. The drinks were over 20 USD and tasted awful.

WHAT WE DID

To be perfectly honest, we spent most of the time laying on the beach drinking cocktails and eating guac. But when we weren’t doing those two things, we did venture out into the water a few times:

Cabo Sailing: There are tons of tour operators that take you out to the Arch (the main scenic point near Cabo San Lucas) and this was one of the more “grown-up” operators. It cost twice the amount as many other operators, but in exchange you get a very well-equipped boat (with areas to lay out in the front and the back), a dedicated crew, and a limited tour group size (we had a group of 6 total with a crew of 3 people). The snorkelling is very mediocre but the Arch is beautiful, if crowded with dozens of other tourist boats.

East Cape Explorers: I went diving with this operator and they were excellent. They do local dives (some of which they’ve discovered themselves, including a shipwreck) as well as further dives like Cabo Pulmo and Gordo Banks. Extremely professional and fun instructors.