Cabo san lucas or San Jose del cabo?

[oraph]

GF and I are doing a quick get away trip in early May. We both plan to dive but will have 2 days tops for diving.
The whole trip is 4 days (including flights). I already booked flights but not hotel, so looking for some advice...

1. I was thinking of staying in SJ del cabo since its closer to the airport. How does it compare to Cabo San Lucas? Is it worth the longer drive to San Lucas? Can someone recommend a low-mid price hotel?

2. Diving - is there good diving in San Jose? The only dive operation i could find is eastcapeexpolrers, and they seem pretty pricey.
also if we decide to dive from Lucas.. do any dive operators pick up from SJ?

any advice would be appreciated, keeping in mind the short duration of the trip.

 

[tajkd]

imo you must stay in Cabo San Lucas. There are many more choices there, you are closer to the sites. The distance to Cabo is not really so much more. I recommend Best Western Quinta de Sol but you'll need a car so far from the marina. The hotels closer are more expensive but I'm sure you'll find deals after the storms. I loved the diving there: easy, lots to see. The operators are all good. I liked Sunset but they may not be around any more. Close second was Manta - very nice folks. I can't see how any of them would pick you up in SJdC.

My advice - if you get a car, stay at the best western and use Manta. If no car, stay near the marina and use manta. Do not waste your time in San Jose.

 

[driftwood]

Second on going to Cabo. Be sure to eat at Mariscos Macambo. Great bacon wrapped shrimp!

 

[Manuel Sam]

A cab from the airport to Cabo San Lucas will take 45 minutes max - less if they take the expressway. It costs about $75 each way tho. A cheaper way of getting there is to get on a shuttle van. These run $15-20 (may be more by now) but they take a little longer because it makes multiple stops to drop off passengers at other hotels along the way. Then for the ride back, I'd check with the hotel front desk to see if they offer a shuttle ride back to the airport - they usually have set pick-up times and it is about the same $15-20 price.

If you choose to stay in Cabo San Lucas, I concur with the Quintas del Sol choice. Its only drawback is that it is sort of on the outskirts of town and it might take 10-15 minutes to walk to the Marina and center of town. But cab rides within town are pretty reasonable. The rooms were redone within the last 10 years, they're spacious and clean. There is AC, cable TV, free wifi, and there is a small swimming pool. They most recently (within the past 2 years) built a restaurant on the premises and they serve a very good - albeit a bit pricey - breakfast buffet. Kayak.com lists it at $67 a night.

I've also stayed at the Hotel Mar de Cortes in the middle of town. This is a more basic hotel: it is my choice if I am traveling alone and want something cheap and convenient. The rooms are clean and have AC, but there was no cable, and the wifi signal was weak when I was last there in 2011. They also have a swimming pool and a restaurant on the premises. Breakfasts are decent and fairy inexpensive. It is not inconceivable to walk to the dive shop from here, depending on where it is and how much gear you are carrying. Kayak.com has this one listed at $41 a night.

If you want something a bit more upscale, and even more convenient, the Tesoro is right on the Marina. I've never stayed there tho. Kayak.com has them at $105.

I've never stayed nor dived off of San Jose so I don't know what the diving is like nearby. I do know that Gorda Banks, an underwater seamount, is almost directly south from San Jose. Cabo San Lucas dive operators offer this as a two-tank day trip and they charge a premium for it because it is about 2 hours by boat. They also usually need at least 4 divers to make the trip. The top of Gorda Banks is at about 100 ft., and it is known for big animals because it is out in the blue. But it is also seasonal and luck-dependent.

Further north is Cabo Pulmo, and there are some decent dives there. But it is about 1 1/2 to 2 hours by car or cab from San Jose.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Of the two "Los Cabos," San Jose del Cabo is the more ordinary Mexican town, while Cabo San Lucas is the one that caters to diving, fishing and partying.

 

[oraph]

Great, thanks guys. So i went with your advice and got a hotel in CSL... it just happened to be the Tesoro which ended up being right around 300 after taxes for 3 nights so I'll let you know how i liked it after.
There is 4 of us so i think a cab would make more sense at about $15-20 pp. (since we are only there for 4 days and are staying in the center i doubt there is an advantage to having a car)
As far as diving.. Dive Rates - SCUBA Cabo,Scuba Diving Cabo San Lucas,Baja Dive,los Cabos,Sea of Cortez this place seems to have the better rates. With 4 of us diving does it make sense to reserve ahead of time or are we better off getting there Friday and then shopping around for sat and sun diving?

 

[spoolin01]

So the Cabo Pulmo reef isn't the main reason to dive Cabo?

 

[Jordan23]

imo you must stay in Cabo San Lucas. There are many more choices there, you are closer to the sites. The distance to Cabo is not really so much more. I recommend Best Western Quinta de Sol but you'll need a car so far from the marina. The hotels closer are more expensive but I'm sure you'll find deals after the storms. I loved the diving there: easy, lots to see. The operators are all good. I liked Sunset but they may not be around any more. Close second was Manta - very nice folks. I can't see how any of them would pick you up in SJdC.

My advice - if you get a car, stay at the best western and use Manta. If no car, stay near the marina and use manta. Do not waste your time in San Jose.

hi
can you tell me how far is it by car from san diego? how is july time?
what is SJdC?
thanks

 

[Lorenzoid]

hi
can you tell me how far is it by car from san diego? how is july time?
what is SJdC?
thanks

The Baja California peninsula is roughly 1000 miles from San Diego to the tip, where San Jose del Cabo (SJdC) is located. It is not a superhighway. Driving the whole peninsula can be quite the adventure. You could probably drive it in three days if you hurried, but there is a lot to see along the route. Driving at night is not recommended, as there have been many accidents. I recommend five or six days for the trip.

 

[mselenaous]

What Lorenzoid said...the roads are not highways for much of it, alot of 2 lane stretches in poor conditions.

Try Cabo Pulmo. It's worth checking out their $149/pp/night eat, sleep, dive packages.
Ask the resort about airport transports from San Jose Del Cabo. There are some good inexpensive ones or PM me and I'll give the email of one that picks of at the airport for $25/pp cash to CSL, probably less to Cabo Pulmo.
My friend Art is now working there and my very good friend just came back from 2 weeks there raving about wanting to move there. She loved it.
If you go, tell Art I sent you.

Once you get there, walk up the beach past the resort and out into the water ankle deep, look straight out at the beautiful ocean and enjoy.
Then turn around and look back - not your typical beach, palm trees, tropical lush scenery. Surprise, you are in the desert full of cacti, sage brush, and if you look carefully so many colors of brown rust ochre green gold beige tan in stark contrast to the blue skies.

Enjoy it.

I'll be in Cabo San Lucas on Mon-Tues in route to the Soccorro Islands, wish I had time to visit Cabo Pulmo.