Costa Real, aka the former Plaza Las Glorias. Architecturally, ugly. However, the location is right on the Marina. Relatively upscale place. Handy to lots of restaurants, shops, etc. Walking distance (heck, stone throwing distance) to 4-5 dive ops.
Yes, 3 days, plenty of dive sites in Cabo. For dive ops, I'd recommend Land's End Divers, which is right behind Solomon's Landing, and just outside the hotel. Baja Dive is also fine, as is Deep Blue. All are within steps of each other. For sea lions, diving "land's end" or neptune's finger is your best probability, but who knows... Lots of orange cup corals, gorgonians, some mushrooms at pelican rock, groupers on north, middle, & south walls, maybe a reeftip shark at "land's end". Check out my gallery (depending on how you view the site, you can get to it by clicking on my username, then, view photos).
You will definitely see sea lions. Whether you'll see them underwater is a different story. I got to see one do a swim-by; one of my buddies did too on another dive, but I missed it. I saw the swim-by at pelican rock; the buddy at "land's end."
Car-rental excursion? Mid August? Head up to Todos Santos where it's cooler, being on the Pacific Ocean side.
Grocery stores: Two words: CCC & Soriana. Take a local bus (colectivo) from Plaza Las Glorias (oops, Costa Real!) to CCC or Soriana, shop til you drop, and come back. They are the local equivalent of a Super Walmart. Or, walk to Plaza Aramburo where there's the local equivalent to a small non-upsized supermarket.
Restaurants: For a casual lunch, Solomon's Landing right on the Marina. They have a new sushi chef who is outstanding. If you don't feel like sushi, the grilled fish tacos are very good. For dessert, walk over to Sea Queen and order either the apple tart, the chocolate cake, or the tres leches cake. For a bit more $, go up to the Fish House (also very near your hotel) and order the Huachinango Entero. The garlic salsa they serve (Mojo de Ajo) with the snapper (Huachinango) will knock your socks off.
Have a blast! Wish I were going!
scubabum2:
My buddy & I are planning a trip to Cabo August 7-11 & I have a few questions.
1) We are planning to stay at the Costa Real. I believe its right there at the marina. Anyone know any scoop on it?
2) Is there a decent number of dive sites around Cabo to keep us occupied for 3 days, 3 dives a day? Should we look into some alternatives?
3) What's the frequency of seeing sea lions at Cabo?
4) What's a good offday excursion (possibly involving car rental)?
5) Are there any local grocery stores around the marina area (cut down on bfast, lunch costs) and
6) Any good restaurant recommendations?
Hopefully, there's a few Cabo experts out there that can help. Thanks, Mark
