Planning a Trip

Getting There & Departing

By Plane -- The main airport is the Los Cabos International Airport (www.sjdloscabosairport.com); the airport code is SJD. Aeroméxico (tel. 800/237-6639 in the U.S., 01-800/021-4000 in Mexico, or 624/146-5098 or 146-5097; www.aeromexico.com), flies nonstop from San Diego and Ontario, and has connecting flights from other cities; American Airlines (tel. 800/223-5436 in the U.S., or 624/146-5300 or 146-5309; www.aa.com) flies from Dallas/Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York; US Airways (tel. 800/235-9292 in the U.S., or 624/146-5380; www.usairways.com) operates nonstop flights from Phoenix, Las Vegas, Oakland, and San Diego; Alaska Airlines (tel. 800/252-7522 in the U.S., or 624/146-5100 or 146-5101; www.alaskaair.com) flies from Los Angeles, Portland, San Diego, Seattle, and San Francisco; Continental (tel. 800/537-9222 in the U.S., or 624/146-5040 or 146-5080; www.continental.com) flies nonstop from Houston and Newark; Delta (tel. 800/241-4141 in the U.S. or 624/146-5003; www.delta.com) has flights from Atlanta, Cincinnati, New York, and Salt Lake City; Frontier (tel. 800/432-1359 in the U.S., or 624/146-5421; www.frontierairlines.com) has nonstop service from Denver, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San José; Mexicana (tel. 800/531-7921 in the U.S., or 624/146-5001 or 143-5352; www.mexicana.com), has direct or connecting flights from Guadalajara, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Mexico City; United Airlines (tel. 800/538-2929 in the U.S., or 624/146-5433; www.united.com) flies nonstop from Chicago, San Francisco, and Denver; Aereo Calafia (tel. 624/143-4302; www.aereocalafia.com) is a small regional airline that offers regularly scheduled service and charters on Cessna Grand Caravans throughout Baja and between Los Cabos and Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta, Culiacán, and Los Mochis.

By Car -- From San Diego, drive south on Hwy. 1 all the way to the tip -- as night driving is not recommended, the drive takes about 2 1/2 days. From La Paz, take Hwy. 1 south; the drive takes 3 to 4 hours. Or take Hwy. 1 south just past the village of San Pedro, and then take Hwy. 19 south (a less winding road) through Todos Santos to Cabo San Lucas, where you pick up Hwy. 1 east to San José del Cabo. From Cabo San Lucas, it's a half-hour drive to San José.

By Bus -- The Terminal de Autobuses (bus station), on Valerio Gonzalez, a block east of Hwy. 1 (tel. 624/142-1100), is open daily from 5:30am to 8pm. Buses between Cabo San Lucas and La Paz run almost hourly during the day. For points farther north, you usually change buses in La Paz. The trip to Cabo San Lucas takes 40 minutes; to La Paz, 3 hours. Buses also go to Todos Santos; the trip takes around 3 hours.

Orientation

Arriving -- Los Cabos International Airport (tel. 624/146-5111; www.sjdloscabosairport.com; airport code SJD) serves both Cabos and the Corridor in between. San José is 13km (8 miles) from the airport and Cabo San Lucas is a 48km drive (30 miles). Despite passenger traffic being down by about 15% in 2008, Los Cabos experienced rapid growth in the preceding years, which enabled the construction and modernization of its two terminals. Be sure to request the correct terminal when you head home. Upon arriving in Los Cabos, pass Customs and baggage claim, and turn right once you exit the sliding doors. Ask for the shuttle desk while breezing past the timeshare booths that hawk free amenities in exchange for attending their sales-pitch presentation. You'll have plenty of encounters with timeshare salespeople -- especially in Cabo San Lucas -- so feel free to head straight for a taxi or shuttle if you want to get to the beach in a hurry. At about $10 to $17 per person, depending on the location of your hotel, shuttles are the most economical transportation option, and Josefinos (tel. 624/146-5354) is located in the airport. A private van for up to five passengers is $80 and may be able to whisk away your large group more quickly than a regular shuttle. Taxis charge about $35 to San José and upwards of $60 to San Lucas.

For those who like their freedom, it's helpful to have a car in Los Cabos, and a rental is very affordable when booked online in advance. However, the major car-rental agencies all have counters at the airport, open during flight arrivals: Avis (tel. 800/331-1212 from the U.S., or 624/146-0201; avissjd@avis.com.mx; Mon-Sat 7am-9pm, Sun 6am-9pm); Budget (tel. 800/527-0700 from the U.S., 624/146-5333 at the airport, or 143-4190 in Cabo San Lucas; daily 8am-6pm); Hertz (tel. 800/654-3131 from the U.S., 624/146-5088 or 142-0375 in San José del Cabo; daily 8am-8pm); and National (tel. 800/328-4567 from the U.S., 624/146-5022 at the airport, or 142-2424 in San José; daily 8am-8pm). Advance reservations are not always necessary.

If you arrive at the bus station, it's too far from the hotels to walk with luggage. A taxi from the bus station to downtown or the hotel zone costs $5 to $10.

Visitor Information -- San José's city tourist information office (tel./fax 624/142-3310 or 146-9628) is located in Plaza San José on Bulevar Mauricio Castro. It offers maps, free local publications, and other basic information about the area. It's open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 3pm. Prior to arrival, contact the Los Cabos Tourism Board (tel. 866/567-2226 in the U.S., or 624/143-4777; www.visitloscabos.org).

City Layout -- San José del Cabo sprawls from the airport halfway to San Lucas, but two main areas are most enticing to visitors: el centro, or downtown, has restaurants, shopping, sophisticated inns, and traditional budget hotels, while the hotel zone is lined with all-inclusive resorts along the beach.

Zaragoza is the main street leading from the highway into town; Paseo San José runs parallel to the beach and is the principal boulevard of the hotel zone. The mile-long Bulevar Mijares connects the two areas and is the center of most tourist activity in San José.

Getting Around

There is no local bus service between downtown and the beach, but it's about a 30-minute walk from the center of downtown to the sand, and taxis (tel. 624/142-0580) connect the two for about $7 each way. For day trips to Cabo San Lucas, ask your concierge if your hotel has a daily shuttle, or just catch a bus or a cab.

Addresses Without Numbers -- In Mexico, addresses occasionally do not have street numbers. Instead, you might see the designation "s/n," meaning "sin número," or "without a number." For example, Calle Morelos s/n means that the address is located on Calle Morelos, but it doesn't have a specific street number. When possible, we give the cross street of an address to help you locate the property.