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). Upon arriving in Los Cabos, pass Customs and baggage claim, and turn right once you exit the sliding doors. Be prepared for a gauntlet of shouting timeshare pitchmen, who will say anything to get you to go on a tour with them. Ignore them, and march straight through to the Josefinos (tel. 624/146-5354) shuttle desk for your ticket, inside the terminal on your left as you exit Customs. At about $15 per person, depending on the location of your hotel, shuttles are the cheapest way to get to your hotel from the airport. (A private van for up to five passengers is $85 and is faster than a regular shuttle). Taxis charge about $35 to San José and upwards of $60 to San Lucas.

If you're planning on exploring at all, it's very helpful to have a car in Los Cabos, and a rental is not terribly expensive when booked in advance. The major car-rental agencies all have counters at the airport, open during flight arrivals: Alamo (tel. 624/146-1900); Avis (tel. 624/146-1066; avissjd@avis.com.mx); Dollar (tel. 624/146-5060; aeropuerto@dollarloscabos.com); Fox (tel. 624/146-5333); Hertz (tel. 624/146-1803); National (tel. 624/146-5021); Thrifty (tel. 624/146-5030); and U-Save (tel. 624/146-5083). They're all open roughly the same hours, about 8am to 6 or 7pm, and advance reservations are not always necessary, although your spontaneity may cost you.

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 waterfront costs $5 to $10.

City Layout

San José technically spreads from the airport halfway to San Lucas, but for our purposes, it's limited to el centro, or downtown, with restaurants, the Art District, historic inns and budget hotels, and the hotel waterfront (zona hotelera), lined with all-inclusive resorts.

From the highway, Zaragoza is the main street leading into town, all the way to the central Plaza Mijares, surrounded on two sides by most of the centro's attractions. Paseo San José, the principal avenue of the zona hotelera, runs parallel to Zaragoza and the beach a mile to the south. Bulevar Mijares, peppered with restaurants and shops, connects the two areas north to south.

Getting There

By Plane

San José's main airport, and that of Southern Baja, is the Los Cabos International Airport (tel. 624/146-5097; 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 Mexico City, and has connecting flights and codeshares 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, and Chicago; US Airways (tel. 800/235-9292 in the U.S., or 624/146-5380; www.usairways.com) operates nonstop flights from Phoenix; Alaska Airlines (tel. 800/252-7522 in the U.S., or 624/146-5100 or 146-5101; www.alaskaair.com) flies from Los Angeles, 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 and Los Angeles; Frontier (tel. 800/432-1359 in the U.S., or 624/146-5421; www.frontierairlines.com) has nonstop service from Denver; United Airlines (tel. 800/538-2929 in the U.S., or 624/146-5433; www.united.com) flies nonstop from Los Angeles and San Francisco; Volaris (tel. 866/988-3527 in the U.S. or 800/122-8000; www.volaris.com) flies nonstop from Mexico City and Tijuana; WestJet (tel. 888/937-8538 in the U.S. and Canada or 800/514-7288; www.westjet.com) flies nonstop from Vancouver.

By Car

From San Diego, drive south on Hwy. 1 all the way to the tip of Baja California -- the drive takes about 2 1/2 days, as we don't recommend night driving. 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; the total time is about 3 hours.

By Bus

The Terminal de Autobuses (bus station), on Valerio González, a block east of Hwy. 1 (tel. 624/142-1100), is open daily from 5:30am to 10pm. Buses between Cabo San Lucas and La Paz run almost hourly during the day. For points farther north, you'll 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.

Fast Facts

Area Code -- The local telephone area code is 624.

Banks -- Banks exchange currency during business hours, which are generally Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 6pm, and Saturday from 10am to 2pm. Several major banks with ATMs are on Zaragoza between Morelos and Degollado and in the downtown. A plaza with a bank, ATM, American Express office, and currency exchange is at the south end of Bulevar Mijares.

Emergencies -- Dial tel. 066, or the local police number at City Hall (tel. 624/142-0361).

Hospital -- Hospital General is at Retorno Atunero s/n, Col. Chamizal (tel. 624/142-0013).

Internet Access -- Most hotels provide some sort of Wi-Fi and/or provide a computer for guest use. Many cafes and restaurants offer Wi-Fi, too.

Pharmacy -- Farmacia ISSSTE, Carretera Transpeninsular Km 34, Plaza California Local 7 (tel. 624/142-2645), is open daily from 8am to 8pm.

Post Office -- The correo, Bl. Mijares 1924, at Valerio González (tel. 624/142-0911), is open Monday through Friday from 8am to 4:30pm, Saturday from 9am to 1pm. For more substantial mailings, Mail Boxes Etc., Plaza Las Palmas Km 31 (tel. 624/142-4355), is open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 5:30pm and Saturday from 9am to noon.

Getting Around

Driving is the most convenient way to get beyond San José's centro, but it's not necessarily the easiest. Arm yourself with a good map from the tourist office or your hotel; tiny, white-on-white street signs are made for pedestrians, not drivers. Luckily, the town is a grid, so if you miss your street, you can take the next one in your direction. At night, watch out for speed bumps and vados, their treacherous opposites. No local bus service connects the centro and the beach, but it's about a 30-minute walk from the 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 often do not have street numbers. Instead, you'll 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.

Visitor Information

San José's city tourist information office (tel./fax 624/142-3310 or 146-9628) is 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).

Keep Exploring