Playa El Medano - Cabo San Lucas

If you're coming to Cabo, the main drag, chances are this is the very beach you're going to be coming to. It's the main beach in Cabo and young people flock here from every corner of the globe. Cabo has become a Spring Break destination mainly because it's easy to get to from the United States, and because it is just so stunningly beautiful, like many of the people who come here to hang out. Remember that Playa El Medano isn't like your beach back home. So take care in keeping aware of your surroundings. Even the locals do.


El Medano means "The Dune" and is Cabo's main beach. What a wonderful beach just to relax in full view of the Land's End rock formations and Arch. And you can see Land's End from anywhere on the beach.

The beach stretches almost two miles so it's one of Cabo's longest beaches. This is the best swim- ming beach in Cabo San Lucas.

Plus, if you get hungry, no worries. Playa El Medano is packed with great restaurants and Mexican bars right on the beach. You can stroll a bit and check them out, then make a choice of where you want to eat. Our tip? Choose the one where all the people are gathered.

In addition to good eats, you'll find a diversity of water fun not found on any other Cabo beach. From beach volleyball to wave runners, kayaks to small catamarans - it's all here. You can rent a small sailboat and sail in the bay. Water ski boats will run you along the shore. And because of the gentle surf, you can rent a boogie board and spend the afternoon impressing your significant other.

If you want great snorkeling and diving, ask at any of the hotels for a trip to El Arco, the Arch, where you can catch some of Cabo's best marine life.

So Playa El Medano is definitely not the place to come to get away from it all... as it's all here. Happy Hour lasts most of the day - just find a bar on the beach. While you're sipping, you'll note El Medano is the best beach for people watching. Wow, look at the bodies. It's fun to see the many beach vendors show their wares along the strip and the tourists trying to bargain for a souvenir to take home.

But El Medano is a family beach as well. With more and more families coming to Cabo San Lucas, the area is adapting. Swimming areas are roped off along the beach. In other areas you'll find parasailing and windsurfing. Though not a family sport, take the gang down near the area and check out the fun! You'll have a front row seat on excitement.

To get to Playa El Medano, from the downtown area walk around the marina past Puerto Paraiso and Marina Fiesta all the way to the end - then hang a left at the channel entrance. You're here! Parking is scarce (especially during Spring Break, so if you're coming by car, prepare to walk at least a few blocks.)

Playa El Medano - BEACH INDEX:

• Sand - medium to fine grain, rock/loam mix, golden.
• Facilities - throughout the entire beach.
• Shade - umbrellas abound.
• Sports - all water sports. Arrange on beach with local operators.
• Notes - this place packs out during Spring Break - even at night, when the bars get full. Best bet is to come during North American winter months.

There are a few choice beaches right down the Cabo "Tourist Corridor". Are they the best kept secret? Or best to stay away? Find out - Next! >>

Bahia Palmilla - Cabo San Lucas

This beach, like others in Cabo, has resorts that are so close to the shore, you can hang in a hammock and sleep the afternoon listening to the waves meeting the shore, a gull crying overhead, and the gentle breeze as it passes through the palm fronds. Amazing how one beach, Bahia Palmilla, can take you from stress to relaxed in less than 10 minutes. So beautiful is Bahia Palmilla, that even more resorts are trying to nudge in the already full landscape. But no worries. This coastline has plenty for everyone.

Another crescent-shaped bay that invites you to spend some time relaxing and listening to the surf gently reach the shore as it's done for millennia. Who would have thought a tiny sleepy fishing village would become a tourist focal point?

Bahia Palmilla is that point and abundance surrounds it. From the grand Jack Nicklaus Ocean Nine golf course to the super exclusive One&Only; Hotel Palmilla. If you can't get it here - Cabo doesn't have it.

Known by the tourism operators as the "longest swimming beach", we found they meant that you can probably swim for longer along the shoreline than any other area beach. Remember, some of the Cabo San Lucas beaches are downright dangerous for swimming. But not Bahia Palmilla. It's splendid.

Palmilla is another one of those split crescents - in other words - there's a rock outcropping that juts into the ocean splitting a beach with sand out to a rocky/reef bottom, and a side that has simply sand as far as you can probably swim (or should).

Because of this, it's wonderful for snorkeling. Make sure you stay along the rocks as there is nothing to see in the sand, except...well, sand. And with the protected shoreline, this is the beach for families. Even the locals come here on the weekends with their own. Rent a kayak in town and paddle around the bay (bahia). The beach is very near the parking lot.

This is one beach that sports thatch covered beach huts for shade and yes, there are garbage cans. Cabo San Lucas cares about this environment. Don't search for a restroom because as snazzy as Bahia Palmilla is, there are no facilities. No rental facilities, either - so bring what you'd like to do from town (Cabo San Lucas).

Even though the beach is near the parking lot, it's a long hike from the highway - so your best bet is by car or taxi. Take the Palmilla exit around kilometer 27, then just follow the signs down to the beach. Look for the taxi stand in the circle drive fronting the hotel. That's the entrance to the beach.

Bahia Palmilla - BEACH INDEX:

• Sand - medium/fine grain, coral/shell/rock. Golden.
• Facilities -none, but we found you could walk to the hotel, and...
• Shade - beach huts!
• Sports - bring all from town as there are no rentals at the beach. Swimming is delightful here.
• Notes - can get busy on the weekends and holidays, but not crowded. Recommended for families.

And now we leave Cabo San Lucas to visit the enchanting beaches of San Jose del Cabo - all along the Mexican Riveira - with their very own Côte d'Azur! - Next! >>