Looking for a romantic weekend getaway? Kevin and I just got back from a wedding in Cabo San Lucas, one of Mexico’s most popular resort cities on the Baja peninsula. Cabo makes an easy trip from Los Angeles — especially over a long weekend — since it’s just a 2.5 hour direct flight. Plus, if you love a deal (I mean, who doesn’t?) flights can drop as low as $250 round trip from LA even in the busy season.
While most people travel to Cabo to relax on its sandy beaches and work on their tans, that’s never really been our thing. I mean, Kevin puts on sunblock if he’s walking our dog, Doug, around the block. Who wants premature wrinkles, right? That and Doug basically moves at the speed of a tortoise.
On one of our walks in LA. Kevin smiles for the camera…while Doug gives me a look of ‘why are you making me do all this unnecessary walking?’
I dove into my usual vacation research and found that there is much more to Cabo than just sunny beaches and frozen margaritas. Check out our top picks for unique things to do in Cabo San Lucas for couples.
For the Foodies: Enjoy a High-end Mexican Feast Overlooking the Beach
Feed us endless baskets of chips and salsa, and you’ll get high marks from us. We have such a weakness for Mexican food. Let’s just say, we’ve been known to plow through 3 baskets of chips before our meal. No shame (okay, maybe a little). But believe me, the homemade tortilla chips at the restaurant Hacienda Cocina y
Mmm, chips and salsa.
Believe it or not, we’d come to this restaurant even if they didn’t serve chips and salsa. Shocker, I know. What makes this place so special is the view. Perched above a beach and overlooking the iconic rock formations of Land’s End, Hacienda Cocina y Cantina is one of the most stunning and romantic places in the entire city. We actually ate here a few years back when Kevin planned a birthday getaway for me. As soon as I heard we’d be returning to Cabo, I knew this would be on the itinerary. And even though a few years have passed, it’s just as good as I remember.
Romantic spaces all throughout the restaurant. Plus, there are plenty of shaded spots if you burn like us.
We recommend grabbing one of the shaded outdoor tables on the terrace overlooking the beach. On our previous visit, we shared the massive dish called the ‘Molcajete’ (Mexican version of the mortar and pestle) that was filled with skirt steak, chicken, chorizo, cheese, black beans and avocado ($40 USD). If you’re not up for such a heavy meal, we’d recommend just sharing the Queso Fundido ($14 USD), a cheese dip with mozzarella, chorizo, salsa and a side of soft tortillas….because clearly, you can’t really go wrong with a vat of melted cheese.
Our queso fundido, great for sharing.
And if you’re into fancy cocktails, you’ve found your spot with ginger martinis as well as high-end Tequilas and Mezcal. Though, we ended up going with the less classy frozen margarita and a mojito. Hey, we know what we like. And besides, I’m sure everyone was judging us already with all those chips we ate!
Water Adventures: Float Next to Humpback Whales, One of the Best Things to in Cabo San Lucas for Couples
We love animal encounters and seeing animals up close in their natural environment — whether its bears in Alaska or orcas off Washington’s San Juan Island. Cabo is known as one of the best places to spot humpback whales. And there is no better way to get up close with these massive animals than by zodiac (a small inflatable boat). We went with Whale Watch Cabo since they are focused on education as well as conservation efforts.
Before each tour starts, you get a lesson on humpback whale migration patterns around the world.
We joined the 8 AM tour the very next morning after our friend’s late-night wedding (pretty impressive if we do say so ourselves). All tours meet at the main Marina office in town and are led by a trained marine biologist guide.
Kevin checks in at the main office, located in the middle of town.
We were lucky enough to be the only people on our tour. Though, this is Cabo so I’m guessing most people weren’t up for a 8 AM boat ride out on choppy water. After a quick briefing on board, we set sail — passing a sea lion colony, lovers beach, Lands End, sea bird colonies and of course Cabo’s most photographed landmark, The Arch.
The arch in Cabo — basically this picture-perfect spot is on every postcard.
Sea lion colony
From here, the real adventure begins. Hang on tight, because these zodiacs can move! It didn’t take us long until our guide spotted the first (of many) humpback whales. In fact, we followed a pod of 3 humpback whales. They seemed even larger now that we were basically on a raft next to them in the middle of the ocean.
Humpback with Cabo in the background.
While there is no guarantee that you’ll see whales, the winter is the best season to go. We saw several more and were just about to turn around when suddenly we heard a loud burst. Our guide and boat driver screamed. And all I could think was, okay, this is the end! But it turned out that one of the humpbacks jumped straight out of the water and crashed belly-flop style in front of our raft. Was he playing? Maybe. But more than likely, the whale was communicating to the others, according to our biologist guide. She also missed the photo opp since it was so shocking! It was that close. But oh so spectacular.
I try to recreate the whale jump with the toy on board.
Insider tips: Be sure to wear layers, especially in the winter. We wore shorts with water resistant jackets. Zodiac whale watching tours are 2.5 hours and cost $89 USD per person. Advanced reservations are recommended if you want to guarantee a specific time.
Brave Couples: Swimming with Crocodiles, Yes…Live Crocs
Look at those teeth. Taking the plunge on our croc experience.
Kevin and I have never gone swimming with crocodiles. In fact, I never even knew you COULD do that before this trip. Everyone we told at the wedding was beyond intrigued (and likely thinking we’d come back missing an arm or at least a toe). Cabo’s Croc Experience is a pretty unique spot. In fact, they told us that it is one of the only places in the entire world where tourists can swim with crocs (the other place being in Australia). Even though I knew Kevin loved animal encounters, I actually never thought he’d be down for this. But as soon as he saw it, he was like, “let’s do this!”
During the first part of the tour, you’ll get to feed a Kinkajou. Kinka who? Pronounced “KINK ah joo,” these little guys look sort of look like a monkey crossed with a raccoon. Kinkajou live in tropical rain forests from southern Mexico through Brazil.
From here, you normally get to see lemurs (though they were at the vet the day we visited) and then hold baby crocs. But the main attraction is getting into the Plexiglas cage that’s lowered into a tank with crocodiles. Our guide gave us the final sage advice — just don’t stick your hands or feet through the glass cracks. Duly noted!
Bracing for impact inside the glass tank as we’re about to be dunked into the water.
Our guide probably has the scarier job as he stands on top of the glass tank dropping in chicken around us.
You’ll spend about 15 minutes in the water with the crocodiles. Though, we were actually in closer to 25 minutes since it was early in the morning and there wasn’t anyone after us. It was such a rush — and even though the water was freezing, the fear of being eaten alive helped warm us up!
We survived. And we’re given these cool towel robes to dry off.
We loved this tour and certainly would do it again if we were back in Cabo. Tours take about 1.5 hours and start daily at 9 AM, 11:30 AM, 1:50 PM and 4:10 PM. Adults (12+) are $175 USD per person while children (5-11 years) are $145 USD. Tours include transportation, a drink and all the animal interactions. Photos are an additional cost but so worth it for those wild facial expressions caught on camera!
Have more than a weekend in Mexico and looking for other ideas? We recommend 2 days in luxurious San Miguel De Allende and our itinerary that won’t break the bank. Don’t have all that time? Then check out our top 5 incredible finds in Tijuana.
OMG! Swimming with Crocs!!!
Where in Australia??? (You mentioned you could do it here as well).
As always, I love the perfect aesthetic of your photography and the great narration… It shows that you are a professional in the field, of course…
Your faces in the tank are funny, and you look like a Jedi in the after-dip robe!!!
Loved this post.
Hey! Glad to hear you enjoyed the story! It was so much fun doing the croc diving. Turns out that you can do it in Darwin, Australia as well. It’s a center called Crocosaurus Cove. And we do look like Jedi warriors in those robes, right!? hah