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El Arco, the rock arch at Land's End in Cabo San Lucas, rising from turquoise water under a clear sky

Where to stay in Los Cabos

Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Places to stay in Los Cabos

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About Los Cabos

Los Cabos International is about 13 km by road from San José del Cabo and about 45 km from the Cabo San Lucas marina, with the resorts of the Tourist Corridor between the two towns. Todos Santos on the Pacific and the East Cape are an hour or more away.

Mexico. Guide last checked .

Facts and rules

Last checked . Each fact links to its source.

Airport
Los Cabos International (SJD), 11 km from San José del Cabo according to the airport operator; about 13 km by road to the town centre and about 45 km to the Cabo San Lucas marina. Source
State lodging tax
4% of the lodging charge, meals and other services excluded, whatever the length of the stay; on a package with transport, food or drinks it is charged on 40% of the bill. The host shows it separately, and intermediaries that sell the stay must collect it. Source
Los Cabos room fee
An environmental sanitation fee per occupied room: 70% of the daily UMA in hotels, guest houses, hostels and motels, about MXN 82 in 2026, and twice the daily UMA, about MXN 235, for a room, house or apartment booked through a platform. The host or platform retains it. Source
Embrace It
MXN 488 per person per visit in 2026 for foreign visitors over 12 who stay more than 24 hours in Baja California Sur, paid online at embrace.bcs.gob.mx; not included in airfare unless the travel provider says so. People with legal residence in Mexico are exempt. Source
VAT
16% IVA on lodging. The VAT exemption for renting a home does not cover furnished property or lodging. Source
Entry
No visa for EU, UK or US tourists. The immigration officer stamps the passport with the days granted, up to 180, and the FMM migration form is digital for air arrivals. Source
Holiday-rental registration
The state tourism law counts furnished rooms, apartments and houses let for temporary stays as tourist services, whose providers must enrol in the national tourism register. No registration number for listings was found as of September 2026. Source
Parking with a rental car
No parking meters were found in San José del Cabo or Cabo San Lucas (via GetCar). Yellow kerbs mean no parking, and officers may take the plates of a badly parked car when nobody is with it. Source
Monthly stays
No long-stay exemption: the state lodging tax applies whatever the length of the stay, and IVA applies to furnished lodging. A month fits inside the days an officer can grant, up to 180. Source
Emergency numbers
911 for police, ambulance and fire; tourist police 624 143 3977. Source

Areas of Los Cabos

The twin bell towers of the mission church in San José del Cabo, with a tiled mural on the facade and people walking past the steps
Photographed in 2015. Photo: Max Goldberg from USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

San José del Cabo

The town nearer the airport, with a historic centre of cobblestone streets and whitewashed buildings, a gallery district and the church of a mission founded in the 1730s. A Thursday evening Art Walk runs there from November through June. It suits a quieter base with short airport runs; the tourism board calls Cabo San Lucas the livelier of the two towns.

Los Cabos airport
about 13 km
Cabo San Lucas
about 33 km
Palmilla beach
about 7 km

Car and parking

No parking meters were found in the town (via GetCar). Street parking follows the municipal traffic regulation: no parking on the pavement, in double file or on yellow kerbs, and officers may take the plates of a badly parked car when nobody is with it. Ask the host whether the stay has its own parking.

A resort on the Tourist Corridor seen from above, with pools, palm gardens and sun umbrellas running down to the beach and the Sea of Cortez
Photographed in 2021. Photo: Spheroidite, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Tourist Corridor

Resort hotels along the Transpeninsular highway between San José del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas. The tourism board singles out Palmilla for calm, shallow water and Playa El Tule as the way to the swimmable beaches of Chileno, Santa María and Las Viudas. It suits a resort stay by a swimmable beach, with a car for the towns.

Los Cabos airport
about 24 km
San José del Cabo
about 13 km
Cabo San Lucas
about 21 km

Car and parking

Highway 1 runs the corridor as a free four-lane road with U-turn lanes and side roads at the resort gates, and the toll road that bypasses it costs a car MXN 118 from the airport to Cabo San Lucas (via GetCar). Chileno beach has parking lots for visitors who drive in, according to the tourism board.

Fishing and pleasure boats moored in the Cabo San Lucas marina, with hotels and shops along the waterfront under a blue sky
Photo: Alexis Doine, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cabo San Lucas

The town at Land's End, with El Arco at the tip, a marina known for sport fishing and Médano Beach, one of the most popular swimmable beaches in Los Cabos, with beach clubs nearby. It suits a first visit built around the beach, boat trips and nightlife.

Los Cabos airport
about 44 km
San José del Cabo
about 33 km
Médano Beach
about 2 km

Car and parking

No parking meters were found, and Puerto Paraíso, the mall on the marina, has parking for 2,000 cars with no published rates (both via GetCar). The municipal rules apply: no parking on the pavement, in double file or on yellow kerbs, and officers may take the plates of a badly parked car left without its driver.

The pale yellow mission church of Todos Santos with its bell tower, palm trees and a paved plaza in front
Photographed in 2017. Photo: Rafael Saldaña from mexico city, Mexico, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Todos Santos and El Pescadero

A Pueblo Mágico on the Pacific coast, founded in 1723 by Jesuit missionaries and about an hour's drive north of Cabo San Lucas. Its beaches take powerful Pacific swells, often better for experienced surfers than for swimmers, and Playa Los Cerritos near El Pescadero suits surfers of all levels. It suits a slower stay away from the resorts.

Los Cabos airport
about 111 km
Cabo San Lucas
about 76 km
Playa Los Cerritos
about 16 km

Car and parking

Highway 19, a fast four-lane road, links Cabo San Lucas with Todos Santos, which has three fuel stations, and El Pescadero has one (via GetCar). The tourism board says several beaches lie at the end of dirt roads, and many rental contracts exclude unpaved roads (via GetCar).

Kites over the Sea of Cortez off the white sand of Los Barriles, with two dogs and parked cars on the beach
Photographed in 2018. Photo: Purecabo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

East Cape: Los Barriles and La Ribera

The coast north-east of San José del Cabo on the Sea of Cortez, where most beaches stay quiet because they sit at the end of dirt roads. Los Barriles draws windsurfers, La Ribera is a fishing village with a beach the tourism board calls safe for families, and Cabo Pulmo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is known for snorkelling. It suits a quiet base for fishing, windsurfing and snorkelling.

Los Cabos airport
about 70 km
San José del Cabo
about 79 km
La Ribera
about 30 km

Car and parking

Los Barriles is about 70 km from the airport on Highway 1. La Ribera has two fuel stations and Cabo Pulmo none, the coastal road south to San José is 94 km and mostly unpaved, and many rental contracts exclude unpaved roads (via GetCar).

Guides

Questions

Which area of Los Cabos is best for a first visit?

Cabo San Lucas for El Arco, the marina and Médano Beach; the Tourist Corridor for a resort on a swimmable beach such as Palmilla or Chileno; San José del Cabo for a quieter historic centre about 13 km from the airport.

What taxes are added to a stay in Los Cabos?

16% IVA, Baja California Sur's 4% lodging tax on the room and, in the municipality of Los Cabos, an environmental fee per occupied room: about MXN 82 in hotels and about MXN 235 through platforms in 2026.

What is Embrace It?

Baja California Sur's fee on foreign visitors over 12 who stay more than 24 hours: MXN 488 per person per visit in 2026, paid online at embrace.bcs.gob.mx and not included in airfare unless the travel provider says so.

Is parking paid in Los Cabos?

No parking-meter programme was found in San José del Cabo or Cabo San Lucas as of September 2026 (via GetCar). Yellow kerbs mean no parking, and officers may take the plates of a badly parked car left without its driver.