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.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
