San Jose del Cabo | The Best Place in Baja?
Mexico is a beautiful country, and there is so much to do and see. It’s filled with rich culture, stunning scenery, friendly people, amazing culture, and so much more.
Come along with me as we explore San Jose del Cabo from not just the touristy perspective, but also from integrating into the culture and finding the not-so-touristy-locations and off-beat places that the locals go, and see my learning experiences so you can know before you go.
First Mexican Domestic Flight
So, I booked my first Mexican domestic flight.
In Mexico, there are several popular airlines, some better than others as I hear, and decided to try one of them out, Volaris.
I booked a flight on Volaris from Guadalajara to San Jose del Cabo. The flight was about $35 USD and I paid additional to check a small bag. My flight was about 45 minutes so I thought this would be a good time to try this airline.
My Flight Experience
Volaris is a budget-friendly airline, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. According to this site, Volaris comes in at #4 for the airlines ranked within Mexico and on other sites, the reviews I’ve seen were not too favorable. I wasn’t sure if I was going to have a bumpy ride to my destination, arrive late, have lost luggage, be nickeled and dimed, or have a great experience.
I took a taxi from the Lake Chapala area, which cost 500 pesos ($25 USD plus a tip), which is the average price for this ride. The driver arrived on time, and we drove Mexican-style to the airport.
As I entered the airport, I checked in headed upstairs to the gate, and waited to board. Then, when it was time to board, we exited the building on the tarmac as the plane was boarding from the front and the back simultaneously, which is a great way to board a plane in my opinion. Boarding was efficient and rather fun, but uneventful.
We arrived on time in San Jose del Cabo, but next is where it gets a little interesting.
Should I Take a Taxi or a Local Bus?
Once at the destination, San Jose del Cabo, I figured I would have an array of timeshare salesman in the airport to walk past (not that there’s anything wrong with that), and then from there see the transportation options. There weren’t any timeshare salesmen there…or any that approached me rather. so I walked toward the transportation ticket counter as I had questions on how to get to my next destination.
I spoke with the ticket counter agent as I wanted to price out options mainly taking a shuttle vs. the local bus. And I am so glad I did, knowledge is power.
The price quoted to me was $250 pesos ($12.50 USD) for a shuttle or I could take a local bus, quoted $30 pesos. I elected to take the local bus because it would be fun, it’d be a challenge for me to figure out, it would be less expensive, and I like cultural experiences.
When I arrived at the bus station, I was quoted 85 pesos (not the $30 I was anticipating) for the bus, which was absolutely outrageous, and I knew this. I was being gringo’d at this very moment (see more on this below).
So, I flip out at the price he offers me and tell him I was quoted $30 pesos inside, tell him I live in Mexico and I am not paying $85 pesos. Granted this is not a lot of money, but I don’t like to be gringo’d and will argue against it every time. There was a little more back and forth, but eventually, he agreed and lowered the price.
$85 pesos is approx. $4.25 USD and $30 pesos is about $1.5o USD, for perspective. After I told him that I lived in Mexico, and spoke Spanish with him, he agreed to $30 pesos.
So I boarded the local bus and off it went, but that is not where the adventure ends…
I Missed My Stop
Well, life is about learning.
While on the bus, one thought I had, sometimes I can get philosophical… but I thought life is really about navigating challenges, or obstacle courses, or maybe life is really a scavenger hunt. I loved scavenger hunts when I was a kid.
I loved rushing around trying to put the pieces together to get the end result, which always required out-of-the-box challenges. So I felt this experience of riding the bus, was like a scavenger hunt. Would I make it to my destination with all my stuff?
Getting back on topic, I wasn’t sure where I was going to get off the bus. This to me, is the whole challenge of riding a local bus. I knew the general area but wasn’t sure exactly where to get off, but felt confident enough that I’d figure it out. I was going to have to walk unknown streets from wherever the bus dropped me off to my final destination, approximately 1 mile.
I don’t mind walking, as in Chapala, I walk everywhere as I don’t wish to have a car at this time, more on that in another article.
Well, I saw my destination come and go on the map, we went way past it and now I was too far away to walk.
I ask for assistance from my fellow bus riders and they graciously tell me what to do. They told me to get off the bus, cross the street, and take another bus back, which is exactly what I did.
When I got to the area, close enough, I had additional help from another passenger, and she told me when to get off. I am grateful for her assistance.
So I got off the bus, and with the help of my phone, walked from there through the streets, up hills, around the blocks, through the downtown San Jose del Cabo area, and found my home. Phew.
Update on Local Bus Situation
After staying less than a week in San Jose del Cabo, I wanted to head down to the Marina in Cabo San Lucas. I decided to take an Uber there as my first bus experience was not the best and knew I had more to learn and research on how to do it properly.
I will share more about my experience and time in Cabo San Lucas shortly…
Taxi’s and Uber’s are expensive in the Cabo San Lucas area, close to USA prices, and frankly didn’t want to pay it, if I could learn something new and have a local experience. I knew I was a novice bus rider but was willing to try it again, lol.
Attempt. #2 on the Local Bus Situation
On my second attempt on riding the local bus, I felt more prepared.
I took an Uber from my hostel and attempted the local bus and it worked out so well, I would definitely do it again.
Cost:
80 pesos ($4 USD). It was much better than Uber pricing which was about $50 USD ($989 pesos) as I priced it at the time.
Where to Catch the Local Bus from Cabo San Lucas to the airport?
Start outside Puerto Paraiso (the Mall in Cabo San Lucas) and ride it for about an 1.5 hours to San Jose del Cabo airport.
What is the name of the local Bus Line?
The Bus line was called Ruta del Desierto and it’s the purple and yellow buses.
How long did the Bus take?
The bus took about an hour and a half to get from Cabo San Lucas (near Puerto Paraiso) to the airport in San Jose del Cabo.
Was I nervous? Sure.
I understand more why the initial bus attendant wanted to charge me more than $30 pesos, he may have thought I was headed to Cabo instead of San Jose, so I will give him that. But in my defense, he quoted the price without asking where specifically I was headed. The longer the trip, the more it costs.
Traveling is about learning new experiences, interacting with new people, learning new customs, and learning about your strengths and weaknesses along the way while being willing to try things 2x or 3x or more to learn the right way to do things.
Where Did I Stay?
When I travel I like to stay in a variety of places. I stay in Airbnb’s or Vrbo’s, local hostels, resorts, hotels, etc. I like to mix it up to keep life interesting. On this trip, nailed it. Stayed right in the heart of the city, walking distance to nearly everything and I highly recommend.
Ask me how I can travel so affordably? I’ll share some tips soon.
First Impression of San Jose del Cabo
It’s stunning. It’s beautiful, and this is the downtown area. There are tons of restaurants, all very unique and different, with friendly waiters and waitresses, and tourists everywhere.
San Jose del Cabo is more laid back than its sister city, Cabo San Lucas. Each city has a different vibe.
Have you been to San Jose del Cabo? Are you wanting to take a trip? What were some of your favorite things to do and see? Drop a comment or question below!
