What to Do in San Jose del Cabo: The Perfect Winter Getaway
A short distance from the bright lights and Vegas-style atmosphere of Cabo San Lucas is its much cooler sister city - San Jose del Cabo. Needing a quick escape from the frigid January weather in Chicago, we booked four nights at the Cabo Azul Resort in the Baja California region of Mexico almost on a whim. The resort was not all-inclusive, which appealed to us as there were many local restaurants and bars we wanted to visit. Opened recently, the hotel had a “brand-new” vibe and we were surprised to find it relatively empty. Having stayed in similar resorts before, we were impressed with the cleanliness and upkeep, not to mention the free upgrade to a suite with a large balcony. Another plus was proximity to town - from our hotel on the beach, it only took about 10-15 minutes to walk to the center.
Cabo Azul Resort in San Jose del Cabo
Here were our favorite things to do in the Mexican resort town:
Go on a Taco Crawl
Claro Fish Jr. Tacos
Owning an online apparel company, our holiday season is the busiest time of year and by January we are usually in desperate need of relaxation, a place to plop and de-stress. We arrived at the resort in the early afternoon, ate a quick lunch and hit the pool. That evening, we thought a taco crawl would be in order. We slowly made our way into the small town center, stopping along the way for margaritas and what turned out to be our favorite taco place - Claro Fish Jr. We loved it so much we went back again for lunch a few days later, our favorite being the octopus taco. We eventually made it into town and ate a few more tacos at La Lupita, a trendy spot that was packed, even on a Monday night. While we don’t consider ourselves overly adventurous eaters, we did try the cricket appetizer which, if I’m being honest, was pretty flavorless.
Check out Flora Farms and Acre
Over the past several years, San Jose del Cabo has become a trendy mecca for artists and chefs, leading to the creation of two unique establishments - Flora Farms and Acre. Located in the hills outside of town, the former is a compound consisting of a restaurant, bar and grocery, as well as a stretch of culinary cottages where guests can learn how to cook authentic Baja recipes or take painting lessons. Seeing as how we had dinner reservations at Acre, we stopped at Flora for a cocktail beforehand. We spent time wandering around the grounds, enjoying the decor - a mix between chic and modern and the type of vintage furniture that could be found at your grandmother’s house.
Flora Farms Mexico
Flora Farms Restaurant
On the other hand, Acre is the epitome of modern and cool - a self-proclaimed “lush sanctuary” comprised of an upscale restaurant and treehouse lodging. We had read that they offered a free Mezcal tasting and it did not disappoint - the bartender offered several selections and gave us history on the spirit and information on where each type was from. We had decided that this would be our one “splurge” meal so we ordered the 7 course tasting menu. I don’t know if the servers thought we were VIPs or they were just bored, but once the food started coming - it. did. not. stop. I’m talking at least 12 courses...by the time the entrees came, we were so full that we had to tell them to slow it down a bit (something we’ve never done before). All dishes were delicious, especially the ceviche and the skirt steak, all an interesting mix between Mexican and American.
Acre Restaurant San Jose del Cabo
Take a Sunset Sailboat Tour in Cabo San Lucas
The next day, we had booked a sunset sailboat tour in Cabo San Lucas. The company was nice enough to pick us up from our hotel and drive us to the dock in Cabo. The ride itself was wonderful, with an up close look at the famous arch and a beautiful, if hazy, view of the sunset. After the ride, we had made reservations at El Farallon, a gorgeous restaurant right on the water that unfortunately was lacking in the flavor department. It ended up being our least favorite meal of the trip, atmosphere aside.
Cabo San Lucas Arch
Visit the Thursday Night Art Walk
One of the main reasons we chose San Jose del Cabo as our destination was the Thursday night art walks. Every week, the dozens of art galleries in town open their doors to display their current exhibits and dole out wine and cheese to the many tourists. It was a wonderful way to spend our last night in Mexico, wandering from gallery to gallery, exploring the local arts scene and delighting in the colorful musicians playing on the streets. For dinner that night, we chose another local spot - Las Guacamayas Taqueria. We loved everything about this place. Great atmosphere and food - Kevin ordered several tacos and I got the queso fundido.
San Jose del Cabo Art Walk
Enjoy a Beach Day
San Jose del Cabo has beautiful white sand beaches that, at least while we were there, were virtually empty. The beaches on the stretch where we stayed were also quite large, so I’m sure that there would be plenty of room even if it was crowded. I thoroughly enjoyed relaxing with a book on the sandy beach while watching all of the parasailers floating by.