Instead of participating in the Seattle Wedding Show this year, we wanted to take a trip to Cabo San Lucas! I have never been to any part of Mexico and was pretty excited to take a trip and explore what Cabo had to offer. My husband and I stayed in Cabo for 6 days, 5 nights (Sunday - Friday). We separated our time at the Marina and at an all inclusive resort. I read online that Cabo was known for their amazing food and that it wasn't worth the time or money to stay at an all inclusive... because of what I read, I wanted to explore BOTH experiences to see what I believe would be the better option for honeymooners! So here goes...
We first stayed at the OLD Tesoro Hotel, now known as Wyndam. I got a great deal on Cheaptickets.com for $85.00 a night for a Marina View.
The Hotel is the perfect location for couples who want to stay in town. It is in walking distance of EVERYTHING! The hotel was very basic, but it was very affordable so we overlooked that... Our room consisted of 1 king size bed, TV, mini fridge, a small dresser drawer and two side tables. The fridge was stocked with water and soda (NOT FREE). So if you are the type of vacationer who wants to cook up his/her own meal this place is not for you... Food around the Marina is very affordable, there are LOTS of restaurants with LOTS of deals...
After we settled in our hotel room we had an excursion planned to go whale watching. I booked our excursions through http://www.cabosanlucastours.net/. I was so happy that we got to visit Cabo in January during whale season... There are tons of different whale watching boats you can chose from (price range from 33.00usd to 150.00usd), we chose extreme whale watching (63.00usd) because they promised we'd get to see these beautiful creatures up close and personal... and thankfully, they didn't lie.. We had one whale swim right under our boat! Luckily I was able to capture a picture right when she was crossing!
We only stayed at the Marina for 2.5 days and for me, this was plenty of time... We had eaten at 3 different restaurants and had one fun excursion, however I didn't really feel like I was vacationing in Cabo... The Marina is NOT near any beaches and for me, I need a beach in order to feel like I'm on a vacation (strange I know lol)...
I was so HAPPY to go to our next place. The Riu Palace. I like to read reviews on places we visit and the Riu Palace didn't disappoint. As soon as we checked in we were greeted with margaritas! Our room wasn't ready yet so we decided to explore this beautiful hotel. The bar area was definitely my favorite, not because of the drinks, but because it overlooked the water and the two pool areas at the Riu.
I knew right when we got here that we would love it. In my opinion it is the PERFECT place for first timers in Cabo and for honeymooners. It is an all inclusive so you don't have to worry about any additional fees and they have a quiet pool and a party pool to suit whatever need you'd like... Once our room was ready we settled down and headed to find more things to do...
Below the pool areas right on the beach are tours that you can choose from... We chose to go snorkeling around Lovers Beach and Pelican Cove. The water taxi rides are 10.00 pp and snorkeling gear is 10 pp. In my opinion this is not a good place to snorkel. It is VERY congested with water taxi's taking people in and out of the area and you have to be careful you don’t get hit by one! I would suggest going to Chileno Bay... farther out, but clearer waters and not so many people!
The next day we had our Mini Sub excursion! I was very excited to experience this and was very surprised with how affordable it was... 75.00 pp. Oceanus is the company that we went with. We ported at the Marina and took a long boat ride to Chileno Bay. There we got in our mini subs and rode around for 30 minutes. It was VERY TRIPPY seeing the fishes swim past you but an AWESOME experience... after the mini subs we snorkeled around the area and fell in love with the area!
I'm glad we spent our last full day at Cabo doing the mini sub excursion. It was a great experience to end a great mini vacation. Cabo is a beauitful place and very affordable for couples who are on a budget!... There are MANY options and great deals if you search for them!...