Los Cabos

Los Cabos is where the Baja peninsula runs out and the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific, and the landscape is unusual for a beach destination: cardón cactus and bare desert mountains running straight down to the water. At Land's End a cluster of granite stacks includes El Arco, a natural arch you can reach only by boat, with a sea lion colony on the rocks beside it. The two towns are quite different, with Cabo San Lucas loud and marina-focused and San José del Cabo keeping a colonial square and an art district, joined by a corridor of resorts. From January to March grey whales arrive after the longest migration of any mammal, and humpbacks pass too, making this one of the most reliable whale coasts anywhere.

What you actually see

• El Arco - the natural granite arch at Land's End, reached by water taxi.
• Whale watching - grey and humpback whales from January to March.
• San José del Cabo - the colonial square and Thursday art walk.
• Playa del Amor - the beach on the sheltered side of Land's End.

When to go

November to May is the dry, pleasant season, with whales from January to March; summer is very hot and the hurricane season runs from about August to October. The Sea of Cortez side is calm for swimming, while much of the Pacific side is not.

Honest expectations

Most of the Pacific-facing beaches have dangerous undertow and are marked as no-swimming, which catches out visitors who assume any beach will do; the Sea of Cortez side is where you actually swim. Water-taxi touts at the marina are persistent and prices are negotiable. It is among the most expensive parts of Mexico.

Nearby

Todos Santos is an hour north; La Paz and the Espíritu Santo island are three hours up the peninsula.