How to Get Around Cabo: 8 Ways from Bus to Uber

Beautiful beaches, world-class spas, snorkeling and diving,  whale watching in winter and championship golf – Los Cabos sure packs a lot into one sun-soaked corner of Mexico!

But once you’ve booked your flights and started planning your Cabo vacation, there’s the practical question: How do you get around in Los Cabos?

How do you get from the airport to your hotel? Can you walk most places? Should you rent a car? And what about Uber, taxis and the local bus?

We visit Cabo frequently. We’ve taken the local bus, hopped into countless taxis and Ubers, enjoyed umpteen tours and walked pretty well everywhere in the two main towns of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo.

So we know what works best and what can be a hassle. Here, we share our firsthand tips on airport transfers, traveling between the two towns and exploring farther afield.

Walking from Medano Beach to downtown

If you’re staying at a resort on Medano Beach (Cabo’s most popular swimming beach), you can easily walk to downtown Cabo San Lucas.

Depending on where you’re staying along the beach, it takes anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes or so to reach the marina and downtown area.

Walking along the Tourist Corridor

The 20-mile Tourist Corridor connecting Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo is not walkable in the same sense as the two towns are.

Resorts and attractions are spread out along Hwy 1 (which runs along the Tourist Corridor), so you’ll need transportation.

2) How to get around Cabo by public bus

If you’re looking for the cheapest way to get around Los Cabos, the public bus is hard to beat.

The Ruta del Desierto buses – easy to spot in purple and orange – run between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo along the Tourist Corridor. They also serve the Los Cabos International Airport (SJD).

We’ve taken the bus many times, especially to go from Cabo San Lucas to the San Jose del Cabo Art Walk.

It’s not the fastest or most comfortable way to get around. But the buses run frequently and they’re safe and inexpensive:

• Between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo – 49 pesos (around $2.70 USD) p.p.
• To or from the airport – 110 pesos (about $6.10 USD) p.p.

For maximum freedom, nothing beats having your own wheels.

We usually rent a car in Los Cabos for at least a few days each time we visit.

It makes it easy to explore beyond the two main towns, discover different beaches and take day trips without being tied to tour schedules. We’ve used Discover Cars to compare deals from car rental companies like Avis, Enterprise and National.

Where can you go?

With a rental car, you can:

• Beach-hop – Check out Playa Palmilla or go snorkeling on your own at Santa Maria Bay.
• Visit Todos Santos – Wander around the charming Pueblo Magico of Todos Santos and explore its Pacific beaches.
• Take a day trip – Enjoy all sorts of other great day trips from Cabo, from Los Barriles on the East Cape to La Paz.

Driving around Los Cabos is generally straightforward (though we’re not going to pretend the local drivers are always the safest).

Hwy 1 along the Tourist Corridor is well-maintained. But be forewarned: It’s busy, and the locals drive fast.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Use GPS – Road signs aren’t always as clear or plentiful as you might expect.
• Take care when merging – Traffic moves quickly on Hwy 1, so give yourself plenty of room
• Be cautious driving at night – We prefer to avoid late-night driving, particularly on weekends and holidays, when there may be more impaired drivers on the road.
• Avoid rural highways after dark – Wandering livestock can be a genuine hazard outside the main towns. Yep, cows on the highway after dark really are a thing!

Taxis are plentiful and available 24/7.

You can’t miss them. In Cabo San Lucas, taxi vans are typically blue or green; in San Jose del Cabo, they’re red and yellow.

They’re a safe and convenient way for getting around Cabo San Lucas (and all over Los Cabos).

The downside? Cabo taxis are expensive.

A ride between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, roughly a 35- to 40-minute drive in light traffic, typically costs about $60 to $70 USD.

Here are a few other things to know:

• Finding a taxi – Flag one down, pick one up at a taxi stand or ask your hotel or restaurant to call one.
• No meters – Taxis don’t use meters, so always ask the fare up front.
• Cash is king – Most local taxis don’t take credit cards, so bring cash. Both Mexican pesos and U.S. dollars are widely accepted, though you may get a better exchange rate using MXN.
• Watch the fare – Prices can vary. Some cab drivers try to overcharge tourists, so be aware and confirm the price before you ride.

We personally don’t take taxis much, as we find other ways of getting around in Cabo better – and often cheaper.

5) Uber in Cabo

Uber operates in Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, and we find it one of the easiest ways of getting around Los Cabos.

In our experience, the drivers are always courteous, the cars are clean and the wait for a ride is usually short.

When we stock up on groceries at the Selecto Super Chedraui grocery store in the Puerto Paraiso Mall, we regularly Uber back to our Medano Beach accommodation. The ride usually costs us about $7 USD (plus tip).

To go out for dinner at night in Cabo San Lucas, we might have to pay about $10.

A few things to know about Uber here:

• Cost between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo – An Uber ride typically costs around $40 to $45 between these two towns.
• Fares fluctuate – Check the Uber app for the current price before booking. Evening and night-time rates are often more.
• Airport drop-offs – Uber is allowed to drop you off at the international airport.
• Airport pick-ups – Rideshare drivers aren’t authorized to pick up passengers at the airport. We recommend pre-booking a shared shuttle or private transfer to get you from the airport to your hotel (see #6 below).
• Some resorts restrict Uber pick-ups – Your resort may not allow an Uber driver to pick you up at the lobby. You might need to walk to the resort entrance or outside the property to meet your ride. Drop-offs are okay, though.

6) Transportation to and from the Cabo airport

How do you get from the airport to your hotel – and back again?

One of our best travel tips for Cabo is to pre-book an airport transfer service.

It’s typically cheaper than taking a taxi (which costs roughly $90 to $115 for a one-way ride from the airport to Cabo San Lucas). Plus, you’ll have a driver waiting for you when you arrive in Cabo.

Types of airport transfers

You have two choices:

• Shared shuttle – You’ll share the ride, typically with up to 8 to 10 passengers. You may have to wait 30 minutes or so at the airport for other travelers. And unless yours is the first stop, you might stop at a few other hotels along the way (usually no more than three other stops). But it’s the cheapest option for one or two people.
• Private transfer – Your vehicle is just for you and your group, so you’ll head straight to your hotel (no waiting around at the airport). Many private services throw in perks like cold bottled water, refreshing towels and even beer with deluxe transfers.

For three people, a private transfer still costs more on a per-person basis than a shared shuttle. But for four or more, a private transfer often makes more sense.

Rates vary, depending on where you’re staying in Los Cabos. San Jose del Cabo is closest to the airport, so transfers there are cheaper than those to Cabo San Lucas.

Take a water taxi to the Arch

You’ve heard about Land’s End, right?

It’s one of Cabo’s most famous landmarks, marking the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula. Here, dramatic rock formations rise up from the sea, including the natural stone arch known as El Arco. You don’t want to miss seeing it!

You can’t walk or drive to Land’s End. So unless you fancy paddling there by kayak or SUP, you need to hop aboard a boat to see the Arch up close.

Dozens of wooden water taxis and glass-bottom boats buzz between the Cabo San Lucas Marina and Land’s End, turning the ride into a fun mini-sightseeing cruise.

Take a water taxi to Medano Beach

Water taxis also shuttle between the Cabo San Lucas Marina and Medano Beach.

They’re particularly handy if you’re visiting Cabo on a cruise. The cruise tender pier is located at the far south end of the marina, so instead of walking all the way around to Medano Beach, you can hop in a water taxi and turn the transfer into part of the fun.

Expect to pay roughly $10 to $15 p.p. each way.

One of the things we love about Cabo is its dramatic mix of desert and sea. You’ve got a cacti-studded landscape backed by rugged mountains, along with a sun-soaked coastline, sandy beaches and clear turquoise water.

That combination opens the door to all sorts of fun and unique activities in Cabo.

We’ve done everything from riding a camel in the desert to hiking in the Canyon of the Fox.

And here’s the handy part when it comes to transportation: Most guided tours include round-trip hotel pick-up and drop-off.

So if you only want to venture farther afield once or twice, you can simply book a couple of tours and let someone else do the driving. No rental car required!

It’s a good idea to book your must-do tours in advance, especially during Cabo’s busy winter season, as popular excursions fill up.

Both Viator and GetYourGuide are reputable booking platforms that we use ourselves. Many of the same Cabo tours are offered on both, so it’s worth comparing prices, departure times and cancellation terms.

See some more of our Cabo travel guides

• What to Know about Renting a Car in Cabo
• 12 Fun Sunset Cruises
• Cabo’s Cheapest Airport Transfer: The Public Bus!
• How to Plan the Perfect Los Cabos Vacay
• We’ve Sussed Out Cabo’s Top Private Chefs!
• Jellyfish in Cabo? How to Avoid Stings
• 19 Cool Things to Do in Cabo Beyond the Usual
• Whale Watching? See These Top Tours!