Is Cabo Expensive? How Much to Budget For Your Trip

So you’re planning a vacation to Cabo. But there’s one question niggling at you… Is Cabo expensive to visit?

Short answer? Yes.

Los Cabos is widely considered the most expensive vacation destination in Mexico.

You can easily splash out on a $2,000-a-night resort, dine at celebrity-chef restaurants and charter your own yacht. Heck, one of the more surprising facts is just how pricey it is compared with many other places around the world!

But don’t let this scare you off.

We’ve been vacationing in (and writing about) Cabo for years, and we’ve learned quite a few tips and tricks for keeping costs under control.

Because while Cabo can get pretty spend-y fast, how much your Cabo vacation costs depends largely on how you do it.

Note: Dollar prices below are in USD.

There are a few reasons Cabo commands such high prices.

1) Cabo is hugely popular

Stunning beaches, reliably sunny weather, whales in winter, world-class golf, a foodie-worthy restaurant scene and some pretty fabulous day trips make Los Cabos an easy sell.

In 2025, almost 3.8 million visitors came to Los Cabos, with more than 4 million expected to visit by the end of 2026.

All that demand helps keep prices high – especially during the peak winter season.

2) Cabo is easy to get to

For North American travelers, Cabo is an easy warm-weather escape.

If you live on the west coast, it’s barely a hop, skip and a jump. Okay, it’s a little more…

But flying times to Los Cabos International Airport (SJD) are pretty painless:

• Los Angeles – About 2½ hours
• Dallas – About 3 hours
• Vancouver – About 4½ hours
• Atlanta – About 4½ hours

There are also plenty of nonstop flights from major U.S. and Canadian cities.

That easy access – particularly from California and other western states – is another reason Cabo attracts so many visitors.

3) Most goods have to be shipped in

Look at a map and you’ll see the problem.

Los Cabos sits right at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, separated from mainland Mexico by the Sea of Cortez.

Many goods and supplies have to travel a long way to get here, adding transportation and distribution costs.

(Still, if you’re coming from a major city like NYC, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Chicago, prices in Cabo are often less than what you’re used to paying back home.)

4) Cabo has gone big on luxury

This is probably the biggest reason.

Los Cabos isn’t trying to compete with Mexico’s cheapest beach destinations.

Four Seasons, Waldorf Astoria, One&Only, Montage, Rosewood, Auberge and Ritz-Carlton Reserve are just some of the luxury names you’ll find here.

In fact, about 80% of Los Cabos’ hotel inventory is now in the five-star category.

So when you search for somewhere to stay and wonder why you’re seeing so many $700, $1,000 and $1,500+ rooms, that’s partly because Cabo has an unusually high concentration of upscale resorts.

5) Los Cabos is chasing quality

Cabo’s upscale positioning isn’t accidental.

Mass tourism isn’t the goal. The Los Cabos Tourism Board is explicitly focusing on quality over quantity. They want high-end tourism – and visitors with the budget to match.

This is where things get tricky.

There’s no particularly useful “average Cabo trip cost,” because you can spend wildly different amounts.

Your three biggest variables are:

• Accommodation – A simple hotel or a $2,000-a-night resort?
• Food and drink – Taco joints or farm-to-table dinners with wine?
• Activities – Beach days and water taxis or private yacht charters?

Still, the following ballpark figures should help with your Cabo vacation budget.

Inexpensive Cabo vacation ($1,000 to $1,5000 p.p.)

Excluding airfare, we’d budget roughly $1,000 to $1,500 per person for a week if two people are sharing a room.

We’re not talking hostel beds and instant noodles.

You can stay at a decent inexpensive hotel with A/C and a private washroom, go for cheap eats and throw in a couple of inexpensive activities.

Depending on where you’re coming from – and whether you score a seat sale – you could even squeeze airfare into this budget.

Mid-range Cabo vacation ($1,500 to $3,500 p.p.)

For a more comfortable trip, figure on around $1,500 to $3,500 per person for a week, again excluding airfare and assuming two people share a room.

This could cover a stay at a nice hotel, meals at a mix of casual and better restaurants, Ubers or taxis, and several paid activities.

Luxury Cabo vacation ($4,000+ p.p.)

This is where Cabo can blow a hole in your wallet.

If you’re going full luxury, expect to pay upwards of $4,000 each for a week, i.e., $8,000 per couple (excluding airfare).

And that’s just the starting point. Swank hotels and top-notch dining can really jack up the cost.

Cabo hotel prices

Hotels in Cabo are your biggest expense.

And prices are all over the map.

According to the Los Cabos Tourism Trust, the average hotel price in Cabo is now $570 a night (as reported here). That high figure reflects Cabo’s increasingly upscale hotel scene, where luxury and ultra-luxury resorts make up a huge chunk of the market.

Certainly, when we’ve looked for beautiful beach hotels in Los Cabos, we’ve had a hard time finding ones for less than $500 a night.

Booking.com’s 2026 nightly averages for Cabo San Lucas paint a more nuanced picture:

• $120 – For a 3-star hotel
• $125 – For a 4-star hotel
• $460 – For a 5-star hotel
• $650 – For a luxury hotel

We also have scouted out a few delightful boutique hotels for $200 to $300 (just not on the beach).

So what you pay depends enormously on where you stay.

Rooms at top resorts like the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal and One&Only Palmilla can easily start at $1,000+ a night – and climb to $3,500 a night or more.

And if you want a suite or casita with a private pool, butler, space galore and maybe your own screening room (you’re a Hollywood celebrity, right?), the sky’s the limit.

Cheap hotel rates

On the other hand, we’ve found attractive but downright cheap hotels in downtown Cabo San Lucas for around $90 to $120 a night at quieter times of year.

Likewise, some cool little boutique hotels in San Jose del Cabo – like Six Two Four Hotel and Marisol Boutique Hotel can be had for just over $100 a night.

Hotel prices change with the season

When you visit makes a big difference too.

You’ll generally pay the most during the prime winter months and around Christmas and New Year’s. Late summer and early fall can bring much better hotel deals.

See our guide to the best time to visit Cabo for more on Cabo’s seasons.

As with hotels, all-inclusive prices vary hugely.

For two adults, you can sometimes find a good all-inclusive for around $400 to $600 a night.

For example, the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos was showing rates in that higher ballpark in 2026 for 2 people sharing a room.

And a junior suite at the Paradisus Los Cabos (one of Cabo’s top adults-only all-inclusive resorts) runs around $650 in high season.

Move into the ultra-luxury category and it’s a different story. Grand Velas Los Cabos was recently pricing at around $1,500 a night for two. (We loved our stay here – see our in-depth review.)

Then again, at the other end of the price scale, the sprawling high-energy Hotel Riu Santa Fe can be had for a wallet-friendly $330 a night per couple in high season.

So for an all-inclusive in Cabo, we’d budget roughly:

• $300 to $400 – Budget-friendly mega resort
• $400 to $600 a night – More affordable upscale resorts
• $600 to $1,000+ a night – Higher-end resorts
• $1,500+ a night – Ultra-luxury all-inclusives

Of course, you’re getting meals, drinks and many resort activities bundled into that price, so it isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison with a regular hotel.

Groceries

If you’re staying in a condo or somewhere with a kitchen, buying groceries and preparing some of your own meals can knock a decent chunk off your vacation costs.

You’ll find large supermarkets like Walmart, Chedraui, Soriana and La Comer in Los Cabos, along with smaller local grocery stores.

The cost of living in Cabo is generally less than what it costs to live in the United States or Canada – your grocery bills could be at least 25% less.

But imported products, wine and specialty items can be expensive, so don’t assume everything will cost less than it does back home.

Cabo restaurant prices

As a rough guide:

• $20 to $35 – For a main course at a casual sit-down restaurant
• $50 to $70+ – For steak, lobster and dishes at upscale restaurants

Then if you add an appetizer, drinks and possibly dessert, you’re looking at anywhere from $100 to $200 and upwards for dinner for 2 people.

Cabo’s farm-to-table restaurants are firmly in splurge territory. We find it hard to keep our dinner bill for two under $175 at El Huerto and Acre (especially as we like wine, and a glass goes for $20 to $35 here).

Tacos are still your budget-friendly friend

Cabo has some fantastic inexpensive Mexican food. And we can never resist a great taco.

You’ll find some of the best tacos in Cabo at:

• Gardenias – One of our longtime favorites for fish and shrimp tacos
• Las Guacamayas – Small spot specializing in tacos al pastor (tacos made with shaved pork from a rotating spit, pineapples and onions)
• La Lupito Taco & Mezcal – The trendier (and pricier) option if you want creative tacos washed down with hibiscus mezcalitas

Mix some taco nights with your other dinners, and your Cabo food budget starts looking much friendlier.

How expensive is transportation in Cabo?

The public bus

The public Ruta del Desierto bus is the cheapest way to get around Los Cabos. Local buses run between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, with stops along the Tourist Corridor.

The cost for a ride between the two towns is 49 MXN (about $2.70). You can’t complain about that!

Taxis are convenient, but they’re one of the pricier ways of getting around.

• $10 to $20 – For a short taxi ride within Cabo San Lucas
• $60 or more – For travel between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo
• $90 to $115 – For travel between the airport and Cabo San Lucas

Always confirm the fare before getting in.

To get from the Los Cabos International Airport (SJD) to our resort, we pre-arrange a transfer with one of the reputable airport transportation services in Cabo.

These services are much more popular than taxis. It’s easy, you know what you’ll pay and someone is waiting for you when you arrive.

Shared shuttles are the cheapest option, while private SUVs and vans obviously cost more.

We’ve done a ton of research and tried out many different Cabo transfer companies over the years.

A private one-way airport transfer to hotels in Cabo San Lucas generally runs between $80 and $100+ (for up to 4 or 5 people) – with rates varying according to the service, vehicle and exact destination.

• Cheapest one-way shared shuttle – $18 p.p. from the airport to your Cabo San Lucas accommodation (with Grayline Los Cabos)
• Cheapest round-trip shared shuttle – $43.08 p.p. for a return airport shuttle to Cabo San Lucas and back to the airport (with EPIC Cabo)
• Best (and cheapest) private round-trip transfer – $180 (for up to 5 passengers) for a return SUV airport transfer to Cabo San Lucas and back (with Cabo Airport Shuttle)

Cost of Uber in Cabo

Yes, Uber operates in Los Cabos. And it’s often much cheaper (and more pleasant!) than taking a taxi.

For example, the cost of an Uber between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo is usually between $40 to $45.

But taxi drivers see Uber as a threat to their business, so there are a couple of catches.

• Hotel pickups may be tricky – Some resorts don’t allow Uber drivers to pick you up right at the lobby entrance. You may have to walk to the main road or a designated pickup point to hop in.
• There are no pickups at SJD – Uber drivers aren’t allowed to pick up arriving passengers at the international airport. (An Uber driver can, however, drop you off at SJD when you’re flying home.)

Cabo car rental prices

If you want to explore beyond the resort areas on your own, renting a car in Cabo is a great idea. We like to get one for the day when making a road trip to Todos Santos, for example.

But don’t be fooled by super-low advertised rates.

Mexican car rentals can come with insurance requirements and additional charges that make the final cost much higher than the headline price. Compare the total price including the insurance you need, not simply the advertised daily rate.

For some of the cheapest rates, check out Discover Cars. This site compares rental prices from reputable car rental agencies to come up with the best rates.

This is another “how long is a piece of string?” question. You can spend very little or a lot.

One of the cheapest (and most fun!) classic Cabo experiences is taking a water taxi or glass-bottom boat out to Land’s End to see the Arch – for just $20 a person.

At the opposite extreme, private boat tours can cost between $700 to $1,500 (and upwards!), depending on the boat and length of the charter.

For many organized excursions, $75 to $150 per person is a reasonable amount to budget. Activities like ziplining, guided hikes, snorkeling cruises, camel rides and ATV adventures often fall somewhere around this range, though premium and private experiences cost more.

How much should you tip in Cabo?

Don’t forget tips when working out your spending money for Cabo.

Tipping in Cabo is customary, and the norms are fairly similar to those in the U.S. and Canada.

At restaurants and bars, 15% (up to 20%) is standard for good service. Before adding a tip, though, check your bill to make sure a service charge hasn’t already been included.

It’s also nice to leave your cleaning maid, bell staff, drivers and other service workers a little something.

Is Cabo more expensive than Cancun?

Generally, yes.

Both are popular Mexican beach hotspots, but Cabo tends to skew more upscale. Cancun has a wider range of hotels and all-inclusive resorts at different price points, making it easier to vacation there for less.

Of course, where you stay and how you travel can change the equation.

If you’re deciding between the two, see our detailed Cabo vs. Cancun comparison.

More tips for traveling to Cabo