SDPadreFan

If you want a more traditional experience, there is a place called Lolo's Spa that is near the Tesoro Hotel right on the Marina Walk. Never been there but understand that it is supposed to be good. Our go-to place is called Eden's Spa but it is not close (probably 20-30 min walk) or about $12-$15 by taxi. For us, it's worth it and it's the place we go during our annual timeshare week in Cabo (and also on cruises)

Will also say that they can get sold out when ships are in port, so you either want to get there first, or pre-book an appt.

Understand that the Sand Bar is a NON-PRIVATE massage. It's nice, and high quality, but you probably won't want to get completely nekid. IE; it's a group setting on the upper deck at the Sand Bar with an open view to the bay.

I think that would be the right call. At Medano Beach you could find yourself in knee-deep and the swells "could" come up to your waist. Not unusual to see someone loose their balance in the swells and take a full on dip. Hope the sea lions are on their stinky rock out at the arch (they normally are). Your kids will love that.

My understanding is there are no "private beaches" in Mexico. The government does allow beach businesses (resorts, restaurants, bars, etc.) to cordon off a small area for their guests use, but I don't think they actually own the beach.

All of the beach bars/restaurants will have chairs/loungers/umbrellas free to use as long as you are eating/drinking (not constantly). So have lunch and a couple beverages, then maybe a small afternoon snack and you should be good to go. "The Office At The Beach" used to be a standout (back in the early 2000's) but now it's just pretty much like all the others. Mango Deck has more of a party crowd atmosphere. We like "The Sand Bar" now. They have the advantage of having an upper deck that offers NON-PRIVATE massages for a really good price. Many years ago - the Sand Bar had a deal "Get Hammered while you get Nailed" = Alcohol+Pedicure. Not sure if they still have that. No towels however, you will have to bring your own. Amazon sells these thin microfiber towels in bath sheet size. Very compact and will work in a pinch. The NCL board can probably tell you about shipboard towels.

This area right here is where the hawkers will take you to get a taxi or pedicab, or you can walk it yourself. https://goo.gl/maps/M2LdpqNNuWwAYVDr6 The pedicabs may only get you close to the beach area because the areas around the beach bars/restaurants are kind of hilly. Cabs could get you closer. https://goo.gl/maps/3QKDayzfDKZRBvhA8

Right after you leave the tender pier (control area), there will be hawkers offering you virtually every service. But if you like, walk around the Marina walk for a bit (it's wide, smooth, and flat). You'll get to see all the fishing boats as well as some very nice yachts. There will also be taxi's, etc at the end. Figure about a 15 minute walk (longer if you stop to look at things). https://goo.gl/maps/yEhUZBBeaYgujhZm6

Not really necessary for small purchases. American dollars will work just fine (ABSOLUTELY NO AMERICAN COINS). Smaller bills are your best choice (1's, 5's, 10's). You will lose a little on each transaction because most small businesses will give you an exchange rate less than the official rate. A peso is worth about a nickel so you could lose 5-10 cents on every dollar you spend. Just consider it as a transaction (or convenience fee) because those shopkeepers have to make weekly/daily trips to the bank to convert your American dollars to peso's.

Both are an option. Guessing @ $12 for a regular taxi (each way). FYI - cabs are very high in Cabo. The taxi cartel controls the city.

Using U.S. cash in Mexico is fine, but there is a small disadvantage. When you pay for something in dollars, most small businesses will give you a slightly less favorable exchange rate in converting to pesos. So if the official exchange rate is say 19.50 pesos to 1 dollar, the business might exchange your dollars at say 19 or 18.50 per dollar. So you lose a little on that side of the transaction. Then - when you get change, 99.9% of the time you will be getting pesos back at the same lower exchange rate so you lose a little more. It's not a big deal when you are just there for a day, but if you are there for a week or longer, then it can start to add up. We always try to pay in a countries currency (pesos in this case) as a sign of respect. We are fortunate to live less than 25 miles from the border so it's easy to get pesos. Also know that Mexico uses the same $ that we use so a $200 price on a t shirt probably is in pesos (@ $11 US).

Thank you for keeping it real. I'm wiping tears from my eyes you had me laughing so hard. You could do a standup routine in Carnivals comedy club.

Also realize that they are recovering from COVID too. No income for a long time and they want to feed their families.

Just realize, that if you are trying to negotiate a one way fare FROM Lover's Beach, the boat operator will have the upper hand in negotiation.

See post #8. When first going to Lover's Beach, you can negotiate a round trip price that ends at Medano Beach (you will have to remember your driver and boat because they all look pretty similar). You will pick a set time for pickup (only pay half the fare). The other option is to catch one of the loitering water taxis when you are ready to leave. New fare, new price.

Nancy is correct. You should make 1 right turn after you exit the cruise ship control area and the first couple of docks have the big catamarans. Don't forget to have $2 each to enter the dock area for SunRider. It's not part of the tour cost and is collected seperately by the Marina Authority.

Always happy to help. We love cruising the Mexican Riviera and we also have a timeshare in Cabo that we spend a week or two at every year. Been there every year since 2002 (even the COVID years). Our timeshare is on the Pacific Ocean side just south of lighthouse mountain. When we are there in Oct/Nov timeframe, we sit on our balcony in the morning enjoying our coffee and watching the cruise ships sail by. It's a tough job.

OK, so now the map link I sent shows Breathless and RIU and not ME Cabo. ME Cabo is close to "The Office" that is shown on the map link.

Not recommendations per se, but some information. Breathless Cabo San Lucas I'm pretty sure does. ME Cabo on Medano Beach "might" offer day passes. RIU Palace does offer day passes but the cab ride there and back would be pricy. And no ocean swimming at RIU Palace (just the pool). You could probably walk to either ME Cabo or Breathless but the road to Breathless had a lot of construction activity on it this past November. I would contact the resorts directly do find out about day passes. https://goo.gl/maps/A28Asz3JqCy3JFvq9 Hard to show all 3 resorts on this map but the RIU is all the way in the upper right hand corner.

Agree that Cabo is best for whale watching (my opinion). Not really crazy about the dolphin encounters because we're talking Mexico here. Another option for PV would be the Las Caletas excursion. A little pricy but absolutely outstanding. YouTube has videos. Mazatlan would be good for a beach day at Stone Island (not a true island). Not great, but certainly serviceable. No excursion required for this one.

I agree with Bruce that snorkeling at the 3 cruise ports is not the best. It really can't compete with Hawaii or the Caribbean. So it's OK, but just OK. BUT - if you ever do a land tour to the Los Cabos region, there is a WORLD CLASS dive and snorkel spot called CABO PULMO. Generally speaking, you are looking at an overnight trip to experience everything Cabo Pulmo can offer.

Return trip water taxis FROM Medano Beach. Just know that to do this, you do have to haul yourself out of the water and into the boat. There is no ladder. There will normally be a couple of locals hanging out nearby to assist you. But remember they are simply working for tips and they need to feed their family too.

There will always be a couple of water taxis hanging out at Lovers Beach. Important to know. There are NO FACILITIES at Lovers Beach. It's really just a small beach that a few people will hang out at.

Getting to the dock is pretty easy. From the tender pier you would just walk along the marina boardwalk till you got to the correct dock. There may be a small additional fee to enter that particular dock area. It's just a small additional fee the marina charges each user/guest to help maintain the marina and the docks. As far as getting a reply from SunRider, it's possible they have a contract with the cruise company. Perhaps try EcoCat and see what they say. They may not offer lunch but they will have full size bathrooms. Can always grab lunch at one of several great marina restaurants. Our favs are Solomons Landing and Tiki Bar but Captain Tony's is also supposed to be great.

Like Bruce said and I can completely agree. I wouldn't book a whale watch tour in April. Jan/Feb is really the best.