Cabo in January--any kid-friendly excursions?

[SuzieQ521]

Hello:

 

We are taking a NCL cruise that stops in Cabo in mid-January. I have been to Cabo many times before (non-cruise trips) but it will be the first time for my husband and 4 year old son. 

 

I wanted to do a family friendly excursion--probably something on a bigger boat (so no banana boats or tiny boats) that involved whale watching. I was looking at some of the pirate ships but not sure if anyone had any companies they would recommend or anything else that would be family-friendly?  We probably want to stick close to the Marina area, maybe also a boat that goes out to the Arch. 

 

Any good family-friendly restaurant recommendations near the Marina?

 

 Also, is the marina walkable from the tender pier? Thanks!

[SDPadreFan]

For the whale watching, you will probably have to query each catamaran company in Cabo to find out their age restrictions. Pez Gato is our favorite. Others include Searider, La Princesa, Ecocat and Rissalena. All have been in Cabo for many, many years. We have direct experience with both Pez Gato and Searider and both are excellent. But the others I mentioned also have excellent reputations. As you mentioned, there are also the Pirate Ships but I have no direct knowledge of those. The catamarans are very large and safe. I believe Ecocat is the largest, but Searider has a newer one that is probably close to Ecocat in size. The others have catamarans that hold 60 to 80 passengers. There is one other cat called Tropicat but it is just part of the Pez Gato family. Still excellent.

 

Solomons Landing on the marina walk and is very family friendly. We took our grandson there when he was 15 months old and everyone had a great time. He turns 13 in January.

 

Don't really understand your final question. The tender pier is at the far end of the marina walk. You will walk the entire marina walk to get to town. Nice easy walk that takes maybe 10 minutes. Perhaps a little longer with a 4 year old in tow.

[SDPadreFan]

Should also mention that all of the catamarans will include a pass by the Arch and also the sea lion colony rock so no need to book a separate trip.

[SDPadreFan]

The sea lions aren't always on their rock, but usually are there. Not sure where else they go but sometimes they are gone.

[SuzieQ521]

Thanks for your recommendations above.

 

I really like the tours that Cabo San Lucas Tours (la princesa) offers for Pirate and whale watching but many begin at Noon. Our ship (NCL) is not scheduled for Port until 11 am. 

 

Given the time needed to disembark and tender, what is the earliest you would schedule a boat tour?

 

Thanks!

[SDPadreFan]

Noon would be cutting it close unless you can be on one of the first tenders (AND the ship arrives on time). You don't have to walk very far (probably less than 10 minutes from the tender pier). Generally - the tours like you to be there at least 15 minutes early. The tender ride is only 10-15 minutes, but it all adds up. And obviously priority for tender seats will go first to ship sponsored excursions and passengers in suites and/or status holders with NCL. Your best option may be a ship sponsored excursion. If you are doing the 5 day cruise on NCL - get your outdoor fun time on the first full sea day. Once you leave Cabo, you will be heading home smack into the southbound Alaskan

current and the southbound winds. It will be noticeably rougher and much windier heading north. You may not find time up on the pool deck that enjoyable unless your ship has a covered pool deck. It's just the nature of a Mexican Riviera cruise. South of Cabo is not so bad. We will be on Carnival Panorama in just 2 weeks. This will be our 6th Mexican Riviera cruise because we really enjoy West Coast cruising.

 

Wish you the best.

[SuzieQ521]

21 hours ago, SDPadreFan said:

Noon would be cutting it close unless you can be on one of the first tenders (AND the ship arrives on time). You don't have to walk very far (probably less than 10 minutes from the tender pier). Generally - the tours like you to be there at least 15 minutes early. The tender ride is only 10-15 minutes, but it all adds up. And obviously priority for tender seats will go first to ship sponsored excursions and passengers in suites and/or status holders with NCL. Your best option may be a ship sponsored excursion. If you are doing the 5 day cruise on NCL - get your outdoor fun time on the first full sea day. Once you leave Cabo, you will be heading home smack into the southbound Alaskan

current and the southbound winds. It will be noticeably rougher and much windier heading north. You may not find time up on the pool deck that enjoyable unless your ship has a covered pool deck. It's just the nature of a Mexican Riviera cruise. South of Cabo is not so bad. We will be on Carnival Panorama in just 2 weeks. This will be our 6th Mexican Riviera cruise because we really enjoy West Coast cruising.

 

Wish you the best.

Thanks very much, especially good tip about doing outdoor fun (lots of it on our ship...hopefully weather is warm-ish) on the first sea day. We are doing the 5 day cruise, first stop Cabo, last stop Ensenada.

 

Have a nice cruise!

[New2cruise2022]

On 11/13/2022 at 2:16 PM, SuzieQ521 said:

Thanks very much, especially good tip about doing outdoor fun (lots of it on our ship...hopefully weather is warm-ish) on the first sea day. We are doing the 5 day cruise, first stop Cabo, last stop Ensenada.

 

Have a nice cruise!

I’m headed on the same cruise on Jan 22. Would love to hear about your experience in Cabo as I will have a few teenagers in tow. 

[SuzieQ521]

3 hours ago, New2cruise2022 said:

I’m headed on the same cruise on Jan 22. Would love to hear about your experience in Cabo as I will have a few teenagers in tow. 

It's been a few years since my last trip there (not via ship) but Cabo is beautiful, especially because it's where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific. The Arch is one of the highlights (as is Lovers Beach) and a lot of people do the glass bottom boat thing. The marina which is where the cruise ships get off has restaurants, shops and I believe even a mall (at least they used to). The area where all the vendors are is walkable from the Marina if you're interested in shopping. 

 

If you want to do anything like ATV (did that years ago which was very cool) that's a distance away so you will need to go with the tour bus. 

 

San Jose del Cabo is a bit of a more authentic feel but that's probably a 30 minute drive. There's a stretch of road between downtown Cabo and San Jose del Cabo called "el corridor".

 

Not sure if there's time with our stop but Todos Santos is a town about 50 miles away, very quaint, where the famous Hotel California is.

 

Enjoy your cruise!