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Villa La Estancia
When traveling to Cabo, our friends always ask us
"So... where are the best places to eat and shop?" This page is dedicated
to them! If you have additional suggestions, please let us know and we'll
add them to this list. By the way, we don't list addresses (as if Cabo had
them!) or phone
numbers -- just see the concierge for reservations and directions! Note: a bunch of helpful information is located on our FAQS page as well, so take a look at the FAQS when you're done with this page!
Cabo Restaurants |
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| Cabo San Lucas - General Cabo is a great town to visit. A desert climate with a beach; it just doesn't get any better than that! There are lots of activities to keep you occupied (plenty of activity vendors on the beach) or, you can just enjoy the sunshine and sip margaritas by the pool. If you're into activities, you can usually get a better deal by calling a vendor directly (or, check out Los Cabos Guide -- see below). The water taxis are fun -- catch them right on the beach in front of Villa La Estancia and check out Lover's Beach. For fishing, we hear that Pochos Charters is a good outfit. www.pochos.com. During a recent girl's trip to Villa La Estancia, Patti's friends tried out the skydiving at Cabo. They pick you up next to Villa La Estancia, take you to the Cabo airport and then tandem-skydive and land right next to Villa La Estancia. Not my cup of tea (why jump out of a perfectly good airplane...), but lots of smiles from those who have done it. A great source for Cabo travel (compare hotels, read user-generated reviews and book airfare) is Tripadvisor: click HERE. Recommended Cabo San Lucas Restaurants <back to top> La Fonda -- a phenomenal traditional
Mexican restaurant with very reasonable prices. A little out of
the way (on Hildalgo Street), but sometimes in Cabo that's a good thing!
Wonderful food; this is the place YOU will tell your friends about.
($$). Edith's -- incredible food and very expensive. Where else in the world can you eat at a five star restaurant, located on a dirt road? Valet parking also... But, we hear the road will be paved soon. ($$$$). Puerto San Lucas -- a true find. Rib-eye and lobster for US$35, with great service and a quiet atmosphere. Located one street north of Pepe's. ($$). Pepe's -- want traditional Mexican at very affordable prices? Pepe's is your place then. Very good food; you'll probably have to experiment with your ordering, but at these prices, who cares? Be adventurous! ($) Zapata's -- next to Pepe's on the main drag. Great fish tacos. A bit more upscale than Pepe's. ($) Arts-and-Sushi -- if you like sushi, then this is a required stop for you. Service and food to-die-for. Located next to the boat ramp in the marina. ($$$) La Golondrina -- sometimes referred to as "The Trailer Park" (which gets confusing, as there are about three "The Trailer Park" restaurants). Just a five minute walk from VLE, La Golondrina has a great ambience (outside, sitting under Palo Verde trees with lights in them) and wonderfully prepared food. The portions are simply amazing (split a plate if you're a light eater). This restaurant is pretty famous in Cabo and reservations are almost a requirement. ($$). Las Gardenias -- Incredible fish and shrimp tacos. About a 10-15 minute walk from Villa La Estancia. Senor Sweets -- Located on the east side of the marina (near the mall), this restaurant is a sensation for the eyes and the taste buds. Their deserts are just incredible and the presentation is excellent. Hey, you're on vacation -- splurge on the calories. ($) Hotel Twin Dolphin -- For fish tacos, we hear that a place called Gordo Lele's is great (corner of Zapata and Vicente Guerroro). Javier, the owner, has been known to put on a blonde wig and sing Beatles tunes. Also, there's a little place downstairs from Cabo Wabo called Taco Loco that is great. For most of the places listed above, we just found a cool little application called Wikimapia. Check it out. Recommended San Jose del Cabo Restaurants
<back to top> El Chilar -- we eat here once or twice during each stay. A little tough to find (be sure to ask the concierge for reservations and directions), but well worth it. Just a great atmosphere with two of the most talented guitarists you may ever hear. ($$$) Zippers -- mile marker 28.5 at the Los Olisas Hotel. Burgers, fries, sandwiches. Our partner at VLE, Shelly, had great things to say about Zippers. Fun Spots <back to top> El Squid Roe -- the standard raucous, loud and steamy nightspot brought to you by Grupo Anderson (the same people who bring you Carlos and Charlies, Senor Frogs and other hotspots). Pancho, the CEO of Entertainment, is a lot of fun, starting at 10pm. If you like to dance, this is the place. The tables are all made of steel -- thick steel -- and there's a reason for it, as people tend to get a bit crazy and start dancing on them (ahem.....). Cabo Wabo -- live music, pretty famous for it's owner, Sammy Hagar, who occasionally wanders in. Giggling Marlin -- lots of audience participation, lots of fun. Mango Deck -- located next to The Office, right on Medano Beach, it gets to be a wild place in the afternoons. Think "spring break" and you'll catch my drift... Your Place! -- Utilizing Browns Private Services, YOUR PLACE is THE PLACE. Browns offers private chef services (amongst a host of other upscale services), turning your kitchen into your own private restaurant. Brown's offers the ultimate in private chef, butler and transportation services. www.brownsprivateservices.com Helpful Hints/Airport Hints <back to top> That Funny Paper that immigration gives you when you arrive and clear immigration -- HOLD ONTO IT! If you lose it, you'll need to buy another to get on your return flight. Total hassle and $50, so tuck it into your passport and then tuck your passport away (you won't need it until you depart). Customs -- upon arriving in Mexico, don't let them bug you about used items for normal everyday use. Used items are duty-free. Additionally, you get a US$300 exemption for new items when entering Mexico. Airport - avoid the gauntlet. After you exit customs/immigration, keep your eyes forward and don't stop until you get outside. In a very annoying situation, timeshare salespeople are crammed inside of yellow booths and act like they're there to help you with your car rental or transportation. What they're really there to do is talk you into a timeshare presentation. Don't stop until you can see sunlight!! Once outside, make your transportation arrangements (actually, they'll drag you back inside to the last booth just before the glass doors -- that's the transport desk). You brought cash, right? This will likely be the first place you'll put it to good use. Airport Shuttle -- $15 each way, per person. It takes a little longer than catching a cab, but the free cervezas on the way will make the time go quicker. To return to the airport, see the concierge the day prior and they'll make sure you're set for a pickup. For not much more, you can also book with TransPacifico and have a Suburban all to yourself. Airport Limo -- TransPacifico offers upscale transportation for US$95 from the airport to Villa La Estancia (up to seven people). This doesn't cost much more than a taxi, so it's a great deal, even for a family of four. This is the real deal -- a nicely dressed chauffeur holding up a sign with your name on it, waiting to whisk you away -- just a great way to start off your vacation. As a bonus, TransPacifico will head to Cabo on the toll road, saving about 15 minutes of travel time. Our renters can save $40 with TransPacifico (discount code supplied with your reservation confirmation). To book with TransPacifico, click here. Rental Cars -- Rental cars aren't cheap in Cabo. Travelocity.com seems to sometimes have good rates on compact cars in Cabo. Be sure to pay for the car with a credit card that covers collision damage and skip getting the expensive collision insurance through the rental car agency. However, be sure to buy liability insurance from them, as your auto policy back home won't cover you in Mexico! Also, beware that your reservation will be in dollars, but your contract will be in pesos; they'll probably make $$ from the self-applied conversion rate, so best to be aware of this. Cheaper Rental Cars and Travel -- when you travel internationally, try booking your rental car in the country you'll be traveling to. For example, rather than booking at www.avis.com (the USA website), try www.avis.com.mx (the Mexican website). Also, the major travel booking engines (Expedia, etc.) have foreign variants where you can also try. If you don't have any luck, try contacting a foreign travel agent and they can usually secure "locals" pricing (and at the same time, charge it to your USA credit card -- which the websites may reject due to it be domiciled in the USA rather than in the country where you're trying to book). Cheaper (yet) Rental Cars -- just prior to your trip, take another look at what rental cars are renting for. Since there's no penalty for canceling a rental car reservation, it doesn't hurt to check and see if the rate has changed. Often, if reservations are on the light side, you'll find car rentals discounted the closer you get to your departure date. Policia -- Speaking of rental cars, you need to know that you may get pulled over for a traffic infraction. The most common is turning the wrong-way onto one of Cabo's many one-way streets. The local cops sit and wait for some unsuspecting Gringo to do this. We've never, ever been hassled, but a buddy got stopped and paid the 200 peso "fine" immediately to the officer. Just be cool, mind your manners, and you won't be paying any fines to anyone. Emergency -- Speaking of rental cars and speaking of Policia, it's worth mentioning that 911 won't get you ANYWHERE in Cabo. In the event of an emergency, 066 is the number to use! If you're at Villa La Estancia, call the operator (0) first. Worse comes to worst, there's a emergency clinic on the four-lane when it first enters Cabo. The official hospital is located across from CCC on the road to Todos Santos. Taxis -- the $300 you'll spend on a small rental car will sure buy a lot of taxi rides. For those trips to Todos Santos, see the concierge and just rent a car for a day (or take a TransCabo tour for $50 each). Yeah, it's a pain paying $10 each way to go to Costco, but $300 will buy a lot of those $10 trips and with a lot more convenience (like being dropped at a restaurant rather than spending 20 minutes searching for a parking space). What do we do? We keep a car in Cabo and know some great parking spots downtown :) Otherwise, we tend to walk the fifteen minutes to downtown in an effort offset the caloric consumption at dinner. By the way, no tip required for taxis (it's built into the price). Colectivo Buses (public transportation) -- These are small white buses that turn around in front of the Villa La Estancia guarded gate. Mainly used by employees of the resort, they come about every 10-15 minutes and will take you across the street from the marina area. Cost is 6 pesos, per person, one-way. You can even catch one that will take you to the CCC/Sorianas shopping area on the road to Todos Santos. How's your spanish? Alaska Airlines -- if you're on the west coast, Alaska Airlines offers many flights to Cabo. And, in one of the best deals going, you can trade 15,000 of their frequent flyer points for a discount of $250 on your ticket (the 'AS50' award). Grab their credit card and get a $50 companion fare once per year (and 20,000 miles for signing up). Departing Cabo -- first of all, leave the booze behind (now you know where our villa's collection of liquor comes from!). You can no longer take it in your carry-on and if you put it in your checked baggage, trust me, it will break. Go ahead -- ask me how I know Kahlua is 90% sugar... However, if you can, pack snacks and water for the airport wait, as the prices are quite high. It used to be that you could take your water to the boarding gate, but no longer true! Now you're stuck paying US$4 for a 1/2 liter of water, so hydrate during the drive to the airport. As far as getting to the airport on time, we usually arrive 1.5 hours prior to the flight and never feel rushed. They're pretty efficient at SJD, at least at the Alaska Airlines check-in counter. USA Customs -- just one last comment and that is.... avoid reentering the USA via LAX (it's okay to leave the USA via LAX though). We've had waits of almost two hours at LAX. The international terminal is just too small (not enough gates), so arriving flights get parked on the ramp (about half-way to San Diego, it seems), where you'll wait... and wait... and wait... for a shuttle bus to take you to customs. There, you'll discover just how many people can fit inside a China Airlines 747... that landed just before you! Then, to top things off, you leave customs (and the international terminal) and have to walk to your next terminal, where you hit security (again) on your way to a connecting domestic flight. Calling the USA: Feel free to use our VOIP phone to call the USA, free of charge. Your friends, family, business associates and enemies can reach you by calling the VOIP phone at its California number (see our Contact page for the numbers; the numbers are also posted in each villa). For calling locally, use the resort phone (but beware, there's a US$1 charge per call -- hint: call the concierge (no charge) and let them do the dialing for arranging reservations and activities. If you're unfortunate enough to NOT stay in our Villa, buy an international calling card BEFORE you leave for Cabo and make sure you know the calling instructions prior to departing. Also, we hear that Senor Sweets (see above) offers free calling to the USA (with purchase). Calling toll-free numbers: American toll-free numbers dialed from Cabo are usually blocked by the local phone companies (who get no revenue from the connection). Anyway, passed on to us is a way to bypass the blocks. For 800 numbers, dial 011-880, then the number; for 866 numbers, 001-883 then the number; for 877 numbers, dial 001-882 then the number and for 888 numbers, dial 001-881 then the number. Of course, if you're staying in our villa just pick up the VOIP line and dial like you're in the USA. Shopping/Groceries <back to top> News Flash 5/15/08: Mexico will now refund the 15% IVA tax you pay at shops in Mexico. Here's an article about the new refund policy: click here Cash and Credit Cards -- most restaurants and stores accept Visa and Mastercard. American Express is also accepted. However, be sure to bring cash with you for those merchants who don't take credit cards. Also, be sure to call your credit card issuer prior to departing for Mexico, just to let them know (it's a total hassle to arrive and find that your cards have been placed on hold due to ever-stringent security at your issuer). We usually take the time in-between flights to make the calls. CCC -- Great locals market, located on the road to Todos Santos (about three miles from Villa La Estancia, on the right side just after the sharp right turn at the light). Great prices on alcohol and groceries. They have fresh tortillas and a bakery. Check out the avocados and also the salsa aisle. Mega -- located at the roundabout in San Jose del Cabo (where the airport toll road heads north from the 4-lane highway). Decent prices and a butcher department that is stocked for Americans. Hint: if you've caught a taxi or CaboConcierge limo from the airport, ask them to stop at Mega so you can do your shopping. It's right on the way and most taxi drivers won't mind the stop (for a few $$ tip). This is the best use of your time! Costco -- if you have a family, be sure to make the required stop here. Sorry, but the meat and seafood are lacking here -- buy your steaks at Mega on the ride in from the airport. They make up for the meat/seafood situation by having great prices on alcohol (and just about everything else). You may notice that your standard "Costco items" are more expensive in Cabo -- just remember you're essentially on an island and it just plain costs more to transport merchandise to Cabo (1000 miles from San Diego). Walmart -- located near Villa La Estancia is the new Walmart Supercenter. Just like in the good 'ole USofA, they have just about anything you want. We gave shopping a try here during our last visit and were pleased to find fair prices and great steaks. A lot more convenient than CCC, but not as extensive a selection. Still, more than enough to stock your villa with provisions. Patti says they have great fresh tortillas. The US$4/lb. rib-eye steaks are fantastic! Pharmacies -- Mega and CCC both have pharmacies. Walmart also. We tend to avoid the small ones downtown, as they have very special "tourist" pricing (which is often higher than USA pricing)! There's also a pharmacy at City Club (below). Be sure to ask if there's a generic version of what you're looking for, as they won't volunteer it and the prices can be worlds apart!! City Club -- a ten minute walk from VLE is City Club, which is a Mexican mini-Costco type of store. Memberships are inexpensive ($2/day) and the prices are okay. They also have a pharmacy, so you can stock up on legit drugs at locals prices. Want to pay for your trip? Need some dental work? -- Angel's Touch, a dentist's office in San Jose del Cabo, offers great dentistry at about 50% of what it costs in the USA. Seriously. www.angelsdental.com While we're on it, Dr. Gonzalez of the Miguelangelo Clinic offers great cosmetic treatments and surgery, including Botox, Fat Filling (Restylane and/or Silicon), facelifts, breast and nose surgery. All at a fraction of the price of USA pricing. You'll return home with all your friends saying "you really look rested!" Los Cabos Guide -- a great reference for Cabo. Joseph Tyson does a heck of a job with this magazine. The maps in the Guide are great (we keep laminated copies in our car). Be sure to check out their voucher program; you'll save 35% at leading restaurants and merchants in the area. www.loscabosguide.com Whale Watching -- if you're lucky enough to visit in February or March, be sure to check out a whale watching trip to one of the calving lagoons north of Cabo (okay, waaayyy north). We visited Laguna San Ignacio and actually were petting the gray whales when they came up to our skiff. It's a life-changing experience when you hit it right. Checklist <back to top> Passport and driver's license (with photocopies
stashed in your luggage) iPod loaded with Jimmy Buffett tunes Costco card (oops, forgot to mention it's good for 25% off purchases at the VLE market) Digital camera Laptop (or, use the on-site internet cafe) Empty lightweight duffel bag -- for carrying your shopping treasures home with you. We even go so far as to stuff it with packing materials (and a roll of tape) for the trip to Cabo, so we can wrap stuff for the ride back. Copies of the CABO and FAQ pages from this website so you don't forget all this stuff!
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