Your Keys to Cabo

FRIDAY

Morning
The best way to see Cabo’s barren, cacti-speckled landscape is from the back of a horse, so saddle up with My Cabo Experience; hour-long excursions start at 8 a.m. Alternatively, channel Laurence of Arabia on a camel safari through the Baja desert with Cabo Adventures; tours last 4.5 hours.

Afternoon
The waters off Cabo San Lucas are teeming with mahi-mahi, tuna, yellowtail and marlin (some weigh up to 600 pounds), so if fishing’s your thing, charter a boat for a few hours and see what you can hook. Or, swap the (relatively) small fry for whopping whales. Winter and early spring is whale-watching season, when you have a good chance of spotting humpback and gray whales breach.

Evening
About 35 minutes from downtown Cabo San Lucas, the sleepy town of San Jose Del Cabo offers authentic Mexican culture and art. Alvaro Obregon Street is lined with galleries: La Sacristia, which sells pottery and silver jewelry, is the must-visit. Next, snag a table at the La Panga Antigua restaurant and order the ahi tuna with honey, rosemary, guajillo pepper over squash blossom and corn kernel rice. Then, move onto the low-key Tequila Restaurant, a local fave — and remember, this is Mexico, so sip your tequila, don’t shoot.

SATURDAY

Morning
Kick off the day with a guided kayak trip on the luminous Sea of Cortez, from Santa Maria Bay to Tortuga Bay. Here, lace up your hiking shoes and embark on a 45-minute trek up the craggy granite formations, past endemic flora such as cardon and old man cacti. Take in jaw-on-the-floor vistas of the arid Sonoran Desert scenery before continuing your kayak excursion to Chileno Beach, where calm waters and excellent visibility yield favorable snorkeling conditions: you’ll see Moorish idols, parrotfish, pufferfish, sergeant fish and more.

Afternoon
If there’s one thing Cabo knows how to do, it’s pamper — see for yourself by spending this afternoon chillaxing at a spa with a view. Our favorite treatments include the two-hour Baja Herbal Infusion treatment at Las Ventanas al Paraiso, which starts with a moonflower Flor de Luna scrub and ends with a restorative rubdown, and Esperanza Resort’s 90-minute sun-baked stone massage.

Evening
Want to see how the other half vacations? Take a sunset cruise with Cabo Sails: as well as Land’s End and Cabo’s iconic stone arch, you’ll gawk at celebrity abodes high up on the bluffs and watch the fiery sun dip below the horizon — all with a cold cerveza in-hand.

Late Night
Cabo San Lucas has its fair share of tourist-rammed, dancing-on-the-table bars, so choose carefully. The Office offers killer margs and a gentler vibe than most; then hit the laid back Bahia Hotel & Beach Club’s Bar Esquina, which has a 17-seat marble bar, Mexican-Mediterranean menu and outdoor deck with fire pits.

SUNDAY

Morning
Welcome the rising sun with a stand-up paddle boarding session on the Sea of Cortez. You can rent gear through most resorts; if you’re a beginner take a lesson with Baja Outback; its three-hour sessions around the arch include round-trip transportation and start at $75 per person.

Afternoon
Make a beeline for Los Claros on Ignacio Zaragoza and get a couple of fish tacos to go (you won’t find better anywhere) before taking the water taxi from Cabo San Lucas marina to Lover’s Beach on Land’s End. Backed by colossal rock configurations, this stretch of sand has great snorkeling — just don’t venture to the Pacific Ocean side (Divorce Beach) for a dip – there’s a terrifying undertow.

Evening
Help Baja’s olive ridley sea turtles crawl safely to the water’s edge with non-profit Campamento Tortuguero Don Manuel Orantes, which releases upwards of 200,000 hatchlings a year on a protected beach next to the San Jose del Cabo estuary. The experience is unforgettable and the up-close photo-ops of these just-hatched reptiles are superlative. Afterwards, head to Flora’s Farm for an organic, guilt-free dinner: we loved the brown butter- and sage-seasoned gnocchi, and mahi-mahi with harisa and sweet chutney, with a signature heirloom carrot Farmarita. The open-air, farm-to-table restaurant has an enchanting Garden of Eden feel and is nestled at the base of the Sierra de la Laguna Mountains.

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