28 January 2026
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Los Cabos is Mexico at its most luxe, a favorite stomping ground of the Southern California elite with the country's largest assembly of Two-MICHELIN-Key hotels. All the big names in high-net-worth tourism have outposts here at the tip of the Baja Peninsula, from Greg Norman to Nobu to Sensei, the Larry Ellison-backed wellness lotusland.
But there are also hidden gems amid all the glitter and gold: restaurants that build their menus around the fruit trees and crops on their farm, hotels that invite artists to paint on the walls and 50-year-old boat charters that recall the region’s earliest vacationers.
This guide has a little for everyone, whether your post of the iconic Cabo San Lucas arch rock formation will go out to two million followers or just a small few.
Where to Eat
Metate (Bib Gourmand)
Baja’s Carretera Transpeninsular, also known as Federal Highway 1, is one of Mexico’s most storied roads, running through the Baja Peninsula from top to bottom. Between the twin towns of Los Cabos, it goes parallel to the coast, sprawling luxury hotels to its south and a more typical slice of life to the north. That’s where you’ll find Metate, a Bib Gourmand favorite, serving up tacos and generous cuts of grilled meat in a lively patio setting.Acre (MICHELIN Green Star)
The farm at Acre, in San José del Cabo, is home to more than 60 crops – citrus trees and vegetables and Mexican herbs that all make their way onto Chef David Fajardo’s ambitious menu. Like in the linguini, served with kampachi and dressed in a bright pesto blended up from the garden’s greens. Most of the cocktails, too, have their origins on-site, with fig leaf, guava and zebra lemon, a pink-fleshed variety, all playing starring roles.
Cocina de Autor Los Cabos (One MICHELIN Star)
Since the MICHELIN Guide came to Mexico in 2024, just one restaurant has earned a Star in Los Cabos: Cocina de Autor, an eight-course tasting known for visually exquisite platings. Francisco Sixtos is the artist and chef here, behind dishes like totoaba, an emblematic local fish, that’s been cured with jalapeño and served beneath a dainty dome with a familiar repeating red star motif.Comal
Comal holds the lead listing on our guide to The Best Spots to Dine Seaside in Mexico for good reason: there may be no better combination of view and food anywhere in the country. Located within the Auberge Collection Chileno Bay hotel (Two MICHELIN Keys), the restaurant runs right up against the Sea of Cortez, the perfect backdrop for a dinner of wagyu barbacoa and chocolate clams from the raw bar.Lumbre
For a break from resort fare, head into the town of San José del Cabo, where Lumbre sits in prime real estate amid the cobblestone streets. Almost everything on the menu passes over the live fire grill, from the crispy octopus tacos to the butterflied zarandeado-style fish. After dinner, the piano bar upstairs offers an enticing nightcap.Where to Stay
Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal (Two MICHELIN Keys)
The Waldorf Astoria in Cabo San Lucas has long been a coveted reservation, occupying a secluded stretch of beachfront on the southernmost point of the peninsula. The completion of a multi-year renovation in late 2025 means it's now all the more exclusive. Each of the resort’s stately rooms have been reworked in a more earthy palette with custom artisan-designed furnishings and new dining options, like The Agave Study at Peacock Alley, which offers daily tequila and mezcal tastings.
Montage Los Cabos (Two MICHELIN Keys)
The Montage’s beach spans 39 acres, wrapping around the crystalline waters of its own swimmable bay, halfway between Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo. This is the kind of Los Cabos stay your favorite celebrity loves to post about: stylish minimalist design, spacious poolside cabanas and an approachable tasting menu at its signature MICHELIN-recommended restaurant, Mezcal.Hotel El Ganzo
Before El Ganzo became one of San José del Cabo’s most talked-about hotels, it was a gathering place for artists and musicians with a killer spot on the beach. That dedication to creatives still reigns today: the hotel has its own recording studio and festival grounds often booked with A-listers. Rooms are airy and bright and feature one-of-a-kind works by the hotel’s artists-in-residence, who are invited to paint right on the walls.Drift San Jose del Cabo
The Drift hotel stands out in our Los Cabos selection as a welcome outlier. This cool boutique near the galleries in downtown San José del Cabo is one of our most affordable entry points to the area, with artfully designed rooms and free yoga classes on the weekend. Access to the public beach is just a short drive away, or keep it simple and spend your time at the pool with a tropical fruit cocktail from the hotel’s own mezcal bar.Zadun Los Cabos, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve (Two MICHELIN Keys)
The Ritz-Carlton Reserve is the brand’s crown jewel line, and there are only a handful of them in the world. San José del Cabo is, of course, a natural fit. The 113-suite-and-villa property wastes no views of its stunning beachfront setting and is equipped with top-in-class offerings, like excursions with Jean-Michel Cousteau's ecotourism outfit, access to golf courses designed by Greg Norman and Jack Nicklaus, and a new partnership with Sensei, the personalized wellness program.
What to Do
Hit the links
There is nowhere more synonymous with golf in Mexico than Los Cabos. All the best players are here: Greg Norman, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio and Tiger Woods have each designed courses amid the stunning scenery, with holes running through highland deserts, along precipitous seaside cliffs and up against crashing Pacific waves.
Two spots in Mexico made Golf Digest’s most recent global top 100 list – both in Los Cabos: the course at Cabo del Sol, which Nicklaus is said to have called his “chance to design a Pebble Beach,” and the Diamante development’s Dunes Course, celebrated for its undulating white sand terrain.
Scout for whales
The shallow lagoons of the Baja Peninsula are the favorite breeding ground of many Pacific whales, who end their several-thousand-mile migration here every winter. From December to April, a whale watching expedition is almost certain to produce a spectacle, as gray, blue, humpback whales and others spout off and surface at often astonishingly close distance.CaboTrek offers a popular tour led by marine biologists and naturalists who explain how the whales’ mythic journeys work and why the waters off Los Cabos are so special.
Go deep sea fishing
Every greybeard in Los Cabos has a story of a legendary catch from a time out at sea here. Extraordinary fishing first landed these beachfront towns on the map back in the 1970s and has remained a top draw for international tourists since. Marlin – black, blue and striped varieties that can weigh hundreds of pounds – are the big prize, though a unique convergence of water temperature and underwater geography means the marine ecosystem in the area is teeming.Minerva's Baja Tackle, an original in the Los Cabos sportfishing scene opened in 1976, is a good option for an all-inclusive charter, with a pair of top-of-the-line motor yachts that can fit a group of six and guides that know the best spots for dorado, tuna, wahoo and marlin.
Hero image: ©Chileno Bay Resort & Residences, Auberge Collection
