Cabo questions to those who have been there.

Guys, I’m under orders to get a vacation figured out as Mrs. Grouse has been very busy at work and has been traveling a lot.

As part of this order, Mrs. Grouse also mentioned that she’s a little bored with the Yucatan, Cozumel, Playa, etc. So she sweetly suggested that I find someplace different. How about Cabo?, I thought. Well, good question as I’ve been some places, but Cabo ain’t one of them. So…

It’ll be the Mrs and the Groselets, ages 4 and 6. For this family vacation, I like to do the all inclusive thing as it’s just so much easier and the littlest Grouselet is hard to please food-wise. I’ve been looking at the Riu Palace and some other similar places.

1. I like to actually go into the ocean and skin dive off the beach, not just rely on the dive excursions, and the kids like to play on the beach.

Is the beach in most parts of Cabo super-rough with big surf most the time? I’m seeing a lot of pics that show big waves breaking, which would be bad, but is it like that a lot. Obviously I get that it can be like this anywhere there’s ocean, but is the “normal” in Cabo a big surf such that swimming is a no-go a lot of the time?

2. The Hurricane. Anybody been down this year and what’s the general impression? I’m always wary that the tourist industry is going to put on the best-case scenario and we’ll arrive to a giant reconstruction zone.

3. General recommendations in Cabo and thoughts if you’ve been to an all inclusive down there?

We can always go back to the old standby, Playa or the DR, but I’m getting a little bored with these options.

Many thanks.

Grouse

From what I have heard, most beaches in that area are “no swimming” due to rough surf, rip tides, etc.

Puerto Rico is nice.

Ralph is right on. The big concern in Cabo is riptides and swimming isn’t recommended many places. There are some areas that are less affected and safer, but in general that area is not that conducive to swimming in the ocean; especially for small kids. It’s great for fishing though!

I’ll be there mid-Feb with fishing on my mind, and lounging by the pool on my wife and son’s minds…… Everyone will be happy!

The beaches are not as nice in Cabo as most other places, although some of the all-inclusive resorts are fantastic. I chartered a boat for myself and spent two days fishing striped marlin and all I can say is that it’s awesome. The marine life swimming around the boat…. grey whales, manta rays, porpoises, a whale shark etc… etc… just unreal to see.

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Damn. No beach = no go for Mrs. Grouse.

I was thinking this would be awesome, get to Cabo and skive off like a scalded skive dog for some fishing while Mrs. Grouse/Grouselets enjoy beach. Denied.

Rico has been looked at Ralph, but my issue with PR is that for a 3* PR price, I can get a 5* in the DR for only a little more flying time. And either way we STILL get stuck going through those suckhole airports in Miami or worse yet (gag!) Atlanta.

Back to the drawing board. Other Mexico suggestions? Probably have to go back to the Yucatan side?

Thanks guys.

Grouse

I liked Cozumel if you haven’t been out to that island yet.

Have you tried Costa Rica? I loved it. I also second PR like Ralph. Sanibel Island in Florida is fantastic also.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

Rico has been looked at Ralph, but my issue with PR is that for a 3* PR price, I can get a 5* in the DR for only a little more flying time.

That’s good to know. I have not done DR (yet), but we have considered it. Went to PR for a wedding, loved it, will be back someday.

Nea Moudania Greece is fantastic but unfortunatly not suited weather wise for a winter get away.
If you ever take summer vacations it’s worth a look.

We’re also talking about where to go in Feb and are thinking of Grand Cayman.

Grouse – check you private message

Negril Jamaica was a great vacation. Booked an all inclusive at Couples Resort several years ago now and it was awesome. We did not do any fishing but it offered sailboat rides, glass bottom boat tours, cliff diving, scuba and snorkeling all included plus top shelf food and beverages. This is an over 18 resort so no kids or extra noise – very relaxing.

Dave

We won’t be crossing any oceans with the kids in tow for now. We did the 17 hour New Zealand flight with them a year ago, so that’s enough long hauling for a while. The kids are surprisingly good fliers, but there are limits.

Mrs. Grouse and I are doing the BVIs next year for our 20th and the Caribbean (small islands) tend to involve a lot of faffing around to get to, which makes for long day out/back.

I think Mexico is the only feasible option left. Mrs Grouse executed the fastest vacation idea shootdown in history when I suggested snowmobile touring in Quebec, so the pressure’s on to get this right.

Grouse

We stayed at a place called “the and only Palmilla” in Los Cabos many many years ago. We went mainly because of the kids stuff they had. Special kids pool and many activities, nanny service for some alone time. We really enjoyed it but I’m not sure if they have an all-inclusive plan or not. We had the kids signed up for activities one afternoon so we could play golf and we felt comfortable with it and they had a blast.

Water is cold in Cabo. We spent a lot of time in the pool. Food in town was excellent. Cabo Wabo was cool. I won’t go back. We have a great resort 25 miles from Cancun we are hitting again.

I love Cabo, Can’t really swim on most beaches due to rip tide, I was sooo tempted thou. Fishing was awesome, but needed to take Dramamine paid $300 for 1/2 day a lot of dorado and tuna. Man those tuna fight, and you always have a chance at a #1000 marlin. I wanted to back this year but wife said we’re going to P. V instead where the fishing stunk. Make sure you go to Cabo Wabo. Wait till you see the private fishing boats in the marina. $$$$

The Pacific side doesn’t generally have the beaches that the gulf side has — in general, the water is cooler and not as clear, the waves are bigger, and the sand isn’t the white sugary stuff Riviera Maya is known for. That said, I’m a fan of the Puerto Vallarta area. The town is in the Bay of Banderas which keeps the waves very much in check. The only issue is that the beaches are fairly crowded in town and the accommodations in/near town trend towards authentic vs. resort. There are resorts south of town that sound nice but I’ve never been. I have traveled north of town, though. Neuevo Vallarta is essentially connected to Puerto Vallarta on the north side. It’s largely a time share community and little less “authentic Mexico” but also nicer in terms of pools and places to stay. Head north from there and things get a whole lot quieter in Bucerias and Sayulita, which are smaller but comfortable towns that I’ve visited but not stayed in. In between those two is Punta Mita, which trends toward the luxury market and probably has everything you want. Check it out.

We enjoyed Aruba. I was scared I was going to get bored due to the overall size, but we found many fun activities. And they do cater to americans, food wise. You can dive and snorkel very close to shore. Many great beaches. We took a group tour on ATVS. That was really fun. Never checked into fishing, but with the fresh fish we had at almost every meal, I can imagine that it could be easily slipped into you vacation plans.

FDR

Hey, I heard Cuba has some great beaches!

Have you considered the east cape area (sea of Cortez). There are some nice resorts on the inside of the Baja peninsula. If you are planning on fishing, depending on the month not all of the pelagic fish are available. We stayed at the Rancho Leonero – a fishing resort and may not have all of the family fun things that you need – but if you bring them up they have a calendar of what fish are usually in the area by the month.
bestfishes – jim

Lots of good suggestions, thanks everybody.

We’ll certainly be heading for Cabo in a couple of years when the boys are a little older. They like to play on the beaches and I want to go somewhere where they can enjoy the water and it would be great to have a bigger kids play area/pool for them as well. This usually means bigger resorts, but that’s fine.

It’s hard to really get into fishing while on holiday these days as it leaves Mrs Grouse alone with the little monsters who are a handful and that kind of creates a working vacation for her, so I tend to just take my fishing holidays as totally separate. Plus, I’m kind of cooking up some ideas for a big hunting trip, so…

I’m looking at places in Puerto Morales, Playa, and Cozumel now. Not very adventurous, but hey the rum still pours there as well.

Grouse

Puerto Morales is nice and the reef is very close to shore there but probably still too far to reach from the beach safely. It is a small town nothing like cancun or playa and I did not find the beach all that nice there. Akumel is worth a trip if you want to see sea turtles some nice resorts but beach is very busy as the turtles are a major draw. There are several places close to Playa the kids can swim with dolphins and that was a big hit when mine were young. Cozumel is nice Playa way to busy for me. North or South of playa great beaches and very nice resorts. I have heard the beaches in Tulum are great and there are a lot of resorts there also and close to Xel Ha another place the kids would like. You can take the ferry from playa to Cozumel and rent scooters or an open jeep, there is a road that goes around the north end of island. I have found that to be fun stopping at the resorts and snorkeling at several spots around the island. lots of fun and great food and drink. No matter where you go you will have a great time. Have fun!