One of the most beautiful destinations in the world is Cabo San Lucas, with its white, sandy, breezy beaches and blue water as sparkling as sapphires. The hundreds of new luxury hotel rooms being added in the southernmost tip of the Baja cater to a traveler getting away for a long weekend or pampered stay of sport and relaxation. Cabo San Lucas has become Mexico’s most elite resort destination.
The Bay of Cabo San Lucas was once a base for pirate ships waiting to pounce on Spanish treasure ships. Even fifteen years ago, it was little more than a fishing and canning village occasionally visited by adventurous sports fishermen with the means to sail in or fly down, but it quickly earned a reputation for the marlin that could be caught here, and the once quiet place found itself inundated with fishermen in search of El Marlin Azul, home to sleek, radar-equipped fishing yachts.
For the best spot to overlook the city’s extraordinary beauty, try the huge rock  arch at Finisterra—Land’s End, where the Sea of Cortes meets the Pacific. Here you can see the clear division between the shallow turquoise waters on the left and the profound blue of the ocean on the right. A colony of sea lions lives on the rocks roundabout. Only the adventurous can walk over the rocks to the arch (from Solmar Suites) but there are plenty of trips out there from the marina, most of which take in one of the small surrounding beaches, more often than not Playa del Amor, which boasts strands on both seas. A round-trip to Playa Amor via water taxi will cost a negotiable US $7.

Around the marina it’s a water-lovers paradise. Trips with glass-bottom boats, whale watching, wave runners, windsurfing, surfing, fishing, waterskiing, kayaking, paragliding or jetskiing are available. Along the Playa Medano, you can rent anything from horses to off-road quad bikes and even go bungee jumping. Need more adventure?  Try bird watching, trap shooting, dune buggy rides, mountain bike tours, scooter rentals, and ultra-light aircraft rides with instructors on-site for advanced aviation explorers. Competition is fierce, prices change and places come and go, so shop around. Scuba diving and snorkeling are perhaps the most refreshing of these activities, though the best sites (out toward Finisterra) can only be reached by boat. For gear rental, snorkeling trips and scuba courses, check out the many companies along Blvd. Marina, especially in the plazas. Or simply rent a snorkel and fins at the marina, take a water taxi to Playa del Amor, and swim back to Pelican Rock, where the underwater shelf is home to schools of tropical fish. Experienced divers shouldn’t miss the rim of a marine canyon also off Playa del Amor, where unusual conditions at 30 meters create a “sandfall” with streams of sand starting their 2000-metro fall to the canyon bottom. The most popular dive is to Cabo Pulmo, the giant coral reef where some of the larger members of the underwater food chain make their home.

The playful party scene that helped put Cabo on the map, is very casual. A collection of popular restaurants spread along Cabo’s main street, stay open and active until the morning’s first fishing charters head out to sea. Despite the growth in diversions, Cabo remains more or less a “one stoplight” town, with most everything located along the main strip, within easy walking distance.