Los Cabos · East Cape
A living coral reef at Cabo Pulmo, beaches with nobody on them, a resort corner at Costa Palmas and a fishing town called Los Barriles, all on the Sea of Cortés.
Photo: Cabo Adventures
Cabo Pulmo became a national park on 6 June 1995 and a UNESCO World Heritage site ten years later. Its hard-coral reef is the northernmost in the eastern Pacific and about 20,000 years old. After the village stopped fishing it, total fish biomass rose 463 percent between 1999 and 2009, and the schools of jacks that turn the water dark are the result.
Explore Los FrailesGo with an accredited guide, ideally from the village. The park allows eight snorkelers per guide, two boats per site and thirty minutes per stop, life jackets on; divers go six to a guide for up to fifty minutes. A ranger draws each morning which sites open. The entry bracelet costs 125 pesos per person per day. Sunscreen must be biodegradable and the park would rather you wore none; gloves, knives and fishing stay on shore, and so does any idea of swimming with the sharks.
September to November brings the warmest water, around 28 °C, and visibility that can reach thirty metres; October to December is the peak. Winter drops to about 21 °C with half the visibility. Turtles nest from June to February, with restrictions on some beaches at night. Humpback whales pass from December to April and mobula rays school from May to July.
The beaches of the cape
From Bahía de los Sueños at the top of the cape to Shipwrecks at the bottom, most East Cape beaches sit at the end of a dirt road, which is why there is nobody on them. This is the calmer sea, and the bays at Buena Vista, Los Frailes and La Ribera are where people swim; the flags and the day still decide.
Explore Punta ColoradaKnow your coast Six beaches, north to south · about 100 km
A wide, quiet bay at the top of the cape, well beyond Los Barriles. Scenic, remote, check conditions.
Explore Bahía de los Sueños
A small cove under a headland, with a fishing lodge above it and calm-looking water below.
Explore Punta Pescadero
A long bay backed by low hills where pangas anchor off the sand.
Explore Punta Colorada
The bay at the south end of the park: turquoise water, a headland and pangas on the sand.
Explore Los Frailes
Named for the fig growing out of the rock above it. Open sea; a stop, not a swim.
Explore Fig Tree Beach
Dunes, a beach break and the rusting hull that gives the beach its name. Strong water.
Explore ShipwrecksTwo ways in. The paved way is Highway 1 to Las Cuevas, then east through La Ribera; the coastal road from San José loses its pavement about 24 km out and is dirt the rest of the way to the park. Clearance, daylight and a full tank.
Los Frailes is where the park meets the open sea: a headland, a curve of white sand and water clear enough to see the bottom from the beach. Swim when the flags allow, snorkel with a local guide, and camp only where it is permitted.
Explore Los FrailesA rusting hull in the surf and dunes behind. For the photograph, not the water.
See the beachA wide bay south of Buena Vista with boats at anchor.
See the beachA small cove under a lodge north of Los Barriles.
See the beachA fig tree in the rock and open sea below it.
See the beachInside the park, Los Arbolitos has a gentle, shallow entry from the sand and Los Frailes is sheltered when the main bay is windy; a sea lion colony lives on the headland beside it. Elsewhere read the flags, and never swim in the nesting zones at night in turtle season.
Compare all 59 beachesThe resort corner · La Ribera
Forty-five minutes from the airport, on three kilometres of swimmable beach at La Ribera, Costa Palmas is the East Cape’s one resort address: the Four Seasons since 2019, Amanvari since August 2026, a private marina and a Robert Trent Jones II course. Its four tables are reason enough to drive out, even if you sleep elsewhere.
Estiatorio Milos brings Costas Spiliadis’ Greek seafood house to the sand, fish chosen from the ice before it goes to the grill. Casa de Brasa cooks Baja-Mexican over coals under a palapa by the pool, Limón serves dinner in a working lemon orchard with the Sierra de la Laguna behind it, and El Puesto does ceviche and sushi with your feet in the sand at the marina village.
The marina opened with seventy slips for boats up to 150 feet and is planned for more than three hundred. The golf club is private: members and Four Seasons guests, tee times through the concierge. Outside guests should reserve the restaurants ahead and confirm access with the resort.
All Costa Palmas tables
Wind and fish
The fishing town up Highway 1 turns into a kite town from December to March, when the north wind blows across the bay at 15 to 30 knots most afternoons; the schools open in mid-November. The rest of the year the pangas and cruisers rule: roosterfish and jacks off the beach, dorado and tuna in summer, marlin in the fall. Every July the Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore sets its weigh station on the sand at Buena Vista, with a purse that regularly tops US$1.6 million, and the resort there runs its pools on natural hot-spring water.
Explore Bisbee’s East Cape OffshoreSixteen minutes north, Punta Pescadero keeps a lodge with its own airstrip above a small cove.
Tournament week on the beach at Buena Vista: marlin, tuna and dorado, and a weigh station on the sand.
See the place
The resort and pier the tournament is built around, with hot-spring water in its pools.
See the placeThe cove and headland north of town.
See the placeThe long bay south of Buena Vista.
See the placeWhere to stay
Three different East Capes to sleep in. Cabo Pulmo itself has small guesthouses and camping at Los Frailes, none listed here yet; the resort corner, the fishing coast and the sierra town are.
The East Cape’s resort: a swimmable beach, a private marina, golf and four tables worth the drive.
View the resortA beachfront resort on the fishing coast, with natural hot-spring water on site and the Bisbee’s weigh station in summer.
View the resort
Six suites at the foot of the Santiago oasis, between lagoon and mountains, for the inland side of the cape.
View the retreatKeep exploring
Four guides that go deeper into what this side of the cape does best.
All 59 Los Cabos beaches, compared by how the sea behaves. The Sea of Cortés side is the calmer one.
Compare the beaches
Every tour and activity in the directory, from reef days at Cabo Pulmo to boat days off Cabo San Lucas.
See the tours
Every hotel in the What’s in Cabo directory, from the East Cape to the Pacific.
Browse the hotels
The region’s golf courses compared by access and visitor play; Costa Palmas is the East Cape’s.
Explore the golf coursesMake it your day
Leave early: the reef is best before the wind, and the road back deserves daylight. Snorkel first, eat on the sand, and end in an orchard.
Two sites by panga with a village guide, or the shallow entry at Los Arbolitos if you would rather walk in. Buy the bracelet, skip the sunscreen, wear the vest.
Explore Los FrailesBack up the coast to La Ribera for El Puesto’s ceviches and rolls at the marina village, with the yachts and the Sea of Cortés in front of you.
Explore El PuestoStay for sunset at Costa Palmas and eat at Limón, or Milos on the beach. Book both ahead, and either book a room or plan the drive back on the paved road.
Explore LimónHighway 1 crosses the Tropic of Cancer at Km 81.5, just outside Santiago, where a monument marks the line. From Santiago a dirt road climbs into the Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve, decreed in 1994 over 112,437 hectares and home to the peninsula’s only pine-oak forest; the Sol de Mayo ranch inside it charges a small fee for the steep ten-minute walk down to the Cañón de la Zorra waterfall and its pool. The Santa Rita hot springs, further up the same valley, cost 160 pesos and close on Wednesdays. Miraflores, back toward San José, is known for its leather work.
The places behind the day
Every beach, table, stay, course, event and ride on this page, with its own profile. Search by name or area to bring your day together.
The bay at the south end of the reef; snorkel with a guide.
A cove under a fishing lodge.
A long bay with pangas at anchor.
A fig tree in the rock, open sea below.
Dunes, a beach break and a rusting hull.
A wide, quiet bay at the top of the cape.
Costas Spiliadis’ seafood house, on the sand.
Baja-Mexican cooking over coals under a palapa.
Dinner cooked over fire among the lemon trees.
Ceviche and sushi with your feet in the sand.
Swimmable beach, marina, golf and spa.
Beachfront on the fishing coast.
Six suites between lagoon and mountains.
Robert Trent Jones II; members and resort guests.
Tournament week on the beach.
Airport transfers, private and shuttle.
Shared shuttle and private vehicles across the region.
Private shuttle, chauffeur and group transport.
Private drivers for day trips and groups.
Try another name, a different category, or start again.
Looking further afield? Explore the full Los Cabos directory.
A little planning goes a long way
The East Cape rewards the prepared. A few details make the difference.
Plan the rideThe paved route is Highway 1 north from the airport, then east at Las Cuevas through La Ribera: Costa Palmas in about 45 minutes, Cabo Pulmo in about an hour and a half with the last nine kilometres on dirt. The coastal road from San José is dirt for most of its length and turns dangerous after September rains. Fill the tank in San José or Los Barriles and carry pesos for bracelets, parking and small kitchens.
Buy the 125-peso bracelet and wear it where it can be seen. Go with an accredited guide, keep 2.5 metres from the coral, no gloves, no knives, no fishing, no swimming with sharks. Biodegradable sunscreen only, and better none: a long-sleeved rash guard does the same job without touching the reef.
Water runs from about 22 °C in February to 30 °C in September. Summer days reach the mid-thirties and the hurricane season lasts from 15 May to 30 November, with storms concentrated in August, September and October and September the wettest month. From November the north wind arrives: good for kites at Los Barriles, choppy for boats.
Humpback whales from December to April, mobula rays from May to July, turtle nesting from summer into winter with beach restrictions at night, and a sea lion colony on the headland beside Los Frailes all year. Whale sharks belong to La Paz, from October to April; do not expect them here.
From the cape, as people see it
10 photographs shared from the reef, the beaches and the sierra on Instagram.
Tap any one to see the full frame and the account behind it.
Good to know
About 90 kilometres and an hour and a half by car, on Highway 1 to Las Cuevas and then east through La Ribera; the last nine kilometres or so are dirt. From San José del Cabo the Los Cabos Tourism Board counts roughly two hours. Fill the tank before you leave the highway and avoid the dirt stretch after heavy rain.
Both. Los Arbolitos, inside the park, has a gentle, shallow entry from the sand. For the reef itself you go by panga with an accredited guide from the village: the park allows eight snorkelers per guide, two boats per site and thirty minutes per stop, life jackets on. A ranger draws each morning which sites open.
A bracelet of 125 pesos per person per day, paid to the park. No fishing, no gloves or knives in the water, no swimming with the sharks. Sunscreen must be biodegradable, and the park would rather you wore none at all. Keep your distance from the coral, and respect the beach restrictions during turtle season, from June to February.
No. The pavement runs out about 24 kilometres from San José, at the last resorts, and the rest of the coastal road to the park is dirt. It is a beautiful drive with clearance and daylight, and the reason the beaches along it are empty. The paved way in is Highway 1 via La Ribera.
The Los Cabos Tourism Board puts it from December through March; the schools open around 15 November and close in mid-March. The north wind builds from mid-morning and blows across the bay at 15 to 30 knots most afternoons.
Humpbacks pass the Sea of Cortés side from December to April, and the tourism board names the East Cape among the quieter places to watch them. Mobula rays school from May to July. Whale sharks are a La Paz experience, from October to April, not an East Cape one.
The village has small guesthouses and camping at Los Frailes, none listed here yet. The nearest resort address is Costa Palmas at La Ribera, with the Four Seasons since 2019 and Amanvari since August 2026. Up the highway, Buena Vista and Los Barriles have the fishing hotels, and Santiago the retreat in the oasis.
Destination facts on this page come from: CONANP — Parque Nacional Cabo Pulmo (decree of 6 June 1995, 7,111 ha, northernmost reef, entry fee); Los Cabos Tourism Board — Cabo Pulmo, guía del turista responsable (rules, limits per guide, sunscreen, distances, camping, turtle season); CONANP — Programa de Manejo del Parque Nacional Cabo Pulmo (compendio, Cabo Pulmo Vivo); UNEP-WCMC — Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California, World Heritage datasheet (the reef’s age); Aburto-Oropeza et al., PLoS ONE 2011 — Large recovery of fish biomass in a no-take marine reserve (463 % increase, 1999–2009); Cabo Pulmo Scuba Diving — park rules and the daily site draw; Dive Nagual — best time for diving in Cabo Pulmo (water temperature and visibility by season); Centro de Visitantes Cabo Pulmo — antes de llegar (98 km from the airport; 21 km paved, 9 dirt); Visit Los Cabos — Cabo Pulmo; East Cape; Los Barriles; Santiago; Miraflores; SJD Taxi — East Cape Baja travel guide (where the pavement ends south of San José); Wahoo Wind and Vela Baja — Los Barriles wind season and school dates; Bisbee’s — East Cape Offshore (dates, Buena Vista, prize purse); Costa Palmas — the beach, the marina and the golf course; Four Seasons — opening of Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas (PR Newswire, 2019); Aman — Amanvari (opened August 2026); Hotel Punta Pescadero Paradise — villas, airstrip, sixteen minutes from Los Barriles; CONANP — decreto de la Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra La Laguna (1994, 112,437 ha); Discover Baja — Cañón de la Zorra and the Sol de Mayo waterfall; Los Cabos Guide — Tropic of Cancer monument and East Cape beaches; Visit Los Cabos — whale watching (December to April), mobula ray season (May to July) and sea turtle nesting; Go La Paz — whale sharks (October to April); Mexico News Daily — hurricane season in Los Cabos (15 May to 30 November; August to October storms; September rain). Distances and drive times are the Los Cabos Tourism Board’s and Costa Palmas’ own figures; tournament dates, fees and hours change each year, so confirm the current edition. Confirm access, reservations and conditions directly with the place you plan to visit.
Photographs of beaches, restaurants, resorts and the tournament come from each place’s own profile on What’s in Cabo (image credits: Playa Los Frailes, Punta Pescadero, Punta Colorada Beaches, Fig Tree Beach, Shipwrecks, Bahía de los Sueños, Playa La Laguna, Estiatorio Milos, Casa de Brasa at Four Seasons Costa Palmas, Limón at Four Seasons Costa Palmas, El Puesto at Four Seasons Costa Palmas, Four Seasons Resort and Residences Los Cabos at Costa Palmas, Buena Vista Oceanfront & Hot Springs Resort, Amet Nature Retreat, Costa Palmas Golf Club, Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore 2026, Transcabo, Cabo Transfers, All Ways Cabo, Browns Private Services). The Cabo Pulmo photographs are Cabo Adventures’, from its snorkeling expedition listing. The social wall shows Instagram posts from the accounts credited on each tile; each opens the original post.
