{"id":17571,"date":"2013-10-16T00:29:21","date_gmt":"2013-10-16T00:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/?p=17571"},"modified":"2021-10-28T16:42:30","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T16:42:30","slug":"the-milder-cabo-of-baja","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/the-milder-cabo-of-baja\/","title":{"rendered":"The milder Cabo of Baja"},"content":{"rendered":"

If Dickens had written about modern-day Los Cabos<\/a>, he would have described the destination as a tale of two capes.\u00a0The first, Cabo San Lucas, is the one everybody hears about most. It\u2019s the one with legendary bars (Cabo Wabo, anyone?), epic all-inclusive resorts (hello, <\/span>RIU Palace Cabo San Lucas<\/a>), and, if you\u2019re lucky, turtle hatchings right on the beach. The second, San Jose del Cabo, has bars and resorts and \u2013 from time to time \u2013 turtles, but it\u2019s the quieter of the duo. As they say in these parts, San Lucas is <\/span>wild<\/a>; San Jose del Cabo is mild.<\/span><\/p>\n

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I\u2019ve visited Cabo five times since 2000, and have ended up in SJDC on every one of those trips. Here are three of the main reasons why.<\/span><\/p>\n

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It feels more Mexican<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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With a bunch of North American tourists and bars that serve Coors Light and Budweiser, Cabo San Lucas always has struck me as more Las Vegas than Mexican beach town. SJDC, on the other hand, just seems more authentic.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Viewfinder Tip: Don’t be afraid of hole-in-the-wall tequila bars in San Jose del Cabo; these often are the best ones.
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Maybe it\u2019s the circa 1940-church that towers over the town\u2019s main square. Maybe it\u2019s all the parades (the city\u2019s big bash, the Fiesta de San Jose, happens every March and celebrates the destination\u2019s patron saint). Maybe it\u2019s the plethora of hole-in-the-wall tequila bars where literally nobody speaks English (at all).<\/span><\/p>\n

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Or maybe it\u2019s the fact that most of the restaurants aren\u2019t designed for tourists. During one visit a few years back, two friends and I grabbed dinner at Cactus Taco, a tiny eatery on a back street off the main square. Between the three of us, we wolfed down a heaping order of fresh guacamole and 15 tacos (seriously; they were small). The price: let\u2019s just say the whole meal was cheaper than a U.S. movie ticket.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Art<\/strong><\/p>\n

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True story: In nine years of marriage, I have bought my wife more jewelry from SJDC than any other destination in the world.\u00a0<\/span>Artisans here work mostly in silver, her favorite metal. The pieces \u2013 especially the earrings \u2013 are affordable (compared to what many of them likely would cost in the U.S.). Most important: The stuff is downright beautiful, incorporating a mix of intricate handiwork, creative designs, and natural stones.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Just about every piece I\u2019ve purchased has come from the Art District<\/a>, a 12 square block area just off the main square of downtown. Many of the artisans operate tiny shops or counters in communal, flea-market-type structures. There also are a number of art galleries selling paintings, sculptures, and tile work in both modern and traditional motifs.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Few of the artisans use price tags here; most of the prices are established through a method somewhere between haggling and totally random. My advice: be prepared to walk away, and (unless it\u2019s obnoxiously low) you\u2019ll usually get the price you want.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Casa Natalia<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Yes, I love romantic Los Cabos resorts<\/a> such as Esperanza and Capella Pedregal<\/a>. But especially when I want to assimilate into the local culture, my favorite place to stay is Casa Natalia<\/a>, right off the square.\u00a0<\/span>This unpretentious boutique hotel is the perfect blend of luxurious and utilitarian. Rooms are modestly sized, but decorated with murals, paintings, and other forms of artwork by local artists. The on-site restaurant, Mi Cocina, offers inventive twists on local dishes (such as mole chicken with real chocolate). The palm-shaded pool is swanky and intimate – a fabulous place to laze away an afternoon.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Casa Natalia even offers access to a private beach club, just a short walk from the main courtyard of the hotel. The experience on this stretch of sand is quiet and uncrowded, the antithesis of what it\u2019s like on the main beach of the cape to the north. Which is precisely why I keep coming back for more.<\/span><\/p>\n


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How do you seek out authentic cultural experiences when you travel?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n


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Experience Cabo's milder side in San Jose del Cabo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1813,1782,1775,1788,1968,1791,1774,1872,1873,1818,1825,1776],"tags":[43],"authors":[2227],"class_list":["post-17571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beach","category-destinations","category-fall","category-interests","category-los-cabos","category-mexico","category-occasions-and-seasons","category-shopping","category-spring","category-summer","category-tropical","category-type-of-vacation","tag-adults-only","authors-matt-villano","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe milder Cabo of Baja | Expedia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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