Archive for “May, 2012”

Salvatore’s Italian – TOTAL Thumbs Up! ♥♥♥♥♥

Salvatore’s is a MUST DO for any visitor to Cabo. Can you tell by the post title that we LOVE Salvatore’s?

INCREDIBLE Italian food and moderate prices. HUGE portions. Their lasagna special (unfortunately, not served every night) can feed a family of three.  The pork shank is incredible.

Try the tiramasu for dessert (order just one; it can easily satisfy the sweet tooth of four people).

In the Siesta Suites Hotel on Zapata. Reservations suggested. Phone: 624-105-1044


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Maria Corona – Thumbs Up!

We recently experienced a couple of dinners at Maria Corona and were pleasantly surprised. The fish chowder was excellent, as was the guacamole appetizer.

We had a party of eight and everyone, no exception, wanted to have dinner again at Maria Corona a few nights later. That says a lot!


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Pesos and Dollars

The Mexican Peso is the official currency however, most merchants will take US dollars (but sometimes at an exchange rate that favors them; the most common is to exchange at 12 pesos to the dollar).

The current exchange rate is approximately 13.5 pesos per US dollar (click here for an update).

We usually pay by credit card and let the issuer handle the conversion.  Beware of vendors that quote in dollars but charge your credit card in Pesos — the vendor may convert the transaction at an unfavorable rate and then your credit card will charge to convert in addition.  Best to just get quoted in Pesos — in fact, insist on it.

If you’re heading to Cabo from Canada (and taking advantage of the strength of the Canadian Dollar!), you’ll probably need to convert to US Dollars or Pesos, or risk getting vendor conversion rates based on the “old” rate.  That may change in time.

Gordo Lele’s Taco Stand

For fish tacos, a place called Gordo Lele’s is great (just north of the “Corner Bar” on Lazaro Cardenas and south of the Los Milagros Hotel). He also makes a great flank steak for 15 pesos (about US$1.50).  A typical meal, with a Corona, is around US$7, but is flank steak healthy?

Javier, the owner, has been known to put on a blonde wig and sing Beatles tunes (see video below).

Lots of people just LOVE Javier. In 2008, Javier lost his lease on a spot he used to occupy and was forced to shut down. In the depths of the huge US recession, a bunch of wonderful folks on the Cabo forum on Tripadvisor banded together, located Javier and raised $5000 to get him back in business at his current location.

It’s a great story — and so are his fish tacos. :)


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TransPacifico

Book your airport transportation here: http://www.heavenincabo.com/airport-transportation/

TransPacifico is a great limo company in the Cabo area. If you’re looking for airport transportation, these are the guys. A nicely dressed gentleman meets you at the airport, holding a sign with your name on it. Well-maintained suburbans whisk you via the toll-road to Cabo. They’ll even stop while you go grocery shopping.

This is the way to begin your Cabo adventure! They’re priced about the same as a cab ride, but you have a newer vehicle and can fit seven people into the Suburban.

 TransPacifico

You can request their services here: http://www.heavenincabo.com/transportation/

 

Cash and Credit Cards

Most restaurants and stores accept Visa and Mastercard. American Express is also accepted. However, be sure to bring cash with you for those merchants who don’t take credit cards.

Also, be sure to call your credit card issuer prior to departing for Mexico, just to let them know (it’s a total hassle to arrive and find that your cards have been placed on hold due to ever-stringent security at your issuer). We usually take the time in-between flights to make the calls.

Note that many credit card companies charge a 2% conversion fee for foreign exchange transactions. There are several that do not, Capital One being one of them.

When buying things in Cabo, insist on being quoted in PESOS.  If you’re being quoted in dollars, the merchant will likely convert to pesos when tallying your bill and you can bet that the conversion won’t be in your favor.

Baan Thai

Baan Thai — fantastic Thai cuisine in San Jose del Cabo. Visit the art galleries afterwards for a nice evening.

http://www.bajabaanthai.com/

Morelos between Obregón and Comonfort, downtown San Jose del Cabo (a bit northeast from the plaza). Ph: 142-3344. Open daily 12pm-10:30pm. ($$)


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Airport: Transportation

Rental Cars — Rental cars aren’t cheap in Cabo. Travelocity.com seems to sometimes have good rates on compact cars in Cabo. Be sure to pay for the car with a credit card that covers collision damage and skip getting the expensive collision insurance through the rental car agency.

Beware that your reservation will be in dollars, but your contract will be in pesos; they’ll probably make $$ from the self-applied conversion rate, so best to be aware of this.

Airport Shuttle — $16 each way, per person. It takes a little longer than catching a cab, but the free cervezas on the way will make the time go quicker. To return to the airport, see the concierge the day prior and they’ll make sure you’re set for a pickup. For not much more, you can also book with TransPacifico and have a Suburban all to yourself.

Airport Limo — TransPacifico offers upscale transportation for US$95 from the airport to downtown Cabo San Lucas (up to seven people in a late-model, clean Suburban). This doesn’t cost much more than a taxi, so it’s a great deal, even for a family of four. This is the real deal — a nicely dressed chauffeur holding up a sign with your name on it at the airport, waiting to whisk you away — just a great way to start off your vacation. As a bonus, TransPacifico will head to Cabo on the toll road, saving about 15 minutes of travel time. To book with TransPacifico, click here.

Taxis — the $300 you’ll spend on a small rental car will sure buy a lot of taxi rides. For those trips to Todos Santos, see the concierge and just rent a car for a day (or take a TransCabo tour for $50 each). Yeah, it’s a pain paying $10 each way to go to Costco, but $300 will buy a lot of those $10 trips and with a lot more convenience (like being dropped at a restaurant rather than spending 20 minutes searching for a parking space). What do we do? We keep a car in Cabo and know some great parking spots downtown :) Otherwise, we tend to walk the fifteen minutes to downtown in an effort offset the caloric consumption at dinner. By the way, no tip required for taxis (it’s built into the price).

Cheaper Rental Cars and Travel — when you travel internationally, try booking your rental car in the country you’ll be traveling to. For example, rather than booking at www.avis.com (the USA website), try www.avis.com.mx (the Mexican website). Also, the major travel booking engines (Expedia, etc.) have foreign variants where you can also try. If you don’t have any luck, try contacting a foreign travel agent and they can usually secure “locals” pricing (and at the same time, charge it to your USA credit card — which the websites may reject due to it be domiciled in the USA rather than in the country where you’re trying to book).

Cheaper (yet) Rental Cars — just prior to your trip, take another look at what rental cars are renting for. Since there’s no penalty for canceling a rental car reservation, it doesn’t hurt to check and see if the rate has changed. Often, if reservations are on the light side, you’ll find car rentals discounted the closer you get to your departure date.

Policia — Speaking of rental cars, you need to know that you may get pulled over for a traffic infraction. The most common is turning the wrong-way onto one of Cabo’s many one-way streets. The local cops sit and wait for some unsuspecting Gringo to do this. We’ve never, ever been hassled, but a buddy got stopped and paid the 200 peso “fine” immediately to the officer. Just be cool, mind your manners, and you won’t be paying any fines to anyone.

Emergency — Speaking of rental cars and speaking of Policia, it’s worth mentioning that 911 won’t get you ANYWHERE in Cabo. In the event of an emergency, 066 is the number to use! If you’re at Villa La Estancia, call the operator (0) first. Worse comes to worst, there’s a emergency clinic on the four-lane when it first enters Cabo. The official hospital is located across from CCC on the road to Todos Santos.

Colectivo Buses (public transportation) — These are small white buses that run around just about every street in Cabo. How’s your spanish?