CABO SAN LUCAS TRAVEL DIARY

Hi hi loves! It’s been a busy couple weeks since I got back from my trip but I’m finally getting around to this blog post. If you follow me on Instagram, then you probably were bombarded with all my Cabo photos a couple weeks ago and I wanted to share with you guys all the details about my trip and what to expect when traveling to Cabo!

                                                                                                                                      Photo credit: Dronestagram

So this was my second trip to Cabo, I had visited like 10 years ago but honestly don’t remember much haha so this was a completely different experience. Last time I was there with my family, but this time I went with my BF. Before booking your trip and looking for hotels, just know that there are two different areas: San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas. San Jose del Cabo is closer to the airport and most hotels in the area have white sand beaches and beach access in general. Cabo San Lucas is about a 45 minute drive from the airport but in my opinion, has nicer resorts and is closer to other actives you may want to do while out there. However, some hotels won’t have beach access, like ours, because the hotel was pretty much on the edge of a cliff haha. But the view was spectacular, and if you’re anything like me, I honestly enjoy the nice view with a gorgeous pool instead. One of the best parts about traveling to Cabo is that it is such an easy flight. If you live in the Orange County, Los Angeles, or San Diego area, it is a short 2 hour flight. We left from John Wayne Airport and our flight time was exactly 2 hours and 14 minutes… you can’t beat that! Our flight was at 12:30 noon and we were at our hotel by 4. Also, I highly recommend that you plan and book all your transportation before your trip. You always want to be on the safe side and want to make sure you book with a well known company, it will save you a lot of headache! Once you land in Cabo (SJD Los Cabos International Airport) and head out of the airport, you will be bombarded with many people who work for different transportation companies. Ignore them!! Some will even trick you and wear almost the same exact outfit as the transportation company you are actually looking for so be careful. When booking your shuttle, they should provide you with steps on how to find the shuttle and your driver, so follow those steps and do not be tricked by the others. 

Traveling in style thanks to Henri Bendel! | Luggage Trio: Henri Bendel, Tee: Suburban Riot, Jeans: Paige, Kicks: THEY New York 

After getting through our flight and finding our shuttle, we made our way to the hotel. 45 minutes later we arrived. We stayed at the beautiful Hacienda Encantada Resort. First impressions are super important to me, and the second we arrived, this place did not disappoint one bit. Upon arrival we were greeted by the most friendly staff, who offered us water, cold towels (because it was SO hot and SO humid), and took our luggage over to concierge so we could get checked in. Here are some shots of the lobby: 

After getting checked in, we were escorted to our room on a golf cart. Before arriving to our room, the bellman showed us all the restaurants and amenities of the resort. The property was huge, but everything was still close together and we could walk anywhere comfortably. After the mini tour, we arrived at our building and made our way to the room. The bellman opened the door and we walked into our gorgeous suite. Two bedroom, two bath, full stocked kitchen, a safe (important!!), and a huge balcony with a beautiful ocean view. It was breathtaking! I’m super picky when it comes to hotel rooms, I’m such a clean freak and so cleanliness of rooms is super important to me, especially bathrooms. This room did not disappoint. It was so clean, the bathrooms were spotless! The kitchen was stocked with everything from utensils, to dishes, to refreshments in the fridge (which are restocked daily). It was great! Also, one thing I forgot to mention earlier.. with our stay we got the all inclusive plan. I HIGHLY recommend doing this whenever you can! All inclusive basically gets you unlimited food, drinks (alcohol included), as well as other amenities. So you pretty much only need to cover tip. It is totally worth it, especially if you’re a foodie or like to drink a lot LOL. Anywayssssss…. back to the room. Here are some shots of our perfect suite: 

After getting settled into our room, we changed and made our way around the resort. We wanted to check everything out and after, we headed to dinner. It was Mexican night at the buffet El Eden (shocker), and we wanted Mexican our first night so we had to go. The setting was outside, overlooking to ocean. The weather in the evening was perfect (just humid). The food was delicious; the chefs prepared well known authentic Mexican favorites such as Tacos, which hands down, they had the best tortillas everrrrrr! They also had a tequila bar with their housemate flavored tequila, so cool! The service was also amazing! Everyone was so friendly. After a few minutes they had a huge mariachi band come out and played music all night. It gave us a very authentic Mexican feel! El Eden really had the perfect environment to experience this traditional Mexican cuisine. After dinner, we headed back to the room and called it an early night since we were tired.

From the next morning on, we basically spent everyday by the pool. We both needed some R&R and we pretty much didn’t want to do anything else haha. When traveling for some relaxation, I like to find resorts where I know I won’t have to leave if I don’t want to and Hacienda Encantada was just that. The hotel did offer other activities such as horse back riding and The Temazcal. We really wanted to horse back ride, but honesty the days were so so sooo hot and humid that we thought it would just be unbearable. So we opted for the pool all day, no complaints! The hotel had a couple different pools, as well as a children’s pool area. But we spent our time at the main pool, which was a gorgeous infinity pool with a swim up bar, dining area, sushi booth, as well as access to walk on the beach (no swimming allowed however). Also, the food at the pool was SO GOOD. The drinks were even better! I think I tried almost every drink on the menu haha oops. Literally almost every photo of me had a drink in hand hahah. Here are some shots of our time spent by the pool area: 

Bikini: Chynna Dolls 

Bikini: Vix Swim 

One piece: 5pm Swimwear 

One piece: Chynna Dolls 

Ugh I want to go backkkk!

As for dining, we did breakfast every morning at Las Marias. It had a gorgeous view with all outdoor seating. The food was great; lots of fruit, juices, an omelette station, as well as other delicious Mexican delicacies. Lunch was always spent at the pool at El Patio. They the best nachos and quesadilla! For dinner, we did two nights the nicest restaurant, La Trajinera, and one night at the more casual outdoor restaurant, Los Riscos. La Trajinera offers great fine dining; the menu consisted of many great options including steak, lobster, and some traditional Mexican dishes. They also had such great appetizers. We did the guacomole, queso fundido, and tortilla soup and seriously loved them all. So good! What I loved about La Trajinera was the ambiance. It was dark and romantic and they had a pianist playing all night. It was wonderful. Like I had mentioned, we did one night at Los Riscos, and I think we actually picked the best night because we got to have dinner while watching the most GORGEOUS sunset. You  may have seen it on my Snapchat or Insta Stories. But it was truly spectacular! They also had great food as well. Here are some food/dining shots:

Of course I had to make my own avocado toast…

Best nachos ever… 

Basically we spent all our time at the resort because we really wanted to just relax and layback for the week. But on our last day, we thought it would be a good idea to head to the town/Marina area for the second half of our day and see what else Cabo has to offer. Our hotel offered a complimentary shuttle, every two hours to the town and their sister hotel. They also had all inclusive dining available for us at the hotel there as well. So after a few hours by the pool we went back to the room and got ready to head to town. It was only a short 15 minute drive. Unfortunately I was not impressed; I think it was good to see but since we weren’t going to do any boat or dinner tours, there honestly wasn’t much to do. They  had a very nice mall, which had high end stores such as Cartier, Chanel, etc. but nothing else to do really. Since the shuttle came every two hours, we killed time in the mall, then headed the casino for a little bit and with the help of alf casino bonus codes we got exciting rewards at the end of the day. Afterwards we had a drink and waited for our shuttle back to the hotel. Our hotel had such great dining and a beautiful ambiance that I wanted to spend our last night there instead of in the town. In my opinion, I think going to the town is nice if you plan of doing a boat tour or beach activities. Otherwise, there honestly is not much to do. Once we got back to the hotel, we shot a few looks and headed to dinner. We had a great last night!

Here are some final shots of the resort and some amenities including the gym and business center: 

Here are some final looks from my trip:

Dress: Vici Dolls | Shoes: Steve Madden | Necklace: No Weekends 

Skirt: Morrisday The Label | Top: Bebe | Shoes: Linzi Shoes 

Dress: Vici Dolls | Shoes: Sole Society | Jewelry: Shashi

Also, in case you guys missed it, I took over the resorts Instagram for a day. Check it out here!

Overall, this trip was so perfect. Our experience at Hacienda Encantada was wonderful, seriously no complaints! Everything was great. The staff was so friendly and helpful, the food and drinks were delicious, the property was stunning, the rooms were spacious and clean. They really took great care of us! On one of our final nights, we came back to the room to champagne and dessert waiting for us. SO sweet! There really isn’t anything else I would have asked for! 

Here are some final pointers for you if you’re planning on traveling to Cabo: 

ACTIVITES: 

• Visit El Arco de Cabo San Lucas, better known as Lands End (my #1 must see)
• Fishing Charters, Boat Tours, Sightseeing Tours
• Scuba Diving & Snorkeling
• Playa del Amor (Lover’s Beach)
• Baby of Cabo San Lucas
• Santa Maria Beach
• Bars & Clubs
• Canyon Adventures, Extreme Tours, Ziplineing, and Aerial Adventure Parks
• Kayaking, Canoeing, Jet Skis, Parasailing
• Golf 

TIPS: 

• Do not bring a lot of valuables with you; I recommend this for most trips.
• Try to pack light, we honestly spent all our time in swimwear except at night for dinner.
• There are many places in Mexico that are unsafe to travel, but places like Cabo as well as Cancun and Puerto Vallarta remain as very popular travel designations. Just travel with caution and don’t roam the streets at night, especially alone. I’ve heard of a few scary stories!
• Bring a good amount of change. You’ll need it for tip! The currency in Mexico is the peso but most places accept the dollar.
• Bring sunscreen. The sun is super strong and you can burn easily. I rarely get sunburned but I did end up a little red after this trip!
• Book all transportation ahead of time. If possible, book your activities as well.
• There are iguanas everywhere in Cabo, so don’t be surprised when you see one outside your room haha
• Drink lots of water and stay hydrated BUT do not drink tap water! You will get sick. Always drink bottled water, the resort only gave us bottled water which is a huge plus.
• Although Cabo is great all year round, traveling between October and March is ideal. That is high season.
• If you like to take a lot of photos and are spending time by the pool or beach, buy a phone protector! Always good to be safe – this is the one I used. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this post! I know it was super long but I had so much to talk about. Love sharing my experiences with you guys! Let me know your thoughts and if you have any questions or comments! 

Xo, Sami

*In collaboration with Hacienda Encantada Resort & Spa and Carolyn Izzo Integrated Communcations*