Medano Beach
Medano Beach
4.5
About
Set in one of Cabo San Lucas' liveliest areas, this downtown beach is famous for its gentle waves and warm waters—perfect for swimming or taking a dip. For the more adventurous, you can go parasailing and ride a jet ski or banana boat. This beach is also a popular starting point for kayak tours and snorkeling trips to El Arco. When hungry, the alfresco dining options are great—choose between classic American grub or traditional Mexican fare to fuel up. Note that the beach gets pretty busy on weekends and during the Spring Break months. – Tripadvisor
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  • Tony Motola
    Cabo San Lucas, Mexico14 contributions
    The heart of sun and sea is here on Medano Beach
    Center of Cabo San Lucas daytime activities. Not hard to discover since some o/t best known joints are located there, the office, Billigans and Mongo Deck, places that go from subdued to radically wild, yet I became interested in discovering other eateries, hangouts & beach Care Centers. Like T/ Sandbar friendly day bar overhang the sand where you have great meals, cold cerveza or cocktail with no need to move at sunset since t/ on beach firepit gathers an eclectic crowd of expats & tourists to share and meet. Actually my first pick for Best Hangout Joint award. Continuing down the beach and just on the edge of the dry river bed is Tabasco Beach that though enjoyable can be a bit heavy handed on the use of essential beach paraphernalia such as a beach umbrella which has an extra charge, but nevertheless a good place to enjoy a burger or more elaborate fish dishes and just a step away from one of the beaches best jet ski rentals. And last but not least just a few meters away is a taste of beach side true relaxation, meaning, tented massage tables with warm and friendly hands that surely will take all your worries and pains away. Probably the best thing to do on Medano Beach is to not stay in one place at let yourself be seen strolling down the shore and popping into the variety of upscale or easygoing beach side hanging outs. Enjoy.
    Visited February 2019
    Written January 5, 2020
  • travelingmomNYC
    97 contributions
    Safe, somewhat crowded beach with lots of services
    This is a great beach to bring the kids. You can rent a chair, get a drink, and rent a kayak or ride the banana boat, etc. There's a "Tarzan Boat" where kids can jump off mini trampolines and a rope swing. They charged us $20/hr per person for it, and my kids LOVED it.
    Visited January 2020
    Written January 9, 2020
  • Taneka C
    7 contributions
    Medano Beach
    Depending on what you are looking to do this beach has it all. The water was great but gets deep quick. If you are bringing children definitely have them suited up with floaters/life vest. The beach itself is small. Not a lot of sand between the water and where you sit. As soon as you get on the sand be prepared to be swooped by the locals to buy something. You can’t be mad at it as for some this is how they make their money. Jet ski ($50 for single or $55 for double is an option something we/the group did as well as the boat ride ($20pp). We got on a big boat for ($20). It’s about a 40 minute ride/tour that we did (lovers & divorce beach, the arc, pelicans brief, we also saw seals) -all covered on the boat ride. Looking back we should of rented the yacht for $400. It was a group of us but it would of been well worth the money cuz we could of split. If it’s a group/ I say do the tour that way. Even if it’s not a group $400 for two hours and some lite eats and drinks plus the tour would of made the trip more fun— we were already having fun but it would of put it over the top! Ok, moving on! one last thing to make your beach experience a better one, make reservations at one of the beach clubs. We did Corazon beach club. You can sit on beds, beach chairs etc you just have to buy food and drinks so it’s really a no brainer to use that service. I mean you will likely eat and drink on the beach so why not buy some drinks and use their amenities! We had complimentary massages on the beach(I tipped well) mine was really good! plus they (security) keep the locals from harnessing you. The key here is to make reservations or get up early and try and see if they have openings for beds, lounge chairs and tables. This was our main go to beach but we also did one in Todos Santos— just beautifully!!!
    Visited November 2022
    Traveled with friends
    Written November 9, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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TJAClark
Calgary, Canada36 contributions
Jan 2022 • Couples
Modano Beach is large and directly across the bay from the famed Los Cabos Arch and Lovers Beach. Sand is a bit more coarse than the powdered sand variety. Sand is deep and Beach is not so steep from the water so as to be a difficult or long climb. No rip tide concern here. The current is weakest nearest the Marina. The grade of the ocean bottom allows for a reasonable walk into the ocean before getting deep. That said, this is not a wading type Beach.
Numerous water, Beach, food and bar activities available. There are plenty of locals working on this Beach trying to sell silver, t-shirts, bandannas, bowls, hats, puppets, massages, jet skiing, Beach lounge chairs & umbrellas, wind chimes, cigars, pipes, flowers, water taxi rides and whistles. Often, and to me and not my wife, the cigar vendors offer what they term 'party favours' while meaning illegal drugs.
The frequency of the Beach sales offers is at best troubling and at worst a significant aggravation ... is all the time and all day long. The same seller will come back numerous times to you. They stand in front of you and will whistle or shout over you to attract the attention of other Beach goers located behind you. EDM is everywhere nearest the mouth of the Marina. As you've further from the Marina, the volume and tempo of the music drops and mellows.
There is gate monitored public parking available at approx the midpoint of the Beach. Parking fees was $40 MX. Parking is on hard parked dirt/sand.
Plenty of bar and food service available. Bathrooms available by entering one of the beach bars.
The Beach is beautiful, deep, long and very clean. The Swimming area is entirely weed free. The views are special.
The dominant memory I took from 2 days on this beach is not the aforementioned positives, instead the significannt annoyance of inescapable sales offers from locals is what I recall most.
Written January 20, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

trav226
New York City550 contributions
May 2021 • Family
This is of course a beautiful beach bc of the arch. And it is long. But honestly I am baffled why so many people make repeat trips to Cabo. I guess they like to drink and party but for those of us who want nothing more than a beautiful, peaceful, quiet beach and calm clear water this doesn’t cut it. For that go to the Carib or some place like La Paz.

The vendors nonstop harassing you when you’re sitting on the beach, walking on it or even eating a meal at a restaurant above it ruins the experience. They r like mosquitoes. The same ones will ask you repeatedly throughout the day trying to wear you down. Not sure why the authorities allow this.

I can name tons of amazing beaches close to the US with no vendors. There are just too many options to put up with this. Especially when the water is cold until the air becomes stifling (no 70F isn’t warm water). And the often huge swells at the surface make much of this unswimmable - certainly until you get to the part between Arco and the marina. Plus the immediate drop off so you’re over your head almost as soon as you enter the water. All negatives.

Beautiful yea but no beauty can make up for these downsides unless you just want to lie on the beach and drink.
Written May 4, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

davidm
Indiana19 contributions
Oct 2020
For one this beach is beautiful! It was an amazing view of the Arch area, any Cruise ships that may be in port, the sand and water are gorgeous. I did NOT have any issues walking on the beach, even w/a bad knee. Yes, you are going to sink, YES you are going to get tosses around by waves, what do you expect, it's AN OCEAN and BEACH SAND, along with it being HOT! I'm sure sand is HOT anywhere else you go, as in Florida, Texas or other parts of the world in hot zones.... so to post that is silly! You have plenty of variety of food places to enjoy or have drinks at. It's easy to get to and walk back to downtown. You have a variety of vendors that come around selling their goods and they respect you if you tell them "no". You have opportunities to pay for a boat to take you to the arch, whale watching or other activities. It is a beautiful area and I would return again and again....
Written October 24, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MsKimL29
Saint Louis, MO15 contributions
Dec 2020
Medano Beach is a beauty. Things to know… you will be harassed to purchase some of everything! Like nonstop! If that type of thing bothers you, this isn't the beach for you. After politely telling them "no thank you", they tend to float on to the next visitor.
Medano Beach offers a good mixture of tourists and locals. I saw several families bring their dogs, be careful to watch out for dog poop. That wasn't so fun. The beach is beautiful. You can find all sorts of activities; waterspouts, water tours, sunset cruises. All of that is offered on the beach, and sometime you can even negotiate. Most definitely a MUST when visiting Cabo. Also, good restaurants are along the beach too. We traveled in Dec. so the water wasn't as warm as I hoped, but still a great time.
Written December 29, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lev740
Sacramento, CA113 contributions
Dec 2021
Cabo San Lucas in December 2021

Took a tender from the Ruby Princess Cruise and after about 15 minutes stepped on the pier right into the welcoming group of vendors for all kind of adventures from snorkeling, whale watching, fishing and so on. By the way, December is an excellent time for the whale watching and there were plenty to see. All we wanted is to go swimming and possibly snorkeling from the beach.
By the way, the bathrooms were available at the end of vendors building to the left coming off the pier. Took a water taxi for $10/person for a round trip. Requested 2.5 hrs return and boat came back on time. Paid a $1/person for a port fee just to get to the boat.
Kept a lot of single 1$, 5$ and 20$ bills. Credit cards are not enough when dealing with small vendors.
There was actually no need to purchase a round trip since there were numerous boats available at any time without committing ourselves to the specific return time.
We ended up on Medano beach after about 7 min boat ride. We paid $20 for an umbrella and a single chair. Keep in mind that it was not a Long Beach chair, but a simple plastic chair. There is no need to pay for anything at all if you will just put a couple towels on sand at any place on the sand near the water and enjoy your time. There are numerous hotels/resorts with beach excess. We inquired at one and for $61/person they will allow the use of their lounge chairs, umbrellas and have some food. We figured out that it will be useful if will stay for the full day, but it was not worth for us for about two hours of use.
Yellow flags warning was posted in the front of some hotels beaches, but waves were no particulars threatening to prevent even mediocre swimmers like myself and my wife to step into the water with very clean sandy bottom. Brought our snorkeling masks, but the Medano beach is definitely not a place for snorkeling from the shore.
There were numerous street vendors walking around, but unlike in many other touristy areas they were not pushy and No, Gracias will be sufficient.
Also noted that there were many cleaning people continuously cleaning the sand. This was something I never experienced ever on other beach areas around the world.

Good travels
Written February 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

alexbond007
Toronto, Canada34 contributions
Feb 2020
Walking in the sand on this beach was not easy but still enjoyable. It was about a 35 minute walk on the beach for the Santa Fe Rui Hotel to Cabo town. The ocean water temperature is relatively chilly but not too bad once you got in. Swimming is not recommended because of the undertow but that said, I'm a strong swimmer and it was that strong that week. The beach slopes on a about a 30 degree slope and the sand is deep but not to hot to walk on. Running would be very tough. Beautiful scenery in the ocean looking at the Carnival ships that dock their a few days of the week and also view of lovers beach and the famous arch.
Written February 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Anthony B
Buckeye, AZ5 contributions
Jun 2022 • Family
The beach itself was beautiful. A little bit of a high-tide, but we weren't swimming so no problems. My wife bought a San Lucas hat and cover-up for a pretty good deal; they were willing to negotiate. We did a glass bottom boat experience that was really cool!! We were on the boat La Bruja with Captain Miguel. He took us to the Arch, Lover's Beach (and Divorce Beach on the other side), Pelican Rock, and we saw some "Mexican Water Chihuahuas" (sea lions).

When we got back, we decided to eat at Mango Deck. It looked bustling, but we didn't know what to expect from the place. The food, pretty great! The atmosphere......kind of an adult experience. Not a place I suggest taking anyone under 18. Beware of them pushing tequila and jello shots in your face, and some "light touching" once you take a shot. It wasn't bad, just unexpected because we noticed other younger children there.

We enjoyed ourselves and would definitely be willing to go back.

FYI, we came from San Jose side and with 4 people we took a taxi that was $80 round-trip. We tried Uber, but they all only fit 3 people and would have been $88 if we split cars...so in this case the taxi was cheaper.
Written June 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dabe5
Seattle, WA24 contributions
Jul 2020 • Family
I loved getting up before sunrise and walking on Medano Beach. It’s so beautiful walking up the beach predawn. just listening to the waves, watching the people and pelicans fish, then turning at sunrise and walking back. The workers are out chatting in small groups, picking up the previous days leftovers while the beach groomers motor over the sand...getting everything ready for the day. The same scene played every morning for 10 days.

I stayed at a hotel on the beach but there is public access a block away.
Written July 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

myjanone
13 contributions
Dec 2020
Beautiful Sunrises. The sum appears to grow out of the water with a small amount of clouds the colors are fantastic. The sand feels great to walk in.
Ther are many activities available right off the beach, parasailing, wave runners, paddle boards, you can catch water taxis, glass bottom boats, for sightseeing or transportation to the marina and more. Great swimming too. You can access the beach near the villa del arco on the east end of Camino Viego road if not staying at one of the hotels on the beach. The villa group hotels are a can't be beat choice for this beach
Written December 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Charlie W
13 contributions
Jun 2021 • Family
Water temp was cool but not cold. Clear water, saw some bait fish, a mackerel and some small jelly fish. Great swimmable beach. Still had a strong undertow. Jet ski and boat rentals available on the beach. Jet skis were $50 for 30 min and $90 for 60 min.
Written June 8, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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