Playa El Médano

Playa El Médano, or Médano Beach, is the main beach of Cabo San Lucas, in the municipality of Los Cabos, Baja California Sur. It runs along the bay just east of the marina and the downtown streets, so most visitors staying in town can walk to it, and it looks straight across the water to the granite rocks of Land's End and El Arco. It is a long strip of sand, a few kilometres in total, lined with hotels and resorts along its back edge.

Because it lies inside the bay on the Sea of Cortez side, the rocks of Land's End take most of the force out of the Pacific swell, and the Los Cabos tourism board calls it the top swimmable beach in Cabo San Lucas. That is not true of many beaches nearby: most of the Pacific-facing beaches around Cabo have rip currents and heavy shore break. Even here the bottom drops off fairly quickly, and conditions can change, so it is worth looking at the beach flags before going in and keeping children close.

The beach is the busiest and noisiest in Los Cabos. Along the sand there are open-air restaurants and beach clubs such as The Office and Mango Deck, taco stands, and vendors selling hats, jewelry and blankets. Operators rent jet skis, kayaks and paddleboards, run parasailing and snorkeling trips, and send glass-bottom boats and water taxis from here to Playa del Amor and El Arco. Wikivoyage notes the crowds are largest in the high season, from November to February, and that some beach clubs have a loud, spring-break atmosphere.

If you want quiet, walk farther from the beach clubs toward the resorts at the far end, or go early in the morning. Sunsets over the rocks of Land's End are one of the main reasons people stay until evening.