Cabo San Lucas cruise port guide

Arrival & Getting Ashore

Getting to the centre: Cabo San Lucas marina tender landing to the marina waterfront.

• Walk: realistic once ashore; the landing is already within the central marina area, close to shops and restaurants. This assessment covers the waterfront, not every beach or hotel in Los Cabos.

Source: Princess's Cabo arrival guidance, checked 2026-10-02.

Ocean cruise ships normally anchor in the bay and transfer passengers by tender. Follow your ship's instructions for the outward boats and identify its return landing before leaving the marina. A sightseeing boat or beach water taxi is a separate service from the ship's tender.

Discuss mobility needs with the ship before committing to an independent booking. Princess notes that boarding a tender does not establish wheelchair access at its shore landing; the captain decides whether passengers can disembark. The walkable marina does not establish that everyone can make the transfer ashore.

About this port

Cabo San Lucas is a good port for a modest independent outing: the tender delivers you into the marina, with restaurants and shops already around you. The more distinctive excursion is out on the water again, seeing the granite Arch at Land's End. Choose between a marina wander, a beach afternoon and a boat trip before adding a longer journey elsewhere in Los Cabos.

“Los Cabos” covers a wider destination than this landing. An excursion advertised for San José del Cabo involves onward transport; it is not the town immediately outside your tender. This guide concerns Cabo San Lucas itself.

Getting Around

Keep a waterfront day on foot, with pauses for shade and refreshments. For Médano Beach, the tourism board lists walking from central Cabo, taxis and water taxis as options. Choose the method that suits your starting point and mobility; the marina landing and a particular beach restaurant are different endpoints.

For any small-boat outing, establish whether it is a sightseeing circuit or a beach drop-off, where you will disembark, and how you will return. Arrange the return before boarding rather than assuming another boat will be waiting when you want to leave.

Things to Do

See the Arch from the water. The tourism board identifies the marina and Médano Beach as departure points for boat visits to El Arco. A short sightseeing circuit makes sense if your main interest is the rock formations; adding swimming or a beach landing changes both the activity and the return arrangements. Los Cabos tourism.

Spend time at Médano Beach. This is one of the area's established swimming beaches, with food and water activities nearby. Choose a clearly defined beach base and establish any chair or umbrella charges before settling in. Médano visitor information.

Stay around the marina. A meal and a waterfront walk suit a shorter call or anyone who would rather avoid another boat journey. Keep the ship's landing as your orientation point and turn back before the outing becomes a hurried circuit.

Getting back to your ship

Your deadline is the ship's last tender instruction, not merely its sailing time. Leave room for the trip back from a beach, locating the correct landing and joining the tender queue. If you take a sightseeing boat, its return to the marina still leaves a separate ship transfer to complete. Use the time kept aboard your ship when arranging pickups.

Practical Information

Carry drinking water, sun protection and a secure bag for the tender crossing. Wear footwear that stays on when boarding boats; bring a change of clothing if swimming is part of the plan.

Beach choice matters here. Los Cabos tourism warns that some shores have rough surf, rip currents and undertows. Follow the flags and local instructions at your chosen beach rather than judging swimming conditions from the view from the ship. Swimming guidance.