Young couple in SJD - tips?
 

Hi all,

Traveling with my S/O to Cabo in a couple weeks, both 21. I am admittedly not too experienced with traveling in Mexico. I was wondering if you all had any beginners tips, so to speak. What to watch for, avoid, go to, etc.

We are staying 7 days in San Jose del Cabo and then 3 days in downtown Cabo. We plan on renting a car, which is about $5 a day, using the USAA coupon to avoid under 25 year old fees. I assume no other charges are added, but please advise if this is not correct. I am going to use my United Chase card as it has primary rental coverage. Again, if you all think that's a poor idea, please let me know. I'm new at this! Additionally, if there are notable scams to watch out for other than the gas station and sketchy tours one, it would be good to know those.

We tend to act and travel about 30 years older than we are, so anything involving rambunctious drinking or partying probably isn't too applicable to us :)

Thanks!

You are legally required to purchase Mexican car insurance, and even if you could get out of the rental office without it, that would be a bad idea for a number of reasons such as being detained until you can prove to the authorities satisfaction you can cover the cost of any accident, which could take quite a while with the US based insurance. Just plan on paying for insurance.

Otherwise, have a great time! I've heard the ATV rides out in the desert are a lot of fun.

My best tip - don't pay for gas with a credit card, or you might find that your card gets multiple charged, by a Pemex employee who has an interesting way of making extra money on the side. And when paying by cash, be VERY cognizant of which denomination of bills you handed the attendant.

Is there anyway of finding this price listed anywhere? I am assuming its not part of the total price, yet there's no option to add it on. My understanding is that I am covered sans the third party liability part of insurance which (I believe) should be cheap. I just don't want to budget $45 for a week of car rental and have it end up being $200 when we get there!

Also, on the topic of ATVs, do you think this is worth it even when it's incredibly hot? I had originally penned for it, but then thinking about wearing long pants and a long shirt in 95 degree weather made me a little tentative, but I also don't know how it all works!

It is very hot there this time of year, although June is a couple of degrees cooler than July and August. Be prepared for temps well into the 90s.

If you like art, the community of Todos Santos is an easy drive just up the Pacific coast from Cabo San Lucas. Lots of galleries and shops.

For the insurance, I can only suggest you check with the company from whom you are renting the car, as that is going to be the most efficient way to get the insurance. I think you probably will have to spend at least $20/day on the insurance, but I avoid driving in Mexico, so I have just seen the add on prices when I have booked hotel/air packages. This article looks like it discusses these options relatively well.

http://www.sfgate.com/mexico/mexicom...ow-3787891.php

and

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-g...b_4633563.html

Hopefully some others have recently rented in Mexico and can let you know the recent prices.


You will have to be your own judge about whether you want to be out in the very hot weather on the ATVs. Some people can tolerate the heat better than others. Sometimes just sitting on the beach is nice when it is hot like that!

greetings Barabuski,

We went to Cabo this past spring. Stayed in SJD and took the bus to get all over even to CSL. Easy cheap and relaxing not having to drive. The bus system is very very efficient in Cabo and in SJD.

One of the main scams to look out for is upon arrival at the airport after customs, when you get into the arrival hall, you will see alot of folks offering you free rides, tickets for this and that, they are all timeshare related. They want to sign you up for a tour. If your vacation time is precious just walk on to your own itinerary, don't stop to listen unless you want to partake in this game.

My advise is to go see the cabo forums on tripadvisor, a wealth of info is found there. You'll also fine alot of info pertaining to car rental insurance.. very well explained along with all the related scams one could encounter.

Enjoy Cabo!

Two existing threads I strongly recommend are:


Mexico auto insurance - a primer
Planning to rent a car in Mexico? Insurance is mandatory in Mexico, but you may want more than the legal minimums to protect yourself - the insurance company is also your bailor if you have any trouble.

Mexico: Car Rental / Renting a Car master thread
Many of us like to drive and go off beaten paths - read this if you do too.

I was down there in late April and rented from Alamo. Base rate was $5 USD or something but took the collision coverage for another $17 USD/day.

I'm a Mexican national, have lived in Tijuana, have family in Cabo, etc. but I took the insurance because having a traffic accident in Cabo is a pain. Locals from Cabo tend to be from other parts of Mexico so they don't know the roads and the state of Baja California Sur does not require a driving test to get a license.

I prefer to have the insurance appraiser come out and take care of the process rather than having to worry about coverage from Chase while waiting in the ministerio publico (pseudo-police HQ) for Chase to respond, etc. Cops will normally drag everyone without insurance to the ministerio publico until financial responsibility is determined. No thanks. :(

If you like local seafood, check out Toro Guero (both in Cabo and San Jose) as well as Guero Camaron in the non-turisty part of Cabo. Food is delicious and cheap. ^

For what it's worth, just as an update to this, we got verbal and written confirmation from Budget that there would be no additional charges whatsoever. We got to the Budget office in Cabo, where they henceforth told us we would indeed have additional charges.. to the tune of $33 (USD) per day for insurance, and then $40 (USD) per day for an under 25 fee, despite using the USAA promo code to waive the fee. Upon discussing it, we essentially felt that we were being intentionally fleeced as young adults. They even almost tried to process the new total - $540, compared to a quoted $45 - without our approval. We had to verbally and repeatedly (not a language barrier issue - I speak Spanish well) say we did not agree to the new total.

We took a cab to our hotel for 500 pesos ($38) and then bussed the rest of the time. Really recommend it.. the bus system could not be easier. Cost us maybe $25 for 8 or so bus rides, including back to the airport.

Basically, don't be like me and think that verbal confirmation from a company will somehow get you past somewhat shady car rental policies.

For what it's worth, I would probably had no problem paying the $13 as quoted (notably, as optional) on the Budget site, but certainly not $33. And taking away the underage promo and then trying to charge $40 a day seems exceptionally shady!

totally agree, those $5 quotes on the website are bogus. I rented with BBB and had no issues see my post