Cabo San Lucas is one of the go-to vacation destinations for anyone looking for a tropical and upbeat place to escape from your day-to-day life. From the variety of daytime activities to the nonstop and energetic nightlife, there is always an adventure waiting to happen, you just have to go out and seek it.

If you’re looking for the next budget-friendly travel stop for you and your friends to jet to next, I wouldn’t overlook the Marina at Cabo San Lucas.

In this blog post, I’m sharing with you how my two best gal friends and I were able to go on a five-night trip for about $500 each, feel COMPLETELY safe, and hit up the best activities, food, and Instagrammable spots for photos.

Travel:

First, let’s talk about our travel plans and how we were able to travel at such a great cost.

We started planning our trip about three months in advance trying to decide between Hawaii, Catalina, Vegas, Palm Springs or Cabo. After doing a lot of number crunching we were shocked to find out that Cabo San Lucas was the most affordable option.

Our flights were booked through Alaska Airlines, flying from Los Angeles Airport and landing in San Jose del Cabo, costing us each $247.88 round trip. This was already half the cost of a flight to Hawaii in the month of July.

Then we took a public bus to the Marina. The bus cost about $17 USD for all three of us (total) and took about 45 minutes to get there.

Where to stay

We stayed at The Marina Fiesta Resort & Spa and at the time of booking we booked the Nautical Junior Suite with two queen beds AND the “Breakfast included” plan. For five nights our total was $717, which meant, split between the three of us, we each pitched in $239 USD

The most important thing for me when traveling is safety.

When looking for a place to vacation with my two best friends, we wanted to go somewhere none of us had ever been before while also making sure we were in a safe enough place for our moms to feel comfortable with their three baby girls traveling “alone” (with no ‘men’ to protect us).

Walking into the Marina I immediately felt like it was the perfect place for us to be. I mean, Cabo with my two best gal friends, naturally I was a little nervous at first because 3 girls…traveling alone…can feel sketchy, but the location of the Marina Fiesta made us feel SO SAFE which was a huge burden off our shoulders.

The view from their rooftop was immaculate, especially this little nook in the photo above, it was the perfect spot for me to cozy up and read a book in.

While we did do a few excursions, we actually found ourselves chilling at the pool more often than we thought. It was the perfect temperature and the swim-up bar overlooking the marina gave us all the “Cabo vibes”. When you go I definitely recommend getting their Mango Margarita with Chamoy and a Tajin Rim…you won’t want to drink anything else the entire time I promise!

Where to eat:

Now let’s talk about food.

As mentioned before, the Marina Fiesta came with a breakfast package so every morning we didn’t have to worry about where we were going or what we were going to eat. With this package, I was expecting a typical ‘conventional breakfast’ but I was blown away with what we were presented with. Every day we went, the staff goes ALL OUT each morning to make sure that the breakfast is consistent in quality but also varies enough so that if you’re at their Resort for multiple days, you can still have a variety of options presented to you when you sit down to eat.

My personal favorite items were their green juice (which was never too sour with a dominantly orange flavor base), chilaquiles verde, and fresh fruit.

For dinner, on our 2nd night out we went to Golden Zone which was right next to our hotel and the food was PHENOMENAL.

First stepping into the restaurant, the atmosphere is everything you’d expect and want at an establishment that’s located looking over the marina in Cabo. Our servers were Angel and Erineo, both of whom were friendly, proactive with filling our glasses and checking on us and even made us feel comfortable to say a few jokes, share some laughs, and overall have a wonderful night with what felt like family.

I’m lucky I remembered to take this video of the food above because it smelled so good I didn’t even bother taking a picture of anything we ate it all so fast.

They had a variety of authentic Mexican food to choose from. You can stick to the classics and get chips and dip as an appetizer, however, I recommend the tortilla soup (which I think was my favorite item of the night). The tortilla soup was great because you can dress to your liking with toppings such as tortilla chips, avocado, cilantro, and cojita cheese.

For the main course, we had a variety of items on our table.
Danielle ordered the chicken with beans and rice. I ordered the lobster tacos and Adria ordered the buttered lobster tail (I say go all out and pick the lobster tail! It was so buttery it melts in your mouth.

Then for dessert, to celebrate my birthday we had their house-made churros and chocolate lava cake. Both were amazing but if you want the full experience I 100% recommend ordering the churros. They might even be better than Disneyland churros dare I say.

For your morning pick-me-up coffee, you will NEED to go to La Vikina located right outside of La Galeria. Not only will you be supporting a small business when getting your caffeine fix, but the owner is a 17-year-old male who makes the BEST coffee in the Marina! All three of us gals are very picky when it comes to the coffee we like and we were all blown away with these specialty drinks.

What to do:

Finally, for the activities let’s talk about what to do on a day-to-day basis besides eating (even though the food is always my favorite part.

One of our days we spent the entire time walking through the streets outside of the Marina to find small markets like the one pictured above. It was so fun to walk through the shops and find the best souvenirs to take home to our loved ones.

On our 2nd to last day, we went to the underground spa at The Marina Fiest Resort & Spa. We each booked a full body massage and we were able to come to the spa an hour before our booked time to use the other amenities. There was the ice/hot bath, sauna, relaxation room and it was the PERFECT way to relax and prep for the massages.

The interior of the Spa itself was the most stunning spa I’ve ever been to. Everything was marble and smelled like He

I could tell by the stunning interior of the spa alone that this is the best spa I’ve ever been to… and probably ever will go to.

When everything is marble, you know you’re at a high-end place. The heavenly aroma that hit me as soon as I stepped in didn’t hurt either.

There will be plenty of vendors around the Marina offering to take you in a water taxi to go see Lovers Beach or The Arch, absolutely take them up on their offer.

Even though this is what we did on the last day it was absolutely the highlight of our trip.

Our boat guide took us to Pelican Rock to cliff jump (even though some boat guides won’t allow you to do that). He gave us a tour of all the must-see ocean sights, and then dropped us off at Lovers Beach for an hour to relax.

The total for our trip from the hotel stay, flights, transportation, excursions, food and souvenirs, we each spent a little less than $1,000. So if you’re looking for the perfect budget-friendly getaway, The Marina Cabo San Lucas is going to be your way to go! You can do the “all-inclusive” package, skip the spa day and you’ll be hitting a budget you’re happy with.