Todos Santos Mexico Shore Excursion Review – Cruise Maven

Are you all-also-common with chaotic Cabo San Lucas, Mexico?  Perhaps the allure of Señor Frog’s is not for you. 

If that’s the case, then this Todos Santos shore excursion could possibly be the excellent alternative.

Browse on to find out what our shore excursion from Cabo San Lucas was like and if it was worth the time and price.

Todos Santos Shore Excursion Overview

Cabo San Lucas, in which cruise ships dock, is positioned in Mexico’s state of Baja California Sur.  Cabo is a magnet for spring breakers, vacation resort vacationers, and West Coastline shorter breakers. 

Thousands and thousands of travellers fill resort rooms in Cabo through substantial year, plus there is cruise ship passengers on Mexican Riviera itineraries.  So if you want to avoid the chaos and throngs of travellers, head more than to Todos Santos. 

What to Be expecting on a Todos Santos Shore Excursion 

Our tour of Todos Santos was a total-day tour.  We had precedence disembarkation early in the morning and a late return to the ship.

This is mostly because the smaller city of Todos Santos, which signifies “all saints,” is an hour absent from the dock in Cabo.

At $99 for every particular person, the excursion lasted five hours.  The tour provided two hrs of vacation time and 3 several hours of a guided stroll, lunch, and some free of charge time.

Likely from Cabo San Lucas to the Tour Bus

To start with, there was the cruise ship’s tender boat ride into Cabo San Lucas.  We have been achieved at the dock and led to our tour bus.

Our guideline, Betty, started our tour as quickly as we boarded our mentor.  She extolled information about the region in which she was born, raised, and now lives.

Pointing along her forearm, Betty drew a “map” of the extended landmass of Baja California Sur.  She confirmed how the place juts into the Pacific Ocean, and marked off La Paz, the state’s capital, and other noteworthy web pages. 

When we arrived in Todos Santos, we frequented the cultural center, the oldest making in town.  It was the moment used for the military, then elementary college, then reopened by the neighborhood.

Our group toured the little museum where we learned that there are no historical buildings or pyramids in this part of Mexico.  Why? Because the indigenous tribes had been migratory and in no way stayed in one particular place prolonged.

Touring the grounds, we also saw a reproduction of a community, standard house. Planted close by were bushels of aloe, a plant considered to scare absent bad spirits in Mexican tradition.

Visiting Mexico During Dia de Los Muertos Pageant

Our visit in late October was in the course of Mexico’s festive week of celebrating Dia de Los Muertos. On a brief walking tour by means of city, we strolled below colourful flags, papel picado, that lead us to the previous Jesuit mission, also known as Pilar de la Paz.

Painted and restored a lot of situations given that it was founded in 1733, the mission is still luminous and open up to the public.

We paused right here briefly to master about the mission’s historical past, and its relic, an idol of the Virgin Mary the moment buried in La Paz for safekeeping.

Just all around the block is the Lodge California (not that Hotel California, but much more on that in a bit). Lunch was served below for our tour group.  Provided was a sampling of diverse neighborhood dishes, which include a burrito, tamale, and of program rice and beans.

Refreshments were being integrated, but not alcoholic beverages. After an satisfying crack, it was free of charge time to investigate until finally we boarded the coach to return to the ship.

The city is compact, and we felt like the 45 minutes or so was just adequate to look through and acquire a swift souvenir.  There was nevertheless time to halt for a glowing chilly brew espresso and a cookie at Taller 17, a regional café.

Of class, there’s under no circumstances enough time to see it all, but you’ll get an notion of the location and its surf-stylish environment.

Why is Todos Santos Called “Magic City?”

Located on the Tropic of Most cancers, it’s reported that Todos Santos has a magical emotion about it. So considerably so, it is been presented the designation of “pueblo magico” or magic town. 

Todos Santos is one particular of 36 cities in Mexico highlighted for its normal, cultural, and historical importance. 

This tiny town of about 6,500 inhabitants, feels virtually like an artist commune. Galleries line the sandy streets, as well as craftspeople expertly carving wood or working leather.

Tied to Todos Santos, nevertheless superficially, is the band The Eagles.  Hotel California is in the middle of downtown and has been in a single kind or a further due to the fact 1950.

Nonetheless, the band has confirmed that the title and the hotel’s locale on a “dusty desert highway,” is basically a coincidence, and not the inspiration for the tune, “Hotel California.”

The real story guiding the lodge is even additional fascinating.  The hotel’s primary operator was a Chinese immigrant who created the house and lived there with his household in the ‘50s.

Nonetheless, a margarita at the lodge bar is a great concept. So much grows in the location — mangoes, papayas, pitaya, you identify it — so tequila with the taste of refreshing fruit is usually a probability. 

Final Ideas: Todos Santos Shore Tour from Cabo

A day out of town presents you a far better really feel for the Mexican point out of Baja California Sur, passing desert landscapes with the vivid blue of the Pacific Ocean peeking out just from at the rear of.

For the equal of $20 an hour, the tour is a very good worth contemplating that arranging your have transportation to and from the cruise port in Cabo San Lucas, about 50 miles away, could be a trouble.

Much more than that, targeted visitors into Cabo could suggest a late arrival from Todos Santos. As we were being booked via the cruise line, the ship waited for us and we departed about an hour late.

Had we booked independently, there is a potent chance we could have been left behind if we did not make on-ship time.

What to Know Just before You Go

Todos Santos is getting to be properly recognised for its local artists, and you will want to browse the community artwork galleries and workshops all through your pay a visit to.

Though credit playing cards are greatly recognized, it’s often a intelligent notion to have some dollars on you, possibly in bucks or pesos numerous institutions have credit card minimums. 

The day in Todos Santos was a nice break from the crowds in Cabo.  The Todos Santos shore excursion was a truly great possibility to see distinctive surroundings, historic architecture and have an reliable food.  A thing to consider for your up coming cruise to Cabo. 

Brittany Chrusciel

Brittany Chrusciel has included the cruise sector for numerous yrs, previously as Cruise Critic’s Places Editor, and has been quoted in publications these as Skift, Usa Today, and the LA Occasions. She is a happy alumnus of Semester at Sea, in which she circumnavigated the globe although researching writing, Spanish, and political science. Her most loved river cruise experiences so far have been browsing the Xmas marketplaces with her German grandmother, and Portugal’s Douro River.