You’ve booked your hotel for a beach break in Cabo. Now you want to know about your Cabo airport transportation options.
Specifically, what’s the best way to get from the airport to your hotel or resort?
Here’s what you’ll find in this post:
- Cabo airport transportation – Semi-private vs. private
- Reviews of Los Cabos airport shuttles – 4 reputable companies
- Links to other companies providing Los Cabos airport transfers
- Cost of a taxi from the airport to Cabo San Lucas
- Los Cabos Express – Why you don’t want to take it
- Can you take the public bus from the airport all the way to Cabo San Lucas?
- Is there Uber in Cabo San Lucas?
- Location of the airport and Los Cabos map
- Timeshare vendors at the airport – How to avoid getting sucked in by them
Taxis, shuttle buses and semi-private or private Los Cabos airport shuttles are your main options (apart from renting a car).
Best Cabo airport transportation?
The fastest, cheapest and most convenient way to get to your hotel is to book one of the Cabo San Lucas airport shuttle services in advance – a semi-private or private transfer with a reputable company.
Your transfer company driver will be waiting for you outside the airport terminal, with a welcome sign with your name on it. (Note that you must pass by all the timeshare vendors inside the airport first.)
Semi-private transfers:
Semi-private transportation is usually in a nine-person van; you may have to share with another couple or group.
Private transfers:
Private Los Cabos airport transportation is usually in a Suburban or other large SUV or van.
See our complete Los Cabos travel guide here! Find tips on restaurants, local buses and more…
Los Cabos airport shuttle reviews
These four are reputable transfer companies we have tried and been happy with:
- Cabo Transfers
- TransCabo
- Cielito Lindo
- Blue Dreams
1) Cabo Transfers
Cabo Transfers offers a professional, quality transfer service within Los Cabos – on our many visits to this desert-meets-the-sea resort destination, we’ve used Cabo Transfers several times.
Their website is easy to use. Simply plug in your transfer choice (e.g., private airport shuttle) and your hotel, and you’ll be given a quote. You’ll be asked for your flight arrival and departure information, and they will email you confirmation of your transfer(s) with pick-up times and details noted.
When traveling as a couple (without other family members or companions), we’ve booked the shared shuttle and we’ve never had to wait very long. Sometimes we’ve been the only clients and enjoyed a private shuttle for the shared shuttle price!
Vehicles for the private transfers are a Suburban or Expedition (up to six passengers), Toyota Hiace (up to 10 passengers) or Sprinter (up to 17 passengers). They come with free WiFi and TV screens in the seat backs if you want to watch a video.
All vehicles are air-conditioned and have working seatbelts. They’re clean, comfortable and stocked with ice-cold bottled water, beer and soft drinks (extra cost, depending on the service). Drivers are courteous and polite (and enjoy practising their English on you).
As well as airport transfers, Cabo Transfers offer other driving services; we used them last month to transfer from the Grand Velas Los Cabos to another resort.
Cost:
$21 for a one-way shared airport transfer or $85 for a private transfer (up to six passengers) to Medano Beach hotels in Cabo San Lucas ($25 and $90, respectively, for the Pacific-side resorts).
A grocery stop costs $40 for one hour of shopping at a supermarket close to your resort. (Costco and Walmart are on the way if you’re staying in Cabo San Lucas.)
Bottom line?
Cabo Transfers offers the cheapest semi-private transfer service.
Website for Cabo Transfers: See here
2) TransCabo
One of the first companies to get into the business of driving guests around in the area, TransCabo offers a premium Cabo airport transportation shuttle service. They have a fleet of over 50 recent models in different sizes (all clean and air-conditioned).
TransCabo representatives are easy to spot. When you leave the airport, just look for their bright orange shirts.
For the shared Los Cabos airport shuttle, no more than 10 people per van are booked, with no more than three stops on the way to your destination – and you might luck out and have the vehicle to yourself.
Cost:
$24 for a one-way shared airport transfer or $126 for a private transfer (up to seven passengers) to Medano Beach hotels.
Transcabo can provide infant car seats or baby car seats (they need to be reserved in advance). Ask for the cost of this service.
Bottom line?
TransCabo are trusted and reliable (receiving a 2018 Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor).
Website for TransCabo: See here
3) Cielito Lindo
Cielito Lindo is a great option if you’re traveling as a couple or two couples and you want private car services from the airport to Cabo.
As with all agencies here, reservations must be booked in advance (Cielito Lindo requires three days’ notice for individuals and seven days’ notice for groups). Again, you’ll receive email notification about how to meet the driver, who’ll be waiting for you outside the airport terminal.
Your vehicle will be meticulously clean – and a welcome bottle of cold water will be waiting for you.
As Cielito Lindo is a travel agency, they also offer other services like stocking your villa with groceries before you arrive and private sightseeing tours to Todos Santos and La Paz.
Cost:
$68.90 for a private transfer for one or two persons to Cabo San Lucas ($79.50 for up to four people). A half-hour grocery shopping stop arranged in advance costs $30.
Bottom line?
Cielito Lindo offers the cheapest private Los Cabos airport transfers for a single person, couple or small group (up to four people).
Website for Cielito Lindo: See here
4) Blue Dreams
Blue Dreams is a private transfer company that started in Cancun in 2005.
Blue Dreams now also operates in Los Cabos, and it’s used by select luxury resorts like Grand Velas Los Cabos to transfer their guests (the Grand Velas booked Blue Dreams to pick us up from the airport for our recent stay).
Expect to be welcomed with a chilled facecloth and cold bottle of water, followed by a very comfortable ride.
Cost:
$90 for two people to, for example, the Resort at Pedregal in Cabo San Lucas.
Bottom line?
Blue Dreams is a good choice when only the best will do (and price is no barrier).
Website for Blue Dreams: See here
Please bear in mind that the shuttle companies noted in this post may change their costs at any particular time.
Other Los Cabos airport transfer companies
- For names of more companies providing transportation from the airport to Cabo San Lucas and elsewhere in Los Cabos, check this page on TripAdvisor.
- See also How to Travel From Airport to Hotel in Los Cabos, Mexico on USA Today.
Other Los Cabos airport transportation options?
Taxi from airport to Cabo San Lucas:
Taxis in Los Cabos are large blue or turquoise (occasionally white) vans that seat eight to 10 people. But, gulp, Cabo taxi fares are steep.
A taxi from the airport to Cabo San Lucas will cost you a minimum of $85+ USD (about double the price of a shared airport shuttle if you’re traveling as a couple).
Los Cabos Express:
Shuttle buses are operated by Los Cabos Express, which sells seats on large buses ($16 p.p.). You often have to wait for the bus to fill up, which stops at many resorts along the way.
The good news is that if you’ve forgotten to pre-book a transfer, and you don’t want to fork out for a taxi, you can buy tickets for the shuttle bus inside the airport when you arrive.
The first time we visited Cabo, this is how we got to our resort. We don’t recommend this option, however, because it takes much longer than one of the pre-booked (shared) Cabo San Lucas airport shuttles in a smaller vehicle – which only cost a little more per person.
Local public bus from SJD airport:
Can you ride the public bus from the airport to Cabo San Lucas? Yes.
Because we haven’t taken the bus ourselves, we’ve relied on others to give us the scoop on this.
We understand, however, that you can take the public bus from both Terminal 1 (domestic terminal) and Terminal 2 (international terminal) right into Cabo San Lucas. The bus isn’t fancy (no luggage racks), but it’s very cheap :-).
See the comments below, in particular, from Steve.
Uber in Cabo San Lucas
What about Uber in Los Cabos?
Can you get Uber in Cabo San Lucas or San Jose del Cabo?
As of October, 2018, the company has started to operate in the two towns of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo – yeah! Two services are running: UberX for 1 to 4 people and UberASSIST for people with reduced mobility. Apparently, 1,500 drivers have registered.
We’ll have to wait and see if Uber will be allowed to continue, however. The taxi union is very strong in Los Cabos; they are unhappy about this development and will likely do all they can to prevent Uber from gaining a foothold in Los Cabos.
Note: We understand you can’t use Uber to and from the airport.
Lay of the Land
Where’s your hotel or resort located?
Los Cabos is made up of three main areas:
- Cabo San Lucas
- San Jose del Cabo
- Corridor – the 20-mile stretch of coastline connecting the above two resort towns
Where to stay in Cabo? Read our reviews on 11 amazing Los Cabos hotels
Have a look at the map below.
You’ll see that Cabo San Lucas is the furthest away from the airport (which explains why the transportation or shuttle from the Cabo airport to your hotel is more expensive than, say, to a Corridor or San Jose del Cabo hotel).
Where’s the airport?
There are two airports serving Los Cabos.
The Los Cabos International Airport (SJD) is Cabo’s main airport and the airport you’re likely to fly into; the Los Cabos airport code for this airport is SJD.
The Cabo international airport is about 28 miles from Cabo San Lucas (a 40- to 45-minute drive) and eight miles from San Jose del Cabo (20-minute drive).
There’s also a much smaller airport closer to Cabo San Lucas for very small aircraft; the Cabo San Lucas International Airport code is CSL.
Pssst! Discover the best beaches in Los Cabos here!
Beware the sales people selling Los Cabos timeshares!
After you’ve collected your baggage at the Los Cabos airport, you must pass by a slew of timeshare vendors before you exit.
Don’t get waylaid by them – unless you want a free taxi ride (and a tour or other incentive) in exchange for giving up a half-day of your precious vacation time in Cabo to attend a timeshare presentation.
Want to know how to bargain in Mexico the right way? Read this
Note: The timeshare vendors are clever!
As you glance around, unsure about how exactly to exit the airport, they will approach you and ask if you need help finding your driver. Following them is an invitation to getting ensnared in discussions with them.
If you’re not interested in talking about timeshares, simply say “no thank-you” and continue walking straight through and out of the airport.
Just outside the terminal doors, you’ll see all the transfer company drivers holding signs for their passengers.
Locate your driver, and soon you’ll be on your way to a sunny Cabo holiday!
Ready to book your trip to Cabo?
Check out the following helpful services:
- Airfarewatchdog, Skyscanner or Expedia – to find the lowest plane tickets and book flights
- Booking.com – to book a great hotel
- VRBO – for your own apartment or villa, instead of a hotel
- GetYourGuide – for local Los Cabos tours and tickets to attractions
- Our Travel Shop – to find the best travel gear
- Our Travel Resources page – to suss out good travel, tour and car rental companies (and ones that will save you money)
Pssst! If you make a hotel, Cabo tour or flight booking through our site, we’ll earn a small commission (at no cost to you). Thanks!
Note: We don’t make a commission if you book an airport transfer; we have no relationship with any of these companies reviewed here.
Keen for more useful Cabo info?
We’re Janice and George Mucalov, award-winning travel writers, sharing tales of luxury travel with a twist of adventure at Sand In My Suitcase.
Thank you so much for this information regarding the airport transportation in Cabo San Luca. Really useful and helpful…
Do the local buses still pick up in the airport? And do they drop off at Costco?
We confess – we’ve never tried taking the local bus from the airport. But the public bus does apparently run to and from the airport. The catch? You can only effectively access it from Terminal 1, which is the domestic terminal, not from Terminal 2, which is the international airport. From the international airport terminal, it’s about a 12-minute walk. If you’re searching for information, Google “Ruta del Desierto.” TripAdvisor also has a 2019 comment and question/answer thread on the Ruta del Desierto, which you might find helpful too.
The first time I arrived at SJD airport, I read it only picked up at Terminal 1. However, I later learned it also picks up at Terminal 2 on the upper level. I have boarded it there many times, as recently as early May 2019. Don’t walk to Terminal 1. Just go upstairs, out the doors, and stand about 100 feet down the sidewalk to the right. In about 10-15 minutes, the bus will pull up and for only about 80 pesos, you’ll have a nice ride into Cabo San Lucas.
Super fantastic to know from someone who has taken the local bus recently! Thanks for letting us know :-). We’ll add this information to the main content of our post.
We travel every year to Cabo and this is the best transportation company for us https://www.allwayscabotransportation.com. Ranked #1 company in Los Cabos by Tripadvisor
Thanks for sharing another good transportation service!
The only thing, we believe, is that this company just does group transport, i.e., the cost is for a 6-person vehicle. So if you’re traveling as a couple, it’s more expensive than a group shuttle wiht the other transportation companies we recommend.
Not sure about Allways, I believe they are artificially there, I know Transcabo and CaboTransfers for long and they gained their ranking with reputation and history. Allways one day appeared there and I have read a couple of weird reviews about them.
Although, the transportation companies make it easier for you to transfer from the airport (San José del Cabo) to your hotel, mainly located in Cabo San Lucas, there are many other companies that help you a lot with the service, one of my favorite and that apart from those already mentioned, is Cabo San Lucas Transportation.
https://www.loscabos-airport.com/cabo-san-lucas-transportation
Without a doubt in the city of the capes, you can find very good options in transportation
Thanks for sharing :-)
Me and my family had traveled to Cabo a couple times, we visited Los cabos in November this year and we use Uber at downtown area, they are now available you only have to use the app!! It was a great experience since we didn’t have look for a cab, sadly they were not able to pick up us at airport. We contact https://www.caboairportprivatetransportation.com/
for arrival and departure they were good, nice cars and low rates
Hi Jhon,
Thanks for sharing the news about Uber in Cabo. Yes, as of October, they’ve just started to operate (but we hear they sometimes don’t have a lot of drivers on the road). We’ll update our post to reflect the arrival of Uber :-).
Thanks again for taking the time to comment!
What’s the best way to get around once in Cabo? We would be traveling from Pueblo Bonito Pacifica to places like Flora Farms, El Farallon, etc.
If you want to do some exploring, your best bet is to rent a car. Taking a taxi from Pueblo Bonito Pacifica to Flora Farms and back, for example, will set you back almost the same cost as a car rental for a few days. Book early, and you should get a decent rate. Have fun on your trip!
What helpful information! Walking through those timeshare vendors can be daunting! Absolutely good advice to have a transportation arrangement in mind.
In other cities (e.g., in Europe or Canada), it’s so common to take a taxi from the airport to your hotel. And prices can be reasonable. Repeat visitors to Los Cabos figure out the transportation options pretty quickly!
What’s your opinion on renting a car in Los Cabos? It will just be my fiancé and I on our honeymoon and we’d like to spend some of our trip out sight seeing. Thanks!
A car will be a big help if you want to go snorkeling, for example, at Santa Maria Beach before the tour boats arrive (See: ) or to visit Todos Santos (the artsy town).
You might even want to drive up to La Paz — maybe to swim with the whale sharks there?
On a Thursday evening, you can head into San Jose del Cabo for the free ArtWalk — that’s a fun event!
So, yes, renting a car is a great idea for all of this :-). Enjoy your honeymoon! You’ll have a wonderful time :-).
Some great tips, I’ve never been but it’s definitely on the list! :-)
There are lots of luxury resorts to tempt you :-).