Lush Resort with Soothing Views and On-Site Spa

On the main beach of Cabo San Lucas, Playa Medano, the sun blazes unhindered year-round, gilding the sandy shoreline while bronzing prone beachgoers. Entering the nearby Casa Dorada resort barely feels like leaving the beach—sunshine streams through the lobby's open-air archways, spotlighting sand-toned columns and giant seashells hanging from the walls. Just outside, an extended waterfall connects the resort's two main pools, keeping the sapphire waters lapping with waves.

Inside junior suites, semitranslucent curtains allow in sunlight, which gleams on the polished stone floor. Upon arrival, boarders tote their glasses of welcome champagne onto the suite's ocean-view terrace, where salty breezes tease flutes with a melodious whistle. Behind a wooden screen, a dining table awaits snacks whipped up in the in-room kitchenette.

Bellies rumbling in rhythm with the waves can find relief in any of the resort's restaurants, such as 12 Tribes, where ceviches corral local shrimp, tuna, or octopus ($130). Evening wassailers wander down to the oceanfront Maydãn to nibble on jalapeño-sprinkled nachos ($95) or carouse at The B Lounge over international beers as the sun descends into the San Lucas bay.

Thirsty skins soothe dryness after an all-day tête-à-tête with the sun at the on-site Saltwater Spa. Guests spring from a burbling hot tub to a brisk plunge pool for a pore-subduing spectrum of therapeutic temperatures. Beneath glittering tile mosaics, therapists knead aching frames with green-tea oil and canes during a bamboo massage ($119 for 50 minutes) or lavish limbs with a chocolate-soufflé wrap during a Chocolate Embracement ($155 for 80 minutes).

Cabo San Lucas: Vivacious Nightlife amid Ocean Splendor

Encircling a yacht-populated marina, downtown Cabo San Lucas hums with revelers nightly. Once the off-duty stomping grounds of marauding pirates, this town at the tip of the Baja Peninsula now rollicks with a more benign vigor. Specialty bars craft subtly varying local tequilas and serve whiskeys from around the globe, and celebrities rove as if cameras had been un-invented.

Although people watching delivers easy thrills, scanning the ocean waves yields more soothing and monumental sights. Gray and humpback whales glide past Cabo on their way to warm calving grounds, raising fins and barnacle-ridged dorsals between January and March. Donning a scuba tank reveals a much greater range of maritime life—the nearby hard coral reef of Cabo Pulmo shelters around 800 native species, from manta rays to loggerhead sea turtles. Marlin and tuna also shimmy beneath the waves, attracting numerous fishing championships such as the IGFA Offshore World Championship alongside big-game fishers, wall-trophy mounters, and confused merpeople.