Mexico (Los Cabos)

Mexico (Los Cabos) – What you should know

Los Cabos sits at the southern tip of Baja California, where the desert meets the Pacific and the Gulf of California. The climate is distinctly dry: from November to June usually only a few millimetres fall a month, sometimes practically nothing, with around 11 hours of sunshine a day in May. Daytime highs are around 25°C (77°F) in winter and 28°C (82°F) in April, and the nights are mild at about 17°C (63°F) in January.

Summer is hot and clearly more humid: in July and August daytime highs are around 33°C (91°F) with overnight lows around 26°C (79°F), and humidity rises to roughly 70%. August brings 84 mm (3.3 in) of rain on average and September the most with 114 mm (4.5 in), each across about eight days. The rain comes less as steady drizzle than in heavy showers. The eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May to November, peaking from August to October; direct hits are rare, but storm warnings and cancelled excursions are possible.

The sea peaks at around 30°C (86°F) in September and falls to about 21°C (70°F) in March, which is still enough for swimming in winter but not for long days in the water. Anyone who mainly wants to swim should therefore come from May to October, and anyone who prefers hiking, golf and excursions is better off in winter and spring. From December to April grey whales and humpbacks pass along the coast, and whale watching is a fixture of the programme in that period. In December the days are noticeably shorter than in spring, with only a good 6 hours of sunshine a day.