Landing at Los Cabos International Airport

What SJD is like

Los Cabos sits at the end of the Baja California peninsula, and the land around the airport is desert and rocky hills rather than the palm garden the brochures suggest. The arrivals are a mix of resort guests, wedding parties and people here to fish. Accommodation is strung out along a long coastal corridor rather than clustered in one town, which means two people on the same flight can end up half an hour apart. Knowing which end of that corridor you are aiming for shapes the whole arrival.

On arrival

Bring the line up before the wheels touch, because the stretch after customs is exactly where having your details in hand pays. The arrivals concourse has a row of people offering transport and packages, and walking through it is easy if you already know which car is yours and where it waits. Pre-booked transfers normally meet outside the building, while hire car customers take a company shuttle out to a separate lot. Read your confirmation before you step through the doors: the sun out there is strong and there is nowhere pleasant to stand while you work it out. That one check is the difference between a five-minute exit and a long, hot one.

How far the airport Wi-Fi gets you

There is free Wi-Fi inside, behind the usual sign-in, and it copes when the hall is quiet. Flights here arrive in waves, though, and when several land together the speed sags for everyone at once. Where it helps least is out at the rental lot and the transfer bays, which sit outside the building and are precisely where you need to phone a driver. If you are travelling as a group and split between two doors, your own working line saves a lot of shouting across a car park. That is the practical case for not making the Wi-Fi part of your plan.

Getting into town

San Jose del Cabo is a short run from the terminal, but if you are staying at the far end near Cabo San Lucas you have a proper drive along the coast road ahead. That road is the single main artery, so it bunches up at certain hours. The options are a pre-booked transfer, a shared van, a taxi, or a hire car, which plenty of people choose precisely because the accommodation is so spread out. In the car you will keep the map open to catch the turning, message the property that you are close, and maybe book a table. Once you leave the coastal strip and climb into the desert hills, the signal thins noticeably.

What people ask about this airport

• Know which end you are staying — Accommodation is spread along a very long coast road and travel times differ a lot, so check the actual pin on a map before agreeing a fare.
• Hire cars are off-site — Rental companies shuttle you out to a separate lot, so build that leg into the plan for your arrival day.
• Signal thins in the hills — Roads climbing off the coast into the desert hills have weak patches, so download the map for that area before you set off.