Planning your Cabo San Lucas Trip (from Orange County)
If you haven’t already, please read New Southwest Airlines Routes (Orange County to Cabo).
Anyways, since flights are relatively cheap from Orange County (SNA), I convinced my brother to go with me for a short weekend getaway. Since Southwest points will be devalued started April 1, I strongly recommend burning your stockpile before then. Southwest has free change and cancellation fees, so there is no excusing to hold onto your Southwest points now. With that said, flights from SNA to Cabo San Lucas (SJD) are only 11,400 points round trip plus $85 in taxes/fees starting August 10.
For those without massive stockpiles of Southwest points, round trip flights can be had for $315. Much cheaper than $400+ flights on US Airways connecting in Phoenix.
SIDE NOTE:
As for other award flights, the closest option would be LAX-SJD on Alaska Airlines or American Airlines. Here is a short Public Service Announcement of why diversify your frequent flyer miles is a smart idea.
Booking a round trip with American Airlines miles would cost 35,000 miles + $85 taxes/fees.
Booking a round trip with Alaska Airlines miles would cost 35,000 miles + $110 taxes/fees.
Booking a round trip with British Airways Avios (miles) would only cost 15,000 miles + $85 taxes/fees.
Just another reason why British Airways miles are awesome!
Anyways, back to the post. So after booking your airfare, the next thing you need is a hotel, unless you plan on sleeping on the beach (cool? or lame?). After checking Trip Advisor and some of my favorite hotel chains, I stumbled onto this gem.
The Hilton Los Cabos Beach and Golf Resort normally goes for $274 per night (includes $44 in taxes and a $20 service charge – per night). But if you have Hilton HHonors Points, you can get a Deluxe 2 queen (or king) room with full ocean view and walk out balcony for only 27,859 Hilton HHonors Points per night (with no taxes/resort fees). What a great deal. I booked it right away since I thought it might be a glitch in Hilton’s system, the price was so good.
Just to make sure this place had a good reputation, I looked it up on Trip Advisor. Luckily, this place has amazing reviews and is ranked #2 for all hotels in San Jose del Cabo (Trip Advisor link).
According to Hilton’s website, I need to take a Super Shuttle to get to the hotel. In case you didn’t know, Cabo is one of the few international cities with Super Shuttle service.
You can pre-purchase a round trip pick-up and drop-off (link). Use promo code QWEST to receive 10% off your reservation.
Super Shuttle also has a handy map of how to get out of the airport without being scammed by timeshare salespeople. Good thinking Super Shuttle! You have thought of everything!
You can ever earn a few hundred Southwest Airlines Rapid Reward Points for your Super Shuttle reservation. They also offer United, US Airways, Delta, and Frontier miles.
That’s it for planning. Just bring a wad of $1 bills and have a nice, relaxing time in Mexico! If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.
First of all, why such a short trip?
Also, a thought I had about the time-share salespeople is that it’s anything but a scam. There’s all sorts of free stuff you can get for going to timeshare presentations. Plus, I find it to be entertaining to hear what their sales tactics are.
I am trying hard not to miss any more days of work, and this weekend works well for my brother and I. We can pack a lot of activities into a short time. Grand Canyon over Presidents Day Weekend, going to SLC and Arches National Park over Memorial Day Weekend. If I had more time, I would go to the timeshares, but my brother would kill me for wasting his vacation. Plus, I don’t think they would be interested in “2 college kids” :P
Thanks! I love Cabo!
Was trying to find a beach place for spring break and saw this on the HHonors website when searching for space. I’ve never seen this before.
The hotel is closed to arrivals and is not accepting new reservations through June 1, 2015. For any questions, please call 1-800-HILTONS.
BTW, a “wad of $1 bills”? Is everything that cheap or is that for “adult” entertainment?
The $1 bills were more for tipping than anything else. But in Cabo, everything is 15% cheaper if you pay with cash rather than credit, so take that into consideration. I hope the Hilton resort opens soon.
Gotcha, thanks.