Cabo San Lucas, Mexico - Travel Tips.

To ensure a pleasant and safe vacation for you, your family and your guests, here is some useful information to keep in mind when visiting Cabo San Lucas, Mexico or any of other fantastic Mexican resorts and destinations.  Have a great trip!

Arriving in Mexico:

• In order to enter Mexico you must have with you a valid passport and a tourist card that lasts between 90 to 180 days. Portuguese and Spanish visitors do not require a visa. 
  

• Upon arrival, you must give to the immigration official your Tourist card. This is a form by which the Mexican government grants you permission to enter the country. You will obtain this form from any airline, at no cost. This document requests your personal data and your reason for traveling. Try not to lose or misplace the blue copy that will be given to you once it has been stamped after going through Immigration, since you must return it to the local authorities upon departure. 
  

• Mexican citizens that live in a foreign country, must show any of the following as proof of citizenship: passport, birth certificate, "matricula consular" (Consulate ID), "cartilla de servicio militar" (military service ID card) or "credencial para votar" (voter's registration card). 
  

• For business or student visas, please contact the Mexican Embassy or Consulate in your hometown. 

• For more details go to Entry Requirements for Mexico.

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Mexican Customs:

• You must complete the customs declaration form given to you before arrival on all airlines.
  

• Mexico's inspection system is at random. Once you have completed your Customs Declaration Form, pick up your baggage and proceed to the customs line, there you must push the button on a "traffic signal" located in the customs area. A green light allows you to continue on without further inspection. A red light means you will have your bags thoroughly checked to make sure the contents agree with your customs declaration. If any undeclared values are found, fines will be imposed.
  

• If in your Customs Declaration, you declared values that exceed those permitted by law, those articles will be checked and you will be asked to pay applicable taxes, based on their value. 
  

• Please contact your local Mexican Embassy or Consulate regarding what you are allowed to bring into Mexico without having to pay taxes. 
  

• After you leave customs you will enter the timeshare area, if you are interested in purchasing a timeshare you can talk to these people, if you are not pass through this area and proceed to the airport lobby where rental car booths, hotel pick ups and taxis are located. Here you will search out the form of transportation you have arranged with us. You will then proceed to your accommodations.

• For more details go to Mexico Customs.

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Traveling with Children:

• In Mexico, anyone under 18 is considered to be a minor. 
  

• When a minor travels alone, he/she must carry a notarized permit, signed by both parents. If he/she is traveling with one of his/her parents, the parent who is not accompanying him/her must sign the permit. 
  

• If a minor travels with only one parent because the other parent passed away or he/she is the child of a single parent, this fact must be written in a declaration verified by notary public. 
  

• Mexican minors have a seal stamped on their passport that refers to Article 421. This allows him/her to travel with only one parent without a notarized permit. 
  

• Airlines may request the name, address and telephone number of the person that will pick up the minor traveling alone. 

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Leaving Mexico:

• Upon leaving, authorities will request your citizenship documentation and blue copy of your Tourist card.
  

• We recommend that you check those items you are allowed to take back with you when you go back home. 
  

• It is important that you keep the receipts of all items you buy in Mexico. 
  

• Please arrive at the airport at least 1-½ hours before your scheduled departure. 
  

• You will find some duty free merchandise at the airport for any last minute gifts you may have forgotten.

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Mexican Holidays:

Banks, government offices and many businesses are closed on these days and hotels fill up quickly: 

• Jan 1: New Year's Day 

• Feb 5: Constitution Day 

• Mar 21: Birthday of Benito Juarez 

• March-April (varies): Holy Week Celebrations, Good Friday through Easter Sunday 

• May 1: Labor Day 

• May 5: Cinco de Mayo (Anniversary of Battle of Puebla, 1862) 

• May 10: Mother's Day 

• Sep 16: Independence Day 

• Oct 12: Dia de la Raza 

• Nov 2: President's State of the Nation Address

• Nov 2: Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) 

• Nov 20: Anniversary of the Mexican Revolution 

• Dec 25-Jan 2: Christmas Week celebrations 

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Tourism Offices:

405 Park Ave., Suite 1401
New York, NY 10022
Telephone: 212-755-7261 or 421-6655 

1911 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20006
Telephone: 202-728-1750

70 E. Lake St., Suite 1413
Chicago, IL 60601
Telephone: 312-565-2786

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Cabo Emergency Numbers:

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Currency:

The currency in Mexico is the Peso. You will find in Cabo that most establishments will take the American Dollar but you may receive any change due in pesos. ATM machines will only give you Pesos. The American Express offices will give cash advances in Pesos and sometimes in dollars - if available.

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Credit Cards:

Visa, MasterCard and American Express are taken in most restaurants, clubs and shops but, it is a good idea to ask which cards they take before ordering. Make sure you have signed the back of your credit card as it is normal procedure to check this with the signature you sign on the voucher.

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Phone Calls:

Telephone calls are very expensive in the Baja, the best rates come from calling the 800 numbers provided by your long distance providers in the United States. Stay away from the street side pay phones that take credit cards as the charges are astronomical. Cell phones are available to rent from some of the local cellular companies, let us know if you would like to arrange one in advance.

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