Our trip began with the usual car service pick up at the house. However, our service sent a new Suburban and new driver to get us.
We are ready to head out to Phoenix to spend the night before our flight to SJD Airport.
After spending the night at the Marriott Phoenix Airport on my BonVoy points, we are ready to head out on their shuttle for Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
The flight time to SJD was only an hour and forty minutes, and we got great views of the Sea of Cortez once we got into Mexican airspace.
After a private transfer to the all-inclusive Hyatt Ziva in San Jose del Cabo, we were welcomed with cold towels. It was hot! Joy was ready for her towel!
This lady welcomed us next with some champagne, and then we were taken to the VIP check in area for World of Hyatt elites.
We are ready to celebrate our marriage anniversary where it all began 5 years ago!
Our friends Chad and Aileen joined us on this trip too. They were at our wedding also.
Our bellman took us up to our upgraded Ziva Suite! The suite was huge with two bathrooms!
We had a nice dining area too in the suite with a Nespresso maker also.
The mini bar was complimentary, and it was stocked daily for us!
The bedroom had a King bed.
The bedroom had this sitting area too along with access to the large balcony too.
The bathroom was huge with both a jacuzzi tub and a shower. There were his and hers closets too with robes.
We had a larger corner balcony since the suite was so big! We had two lounge chairs as well as two chairs with a small table.
Here is the other side of the balcony off the living room area.
We had an amazing view of the lagoon, main pool, and the Sea of Cortez!
Joy and I decided to go to Bon Vivant, the French restaurant, at the all inclusive resort for dinner on the night of our anniversary with our friends.
The service was great at Bon Vivant!
The welcome cocktail was refreshing.
I got the foie gras as my appetizer. This was the best foie gras I have ever had. There was a creme brulee layer on top for a sweet and savory taste!
The next coruse was a lobster bisque!
The thyme crusted lamb chops were great for my entree!
Our waiter lit some liquor on fire and poured it over the crepes to finish the dinner!
They had a portable bar set up outside near the show that evening at the resort. I tried this bottle of mezcal which one of my friends brought back for me this year for my birthday!
They had a Mexican show that evening at the resort, and I was happy they did "El Jaribe Tapatio," which is my favorite Mexican dance.
Next to our resort was this happening steakhouse which featured dancers on sheets like one would see at Cirque du Soleil. The views of the surrounding areas where great from our resort.
Good morning Sea of Cortez & San Jose del Cabo!
As we departed on our excursion from the resort, we saw the Los Cabos sign. This area is known as Los Cabos since there are two cities, San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas.
After picking up the other guests on the tour, our guide showed us this sign in Cabo San Lucas. It marks the start of the highway to goes up to the US border near San Diego.
Our first stop was the blanket factory in Todos Santos where we saw how local Mexicans live on the Baja peninsula.
This is a loom where they make blankets like they did back in the old days too. It is very labor intensive.
Joy and I bought two pillows and a little runner from them.
Salma Hayek was in that SUV leaving the blanket factory. We briefly saw her as her entourage stopped here, but her security team felt like there were too many tourists around.
This is a traditional Baja California home. There is no AC, but it was cooler inside due to the stone.
Our next stop was an organic farming project in Todos Santos. They grow almost anything here even though it is a desert.
There was a market at the organic farm so we were able to get some local conchas, which are Mexican buns that are sweet.
As we approached the main part of Todos Santos, we started seeing hand painted ads like this for bars. There are lots of dirt roads in Baja California.
This is an old church from the late 1700s that we stopped at once we got into town.
Here is the main plaza in Todos Santos. Mexican towns usually have this plaza area where the locals gather and hang out.
The Todos Santos Mission is behind us here. Todos Santos means "All Saints," and they have a big festival to celebrate All Saints Day.
We were supposed to go into this art gallery, but Salma Hayek's security team blocked it off. LOL. Todos Santos is known for lots of cool art galleries.
This is the original chapel of the Todos Santos Mission. It was built in the early 1700s, and that statue of Mary is from Spain.
This family was celebrating a baptism in the Mission. It was cool to see the local life.
Here is an artistic Aztec calendar that was built in town around 2012.
Our guide took us to a pearl shop to see how they farm and harvest pearls in the Sea of Cortez. They offered us some cerveza or beer to cool off inside.
We got to do some tequila and mezcal tasting also in Todos Santos.
We headed to the famous Hotel California for lunch afterwards. Many thought this place inspired the Eagles song, but that turned out to be false.
They had these mariachi band statues inside the courtyard of the Hotel California. I did see lots of resemblences from the lyrics like the "mission bells" which was next door.
We enjoyed our lunch at the Hotel California. The tacos were great.
Here is another view of the street by the Hotel California. I did not smell the warm smell of "colitas." LOL.
I saw they had some pretty old rums in the Club Lounge after we got back. I had to indulge.
Joy and I both loved the desserts in the Club Lounge which paired well with the premium liquor. I love being a VIP!
Chad and Aileen look happy too!
They had fireworks that night after a wedding which was held at the resort.
There was so much liquor at the resort. At the breakfast buffet, they had a make your own bloody mary station with different kinds of alcohol.
Don't like bloody marys? Well, they had a mimosa station too!
I started with the sweet treats including the concha!
They had three made to order omlette stations. She is working on mine here with the turkey ham and veggies.
Even though we could get espresso based drinks at the buffet, I went up to the coffee shop to get another iced espresso drink.
It took a while to get our drinks however. Those little cereal boxes are for my nephew. I want him to experience what Mexican cereal tastes like!
I enjoyed my workout in the fitness center which overlooks the large resort pool and Sea of Cortez!
We are getting a fresh smoothie here at the smoothie and poke bar. Hyatt Ziva is amazing!
Once the adult pool bar opened, I got a mango mezcalita which had Tajin on the rim! Delicious!
A guy was going around with freshly carved coconuts too. They add one's choice of liquor to the coconut water!
I am ready to get the foam party started at the adult pool!
They had go go dancers too in the background at the foam party! One guy was playing the sax too!
In the afternoon, they had a cover band by the lagoon area. I asked them to play "Hotel California," which they obliged.
I went down to the playa or beach afterwards. The water was too rough to get in.
The beach was pretty nice, and the water temperature was very warm.
The Tequila Bar set up the room for our tasting at 4:00 PM that day.
We are ready for some tequila. Well, I am at least! LOL. Joy does not drink really.
Our host showed us the best technique to taste tequila to avoid the burn, and we tried three different kinds including this anejo.
Joy had too much tequila. LOL. JK. She is enjoying the Z (Ziva) sign.
I started to get ready for dinner by taking a nice jacuzzi bath.
For dinner, we went to the Hacienda Grill Steakhouse.
My appetizer was the shrimp ceviche.
I got the 8 oz filet with mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, and some corn along with the chimichurri sauce.
We attended the Around The World show that evening at the resort. This is a Mexican Aztec dance routine.
They are doing belly dancing here.
For Canada, they played Shania Twain!
This is the Irish River Dancing segment of the show.
For the US routine, they did "New York, New York" by Frank Sinatra.
I tried the freshly made tacos at breakfast the next morning. She made the corn tortilla from scratch too!
The Mexican Corn Pops are too good to resist!
We did not want to say good bye to our beautiful view from the suite!
For lunch, we went to Cortez at the resort.
Joy enjoyed Cortez the best since they had great ceviches. The views are amazing also.
I got ceviche, aqua chile, Mexican seafood cocktail with scallops and shrimp as well as chicken tinga tacos for lunch!
The private transportation company sent a nice Suburban to get us when it was time to leave for the airport. We started and ended the trip with a Suburban.
San Jose del Cabo is not as bustling as Cabo San Lucas. It is very laid back.
Baja is so dry!
We were offered some tequila to try at the duty free store at the airport and treated to a mariachi band.
Licor 43 is a Spanish liquor used for mixing with coffee or other drinks so I got a bottle to bring home at duty free.
My wife and I got
married in Cabo San Lucas at the Pueblo Bonito Rose in 2018. In
2023, we celebrated our 5th marriage anniversary so we decided to
return to the Los Cabos area for our anniversary trip. Los Cabos
refers to the two cities down at the tip of Baja California Sur, Cabo
San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. I booked the Hyatt Ziva this
time which is located in San Jose del Cabo. This all inclusive
resort is on the Sea of Cortez, and it is closer to the airport.
Our friends,Chad and Aileen, joined us as they were also at our
wedding 5 years ago.
We decided to fly out to Phoenix the night before our flight to Los Cabos (SJD) Airport since if we flew from Sacramento on Friday, we would have to take a very early flight to Phoenix for the connection. So, I used my BonVoy points and booked the Marriott Phoenix Airport for us on Thursday night. The hotel had a shuttle to take us to and from the hotel. After a late flight into Phoenix, we did not have much time to do anything but sleep. In the morning, we headed out to the airport for our Southwest flight to Los Cabos.
The flight to SJD was just under two hours, and we got to see beautiful views of the Sea of Cortez as we crossed over to the Baja Peninsula from the Mexican mainland. Once we arrived in Los Cabos, we had booked a private airport transfer to the resort with our friends. We were a little disappointed as they did not have the nice SUV we booked with drinks since it broke down. So, we got put in a crappy Toyota van which had bad AC and no drinks. First world problems in the developing world as not fun. LOL.
Upon arrival at the Hyatt Ziva, we were greeted by cold towels and champagne. We were whisked away to the World of Hyatt VIP check in area where they told us we got a major upgrade to a nice ocean view larger Ziva suite. The bellman took us up to the beautiful suite, and we were amazed at how large it was. The entry had a cool wooden sculpture and a half bath. Then, we went into the large living room with a TV and mini bar as well as a dining area that could seat six. There was a Nespresso machine too in the dining room. The bedroom was very large with a king bed and a seperate sitting area with TV. As far as the main bathroom goes, we had a jacuzzi and walk in shower. Also, our balcony was much larger too. We had two lounge chairs and a small bistro set too. Our view was amazing! We could see the large resort pool and Sea of Cortez!
The resort had a lot of restaurants we could choose from as well as complimentary entertainment too. We decided to go to the French restaurant, Bon Vivant, on the first night. That was also our anniversary dinner. Bon Vivant was amazing! Their foie gras was the best I have ever had. My lamb was really good too. The dinner restaurants generally had a dress code where proper footwear had to be worn along with no swimsuits. Shorts were fine. Also, they featured signature cocktails at each restaurant too. The liquor choices at the resort were all premium too. Hyatt Ziva is by far the best all inclusive chain out there! Our dinner ended with my dessert being lit on fire!
That evening, they had a Mexican themed show at the resort. Out by the lagoon area, they had a portable bar too so we could get our adult beverages as we took in the show. I was happy when they did the classic Mexican hat dance song, "El Jaribe Tapatio." The 24 hour coffee shop on site was great too for desserts and non alcoholic beverages.
We had to get up early on Saturday for our excursion to Todo Santos, a quaint Baja California town on the Pacific known for the Hotel California. I ordered room service for Joy and I for breakfast which was also included. Having the Nespresso in the room was great too for making my first cup of coffee for the day. We got another coffee beverage and snack at the coffee shop before departing at 7:35 for Todos Santos. Our tour guide had a few stops on the way to pick up other passengers, but we got a nice tour of Cabo San Lucas along the way. We also saw the kilometer marker 0 which is where the highway to goes up to the US border starts. From there, this highway connects to US 5 which goes up to the Canadian border. In Canada, another highway continues this long route up the continent!
Our tour started at a blanket factory near Todos Santos. We saw how Mexicans have been weaving blankets for over a hundred years using a foot pedal loom. Joy and I bought a few items from the factory for our parents and the house. Our tour guide rushed in to tell us we had a celebrity on site. Salma Hayek wanted to check out this blanket factory with her large entourage of security guards. There were three SUVs for her group, but her security team thought there were too many people there so they left. I did briefly see her as she got out of the SUV.
Afterwards, we stopped at an organic farming place and got to shop in their high end market. Since Mexico is known for conchas or sweet bread buns, I got one for us all to have. The resort had them too, but this was even better!
In Todos Santos, we saw an old church first before going into the plaza area. We were supposed to go to an art gallery since the area is known for artists, but the gallery was closed off for Salma. LOL. We did tour of the original Mission too. This was built in the early 1700s. Todos Santos was also greener than the other parts of Cabo which are a desert. Apparently, there are underwater springs there so they have a lot more trees.
We stopped at a pearl shop which was made famous for supplying pearls which are on the crown jewels of the United Kingdom. They offered us cold beer as we saw how they farmed oysters for the pearls. The Sea of Cortez is known for producing fine pearls including black ones. Afterwards. we got to do some tequila and mezcal tasting.
For lunch, we went to the famous Hotel California. A lot of people thought this was the inspiration for the Eagles song since a lot of the lyrics match up to this location. It is on a desert highway, and there are mission bells. However, the Eagles said it was not their inspiration. The hotel kept trying to say it was until they got sued, and now they have a disclaimer on their website. The lunch was a typical Mexican lunch for tourists.
After returning to the resort, we got to check out the infintiy pool and enjoy a drink before heading to dinner at Dozo, the Asian Teppanyaki place. They also had sushi too. Dozo had a long wait, and we were not as impressed with it as we were with the French place. There was a bar outside Dozo so we enjoyed a drink or two before our table was ready.
The next day, we just chilled at the resort. We enjoyed the amazing breakfast buffet to start the day. Then, we hung out at the adults only pool which had cool chairs in the water. Wait staff came around to take drink orders, and I loved the mango mezcalita with the Tajin on the rim! They had a lady who made street tacos too at the bar there. At noon, they had a cool foam party with go go dancers also. Afterwards, I took a nap before we headed to the Club for some snacks and drinks. We had access to the VIP Club which had even more premium liquor choices. They also had great food including flan! We had a tequila tasting at 4:00 PM too that day. In the evening, we went to the steakhouse for dinner before going to the Around The World show.
On Monday, our friends left early, but we were able to join them for breakfast at the buffet. Then, Joy and I had time to chill at the resort since our flight was not until 3:20 PM. I went for a swim and enjoyed more adult beverages at the pool. Moreover, I went down to the beach area too. For lunch, Joy and I enjoyed Cortez's seafood. I got ceviche, agua chile, and even a seafood cocktail. Moreover, their chicken tinga tacos were great! All inclusive is a great way to vacation!
We departed the resort in a nice Suburban for the airport around 1:00. After some duty free shopping and chilling in the VIP Lounge, we boarded our flight for Phoenix. Then, we came back late into Sacramento, and our usual car service was waiting for us outside baggage claim.
We decided to fly out to Phoenix the night before our flight to Los Cabos (SJD) Airport since if we flew from Sacramento on Friday, we would have to take a very early flight to Phoenix for the connection. So, I used my BonVoy points and booked the Marriott Phoenix Airport for us on Thursday night. The hotel had a shuttle to take us to and from the hotel. After a late flight into Phoenix, we did not have much time to do anything but sleep. In the morning, we headed out to the airport for our Southwest flight to Los Cabos.
The flight to SJD was just under two hours, and we got to see beautiful views of the Sea of Cortez as we crossed over to the Baja Peninsula from the Mexican mainland. Once we arrived in Los Cabos, we had booked a private airport transfer to the resort with our friends. We were a little disappointed as they did not have the nice SUV we booked with drinks since it broke down. So, we got put in a crappy Toyota van which had bad AC and no drinks. First world problems in the developing world as not fun. LOL.
Upon arrival at the Hyatt Ziva, we were greeted by cold towels and champagne. We were whisked away to the World of Hyatt VIP check in area where they told us we got a major upgrade to a nice ocean view larger Ziva suite. The bellman took us up to the beautiful suite, and we were amazed at how large it was. The entry had a cool wooden sculpture and a half bath. Then, we went into the large living room with a TV and mini bar as well as a dining area that could seat six. There was a Nespresso machine too in the dining room. The bedroom was very large with a king bed and a seperate sitting area with TV. As far as the main bathroom goes, we had a jacuzzi and walk in shower. Also, our balcony was much larger too. We had two lounge chairs and a small bistro set too. Our view was amazing! We could see the large resort pool and Sea of Cortez!
The resort had a lot of restaurants we could choose from as well as complimentary entertainment too. We decided to go to the French restaurant, Bon Vivant, on the first night. That was also our anniversary dinner. Bon Vivant was amazing! Their foie gras was the best I have ever had. My lamb was really good too. The dinner restaurants generally had a dress code where proper footwear had to be worn along with no swimsuits. Shorts were fine. Also, they featured signature cocktails at each restaurant too. The liquor choices at the resort were all premium too. Hyatt Ziva is by far the best all inclusive chain out there! Our dinner ended with my dessert being lit on fire!
That evening, they had a Mexican themed show at the resort. Out by the lagoon area, they had a portable bar too so we could get our adult beverages as we took in the show. I was happy when they did the classic Mexican hat dance song, "El Jaribe Tapatio." The 24 hour coffee shop on site was great too for desserts and non alcoholic beverages.
We had to get up early on Saturday for our excursion to Todo Santos, a quaint Baja California town on the Pacific known for the Hotel California. I ordered room service for Joy and I for breakfast which was also included. Having the Nespresso in the room was great too for making my first cup of coffee for the day. We got another coffee beverage and snack at the coffee shop before departing at 7:35 for Todos Santos. Our tour guide had a few stops on the way to pick up other passengers, but we got a nice tour of Cabo San Lucas along the way. We also saw the kilometer marker 0 which is where the highway to goes up to the US border starts. From there, this highway connects to US 5 which goes up to the Canadian border. In Canada, another highway continues this long route up the continent!
Our tour started at a blanket factory near Todos Santos. We saw how Mexicans have been weaving blankets for over a hundred years using a foot pedal loom. Joy and I bought a few items from the factory for our parents and the house. Our tour guide rushed in to tell us we had a celebrity on site. Salma Hayek wanted to check out this blanket factory with her large entourage of security guards. There were three SUVs for her group, but her security team thought there were too many people there so they left. I did briefly see her as she got out of the SUV.
Afterwards, we stopped at an organic farming place and got to shop in their high end market. Since Mexico is known for conchas or sweet bread buns, I got one for us all to have. The resort had them too, but this was even better!
In Todos Santos, we saw an old church first before going into the plaza area. We were supposed to go to an art gallery since the area is known for artists, but the gallery was closed off for Salma. LOL. We did tour of the original Mission too. This was built in the early 1700s. Todos Santos was also greener than the other parts of Cabo which are a desert. Apparently, there are underwater springs there so they have a lot more trees.
We stopped at a pearl shop which was made famous for supplying pearls which are on the crown jewels of the United Kingdom. They offered us cold beer as we saw how they farmed oysters for the pearls. The Sea of Cortez is known for producing fine pearls including black ones. Afterwards. we got to do some tequila and mezcal tasting.
For lunch, we went to the famous Hotel California. A lot of people thought this was the inspiration for the Eagles song since a lot of the lyrics match up to this location. It is on a desert highway, and there are mission bells. However, the Eagles said it was not their inspiration. The hotel kept trying to say it was until they got sued, and now they have a disclaimer on their website. The lunch was a typical Mexican lunch for tourists.
After returning to the resort, we got to check out the infintiy pool and enjoy a drink before heading to dinner at Dozo, the Asian Teppanyaki place. They also had sushi too. Dozo had a long wait, and we were not as impressed with it as we were with the French place. There was a bar outside Dozo so we enjoyed a drink or two before our table was ready.
The next day, we just chilled at the resort. We enjoyed the amazing breakfast buffet to start the day. Then, we hung out at the adults only pool which had cool chairs in the water. Wait staff came around to take drink orders, and I loved the mango mezcalita with the Tajin on the rim! They had a lady who made street tacos too at the bar there. At noon, they had a cool foam party with go go dancers also. Afterwards, I took a nap before we headed to the Club for some snacks and drinks. We had access to the VIP Club which had even more premium liquor choices. They also had great food including flan! We had a tequila tasting at 4:00 PM too that day. In the evening, we went to the steakhouse for dinner before going to the Around The World show.
On Monday, our friends left early, but we were able to join them for breakfast at the buffet. Then, Joy and I had time to chill at the resort since our flight was not until 3:20 PM. I went for a swim and enjoyed more adult beverages at the pool. Moreover, I went down to the beach area too. For lunch, Joy and I enjoyed Cortez's seafood. I got ceviche, agua chile, and even a seafood cocktail. Moreover, their chicken tinga tacos were great! All inclusive is a great way to vacation!
We departed the resort in a nice Suburban for the airport around 1:00. After some duty free shopping and chilling in the VIP Lounge, we boarded our flight for Phoenix. Then, we came back late into Sacramento, and our usual car service was waiting for us outside baggage claim.