Cabo San Lucas or San José del Cabo with kids?
Written October 2026
Cabo San Lucas sends boats from its marina out to the Arch, and San José del Cabo keeps an old plaza, an art district and quiet streets. With kids, a Cabo day is built around the water and a San José day around the pool.
Kids who want the sea belong in Cabo, on calm, sandy Medano Beach, where the resorts have pools too and dinner is a walk away. The ones who would live in the pool belong in San José, where the all-inclusives have the splash parks and lazy rivers and Playa Palmilla is a sheltered cove for a swim. The airport is at San José's end.
The resorts in between are in https://ourplayday.com/guides/mexico/cabo-san-lucas/family-hotels.
Cabo San Lucas, for Medano Beach
Villa del Palmar Beach Resort and Spa
Medano Beach
Gated, at the east end of Medano, where the water is calm enough for a toddler to wade. There are free kayaks and paddleboards, and dinner is a walk along the sand.
- Cribs
- Yes
- Suites
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Kitchenette
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
- Laundry
- Yes
- Kids' club
- Yes
Hotel Riu Santa Fe
Medano Beach, east end
A big all-inclusive on Medano, with RIU Land for the kids and a water park with slides for school-age kids. The beach in front is swimmable.
- Cribs
- No
- Connecting rooms
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
- Waterslide
- Yes
- Laundry
- Yes
- Kids' club
- Yes
Esperanza, Auberge Collection
Punta Ballena, near Cabo
Seventeen acres of bluff between two private coves, at the Cabo end and five minutes from town. There's a family pool and a playground.
- Cribs
- Yes
- Suites
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
- Laundry
- Yes
- Kids' club
- Yes
San José del Cabo, for the pools and the quiet
Playa Palmilla
San José del Cabo
San José's answer to Medano: a free, swimmable beach in a cove sheltered by a headland, with palapas for shade. It's the quieter of the two, with parking.
- Free entry
- Yes
- Restroom
- Yes
Villa La Valencia Beach Resort and Spa
San José del Cabo
A lazy river winds around the whole resort, and it's why we'd pick this end. There's a children's pool, and the plaza in town is a short drive.
- Suites
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
- Laundry
- Yes
- Kids' club
- Yes
Dreams Los Cabos Suites Golf Resort and Spa
San José del Cabo
Dreams is our all-inclusive for small kids at this end. The main pool has a water slide in its children's section, and there's a splash park inside the kids' club.
- Suites
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes, heated
- Free breakfast
- Yes
- Laundry
- Yes
- Kids' club
- Yes
Royal Solaris Los Cabos
San José del Cabo
A budget all-inclusive on the San José beach, with a mini water park of shallow pools and small slides and a toddler playground. It's close to the airport if the trip is short.
- Cribs
- Yes
- Suites
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
- Waterslide
- Yes
- Laundry
- Yes
- Kids' club
- Yes
Wild Canyon Adventures
San José del Cabo
A park in the canyon between the towns, a day out from either end. Kids get a water park and an animal sanctuary of rescued macaws, turtles and camels, and there are ziplines and a huge hanging bridge.
More in Cabo San Lucas
The best family resorts in Cabo San LucasPhoto credits
Medano Beach, Cabo San Lucas: Alexis Doine (CC0) · Hotel Riu Santa Fe: Thatwweguy 619 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Esperanza, Auberge Collection: jrtaylor08 (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Playa Palmilla: JAGarcia (CC BY 3.0) · The beach at San José del Cabo: Maria de los Angeles… (CC BY-SA 3.0) · A beach in Los Cabos: Sharon Hahn Darlin (CC BY 2.0) · Royal Solaris Los Cabos: Thelmadatter (CC BY-SA 4.0) · A cactus near San José del Cabo: Justin Leibow elevatoro (CC0)