Rainy Day Activities in Cabo: What We Actually Do When It Rains

First, the reassuring part: rain in Cabo is rare, short and mostly a summer thing. From July through September an afternoon shower averages two to three hours and then clears, leaving a fresh evening and the best light of the year. The rest of the year you can go weeks without a cloud. So a rainy day here is less about surviving the weather and more about using a few hours well. Here is what we do.

Wait it out, on purpose

If it is an August afternoon, the honest advice is to do nothing for two hours. Have a long lunch under cover, take the siesta the heat was already asking for, and be ready at 7pm. The hour after a storm passes brings cooler air, dramatic clouds and a sunset people plan dinners around. Book a table or a terrace for 7 to 8pm and let the rain do you a favor.

Book a spa afternoon

A spa day is the classic rainy-day move and it works here. Treatments run about one to two hours, prices land around $100 to $300 depending on the spa, and the mid-range, $80 to $120, is the sweet spot for quality. Book direct, and a few days ahead in peak season, December to April. Summer, which is also rainy season, has more open slots.

Make your villa the plan

When the sky turns grey, the easiest move is to stay put and bring the day to you. These are all services you can book to come to your villa.

In-Villa Spa Package

A couples massage, facials, champagne and fruit, with a full spa setup in your villa. Three hours, and you never get dressed to go anywhere.

Private Chef Experience

A gourmet multi-course dinner cooked in your villa by a personal chef. Four hours, start to finish, and the weather is not part of the plan.

Wine and Tequila Sommelier Experience

A guided tasting of premium tequilas, mezcals or wines with food pairing. Two hours, and a good way to learn what you have been drinking all week.

Private Bartender and Mixology

A mixologist makes custom cocktails at your villa. Four hours, with the rain on the roof as the soundtrack.

Still choosing a place to stay? Our Cabo villas are set up for exactly this kind of day.

Go out for an evening in San José del Cabo

The Art and Wine Evenings tour is a curated evening walk through the historic streets of San José del Cabo. You get wine and appetizers at a local restaurant, visits to the town's art galleries and a stop at a cigar shop. It runs about five hours with round-trip hotel pickup from most Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo hotels, and it is adults only because of the wine. Rated 4.5.

Catch a movie at Puerto Paraíso

The Cinemex at Puerto Paraíso mall is the easy answer to a grey afternoon. It is on the third level of the mall in Cabo San Lucas, and it shows movies in English as well as Spanish. Our guide to movie theaters in Los Cabos has the details.

Spend the afternoon at the mall

Puerto Paraíso is also the rainy-day shopping stop, with stores, restaurants and the marina right outside. See the complete store directory for Puerto Paraíso before you go.

Start your dive certification

PADI Open Water Diver Certification

Rain does not matter underwater. The three-day PADI Open Water course starts with theory and pool skills, which is exactly what you want on a grey afternoon, then moves to four open-water dives in the Sea of Cortez. $609 USD plus 16% IVA, rated 4.9, ages 10 and up. Do the eLearning before you arrive and the rainy day becomes the pool day.

Drive to Todos Santos

Magical Todos Santos & Camels

Galleries, cobblestone streets and crafts are a good use of a cloudy day, and the ride up the coast is part of it. This four-hour trip pairs the town with a visit to a private desert ranch to meet the camels, a hand-woven blanket factory stop in Pescadero, and a Mexican buffet with a mezcal and tequila tasting. Ages 5 and up, 9am start, $129 USD plus 16% IVA, rated 4.5. If the sky clears, the camels are the bonus.

If you are here in early November

Day of the Dead, November 1 and 2, is the best thing to do in Cabo whether or not the weather cooperates, and by then it usually does. Public altars downtown and at Plaza Mijares in San José, parades, special food. Visit in the late afternoon or early evening, dress respectfully, and ask before you photograph anyone at an altar.

When a storm is out at sea

August through October is hurricane season in the Eastern Pacific. A storm can stay far offshore and still send swell to our beaches. When that happens, officials raise black flags and close beaches, and the port can close to small boats, even on a day that is dry in town. A black flag means stay out of the water. It does not mean your trip is lost.

For live conditions, check our Cabo weather page, which links to the National Hurricane Center. If a tour or fishing trip is affected, here is how we handle it: if the port is closed, or the captain or tour team cancels for weather or safety, we move you to a new date. If no new date works for you, you get a full refund. Light rain or choppy water that the captain calls safe is not a cancellation. The full terms are on our cancellation policy page.

What we would not do

• Cancel the trip over a forecast. Showers clear quickly. Hurricane season runs June through November on paper, and most days inside it are dry.
• Swim on the Pacific side because the beach is empty. It is not for swimming in any weather. Medano is the swimmable beach, and conditions can still change, so check before you go in.
• Fight the heat after the rain. Humidity drops for an hour, then comes back. Use the window.

Rain here is a two-hour break, not a lost day. Line up a spa, a chef at the villa, a tequila tasting or a movie, and be on a terrace by seven. Book the rain-proof options on our adventures in Cabo page.