VERY LITTLE! Our philosophy at VILLA & CASA DEL MAR and EL NIDO is to provide guests with a complete turn-key vacation experience. If we don't provide it, you probably don't need it. We provide beach towels, beach chairs, beach umbrellas, sand toys, inflatable toys, life jackets, snorkel gear, boogey boards, sit-on-top ocean kayaks, beach bags, a variety of coolers, water bottles and hiking fanny packs.

Be careful that you don't over pack as dress is very casual in Baja. In addition to you personal clothing (you won't need much!) and toiletries, you will want to bring plenty of sunscreen, a good sun hat and sun glasses, special medications (in their pharmacy bottles). Don't forget your camera. If you have a favorite coffee, you might want to bring a bag of beans. Coffee grinders and Melita drip pots, thermos jugs and gold filters are provided in all three kitchens.

IT'S EASY! Driving to Cabo Pulmo takes about an hour and 15 minutes from the Los Cabos Airport, all of it good paved road except the last six miles, which is a wide, well-traveled, graded dirt road. We provide precise, written directions and a map from the airport to Cabo Pulmo, with all distances and turns well-identified. You won't get lost! Once in Cabo Pulmo, follow the signs to VILLA & CASA DEL MAR. When you make your booking, we will send you detailed information with kilometer-by-kilometer, turn-by-turn, and town-by town driving directions.

RENT A CAR! While you can take a taxi, it's a fairly expensive proposition, costing as much as, if not more, than renting a car, each way, and you'd need to trust your taxi driver would return for you at the appointed time and date, as there are no stand-by taxis in Cabo Pulmo for the return. We suggest you rent a car at the airport for the duration of your stay as it will cost less and offer flexibility. All major car rental companies offer rentals of all types right at the airport. We use a website at www.travelnow.com, go to the Rental Car icon, enter SJD (Los Cabos airport code) and up comes a complete list of all the cars available to rent, prices, amenities and companies. You can book your rental car with www.travelnow.com , with an agent in the USA or directly with the rental company. We recommend you take a hard-copy confirmation of your rental with you. Air conditioned cars are not necessary in winter and early spring but are a must during hot months. Rates vary widely, so compare the BASE rates, without taxes and insurance. Save on collision and comp insurance by using a Gold or Platinum credit card that includes collision and comp insurance in Mexico. Be sure to verify with your credit card company as far as rental card auto insurance in Mexico. You MUST purchase Mexican liability insurance for your rental car from the rental car company in order to be covered in Mexico. Your USA insurance or credit card insurance will NOT cover you.

YES! The USA now requires that all American citizens who are entering the USA to have valid US Passports. If you don't have a passport, take advantage of the national Passport Office's rush service and you'll get your documents in several days instead of many weeks. Plan ahead so that you are not still waiting for your passport when it's time to leave for Mexico. SPECIAL NOTE FOR SINGLE PARENTS WITH MINOR CHILDREN & ANYONE TRAVELING WITH A MINOR CHILD FROM ANOTHER FAMILY: Mexico requires an original, notarized letter from the non-present, second parent stating that the children with you are yours, and that you have permission from your not-present spouse to travel outside the USA with you. If you are taking someone else's under-age child along with you, you will need a notarized letter of permission from both of the child's parents. Your airline will ask for this letter when you check-in for your flight. They are usually quite diligent about this detail because they will receive huge fines from the Mexican government if they are caught with minor-children on board who don't have one or both parents with them. Be sure to have this letter with you at all times.

DEFINITELY! The well servicing the small American community at Cabo Pulmo supplies reliably good, sweet water, piped underground to each house. Most people drink it right from the tap. However because most people traveling in Mexico are concerned about safety of drinking water, VILLA & CASA DEL MAR and EL NIDO have installed reverse-osmosis water purification systems in order to provide you with an extra level of comfort. Purified water is conveniently dispensed at-the-tap in the kitchens. You don't need to buy bottled water at the market.

ABSOLUTELY! The only living coral reefs in Baja can be found at Cabo Pulmo. The eight fingers of Cabo Pulmo's living coral reefs begin at shoreline, arching out at a 45 degree angle from the beach, with each reef finger successively deeper than the last. The reef system protects the shoreline from the type of waves and surf associated with Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, where many beaches are unsafe for swimming, plus Cabo Pulmo is influenced by the calm waters of the Sea of Cortez, not the active waters of the Pacific Ocean. Rip tides and undertows are unknown in Cabo Pulmo. Occasionally the beaches at Cabo Pulmo will experience small waves, mostly during winter north wind conditions. Even so, swimming is still safe and then the windsurfing is great!

FABULOUS! Cabo Pulmo is famous for scuba diving and snorkeling! Because of Cabo Pulmo's living coral reefs, an abundance of sea life is just waiting for you to come take a look. The reef system is now protected by Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park so the sealife continues to prosper and multiply. VILLA & CASA DEL MAR and EL NIDO provide, free of charge, a fleet of sit-on-top ocean kayaks that you can paddle out to the reefs yourself for easy snorkeling. VILLA & CASA DEL MAR and EL NIDO also provide a selection of snorkeling equipment for guests who don't bring their own. There are three scuba/snorkel outfitters in Cabo Pulmo:

GREAT! Anglers at Cabo Pulmo catch most pelagic species common to Baja California Sur waters. We regularly see (depending upon the season, of course) dorado, also known in Hawaii as mahi-mahi, tuna, wahoo, snapper, grouper, sailfish, and marlin. The Castro family operates a fleet of panga fishing boats. Our favorite guide in Paco Castro. The rates are excellent, about $45.00 per hour, with a 4-hour minimum, for up to 3-guests per boat, plus tips. Rods, reels, and lures are available for fishermen who don't bring their own. These local captains are excellent fishermen and know the area well. Fishing within Cabo Pulmo National Park is prohibited in order to protect the reefs, however it's only a short boat ride to deep waters outside the Park boundaries. Reef species like grouper and cabrilla can be fished for outside the Park as well, also a short boat ride away, just south of Bahia Los Frailes. The Castro's don't have a phone but they are the same family as Cabo Pulmo Divers, so you can make a reservation at their website: www.baja.com/cabopulmodivers.com. If you know you will plan to fish, we highly recommend that you book your fishing trip in advance to be assured of a boat and favorite guide.

YES, SIX, PLUS ONE TAKE-OUT! And all are within a one to four minute walk from VILLA & CASA DEL MAR and EL NIDO!

WELL, NOT EXACTLY! The Castro’s have a tiny market near Cabo Pulmo Divers that offer non-perishables and limited fresh food several times a week. We don't count on the store being well-stocked but it often is. El Caballero Restaurant keeps a good supply of grocery items for sale, and many of the other restaurants will sell you needed items as well.

The closet markets to Cabo Pulmo are in La Ribera, a small town sixteen miles to the north, which has several mom-and-pop grocery stores that provide all the non-perishable basics, beer and tequila, sodas and juices. La Ribera's little markets receive deliveries of fresh vegetables, fruit, bread and tortillas twice a week, usually Wednesdays and Saturdays. To have the best selection and most variety, we recommend you shop in San Jose del Cabo after you've rented your car and before you drive to Cabo Pulmo. We like to shop at the convenient, American-style super markets like Mega and Sorianos, both near the Los Cabos Airport. These two markets will have everything you could possibly want, and are just about as easy shopping in any super market in the USA. We also shop on our way in to Cabo Pulmo at Chapito’s store in Los Barrilles and have dinner at Tio Pablo’s Restaurant before heading into Cabo Pulmo. We send you a comprehensive list of where to shop when you book with us. Remember, you're on vacation and you probably don't want to have to cook every meal! Do try Cabo Pulmo's restaurants or Elvira's home-delivery!

NOT NECESSARILY! US Dollars are always accepted, in fact, many tourist-oriented businesses price their services in dollars. However when using dollars for things priced in pesos, you probably won't receive a very good exchange rate from the merchant. For example, if the exchange rate is 10:1, you'll probably receive only 9.5:1, a loss of 5%. The money exchange booth at the airport, does not give a good exchange rate. We recommend changing dollars to pesos at one of the Baja Money Exchange Booths, where the exchange rate is almost as good as the bank rate. Banks only change money in the mornings and lines are long, hardly worth the trouble. Outside the city, most small businesses won't have a lot of small bills for change, so plan to keep small bills available, both pesos and dollars. Take plenty of cash. Baja is not a credit card society and most places away from the city core, won't accept credit cards. We also recommend that you phone your credit card company before you leave home to tell them you will be traveling in Mexico so they don't place a hold on your credit card because charges are coming from a foreign country. It's really frustrating to not take enough cash, plan on using a credit card for a cash advance, then not be able to use it! Getting your credit card 'un-blocked' from Mexico can be a whole-day affair from town, completely wasting a day of your vacation. In Cabo Pulmo only Coral Reef Restaurant and Cabo Pulmo Dive Center in the 2-story turquoise building take credit cards.

VERY NICE! Cabo Pulmo is located on the Tropic of Cancer, in the tropics. The landscape is desert-like, with a relatively dry climate similar to Southern California during most of the year. The climate is sunny and it's never cold. We've experienced Baja every month of the year and we've never met a month we didn't like. We enjoy ocean sports every month of the year. Pick your time to visit based on what you like to do. If just kicking back and getting away from the hustle-bustle of everyday life is your goal, then anytime is a good time to visit. Discover More About Cabo Pulmo Weather and Climate HERE

NOT USUALLY! Most tropical storms you hear about from the Weather Channel in the East Pacific never reach landfall on the Baja Peninsula. The season for the possibility of hurricanes that might effect Cabo Pulmo is the six-week time-frame from the last week of August through the first-week of October. Historically, Baja often goes ten years without a major storm, then will get several storms in a row, although most storms stay several hundred miles out in the ocean, just sending waves to shore. An occasional storm makes landfall in Baja. If you are staying with us and a government Hurricane Watch or Warning is posted, and you decide to return to the USA, you may come back and use the un-used portion of your pre-paid stay at a later date, within one year of your hurricane-caused departure. During Watches & Warnings, the airlines also allow you to change your tickets and depart on a space-available basis with no ticket change fees. While VILLA & CASA DEL MAR were under construction, a hurricane passed 35 miles east, out in the ocean, which traveled up the Sea of Cortez and made landfall at Guaymas and the Mexican mainland. As a result of our experience, we've installed roll-down hurricane shutters that close up the entire property in ten minutes and can withstand 140 m.p.h. winds. So if you wanted to stay during a storm, you could!

NO, YOU CAN'T! Most people come to Cabo Pulmo to be off the beaten track, to participate in the ocean activities Cabo Pulmo is famous for, to be away from the populated tourtist environment where one finds the golf courses. The closest golf courses are in San Jose del Cabo, an hour-and-a-half's drive, and along the hotel corridor on the southward towards Cabo San Lucas. If golfing needs to be part of your vacation, we suggest you consider staying a few says in Los Cabos at the beginning or end of your trip and spending the rest of your holiday with us at Cabo Pulmo.

CALL US OR E-MAIL US! Our TOLL FREE number in the USA is 888-BAJA-SUN. We're usually available from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM Mountain Time, seven days-a-week. If we've stepped out, please leave a message and we'll phone you back as soon as we can. Even better, don't hesitate to call our cell phone at 208-720-4455. We are frequently out of the office and the cell phone allows us to stay in touch with you at all times. E-mail is a great way to reach us as well. We check e-mail several times a day. Send your inquiries to info.bajaparadise@gmail.com . To make a reservation, we require a 25% deposit to hold your reservation. Full balance is due 60-days prior to your arrival date; or 90-days prior to arrival if a Peak Season booking. We accept personal checks, VISA and MasterCard. All rates are subject to Mexico's 12% sales tax. If you want to book specific dates, call us and we'll hold your dates for several days, while you get your group together and make travel arrangements. When you're all set, we'll mail or FAX you our Short Term Rental Agreement and Security & Damage Agreement. Complete the agreements and mail them back to us with your deposit check, or FAX back to us with your VISA or MasterCard. If you need more space in addition to the accommodations provided at VILLA & CASA DEL MAR and EL NIDO, or if we can't accommodate you on your preferred dates, we will refer you to other property management folks in Cabo Pulmo and/or assist you in finding what you need.