El Arco

From gorgeous beaches to upscale resorts to adventure-​filled activities, Cabos is certainly one of the most sought-​after places to spend the holidays. However, for me, there was just one reason I really wanted to visit Cabos San Lucas and that’s the El Arco — the famous natural hole in the rock formation.
In general, I’m amazed by natural hole in the rock formations, be it in Big Sur or the Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz or the Channel Islands or the Mendocino headlands or the Montana de Oro Park. I love them. Simply love them!
In Cabos San Lucas, there is a number ways to see the El Arco — you can rent a boat or kayak or even better, parasail over it! A boat takes you there in 5 min — too easy, so no fun. We wanted to enjoy the journey and the best way to do that is by kayaking.
It took us a good 40 minutes to kayak to the El Arco. We kayaked past the Pelican Rock (aptly named so), Neptune Finger (looks like the ocean showing a middle finger), Seals Rock (also named aptly for all those seals merrily basking on the rocks) and the Lovers Beach.
A seal was jumping in and out of the water right next to our kayak. It was a unique sight to see, but at the same time I was praying it wouldn’t come join us on our kayaking trip. The pelicans on the rocks nearby and gliding over the ocean was another wondrous sight.
We kayaked, and kayaked, and kayaked until we reached the Land’s End and saw the famous El Arco. What a fabulous sight it was! The beautiful arch amidst the tall rock formations and blue-​green Pacific waters — it was indeed a sight to behold.
On the way back to the Los Cabos Marina, we stopped on the way, jumped out of our kayaks and snorkeled to see all the colorful fish.
By the end of the tour, our hands were hurting because of the kayaking, but certainly fell accomplished and satisfied seeing the El Arco and snorkeling in the bay.

EL Arco is probably one of the most distinctive land formations in all the world. It’s no mystery why it is ranked the number one on TripAdvisor’s ‘Thing to Do’ list as well as many other similar travel sites when visiting the area.
Cabo San Lucas is one of my favorite Mexican vacation destinations. Located on the very southernmost tip of the Baja Peninsula, the Mexican state of Baja California Sur is not only beautiful but historically significant. Did you know this area is known for its primitive rock and cave paintings, some dating back to 1700 BCE? IF you are planning a vacation here, there are three things you simply must not miss! The beautiful beach, a day tour to see the cave paintings and the rock formation known as El Arco.
Also known as Land’s End, it is said that if you hopped in a boat and headed directly south, you would not run into land again until you reached Antarctica (nearly 6,800 miles away). However, being the nerd that I am I used the distance calculator on Google Maps to verify that and noticed you’d come awfully close to hitting Easter Island! The most popular way to get to El Arco from Cabo is by water taxi or kayak.
THE BEAUTIFUL ROCK FORMATIONS
There are 5 other rock formations surrounding El Arco, all collectively known as LOS FRAILES or The Friars. I believe the name reflects their stately presence as they stand patiently in the water where the Sea of Cortez converges with the Pacific Ocean. The third largest of the group appears to be shaped like the famed cartoon Great Dane known as Scooby Doo while the two larger formations are a lounging pad for sea lions.
El Arco is one of the only places in the world you can witness two separate bodies of water converging. If you opt to take a water taxi, you will encounter «El Window» between the rock formations. Highlighted here are the distinct deep blue waters of the Pacific Ocean on one side of the window contrasting with the turquoise waters of the Sea of Cortez on the other. Lover’s beach is on the Sea of Cortez side of the formations while Divorce beach is on the Pacific side. I assume divorce beach is aptly named because of the advisories not to swim in the waters here. The undertow of current is so strong you can be pulled out to sea; thus making it a tempting spot to coax a uniformed, cantankerous spouse into a skinny dip. Err, that’s my take on the name anyway… lol!
FINAL THOUGHTS
It is also said that if you are lucky, about every 4 years El Arco experiences a low tide that draws back the waters and extends the beach underneath the arch. During our water taxi ride, we did not experience this, but we did get to walk the beaches here and enjoy the bark of the sea lions resting on The Friars. A must do when visiting Cabo San Lucas, so bring your camera and your best sea lion impersonation to get them talking!
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Beautiful place! Great spot to see the seas lions and get a couple photos. The beach is also a must see.

This is a definitive feature of Cabo San Lucas’ scenery and geology. The tip of the Baja is exciting to see. But it’s not that incredible to me. We took a catamaran ride around the tip and saw both sides… including Divorce Beach and Lover’s Beach. It’s not something I need to see more than once.

Not much to say about the arch other than its beautiful! A must see during your trip to Cabo. Hopefully my next visit will be during the low tide (that occurs a few weeks every 4 years) so that I can experience the beach at the arch!

The arch is just such a cool thing to see. The water is warm and clear and the scenery is 5 star all the way!

Beautiful formations! It’s a must see in Cabo. We just did the quick tour around on the water taxi and that was all we needed to see.

We visited El Arco de Cabo San Lucas via a tour we received from attending a long azz timeshare. The tour guide was cool and it was great because there was just one other family on the boat with us for the tour. The views were absolutely stunning and it felt great being so close the Arco in the boat. We weren’t able to get off on one of the beaches because of the high currents. We even saw security guards near the small beaches near the Arco making sure no one tried to get out their boats. We saw plenty of seals and witnessed one riding on one of the tour boats on our way back which was really cool. This is definitely a must do when in CABO, I would do it again when if I ever return to CABO.

One of the nicest natural caves probably ever created. The underpass was perfect enough for our boat to fit under, we stopped took pictures and our sunset cruise came with food, drinks and fun people.
The service was attentive and the boat stopped at all of the nice places, we even saw a wedding a watched their yacht. Overall the view is nice, seals were present and the scenery was perfect :)

Yes this is something you have to do in Cabo! It’s a cheep water taxi ride out and if you tip the captain a little bit you can catch a whale sighting or at least a few seals on your trip too.
Heres two warnings however.
Use the bathroom before you go out to the beach! Unfortunately, everyone in my group had been enjoying buckets of Corona before we got on the boat, and there is no where to pee on the beach. The guys could go behind a rock, but the (modest) girls went into a cave. This cave was possibly the grossest thing I have ever be around!!! Pee in the water instead!
The other warning is getting into, and out of the water taxi… l it isn’t easy when the water is rough. You may get very wet, so protect your camera and phones.

You’ll find tons of vendors nearby the pier who offer great deals on snorkeling and a boat cruise for roughly $ 50 a person for the day. It’s worth it to tour the arch.

El Arco de Cabo San Lucas is a must visit on any trip to Cabo. This iconic rock formation is easily the most identifiable image in the entire southern Baja peninsula. The appearance of this natural wonder changes seemingly every time the sun moves in the sky, the tide changes or the viewer moves from one place to the next.
The best way to access the arch is by glass-​bottom which are available in abundance all along Medano Beach. On the way over or during the return trip you panga boat captain will gladly take you around the hill to capture some great pictures. Plan on spending about $ 10 per person +tip for a round trip ride to Lover’s Beach. If you choose to disembark at Lover’s Beach you can take a walk between the giant granite hills that form Lands’ End and make your way to the Pacific side which is quite picturesque. If you’re lucky enough to be in Cabo when the tide is at its lowest you can actually walk around the arch and take some pictures underneath it. This phenomenon only occurs once every few years and isn’t anything that can be predicted too far ahead of time. My wife and I were fortunate enough to experience this on our last visit and to call it breathtaking would be an understatement. The size of the arch cannot truly be appreciated until you’re standing directly under it.
If you have been to Cabo in past and haven’t made the trek to El Arco de Cabo San Lucas you owe it to yourself to do so. If you are planning your first vacation to the area make this side trip a priority and bring a camera. The pics you take will be some of the best on your trip, guaranteed.

A «must do» when you’re in Cabo, and a great deal, compared to any of the organized tours you’ll go on. Just $ 10/​person for glass-​bottomed boat or water taxi, roundtrip. We went with the guys located right outside Pueblo Bonito Blanco (I think they had on shirts that said «Bonita») and they were really great — they actually picked up and carried my girls (and my mom) out to the boat and placed them on it, which was very nice.
All the «tours» sound pretty similar, according to the reviews. They took us out to the Arc, showed us and described the various beaches and rock formations, took us over to the fairly rough Pacific Ocean side, and then dropped us off on Lover’s Beach for 45 minutes of snorkeling (you can rent snorkel equipment there for about $ 7/​set). Overall, a very memorable little excursion; one of the highlights of our trip.

El Arco is probably the most iconic landmark in Cabo! The resort we stayed at was really close to the Marina so we decided to catch one of the water taxis to tour the ocean! The tour included fish feeding on the way to El Arco and a stop to other beaches close by!
El Arco was a beautiful sight. We caught a glimpse of the sand that appears under the arch, which looked like a small beach. I found out later that the sandy beach only appears a few weeks every four or five years! Getting off the boat to hang out on the sand didn’t seem safe since the waves were so high! We ended up taking pictures of the landmark and continued the tour by visiting the other beaches (Pelican beach, Lover’s beach, and Divorce beach…)!
Don’t miss this when visiting Cabo San Lucas!