Why go
Todos Santos trades the resort strip for adobe streets, working art galleries, and a genuinely different pace — several Cabo- and San José-based operators run it as a guided day trip, so you don't need a rental car to see it.
Choosing a Todos Santos day trip
The core decision is guided tour vs. self-drive. A guided tour (Cabo San Lucas Tours or Esperanza's Tours are the two most established options) handles pickup, parking, and narration, and both work through the same rough itinerary of galleries, the mission, and Hotel California. Driving yourself takes about the same amount of time on the road but lets you set your own pace, time a Saturday visit around the Mercado Ranchero farmers market, or add an Omega Tours ATV route once you're in town.
Either way, plan for lunch and any entrance fees on top of the tour price — neither of the two guided options above includes a meal.
Cabo San Lucas Tours – Longest-Running Todos Santos Tour
Place
Cabo San Lucas Tours
Cabo San Lucas-based tour agency (operating since 2006) running a roughly 6-hour Todos Santos day tour with round-trip hotel pickup, an English-speaking guide, and stops at the Regional Anthropological Museum, art galleries, the historic mission, and Hotel California, departing four days a week.
Operating since 2006, this is the most established Todos Santos day tour out of Cabo San Lucas: a roughly 6-hour round trip with hotel pickup, an English-speaking guide, and visits to the Regional Anthropological Museum, local art galleries, the historic mission, and Hotel California. Listed on their site at $89 per adult (discounted from $99) and $69 for kids 5–11, departing Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 9am. Lunch and museum entrance fees are extra.
Esperanza's Tours – Deepest Cultural Itinerary
Place
Esperanza´s Tours
Esperanza's Tours runs a full-day Todos Santos City Tour (about 5-6 hours round trip) from Cabo San Lucas, stopping at the historic Jesuit mission, art galleries, a blanket-weaving demonstration, a pearl demonstration, and Hotel California for lunch.
A 5-hour tour (9am–3pm) covering more places than any other operator here: a Mexican blanket weavery, an agricultural cooperative, a regional sweets store, an art gallery walk, the Old Jesuit Mission Nuestra Señora del Pilar, the Manuel Márquez de León theater, the Tropic of Cancer marker, a pearl demonstration, and Hotel California, where you get time to eat on your own. Listed on their site at $76 per adult (discounted from $95); round-trip transportation and a certified bilingual guide are included, lunch is not.
Omega Tours – Explore Todos Santos on Your Own Wheels
Place
Omega Tours Todos Santos
Rents ATVs, UTVs and motorcycles and runs off-road tours out of Todos Santos, along with other day-trip and transportation services.
Based in Todos Santos itself, Omega Tours is the pick if a scripted bus tour sounds slow: guided ATV and UTV routes through the surrounding desert and dam country (their 3-hour guided ATV tour starts at $219 per rider), plus self-guided GPS rentals if you want to set your own pace. A good add-on if you drove yourself and want a second activity once you get to town.
Where to Eat, Stay, or Browse in Town
If you're driving yourself instead of booking a guided tour, or you just have free time after one, build the rest of the day around these:
Farm-to-Table Mexican Restaurant
Jazamango
A farm-to-table Mexican restaurant on a working farm in Todos Santos.
A farm-to-table Mexican menu grown on its own working farm outside Todos Santos — a scenic, laid-back dinner worth the drive from town.
Iconic Boutique Hotel
Hotel California Todos Santos
An iconic boutique hotel in the heart of Todos Santos.
An iconic, mid-range boutique stay right in Todos Santos's town center — the pick for travelers who want to be in town, not out at a resort.
Place
Galeria Todos Santos
A working gallery in downtown Todos Santos run by resident painters Michael and Erick, who create and sell their own art on-site alongside work from other local artists.
Place
El Mercado Ranchero
Artisanal marketplace and shop curating handmade dairy, meats, crafts, furniture and other traditional goods from more than 40 ranches across Baja California Sur; open Mon-Sat with a dedicated Saturday farmers-market day.
Planning Notes
- Tour vs. self-drive
- A guided tour handles parking, gas, and narration; a rental car gives more time in town and lets you pick your own places to visit
- Saturday bonus
- El Mercado Ranchero runs its farmers-market day on Saturdays — worth timing a self-drive visit around
- Lunch
- Not included on either guided tour above — plan to eat in town, often at Hotel California's restaurant or a separate place
Before You Book
Todos Santos Day Trip Questions
Do I need a car to visit Todos Santos from Cabo?
No — several Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo operators run guided round-trip day tours with hotel pickup. A rental car gives more flexibility if you want to linger in town or add your own places to visit.
How long is the drive from Cabo San Lucas to Todos Santos?
About an hour each way via Highway 19, the coastal route. Most guided tours turn it into a 5–6 hour round trip once you add more places to see.
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