Doing These 5 Things On Los Cabos Beaches Could Get You In Serious Trouble

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Last Updated 2 years ago

Cabo beaches are known for being family-friendly spots where locals and tourists can enjoy a dip in the Pacific Ocean or the Sea of Cortez.

Authorities want to make sure that the beaches remain family-friendly, and that’s why there are certain rules in place.

As is sometimes the case in Mexico, though, some of these rules can be bypassed if you do things the right way. If you just go out and try to do some of these things without a proper permit, you may be in some serious trouble. 

Here are 5 things you should avoid on Cabo beaches to stay out of trouble:

Any Type of Indecent Behavior

By far, the easiest way to get in trouble on a Cabo beach is to “disturb the peace”. Indecent behaviors can be things like drunk escapades and insulting authorities or other beachgoers.

Indecent behavior also includes things like skinny dipping on Cabo beaches. To be able to take a dip in the ocean or remain on the beach, tourists need to be properly clothed.

Recently a pair of truck drivers swam in the nude at El Medano beach. The other beachgoers alerted the authorities, but the two men “disturbing the peace” were able to flee before police arrived.   

Driving Motorcycles or Even Horseback Riding On The Beach

There are still companies that offer horseback riding tours on certain Cabo beaches. Also, tourists can rent motorcycles and other vehicles to ride in other spots.

You need a special permit, though, to drive these vehicles or ride on horseback on a Cabo beach. Some beaches that are designated turtle nesting areas have completely banned the use of motor vehicles in the sand.

If you pull up to El Medano beach in any type of motor vehicle without being part of a tour, you run the risk of getting detained by the police. 

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Trying To Camp In Cabo Beaches 

This is another one of those activities that you may be able to do with the right permit. Certain Cabo beaches outright forbid camping. In others, the activity is not completely outlawed.

To be able to camp there, though, you would need to obtain a special permit from authorities.

That requirement was presumably put in place by authorities to ban camping on Cabo beaches without officially banning the practice. 

Smoking Is No Longer Allowed 

Smoking in public spaces such as beaches was recently banned on a national level. It’s also true that authorities are having a tough time enforcing the ban.

The federal agency that is in charge of caring for the beaches in Los Cabos has outright mentioned that they don’t have the capacity to consistently patrol entire beaches and crack down on smokers.

Technically speaking, though, smokers could be fined and even see jail time under the new jurisdiction. It just takes one bad interaction with a Mexican police officer to potentially ruin your vacation.

Smokers may want to think twice about lighting up a cigarette on a Cabo beach.     

Is Cabo Pet Friendly?

There’s no question that Cabo is currently a lot more pet friendly than it’s ever been. In fact, the most popular beach in Los Cabos does allow pets to roam the sand freely.

The reason why we added this activity to this list is because many Cabo resorts with private beaches are not pet friendly. Pets will not be allowed within the resort or the private beach area.

It would be a costly mistake to book a resort, assuming that it is pet friendly without double-checking first.

Again, pets are allowed on a lot of public beaches in Los Cabos, but that doesn’t mean that travelers can assume that the entire area is 100% pet friendly.

Is Breaking The Law Worth The Risk?

This is a question that has come to the forefront after the recent smoking ban was passed at the national level.

As previously stated, local authorities have admitted that they don’t have an effective strategy to crack down on smokers.

Technically speaking, a traveler could get away with breaking any of these laws. Doing so, though, could put you at risk of facing criminal charges in a foreign country.

With that in mind, we highly recommend that travelers to Los Cabos refrain from all of these activities.