Los Cabos Tourists Warned Of Getting Too Close To Ocean As Intense Swells Create Danger

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Last Updated 11 months ago

This weekend may be some of the worst days of the year to go for a swim at Cabo beaches. Local authorities are warning beachgoers saying that they don’t even recommend walking close to the shoreline along the beach.

This is due to intense swells that are currently present on many Cabo beaches. The conditions typically referred to as groundswells are caused by storms that take place out at sea. 

Usually, these conditions are dangerous for beachgoers because waves won’t fully break when they reach the shore as they normally do. Plus, underwater currents are stronger than usual.

In a worst-case scenario, a person could be dragged into the sea and will have to contend with much deeper waters even if they are relatively close to the shoreline. 

And while this weekend, in particular, is affected, travelers should always be aware that changing ocean conditions can affect their trip. Visitors should never ignore the advice of lifeguards and should always pay attention to the flag system used to indicate ocean conditions on Los Cabos’ most popular beaches.

If you see a red flag, it is not worth risking your life for a swim.

On top of these conditions, Cabo beaches are going to be severely understaffed this weekend as many of the region’s lifeguards are currently undergoing a training program and, therefore, not at their usual posts.

For the weekend, Los Cabos will only have 20 lifeguards on duty who will be responsible for watching over 119 miles of beaches.

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Blue Flag Beaches & Private Beaches Within Hotels May Be The Safest 

According to local authorities, the 20 lifeguards that will be on duty over the weekend will focus their efforts on the 25 Blue Flag beaches that call Los Cabos home.

Beaches like Santa Maria, Chileno, El Corsario, and Palmilla Beach may be some of the safest in Cabo this Saturday and Sunday. These beaches are known as calm beaches to begin with. 

On top of that, over the next few days, some of these spots will be under inspection to ensure that they can retain their Blue Flag status.

This will likely lead to more ZOFEMAT staff being deployed to these areas. Beaches like the Grand Fiesta Americana Los Cabos and Grand Velas Los Cabos usually have hotel staff on hand to help as well, even if there aren’t enough certified lifeguards on duty.

This makes them good spots to head to if you truly want to head to the beach in the next few days.  

Although beaches like El Medano will be going through a similar situation (trying to retain their blue flag status), they may not be as safe because the beach is so large and has spots that may be more dangerous under the current conditions.

The semi-private parts of the beach patrolled by the hotels like the Médano ME Cabo beach may be safer.

The problem is that even with lifeguards on duty at El Medano, the size of the beach and the potential crowds that will likely gather are going to make it harder to patrol. 

Local authorities want to make sure that beachgoers respect the warnings on the beaches. Currently, red flags wave on most of the popular Cabo beaches.

This means that swimming is strongly discouraged. These warnings should be adhered to despite the fact that the tide may not seem so severe from the outside looking in.    

The Lack Of Lifeguards Plus The Current Conditions Have Already Claimed One Victim

Unfortunately, there has already been one mortal victim of the conditions and the situation with the lack of lifeguards that took place throughout the week in Cabo.

A male teenager was dragged into the sea due to the strong currents. At the time of the incident, there was no lifeguard on duty due to the aforementioned training program that most of the regular Cabo lifeguards have been a part of.

As previously stated over the weekend, there will be a higher presence of lifeguards than what we had during the week.

Still, the beaches are set to be quite understaffed. If the conditions remain the same, it may be best to just stay away from the ocean at Los Cabos beaches this weekend.