These Los Cabos Beaches Have The Calmest Waters For Swimming

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Last Updated 1 year ago

Not all of the beaches in Cabo are going to be ideal for swimming. In fact, you could say that Cabo is better known for its surf beaches and areas like Cabo Pulmo, which is a great diving spot.

A calm beach where you can walk out into the ocean for what seems like miles and have the water only reach your knees is less common in Cabo.

While that’s a more common site in the Mexican Caribbean, there are still beaches in Cabo that are perfect for swimming. 

Lover’s Beach 

Lover’s Beach or Playa del Amor is not going to be the easiest beach to access. In fact, you have to take a water taxi or get out here on a kayak.

It’s one of the closest beaches to the Los Cabos arch. One of the reasons why it’s great for swimming is because the rock formations around the beach shield it from the high tides and big waves. 

Many of the different Cabo beaches that are shielded by rock formations happen to be the best to swim in.

If you’re on any of these beaches though on a very windy day make sure that you’re swimming as far away as you can from the rocks.

Even if the tide is low, there could be underwater currents pushing you toward the rocks. That’s certainly something you’ll want to avoid. 

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Playa Santa Maria

A bit like Lover’s Beach, Playa Santa Maria is completely shielded from the waves by big rock formations.

This beach, though, is right beside the tourist-corridor road. This means that you’re not going to need a boat to access the area.

The rock formations have formed a cove. So even in poor weather conditions, the beach is going to be completely protected from the waves.

Making it perhaps the best beach for a calm swim or just a spot to lay on the beach and let the water gently touch your feet. 

Playa Chileno

Further up the tourism corridor towards San Jose del Cabo from Playa Santa Maria you’ll find Playa Chileno.

This beach is mostly known for the popular Chileno Bay resort. Not all of the bay is a private beach. Precisely because the rock formations have formed a bay, this makes Playa Chileno one of the calmest beaches to swim in.

The bay is not as small and enclosed as it is in Playa Santa Maria. That means that you could still get some waves hitting the shore on bad weather days.

Again, travelers should make sure to swim away from the rocks on this beach to stay extra safe!  

Playa Palmilla

If you keep going up the coast from Playa Chileno towards San Jose del Cabo, you’ll find Playa Palmilla. Again this is a larger bay area compared to what you’ll find at Playa Santa Maria.

Playa Palmilla sits basically behind a large rock formation on the coast. That also helps ensure that the waves don’t hit the beach directly.  

An important thing to point out about most of these beaches is that they aren’t necessarily the ones that feature soft sand that’s comfortable to lie down in.

They actually tend to be a bit rockier than some of the other spots in Los Cabos. Also, you won’t find as many restaurants or sellers walking these beaches as you would in a spot like El Medano.

That can be a good thing for those travelers who are looking for almost a virgin beach-like spot to relax in. 

El Medano Beach

Quick disclaimer here, not all of El Medano Beach is going to be swimmable. However, the part next to the Cabo San Lucas marina tends to be the one with tame waves.

Particularly thanks to the man-made barriers that are put in place to ensure that the marina doesn’t get hit by those massive waves. 

The biggest advantage that El Medano Beach has over all of the other options is that it features the most restaurants and amenities nearby.

As was previously mentioned, this could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the type of beach-going experience you’re looking for.

What is a major advantage at El Medano is the fact that it’s likely to be the beach with the most lifeguards. Even if the waves do get out of hand, it’s going to be easier to get help there.