How the map of Los Cabos has changed over the past 40 years

For those who’ve visited Los Cabos oregon lived successful the country for immoderate appreciable magnitude of time, the changes that person occurred present successful caller decades are remarkable, not lone successful presumption of population increases oregon the accelerated emergence successful the fig of tourists visiting but besides successful presumption of wide development. 

For this article, I utilized Google Earth imagery to amusement however the maps of cape cities Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo person changed since 1985 (the limits of Google Earth’s humanities capacity). I’ve paid peculiar attraction to the timeframe 2005 – 2025, not lone due to the fact that Google Earth’s outer imagery prime improves from this constituent onwards, but besides due to the fact that this is erstwhile the gait of improvement quickens. 

Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo successful 1985

(Courtesy of Google Earth)

One of the archetypal things you’ll announcement successful these maps is that they amusement nary play courses. That’s due to the fact that determination were nary before 1987. Nor were determination galore hotels since tourism was not precise developed. The Hotel Twin Dolphin, a Tourist Corridor favourite of the time, had 55 rooms, according to my Baja Traveler guidebook published successful 1988. The Hotel Finisterra successful Cabo San Lucas had the aforesaid number. Meanwhile, successful San José del Cabo, the Hotel El Presidente boasted 250 rooms, a monolithic fig for the time. 

By 1990, the closest twelvemonth I could find accurate data, determination were 22 hotels with 2,531 rooms successful Los Cabos serving the 228,000 overseas tourists who visited that year. The population, likewise, remained precise humble by today’s standards. The Los Cabos municipality had 43,920 residents arsenic of the 1990 census, with Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo each boasting astir 15,000 residents. 

Nightlife started successful earnest successful 1989 and 1990 successful Cabo San Lucas, with El Squid Roe, Cabo Wabo, and Giggling Marlin appearing astir this time.

Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo successful 2005

San José del Cabo successful 2005. (Courtesy of Google Earth)

By the dawn of the caller century, maturation is accelerated successful some Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo. The combined colonisation successful the Los Cabos municipality roseate from 105,469 successful 2000 to 164,162 successful 2005 to 238,487 successful 2010. 

The Los Cangrejos and Colonia del Sol neighborhoods rapidly grew successful Cabo San Lucas. Indeed, according to the publication Los Cabos, Prospective for a Natural and Tourism Paradise, 99% of the maturation successful Los Cabos betwixt 2000 and 2005 occurred successful conscionable a fewer places: Cabo San Lucas and its Colonia del Sol and Los Cangrejos neighborhoods; and successful San José del Cabo colonias similar San José Viejo, San Bernabé, Las Veredas, and La Playa.

There were inactive nary play courses evident connected the Pacific Coast. Davis Love III’s acclaimed Diamante Dunes Course would beryllium the archetypal successful 2009. However, respective tin beryllium seen successful the Tourist Corridor, including the Cabo San Lucas Country Club and the Ocean and Desert courses astatine Cabo del Sol.

San José del Cabo experienced 124% maturation during this decade, arsenic the colonisation of residents grew from 31,102 successful 2000 to 69,788 successful 2010. Golf courses, the backbone of section existent property developments, person been built astatine Querencia (2000), but not yet astatine Club Campestre oregon Puerto Los Cabos (both 2007).

Even bigger gains were being made successful presumption of tourism. Foreign tourists roseate from 464,200 successful 2000 to 842,606 successful 2010. As tourism numbers climbed, the edifice country inventory successful Los Cabos much than doubled, expanding from 6,167 successful 2000 to 13,390 successful 2010.

Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo successful 2015

(Courtesy of Google Earth)

The Category 4 Hurricane Odile, which deed Los Cabos connected September 14th, 2014, did implicit 1 cardinal dollars worthy of damage, but didn’t dilatory down growth, arsenic these 2015 outer photos indicate. El Tezal, Cabo Bello, and Cangrejos are each increasing successful Cabo San Lucas, with respective play courses present evident connected the Pacific Coast of the Land’s End city, including Love’s Dunes Course, Tiger Woods’ El Cardonal (2014) astatine Diamante, and Jack Nicklaus’ Quivira (2014).

There were 118 hotels successful Los Cabos successful 2013, though the fig of rooms had declined somewhat to lone 13,003 successful 2014. The full colonisation of Los Cabos successful 2014 was 294,452, with some Cabo San Lucas (99,072) and San José del Cabo (95,310) poised to interruption 100,000 and alteration from towns to cities. 

The RIU Santa Fe, with 1,200 rooms successful Cabo San Lucas, became the largest edifice successful the country during this era. Hotels and resorts similar The Cape, A Thompson Hotel successful the Tourist Corridor, and the Hyatt Ziva and JW Marriott successful San José del Cabo welcomed guests for the archetypal clip successful 2015. The Hyatt Ziva, featuring 591 rooms, joined RIU Santa Fe and the RIU Palaces among Los Cabos’ biggest properties.

Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo successful 2025

Cabo San Lucas successful 2025 (Courtesy of Google Earth)

By 2025, Baja California Sur had 500 hotels and 29,000 edifice rooms available, with the largest portion of the inventory (over 180 hotels and 18,000 rooms) successful Los Cabos. Close to 4 cardinal tourists visited successful 2023 and 2024, with the colonisation astatine 351,111 arsenic of the 2020 census. Los Cabos had surpassed La Paz successful presumption of population, with Cabo San Lucas boasting 202,694 residents, and San José del Cabo astatine 136,285.

Using the Google Earth region tool, I measured the developed country successful Cabo San Lucas successful 1985 astatine its outermost points arsenic astir 2.5 kilometers successful magnitude by 1.25 kilometers successful width. By 2025, it had expanded to astir 11 x 7. Thus, the carnal dimensions of the metropolis were growing. The aforesaid is existent for San José del Cabo, though little dramatically truthful visually.

However, contempt what seems to beryllium fluid borders of the cape cities, the country of the Los Cabos municipality has remained stable, starring to a colonisation density that has continued to rise. It was 93.6 residents per quadrate kilometer successful 2020, up from 11.7 successful 1990, 28.1 successful 2000, 63.6 successful 2010, and 76.7 successful 2015. The existent fig is the highest successful Baja California Sur, though it bears noting that the authorities wide has the lowest colonisation density successful Mexico.

Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas section adept for the USA Today question website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos question guidebook and a contributor to galore websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related contented and manner features focused connected food, vino and golf.