San Jose del Cabo is still a quaint town of narrow streets, Spanish style buildings and shady plazas, despite its growth as a major tourist resort. Grandiose plans for a yacht marina at the outlet of the ecologically sensitive Arroyo San Jose fizzled because of local opposition, and, having maintained its open space, San Jose remains one of the most pleasant destinations in Baja.

The Fiesta de San Jose, on March 19, celebrates the town's patron saint.

Orientation

San Jose del Cabo consists of San Jose proper, about 1.5km inland, and a zona hotelera of tacky beachfront hotels, condos and time shares. Linking the two areas, just south of shady Plaza Mijares, Boulevard Mijares is a gringolandia of restaurants and souvenir shops.

Information

Tourist Offices The English speaking staff at the Direccion General de Turismo Municipal (it 2 29 60), in the Plaza Mijares, are very helpful. Hours are 8 am to 3 pm Monday to Friday.

Money The casa de cambio at Aeropuerto Internacional Los Cabos offers very poor rates, so avoid changing money until you get to town, where several casas de cambio keep long hours.

Banks pay better rates but keep shorter hours. Bancomer, at the corner of Zaragoza and Morelos, and Banca Serfin, which is at Zaragoza and Degollado, both cash trav eler's checks and have ATMs; Bancomer ha longer lines, but Serfin will not cash more than US$200.

Post & Communications The post office is on Mijares, north of Valerio Gonzale

Conseco. Pay phones are numerous throughout the city, In December 2000, the telephone area code is due to change to v 1 from 114, with the digits 14 added to the start of every local number (for example, the number 7 65 43 will become 14765 43).

Things to See & Do

The colonial style iglesia San Jose faces the shady Plaza Mijares, a nice place to relax and have an helado.

Between raids on Spanish galleons, l8thcentury pirates took refuge at the freshwater Arroyo San Jos(!, now a protected wildlife area replenished by a subterranean spring. Among the common bird species to be found are coots, pelicans, herons, egrets and plovers.

San Jose's museum Los Cabos Centro Cultural is now closed.

Beaches

The beaches at the south end of Boulevard Mijares (known as Playa Hotelera) have a dangerous current so are not good for swimming. The best beaches for swimming are along the road to Cabo San Lucas. Playa Santa Maria at Km 13 is one of the nicest beaches in Los Cabos.

Fishing

In San Jose proper, Deportiva Piscis (Ir 2 0332), on Castro near Ibarra, arranges fishing excursions and sells and rents tackle. Fishermen at Pueblo La Playa, a small fishing community about 2.5km east of the junction of Juarez and Mijares, arrange similar trips; ask them in the late afternoon as they cut up the day's catch on the beach.

Surfing

The best source of surfing information is Killer Hook Surf Shop (Ph: 2 24 30), on Guerrero between Castro and Doblado, which also rents fishing gear and mountain bikes.

Places to Stay

Budget & Mid Range Free camping is possible at Pueblo La Playa, east of the center. 'Me best paying site, also at Pueblo La Playa, is Swedish run El Delfin RV Park (Ph: 2 1199), which is too small for RVs but excellent for tents (US$9). It also has cozy twin bedded cabanas for US$26/32 singles/doubles.

Though urgently in need of a plasterer and a painter, the friendly San Jose Inn (7r 2 24 64), on Obregon between Degollado and Guerrero, has spacious singles/ doubles with private baths, ceiling fans and hot water for US$12/14. The dorm room/ hostel rate is no longer available, but if you are willing to share a room you can pay US$5. Hotel Ceci (Ph: 2 00 51, Zaragoza 22), has 20 rooms with private showers and aircon, but the rooms are pretty basic and cost US$14 a person.

Woodsy, casual Posada Senor Manama (Ph:2 04 62, Obregon 1), just north of Plaza Mijares, may be San Jose's best value, with rooms ranging from US$25 to US$38. There's a small pool and access to a shared kitchen. Inviting Posada Terranova (Ph: 2 0534), on Degollado between Doblado and, Zaragoza, has rooms for US$48, plus a good restaurant.

Top End Probably the best hotel in San Jose , proper, the inconspicuous Hotel Tropicana, (w 2 23 11, Mijares 30) has doubles with satellite TV, a patio and pool. Prices vary with the season, ranging from US$112 in December to US$59 in June. One of the nicest places in town is El Encanto Inn (Ir 2 03 88, Morelos 133). It's a charming inn, with a beautifully landscaped garden, and thoughtfully decorated rooms. Rooms range from US$50 to US$75.

At the Howard Johnson Plaza Suite Resort (Ph: 2 09 09), on Finisterra overlooking Los Cabos Golf & Tennis Club, rates start at US$90.

Places to Eat

The very clean Mercado Municipal, on lbarra between Coronado and Castro, has numerous stalls offering simple and inexpensive but good and filling meals.

Jazmin's, on Morelos between Obregon and Zaragoza, offers a wide variety of tasty breakfasts, plus lunches and dinners at midrange prices, with excellent but unobtrusive service and, incongruously, a paperback book exchange, Morgan's Restaurant & Inn, on the corner of Doblado and Hidalgo, serves excellent food at reasonable prices.

In a restored 18th century house on Plaza Mijares, Damiana is a romantic seafood restaurant. El Paraje (also known as The Tree House), in an attractive adobe structure with a palapa roof at the corner of Guerrero and Margarita de Juarez, serves outstanding fish, fowl, meat and antojitos; it provides outside seating for warm nights or to flee the live entertainment inside of local Neil Diamond wannabes. At the corner of Alvaro and Morelos, Fandango's is a good option for dinner. For a treat, try the key lime pie.

Entertainment

Noisy nightlife doesn't dominate San Jose the way it does Cabo San Lucas. La Playita, part of its namesake hotel in Pueblo La Playa, offers live jazz several nights a week.

Shopping

Antigua Los Cabos, in a mission style building in Plaza Florentina on Zaragoza between Morelos and Hidalgo, offers a nicely displayed selection of handcrafted household items such as sturdy glassware, plates, mugs and wall hangings. Copal, on the west side of Plaza Mijares, has an interesting assortment of crafts, especially masks.

La Mina, on Mijares, sells gold and silver jewelry in an imaginative setting.

Getting There & Away

Air All airlines have their offices at Los Cabos airport, which serves both San Jose and Cabo San Lucas.

Mexicana (Ir 2 06 06) flies daily to Los Angeles and Mexico City, less frequently to Denver, Colorado.

Alaska Airlines (Ir 2 10 15) flies daily to San Diego, San Francisco and Phoenix, less frequently to Los Angeles and San Jose California (USA). Aero California (w 2 09 43, fax 2 09 42) flies at least daily to Los Angeles, Phoenix and Denver.

Continental Airlines (ph: 2 38 40) flies daily between Houston and Los Cabos, while America West (Ir 2 28 80) serves Phoenix daily. Acromexico (w 2 0341) flies daily to San Diego and many mainland Mexican destinations, with international connections via Mexico City.

Bus Frequent buses leave for Cabo San Lucas (30 minutes, U`S$I) and La Paz (3 hours, US$8) from the terminal (Ir 2 11 00), on Valerio Gonzalez Conseco, east of the Transpeninsular.

Car Dollar (Ph: 2 01 00,2 06 71 at the airport) is on the Transpeninsular just north of the intersection with Valerio Gonzalez Conseco. Thrifty (w 2 16 71) is a block south on the Transpeninsular, with another office ( & 2 4151) at the corner of Doblado and Mijares.

Getting Around

To/From the Airport The official, government run company Aeroterrestre (Ph: 2 05 55) runs bright yellow taxis and minibuses to Aeropuerto Internacional Los Cabos, 10km north of San Jose, for about US$12. Local buses from the terminal on Vaierio Gonzalez Conseco to the airport junction cost less than US$L but taking one means a half hour walk to the air terminal.,

LOS CABOS CORRIDOR

West of San Jose, all the way to Cabo San Lucas, a string of luxury resorts lines the once scenic coastline. Around Km 27, near Hotel Palmilla, are choice surfing beaches at Punta Mirador and at Km 28 of the Transpeninsular. The reefs off Playa Chileno are excellent for diving, and experienced surfers claim that summer reef and point breaks at Km 28 (popularly known as Zipper's) match Hawaii's best
Hotels;

Hotels- Many hotels are available.
Restaurants;

Restaurants- Many restaurants are available.