10-night In Steinbeck's Wake: An Epic Voyage Through the Sea of Cortez Cruise

As part of Los Cabos—a name bestowed by Mexican tourism officials upon the once-remote Baja California communities—San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas frequently are considered to be the same type of place. However, party-hearty Cabo San Lucas is strictly a resort, while 200-year-old San Jose del Cabo is a bona fide—although small—Mexican town with a shady plaza and pastel pink and blue houses.

Visitors from abroad often find San Jose del Cabo one of the most Americanized resorts in Mexico with English as common as Spanish on signs, many expatriates running businesses, and prices on restaurant menus, in shops and bars, and on tours given in U.S. dollars instead of Mexican pesos. You can get a sense of the natural beauty surrounding Los Cabos, though, from the lookout point above Costa Azul, a popular surfing beach just south of San Jose.

San Jose del Cabo stands apart from other resort destinations in Mexico such as Cancun or Puerto Vallarta because of its climate, geography, terrain and its former life as the last frontier on the Baja Peninsula. Visitors to San Jose del Cabo are lured by its deep-blue sea, coves and beaches, dramatic rock formations and desert landscapes; however, in addition to basking in the temperate climate, they also play golf, go deep-sea fishing, scuba diving and snorkeling, whale-watch and explore Baja off-road.

La Paz is one of the most beautiful towns of northwestern Mexico, and tourism now plays a major role in the city's economy. The Gulf of California is home to over 800 species of fish, including giant manta rays, whales, dolphins, and sea lions. In the mountains behind the city the Sierra De La Laguna Biosphere Reserve is home to an incredible abundance and diversity of flora and fauna, including species unique to the area. The city has an aquarium, two marinas, museums, theaters, and an art institute. The Las Californias Library is located within the former Government Palace, and holds the most important manuscript collection on the region's history.

Visit lovely Isla Santa Catalina to walk among huge cacti, swim, snorkel, and observe the great diversity of bird life.

Santa Rosalía is an isolated town located on the Sea of Cortés. It possesses its own unique style of French architecture, built by a French mining company in exchange for mineral rights. Places of interest include Santa Barbara church, originally designed by Gustave Eiffel in 1884 and preconstructed in two years to be shown in a World Exposition in Paris in 1889. Other sights include Santa Rosalía's Municipal Palace,and the Morelos Garden (the location of an original locomotive Baldwin brought in 1886).

This 23,383-acre island near La Paz is centered in one of the most biologically diverse marine areas in the world – and is a major environmental success story. Several plants and animals are found nowhere else in the world, including the blacktailed jack rabbit and antelope squirrel. Drop anchor at Espiritú Santo’s Bahía Bonanza for a day ashore. Take a guided walk among the tangle of exotic cacti, or swim, snorkel and kayak the crystal clear sea here that supports 900 species of fish.

La Paz is one of the most beautiful towns of northwestern Mexico, and tourism now plays a major role in the city's economy. The Gulf of California is home to over 800 species of fish, including giant manta rays, whales, dolphins, and sea lions. In the mountains behind the city the Sierra De La Laguna Biosphere Reserve is home to an incredible abundance and diversity of flora and fauna, including species unique to the area. The city has an aquarium, two marinas, museums, theaters, and an art institute. The Las Californias Library is located within the former Government Palace, and holds the most important manuscript collection on the region's history.

As part of Los Cabos—a name bestowed by Mexican tourism officials upon the once-remote Baja California communities—San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas frequently are considered to be the same type of place. However, party-hearty Cabo San Lucas is strictly a resort, while 200-year-old San Jose del Cabo is a bona fide—although small—Mexican town with a shady plaza and pastel pink and blue houses.

Visitors from abroad often find San Jose del Cabo one of the most Americanized resorts in Mexico with English as common as Spanish on signs, many expatriates running businesses, and prices on restaurant menus, in shops and bars, and on tours given in U.S. dollars instead of Mexican pesos. You can get a sense of the natural beauty surrounding Los Cabos, though, from the lookout point above Costa Azul, a popular surfing beach just south of San Jose.

San Jose del Cabo stands apart from other resort destinations in Mexico such as Cancun or Puerto Vallarta because of its climate, geography, terrain and its former life as the last frontier on the Baja Peninsula. Visitors to San Jose del Cabo are lured by its deep-blue sea, coves and beaches, dramatic rock formations and desert landscapes; however, in addition to basking in the temperate climate, they also play golf, go deep-sea fishing, scuba diving and snorkeling, whale-watch and explore Baja off-road.