How the see-and-be-seen celebrity hotspot has maintained its grip on the modern traveler. 

Earlier this year, a series of paparazzi pictures went viral featuring Jake Shane, Kaia Gerber and Lewis Pullman frollicking together on the beach. They surfaced – the images, not the celebrities – just days after a vlog from Alix Earle celebrating her birthday in what looked to be a similar seaside locale. Weeks later, Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet were photographed  out to dinner in an exotic eatery that looked unlike their native LA. Three different sets of celebrities, three different vacations, one place: Cabo. 

You’ve heard of it. The furthermost tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, Cabo has been a regular jaunt for the Kardashians, the original cast of Vanderpump Rules and any celebrity hoping to show off a bikini body post-divorce. While a certain amount of chafe can be expected with any international travel, Cabo is structured around easing in tourists. They’ll accept tips in American dollars (or, at least Apple Pay), the knowledge of English is so abundant that attempting Spanish feels a little redundant, and while the recent clash between the Mexican cartels and government put other tourist epicenters on lockdown, Cabo was miraculously exempt from any friction. 

More recently, the region has shed its party girl image and become a beacon for wellness culture. Hotels boast regular yoga sessions and plant-based milk. The likes of Acre Resort, where I was due for a wedding last week, is a true hideaway for the health-focused — treehouses nestled in a manmade rainforest, an onsite animal sanctuary and greenhouses galore. A coffee shop, market and farm-to-table, table-to-farm restaurant also services the compound’s residents (you won’t be disappointed with the beet salad). Flora Farms, the site of Kylie and Timmy’s rendezvous, offers a similar experience. 

Then there’s destinations like the Hilton Los Cabos, one of a few resorts situated along what is known as the ‘Tourist Corridor’ in Cabo. It’s the kind of temporary home that strays far from your traditional Hilton. The edge of your room’s private infinity-style plunge pool meets the horizon, stretching far over the property’s beach. They arrange transport from the airport, offering you ice lollies made from fresh pineapple and tajin or margarita cocktails. 

It’s the kind of place where there’s a restaurant for every palette, including a swim-up sushi bar (you read right — swim to your sushi), and a breakfast buffet that would hurt a medieval king’s feelings. You can golf, or horse ride, you can swim in the ocean and then in the pool and back again in the space of 10 minutes. Most unbelievably, the HLC’s particular strip of beach is home to an extremely flirty pod of whales, circling no less than 50 metres from shore. This is such a regular occurrence that there’s a permanent sign on the cabana-laden terrace advertising “whale watching.”

And while there are a plethora of extra-curricular activities available — visiting the arch, camel-riding or attending an open air disco frequented by Elon Musk — Cabo is designed for you to be where your feet are. The most common experience in Cabo is not one of an intrepid traveler, but eating, drinking, swimming and sunbathing, all within the confines of your hotel. It’s a place where your only obligation is capturing your CinCin bathing suit during golden hour — before continuing to eat, drink, swim and sunbathe. 

For that reason, it’s kind of as close as one comes to heaven on earth — as much a honeypot for normies as the rich and famous. The region is pricier than Mexico City or Puerto Vallarta — expect to pay roughly what you would for a cocktail in LA—but it makes sense for a place catering to such deep-pocketed clientele. A trip to Cabo San Lucas is built around experiential luxury and inventive vacationing, and while that ethos might feel unfamiliar at first, the sound of breaching whales will quickly blow any lingering worries away.

Words by Beatrice Hazlehurst