JillJoe.com

Let’s get ready to Cabooooooo!

Less than a week to go, so here is some information you may be looking for.

Airport
There is a shuttle to the hotel for $15. Tickets are sold at the stand located at the general exit by the car rental stands. I’ve also read that there’s a shared ride van service, but I’m not sure if that’s the same as the shuttle. So if you get in late and are alone, that could be a cheap option to consider. The hotel says the taxis are USD 50, but that sounds outrageous for a 15 minute ride. Then again, they say the taxis are expensive there. Then again, you may try haggling with them, or try offering a lower peso equivalent, e.g., $50*13=650 pesos… try offering 400 pesos. Who knows.

Your fellow travelers are arriving at this time. Feel free to edit your existing info – just type in your info, click outside the cell, and it will update in real time (you do not need to hit save button – it does not exist). If you’re not on this spreadsheet, please fill in your arrival time if you’re interested in carpooling in some sort of fashion.

UPDATE from Best Man Scott Tworek:

I have done some more research on taxis, shuttles, etc. It sounds like the best way to get from the airport to the hotel is to pre-book your shuttle and not deal with it when you get into the terminal at the airport. I’ve read a couple of different blog-type things that suggest using Transcabo.com. It looks to be the cheapest and most reliable. Here are some Trip Advisor comments.

Editor’s note… Jill’s dad Jim also found this service for $10 one way or $20 round trip. Jill researched it and found it to have good reviews: Cabo San Lucas Tours. If you are thrown off by why they say to look for the Transcabo sign, I wrote them, and their response, “We, Cabo San Lucas Tours, are a tour company, we offer many different tours, including airport transfers at the discount prices, but we are not the actual tour operators. The transfer company that we use for transfers is Transcabo and that is why the sign.”

One other useful piece of info that I got from the blogs, was that when you get out of customs there are tons of people offering free rides to your hotel, however, these are all timeshare salespeople. Everything I read says blow past these people, don’t stop to talk to them. There is no such thing as a free ride to your hotel. They are trying to scam you into going to visit a timeshare before taking you to your hotel. Another reason to pre-book.

Directions
If you’re renting a car and driving to the hotel, note that the hotel’s directions on their site are… bad/wrong. There are 2 routes from the airport. One is Mexico Highway 1 (the slow but free way) and a new toll way (fast but costs something). In both cases, drive south. You’ll get to a rotunda, I believe named La Flor del Desarrolo Sculpture. Turn left onto Paseo de los Cabos (per Google Maps, Ctra San Jose del Cabo – La Vinorama). Veer left onto Paseo Malecon San Jose (per Google, Malecon is a continuation of La Vinorama). Drive to the end of this road ‘ the Presidente is at the end of the road.

Hotel: Intercontinental Presidente
Phone: +52-624-142-9229 ext. 8000
Concierge: +52 624 14 29245
Front desk: +52 624 14 29229 ext 8019/8020
Local taxi: +52 624 14 23432
Tourist information: +52 624 14 23310
*When calling cell phones locally, dial 044/045; internationally, dial +52 1
Email: [email protected]

Exchange Rate

13.26 pesos for every dollar. That’s up from 10 pesos last August, so your dollars will go farther, and whatever you buy in pesos should be cheaper. Hopefully this gives us bargaining power on the street. I’m pretty sure it’s common for vendors to accept US Dollars. My hunch is you get a better deal in Pesos. There is an ATM at the hotel.

Tip: Using your credit card used to be the best way to get a good deal on foreign exchange rates. Nowadays, they charge 1 to 3% per foreign transaction, so the ‘good deal’ is pretty much gone. ATMs will often charge $5 per foreign withdrawal. So, it will really pay to call your credit card companies to see who offers the best rates. As far as I know, BoA partners with Santander Serfin in Mexico for no ATM withdrawal fees.

Phones

If you have a GSM phone (AT&T, T-Mobile) you may consider unlocking it beforehand and purchasing a SIM card when you get down there for lower prepaid rates. Another option is to text each other while down there (if necessary). For T-mobile, it’s $.35 to send & free to receive. T-mobile calls are $1.69/min or so. If you have a data plan (and don’t want to spend $20/MB), put your phone on airport mode and/or put your Data Services Off When Roaming.

Weekend Agenda

Here’s a PDF you can print out roughly describing the weekend (subject to change) and an xls if you’d like to add in your own stuff.

Friday, May 22nd
9:00pm till late ‘ Crazy Bachelor/Bachelorette Night Out
For those interested who have the stamina required, meet us in the lobby for a late night of dancing in either downtown San Jose del Cabo, or if you’re up for it, a trip into Cabo San Lucas!

Saturday, May 23rd
10:15am till 3:30pm ‘ Buccaneer Queen Snorkel Cruise
$45 / person
Please join us!’ We’ll meet in the lobby at 10:15am where the taxis will pick us up to head over to the pier in Cabo San Lucas.’ Everyone is welcome whether you RSVP’ed or not.’ We have 20 seats in the van (approx. $17/person round trip) and another 7 seats in our SUV.’ Just be sure to check in with the group since we have negotiated the rate down (from $57/person).’ We should be back at the hotel by 4:30pm.

5:30pm till 6:30pm ‘ Wedding Welcome Cocktail Hour
we’d like to invite all of the guests to join us for a Welcome Cocktail Hour at the Presidente InterContinental. Drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served. The exact location in the hotel is TBD, but there will be signs in the lobby to direct you.

For the Wedding Ceremony Participants
6:30pm till 9:15pm Wedding Rehearsal & Dinner
we’ll have a short ceremony rehearsal on the beach followed by a dinner at Damiana Restaurant.

Sunday, May 24th : OUR BIG DAY!!!
5:30pm till 6:15pm Wedding Ceremony
See you on the beach! Dress is Casual Elegant (which means anything except jeans and shorts goes).

6:15pm till 7:15pm Cocktail Hour
Enjoy the hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, and Mexican Trio!

7:15pm till 11:00pm Reception Dinner & Dancing
Be ready to dance. Seriously.

11:00pm till LATE! The After Party
Details to be announced at reception.

Monday, May 25th:
10:00am till 11:00am Farewell Brunch
We’ll be a little ragged, but we’d love to recover from our hangovers over a hearty brunch with you. Meet us in the Napa Restaurant for some coffee with a side of grease to soak up all those margaritas.

Outside the Agenda, here’s some random info on San Jose del Cabo: