If you go back and read our blog post from April 2024, you’ll notice how we talked about wanting to take Squash to our favorite place in Mexico for my birthday. But due to logistics and budgets we decided to spend my 39th birthday in Vancouver Island instead – with Squash in tow. It was a lovely birthday in Tofino, surrounded by nature and the wild pacific. If you are interested, you can read all about that trip here.
This year, for my 40th, I really wanted to make Mexico happen. So we did some research, worked out the logistics, budgeted and invited 12 of our friends to come celebrate with us (and with Squash) in Todos Santos. This is everything we did, everything we ate, where we stayed and even how we were able to fly with Squash from California to Cabo. That’s right, Squash flew for the very first time…in cabin!
Flying with Squash to Cabo San Lucas
This was not Squash’s first time in Mexico. In 2021, we roadtripped from San Francisco down to Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico’s stunning wine valley. We spent a week amongst the vineyards and relaxing by the pool with Squash – all the dog friendly details of that trip can be found here.
This was, however, Squash’s first time flying. Road tripping down to the southern most part of Baja California seemed like a daunting task that would take way too many vacation days. So we looked into flying and after some research we realized that we could fly via JSX, which has a direct route from LAX to Cabo. JSX is a hop-on jet service and public charter that offers some of the perks of flying private but at more attainable prices. Their routes are shorter and regional (think San Francisco to Lake Tahoe), but for our purposes this was the perfect option. You can read more about their pet policy here, but essentially any dog under 79lbs is welcomed. Pets under 30lbs that fit in a carrier can fly for a $100 fee, but a regular seat must be purchased for dogs over 30lbs.
I want to offer full pricing transparency, in case you are also wondering if this is doable for you and your pet. Flying JSX with a dog was definitely more expensive than flying with a commercial airline. However, it was nowhere near as expensive as flying fully private. We also made some compromises that made it more affordable, for our budget. For example, I flew Alaska while Nate & Squash flew JSX. We also flew in May, which is Cabo’s off-season – their high season ends at around March/April. And when flying back we booked the Saturday flight, versus the Sunday flight. As you can imagine, the Sunday flights are very popular. In total, the flight was around $2400 or $600 per person/per dog one way. Again, not the cheapest, but also not the 5K – 9K I’ve been quoted when looking at other pet friendly airlines.
The experience was very smooth. Nate and Squash arrived at the hanger 30 mins before their flight, the staff loves dogs, the flight was smooth and pickup at Cabo’s private airport was a breeze. While I was not on the flight, I did ask Nate for a play by play and he said she did extremely well on the flight and was only nervous during takeoff and landing because she could hear the wheels of the plane. On the way back from Cabo she apparently fell asleep until they were ready to land. All in all, an amazing experience.
Hotel San Cristobal
In 2017, a few months before Squash came into our lives, Nate and I visited Hotel San Cristobal for the very first time. Nate had seen pictures of the hotel on instagram and suggested we go. We had never been to Baja California and had never heard of Todos Santos, the closest town to Hotel San Cristobal. We booked a trip and immediately fell in love with the hotel, the town, the food, the people and the landscape. We would end up going back every year (sometimes twice a year) after that first visit and always thought to ourselves: “Squash would love it here.”
And she did love it! Our time with Squash at San Cristobal consisted of early morning walks on the pacific, bountiful breakfasts, lunchtime margaritas, lounging by the pool, slow dinners and quiet evenings by the fireplace. The entire staff loved Squash and made us and her feel very welcomed. They wanted to take pics with her, they would bring her cold water and offer her the occasional snack. Because the property is very dog friendly, she got to hang with us from sunrise to bedtime.
This truly made us love Hotel San Cristobal even more. But we have always loved it. We love the intimacy of it – at only 32 rooms it always feels special and time moves slow. We love that it is in front of the Pacific Ocean and you can hear the waves at night from any room. We love that it’s only 10 minutes from Todos Santos. We love the friendly staff. We love all the food, from breakfast al La Cosecha, to snacks from the pool bar, to dinners at Benno. You won’t find a gym here or a spa or many of the amenities of other nearby hotels. But you will find relaxation, nonstop vibes and the friendliest people.
Eating Your Way Through Todos Santos
It’s difficult to find a restaurant in Todos Santos that is not dog friendly, although I am sure there are a few if you really look for them. So, I am going to narrow down my recommendations to the restaurants we love – and there are a lot of those!
Our most go-to establishment is the local bakery, Taller 17. Nate and I love sweets, so Taller was one of the first places we ever visited in Todos Santos, back in 2017. We would end up going every morning for baked goods because it was that good. At that time we also met the owner, Juliana, who is one of our favorite people in Todos Santos. Taller has grown in popularity so much since 2017, even making it onto Vogue’s write-up of “what to do in Todos Santos.” But a lot has remained the same: the brownies are decadent, the blondies are some of the best you’ll ever have, the chocolate cake gives the cake from “Matilda” a run for it’s money and you can always bank on running into Juliana and getting a smile and a hug from her.
If you are able to resist going to Taller 17 for daily baked goods, there are plenty of other dog-friendly breakfast joints around town. Some of our favorites include: Jazamango Cafe, Cien Palmas, Hotel Casa Toto, La Poza Hotel and the breakfast at Benno in Hotel San Cristobal.
For dinner, we recommend checking out Jazamango, Green Room, La Confianza, Caracara, Hierbabuena and Mejibo. Todos Santos is a sleepy town that closes down very early, but there are some local bars in town we love, such as Jardin Alquimia (they have salsa night on Wednesdays), 1890 Restaurant, Violeta and Todos Santos Brewing. Honorable mention to Agricole Tienda de Campo, a compound south of town with a supermarket carrying phenomenal snacks, drinks, vegetables and some prepared foods.
Dog Friendly Beaches in Todos Santos
There are so many dog friendly in Todos Santos and the surrounding towns, it’s difficult to narrow it down. However, we do have our favorites. Our absolute favorite beach is Punta Lobos, the beach right in front of Hotel San Cristobal. Because we usually stay at San Cristobal, this is the beach we frequent the most. We like waking up early and walking north a few miles until you reach the next beach. We also enjoy the occasional evening walk. The beach is very active with local fisherman and dogs from the town, but it’s never crowded. During the winter months, you can even see whales and sea lions from the shore.
Playa La Cachora is an easy walk north from Punta Lobos. We have often walked from Punta Lobos to La Cachora and gone to breakfast at the La Poza hotel. Further north, there are some stunning beaches like Las Playitas and Playa la Pastora. The further north you go, the quieter and less busy the beaches become. And from the north end you can see some stunning views of Punta Lobos to the south and the mountains to the east.
You can also head south from Todos Santos / Hotel San Cristobal and you’ll find Playa Las Palmas which is surround by palm trees, a stream and from time to time, some wild horses. Cerritos beach is probably the most crowded and a very popular spot for surfing. No matter what beach you choose, you will always find friendly locals and dogs living their best life.
Shop Till You Drop
There is some amazing shopping all around Todos Santos, and most stores are super dog friendly. Let’s start with art. There is no shortage of galleries in town displaying beautiful art from local artists in all sorts of mediums. But our favorite has to be Galeria Todos Santos. We have been going for years and this last visit we finally bought some art. If you visit, say hi to Michal for me. There are also some amazing clothing boutiques like Hilo Rojo, Desert Fox and Saguaro. My favorite home store has to be Prontomuypronto, located a few minutes north of town. It is extremely curated and located in this beautiful brick building. If you are looking for slightly more upscale shopping, I would recommend stopping by Santa Terra compound and having a bite at Oystera and a few glasses of wine in their vineyard.
Boating & Snorkeling with Squash
We did so many fun things during our short time in Baja, but none as fun as going snorkeling off the coast of Cabo with Squash. That’s right, Squash went snorkeling…sort of. When we were planning the trip, we knew we wanted to do something really fun (and on the water) with our big group of friends. I emailed a few boat companies to inquire about their excursions and their willingness to let Squash on board. I stumbled across Cabo Blue and decided to book their private snorkeling boat after some conversations back and forth.
Their snorkeling cruise is a 3 hour excursion that leaves from the Cabo marina and takes you about an hour out to a cove where you can jump off the boat and go snorkeling. I was so shocked at how friendly the manager and the crew were towards Squash. We were immediately greeted by the person I had been talking to for months and she started taking photos of Squash and introduced her to the crew. Everyone was so happy she was coming on the excursion with us. The crew not only made sure our glasses were always full, but they pampered Squash as well. I stayed with Squash on the boat while the group went snorkeling. But then Nate jumped off the boat with Squash and they swam around the cove – see, she sort of snorkeled. I can’t recommend this excursion enough. It was truly one of the most amazing experiences we’ve ever had, made even better by the fact that they love dogs and allow them to come on the excursions with you.
This was truly a celebration I’ll never forget. It was so memorable and having Squash with us was the cherry on top. I hope you make your way to Todos Santos – ideally with your pup. It is worth it. You’ll fall in love with the food, the “desert meets the ocean” landscape and the people.
