Arch of Cabo San Lucas
At the tip of the longest peninsula in the world sits a one of the best vacation destinations for timeshare owners. It’s called Los Cabos and consists of the widely known party and fishing town of Cabo San Lucas and it’s lesser known and quieter sister, San Jose del Cabo.
Map of Baja
What to do first
You must decide where you’ll be the happiest. Whichever town you end up in you’ll most likely want to visit the other. They are 30 kilometers apart separated by the “tourist corridor” that contains spectacular golf courses, hotels and residential developments.
Both towns offer excellent access to fine dining, fishing, shopping, night life and world class beaches but they are different as night and day. San Jose is as quaint and charming as Cabo San Lucas is wild and crazy. If you’re looking for a party then Cabo San Lucas is your town. If you’re looking for what you’d expect a town in Mexico to look like and a more peaceful setting then San Jose is best.
Determine the time of year you’d like to go
Sometimes the best way to start is to determine the time of the year not to go. For Los Cabos, and any tropical coastal area in the northern hemisphere including Hawaii, avoid the month of September-especially the second and third weeks. This is the time you will most likely encounter a hurricane or tropical storm and there is no need to risk a spoiled vacation because of it. Coincidently, you’ll find much greater timeshare exchange availability and some of the best travel bargains in September.
Officially, hurricane season runs from May to November but cutting out all of those months may not fit your vacation schedule so if you have to go during that time, just avoid September.
If whale watching is what you desire, the season runs from December through May with February and March typically being the best months. This is a great time for just about any other activity other than fishing for Blue Marlin which is best in the summer months.
You’ll find greater visibilities for snorkeling and scuba from November to May because the ocean is calmer, but you’ll find the water a bit cooler than the summer months.
Fishing Calendar
Bank or deposit your week with RCI
The earlier you bank your week with RCI the more trading power you have. If you have a fixed week, make sure you bank it at least 7 months in advance or more to strengthen your exchange power.
If you have a floating or points based timeshare, ask your resort to deposit the most powerful week available. Not all resorts will do this but it’s worth asking. Also, you should always deposit your next year’s week this year if you know you will not be using it at your home resort. You’ll have to pay the maintenance fee in advance to do this but it’s worth the extra exchange power.
Determine the size suite to fit your needs
Do you have to have a 2 bedroom or will a 1 bedroom suffice? 1 bedroom suites are easier to get and nearly all of them in RCI sleep 4 and have 1 bathroom. 2 bedroom suites are typically scarcer so you should plan farther ahead. A secret that most timeshare owners don’t know to do is to call the resort or ask RCI how many 2 bedroom suites come out of the resorts your requesting during the time of the year you want to go. If there are many then obviously your chances are great. If there are only a few then you should let RCI know that you’ll take either a 1 bedroom of a 2 bedroom.
Call RCI and start your search
How far in advance you should request depends on many different factors and will differ with each timeshare owner. If you own a very powerful exchanging timeshare and you’re requesting shoulder or off season, it’s possible you’ll be confirmed when you request. Most likely however, there will already be a waiting list to get into the top 5 resorts so as a rule of thumb you should request as far in advance as possible. In addition, you’ll want to include all 5 top RCI resorts and a span of time of 4-8 weeks. This will increase your chances getting confirmed significantly.
RCI’s 5 best resorts in Los Cabos
In picking the 5 best resorts one of the criteria was exchange availability. Although The Grand Regina Los Cabos is certainly one of the best resorts anywhere in RCI, the chances of getting in are remote so it did not make the list. Here they are in no particular order:
Fiesta Americana Vacation Club at Cabo del Sol
Raintree’s Club Regina Los Cabos
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Jeff Pierce, The Timeshare Expert, has taught thousands of timeshare owners the secrets to getting the best exchanges with both RCI and Interval International for over 22 years.
His two books, The Timeshare Exchange Bible – RCI Weeks Edition, and The Timeshare Exchange Bible – Interval International, are the only books of their kind in the timeshare industry and designed to help you master at the very complicated art of getting good exchanges.
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