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Cabo San Lucas has the widest variety of shopping options in Los Cabos area, with everything from intriguing Mexican folk art and designer clothing to beer holsters and touristy T-shirts. Bargains on typical Mexican tourist items can be found in the dozens of shops between Boulevard Paseo de la Marina and Avenida Lazaro Cárdenas.
If you get hungry when you’re shopping, it’s worth trying the inexpensive taco and juice stands tucked into the mini–flea markets that stretch between streets.
Many of the shops in malls like Puerto Paraíso are typical of those you'd find in any mall in the United States—with prices to match. All over the downtown and marina areas, however, are great shops and galleries with unique and compelling items.
Artist Tomás Reyes owns Galeria Auténtica, the largest collection of original Mexican fine art in all of Los Cabos. A third-generation art dealer, Reyes represents and stocks the work on 18 different artists (including his own), each of whom he visits twice annually to select which pieces he wants to bring back to sell. One of the artists, David Moreno, is a Cabo native and oil paints local scenes onto pieces of marble.
Eclectic Array curates an exquisite collection of handmade, artisan goods---like accessories, crafts, and home decor---from across Mexico. Their mission is to provide fair trade and sustainable opportunities to the country's Indigenous communities, and the products they sell are authentic, gorgeous, and one-of-a-kind.
Nearly every souvenir shop or boutique you visit in Los Cabos will have gorgeous glassware in stock ... and it is all made here, using 100% recycled glass. Come to see the process live (more than a dozen artisans are hard at work every weekday, crushing, liquefying, then sculpting glass into exquisite figures) and shop through an incredible selection of drinking glasses, vases, ornaments, and more, created with every color and in every design imaginable. Note: it's a little far from the center of town, so you may want to visit by car.
Make your home bathroom feel like a spa with these handmade stone dishes, trays, and dispensers. Made out of marble, onyx, and resin sourced from the Mexican states of Puebla, Chiapas, and Oaxaca, you can buy individual items or complete sets.
The aroma of roasting coffee lures locals and visitors alike into The Cabo Coffee Company, where you can also find refreshing smoothies, cookies, and muffins. The organic green coffee beans are flown fresh from Oaxaca, where they are roasted and bagged for sale. The store sells a number of Starbucks-like flavored coffee drinks and chai tea, as well as ice cream. There is also a book exchange with a few good beach reads.
Looking for souvenir swag to take home with you? Feel free to skip over the made-in-China kiosks surrounding the marina and make your way to CABO The Store, instead. You'll find chic apparel stitched with the town's name, along with illustrated logos of The Arch, a fish, golf club, and cactus. It's pricey, but really high quality.
The area's best organic grocery store, California Ranch Market, offers a good selection of imported wines, cheeses, and other gourmet delicacies, as well as American food brands. Freshly squeezed juices and handmade paninis are also available at their second location, in the Corridor-based shopping center The Shoppes at Palmilla.
Everything at this island-inspired chain, which sells bed sheets, mattresses, and apparel, is made out of sustainable bamboo. T-shirts bearing cute Cabo San Lucas designs are light, breathable, and very soft---perfect to wear on hot days of exploration.
The biggest (and best) pottery collection in Los Cabos is at Cobalto, a colorful boutique set near the town square in Cabo San Lucas that specializes in talavera-style pottery and tiles from Puebla and Guanajuato. Owner Raquel Pantoja regularly travels the country looking for new pieces, including incredible ceramics by local artisans that were hand-painted with needles to form intricate patterns. All pottery on-site is lead-free and dishwasher safe.
The quintessential accessory to rock in Los Cabos is a handmade sombrero---both to keep the sun off your face and as a fashion statement. Local artisan Víctor Orduña uses royal palm grown in his home state of Puebla to weave custom hats in three colors (tan, natural, and white), then sews in colorful designs with yarn. Visit his workshop to see a variety of premade options, or with a minimum order of four, he'll come to you and will create custom designs.
The Flores family has been making jewelry in Cabo San Lucas for a quarter-century and is one of the most reliable establishments in town. Locals will say they got their pieces via "Botas from Valente"; Valente Flores being the shop's owner, and his cousin, Botas (a nickname), the lead jeweler. A slew of other relatives work the counter, happy to offer you complimentary tequila if you spend long enough browsing. Ask about their pieces made with fire opal, the national gemstone of Mexico.
This boutique mall houses a selection of luxury makeup, jewelry, and fashion brands. Most desirable for tourists may be MAC Cosmetics and Ultrafemme, where you can get done up in advance of a big event; Swarovski and Ultrajewels, should you be seeking a level of jewelry not found in the local shops; and Sunglass Hut, which offers a chic selection of sunnies to save your eyes from the harsh Cabo rays.
Owner Pepita Nelson creates beautiful, original resortwear designs for mature women, including hand-painted silk dresses, blouses and skirts. With a selection of fabrics and patterns that are flattering for all figures, she can custom fit to your exact measurements.
Though you probably didn't come on vacation to go to the mall, it's quite nice to have one as conveniently located as Puerto Paraíso, which sits pretty right on the marina. There are some practical stores that may come in handy in a pinch (like an AT&T and MacStore for electronics), as well as many places to buy beachwear and accessories. There's also a bank (Scotiabank), which is a safe place to withdraw cash in pesos, and a grocery store (Selecto Súper Chedraui), should your place have a kitchen that you'd like to stock up. Or if you just need to catch your breath after disembarking a boat, the mall is ready and waiting with its refreshing air conditioning and public restrooms.
Associated with the funky Cabo Wabo bar, Waboutique sells memorabilia, excellent tequila, and souvenirs such as baseball hats, shot glasses, and mugs with the Cabo Wabo logo.
This friendly shop carries a seemingly limitless supply of traditional masks, figurines, and other pieces of Mexican folk art, like amate (paper made of tree bark). You'll see a lot of iconic cultural imagery, like the sagrado corazón (flaming sacred heart) and calavera (Day of the Dead skull). Owner Manuel Martínez, who passionately took the reins from his father, founder Zenon Martínez (hence the name), has a particular penchant for masks and travels the country finding the most interesting ones to stock. There's something for everyone, with prices starting at around $5 and, based on size and rarity, going up into the hundreds.
