Cabo golf courses: which ones you can book, who designed them and how to plan a golf trip

Los Cabos has about 17 golf courses, spread along the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas, the 20 mile corridor and San José del Cabo. Jack Nicklaus designed more of them than anyone, and Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Tom Fazio and Davis Love III have courses here too. The catch for visitors is access: roughly half are private or reserved for resort guests, so where you can play depends on where you stay.

We book private yachts, so this is a guide to the layout of golf in Cabo and how to plan a trip around it. We don't sell tee times and we've left green fees out, because they change by season and time of day.

Which Cabo golf courses can visitors book?

These courses have taken outside play. Policies shift when a property changes hands, so call or email the course before you build a trip around it.

A few notes on that list.

Cabo San Lucas Country Club opened in 1994 and is the closest full course to downtown and the marina. Roy Dye designed it.

Puerto Los Cabos opened in 2007 beside the marina in San José, with nines by Nicklaus and Norman. You play 18 of its 27 holes in a round.

Palmilla opened in 1992 as the first Jack Nicklaus Signature course in Latin America, and it started Cabo's run as a golf destination. It has three nines called Arroyo, Mountain and Ocean. Outside play has been limited in recent years, so ask which nines are open to non-members on your dates.

The Cabo del Sol Course is the former Desert Course, a Weiskopf design that Dana Fry and Jason Straka reworked before it was renamed in 2024. Its neighbor, the old Ocean Course, is now private (see below).

There's also Solmar Golf Links at Rancho San Lucas, a Greg Norman design on the Pacific side north of town. It's part of a resort, and sources differ on how much outside play it takes, so ask.

Which courses are private or resort-only?

This is where a lot of the famous names sit.

Quivira and Diamante are both on the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas, on dunes and cliffs above the open ocean. If playing one of them is the point of the trip, book your stay with the resort that holds the tee sheet.

The Cove Club is the former Ocean Course at Cabo del Sol, a Nicklaus design that opened in 1994. It was rebranded in 2019 and is now reserved for members and their guests. Querencia opened in 2000 and Twin Dolphin in 2018, both on the corridor side.

One more is on the way. Oleada Golf Links, Ernie Els's first course in Mexico, has its grand opening scheduled for November 2026. Reports say it will take public play at first and later become limited to owners and resort guests.

So how are the Cabo golf courses ranked?

Golf Digest has ranked the best courses in Mexico with six from Los Cabos at the top: the Dunes Course at Diamante, Querencia, Quivira, Chileno Bay, the Cove Club and El Dorado. The Dunes Course and Quivira have also made the magazine's list of the world's 100 greatest courses.

Every one of those six is private or tied to a resort stay, so the list is more fun to read than it is useful for booking.

A more practical way to rank them is by what your group can book:

• Staying in downtown Cabo San Lucas with no resort tie: Cabo San Lucas Country Club is the short drive, then Cabo Real and the Cabo del Sol Course on the corridor.
• Staying in San José del Cabo: Puerto Los Cabos and Club Campestre San José are both in town.
• Staying at a resort with its own course: play that one first, because your room is what gets you the tee time.

Where is the PGA Tour event in Cabo?

The World Wide Technology Championship is played at El Cardonal at Diamante, the first golf course Tiger Woods designed. In 2026 the tournament week runs November 2 to 8, with the competition rounds from November 5 to 8. It's the fourth year in a row the event has been in Los Cabos.

If your trip overlaps with that week, expect the Pacific side to be busier and book cars, tee times and boats earlier than usual.

When is the best time for a golf trip to Cabo?

Golf is played all year. Our trip guide has 10-year weather averages by month, and the short version for golfers looks like this:

Winter highs sit around 77 to 79°F (25 to 26°C), which is why most golf groups come between November and April. Christmas to New Year and March are the busiest weeks in town, so tee times and boats both go early.

From the Pacific-side courses in winter you have a real chance of seeing humpbacks from the tee. Whales start arriving in November, the official season in 2025 to 2026 ran December 15 to April 30, and January and February are the peak.

How do you plan a Cabo golf trip?

Three things save groups the most trouble.

Pick the hotel after the courses. Because access follows the room at several properties, choosing where to stay decides which courses are open to you.

Count the driving. The corridor is about 20 miles end to end, roughly 30 minutes from Cabo San Lucas to San José del Cabo. The airport is about 30 miles from Cabo San Lucas, 40 to 50 minutes by road. A group staying downtown and playing in San José has an hour of driving round trip on top of the round.

Play early. Morning tee times are cooler, and they leave the afternoon free. That's the part of the day that pairs best with a boat.

Cabo runs on Mountain Standard Time all year with no daylight saving, so check tee times against the local clock on your first morning.

Adding a boat day to a golf trip

Most golf groups have one free afternoon or one day when part of the group doesn't play. Either one fits a private charter out of Marina Cabo San Lucas, and for the organizer it's easier than finding a dinner table for twelve.

After the round: a sunset cruise

A sunset cruise is typically 2 hours. The route goes past the sea lions and the Arch, then around Land's End to the Pacific side, facing the sun as it drops toward Cabo Falso. Sunset falls between about 5:35 PM in late November and about 7:10 PM in early July, so a morning round leaves time for a shower and lunch before the dock.

Yachts sail until 8 PM, and those that leave from the marina may stay anchored in the bay until 10 PM. Our sunset cruise guide has times by month.

The day off: snorkel while the others play

For partners and non-golfers, a 4 hour charter goes to the Arch first and then up the coast to Santa María Bay to snorkel. They're back at the marina about when the golfers finish.

Which yacht fits a golf group?

Golf groups come in fours, which makes the math simple.

Prices are per boat with 16% IVA tax included. The customary 15% crew tip is not included. With 15 on the Sea Ray 55, three hours work out to about USD 142 per person before the tip.

The Sea Ray 55 is the one we'd suggest first for a client or incentive group. It's a 55 ft flybridge motor yacht with air conditioning, cabins and heads, and it includes bottled water, sodas and ice. Three hours is USD 2,129 (MXN 40,399).

For a hosted evening, the McKinna 70 is the only all-inclusive yacht we book. It carries up to 12 guests with a crew of five, including the captain, deckhands and a chef, a multi-course menu cooked on board, and complimentary drinks served by the crew. The minimum is 3 hours, at USD 4,499 (MXN 85,499), which is about USD 375 per person with 12 on board.

On every other yacht we don't sell or serve alcohol, and guests 18 and over bring their own. You can add food from the menu in the planner. A larger group can also split across two boats on the same route, which our large group guide explains.

If the company is paying

Planners usually ask the same things. Prices are per boat and already include tax. We confirm the yacht, date and hours in writing, and payment goes through a secure Stripe link after that confirmation. We reply within 2 hours, 8 AM to 8 PM Cabo time. The corporate and groups page and our corporate yacht event guide cover the rest.

One thing to know before you promise the group a fishing afternoon: only the McKinna 70 fishes, on its sport-fishing charter; the other yachts are pleasure yachts without fishing permits.

Booking the boat part

Lock the tee times first, since they're the hard part. Then send us the free afternoon, your head count and whether you want sunset or a swim stop through the planner, and we'll confirm a yacht in writing. Twelve of our thirteen yachts board at Marina Cabo San Lucas downtown, and you get the exact slip with your confirmation.

Yachts in this guide

Sea Ray 40Flybridge yacht · up to 12 guestsfrom $879 / 2 hSea Ray 55Flybridge motor yacht · up to 15 guestsfrom $2,129 / 3 hPontoon 38Double-deck party pontoon · up to 18 guestsfrom $869 / 2 hMcKinna 70Luxury motor yacht · up to 12 guestsfrom $4,499 / 3 h

Questions people ask

How many golf courses are there in Cabo?

Los Cabos has about 17 courses between the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas, the tourist corridor and San José del Cabo. Roughly half are private or limited to resort guests, so check access before you plan around one.

Which Cabo golf courses are open to the public?

Cabo Real, Puerto Los Cabos, Club Campestre San José, Cabo San Lucas Country Club and the Cabo del Sol Course have taken outside tee times. Access rules change, so confirm with the course before you book flights.

Can you play the Tiger Woods course in Cabo?

El Cardonal at Diamante, the first course Tiger Woods designed, is for members and guests staying at the resort. It hosts the PGA Tour's World Wide Technology Championship, scheduled for November 5 to 8 in 2026.

Who designed the golf courses in Cabo?

Jack Nicklaus designed the most, including Palmilla, Quivira, the Cove Club at Cabo del Sol and El Dorado. Others are by Tiger Woods, Davis Love III, Greg Norman, Tom Fazio, Tom Weiskopf, Robert Trent Jones Jr., Fred Couples and Roy Dye.

What can a golf group do in Cabo after a round?

A 2 hour private sunset cruise from Marina Cabo San Lucas is the easy one. The Sea Ray 55 takes up to 15 guests from USD 2,129 (MXN 40,399) per boat, tax included.

Plan your day on the water

Pick a yacht, the hours and the food in the planner. A written reply within 2 hours, 8 AM to 8 PM Cabo time.

Check availabilitySee the fleet