A private dinner cruise in Cabo: chef on board or dinner from our menu

A private Cabo dinner cruise comes in two forms. On the McKinna 70, a chef cooks a multi-course menu on board and the crew serves complimentary drinks, for up to 12 guests, from USD 4,499 (MXN 85,499) for three hours with tax included. On any other yacht, you order dinner from our menu in the planner and bring your own drinks. Either way, leave about 90 minutes before sunset, and on yachts from the marina you can finish dinner anchored in the bay until 10 PM.

How a private dinner cruise works in Cabo

There are no strangers at the next table. The yacht is yours for the hours you book, the departure time is yours, and the crew works for your group only. Prices are per boat, with the 16% IVA tax included. The customary 15% crew tip is not included.

You leave the marina in the late afternoon, watch the sunset from the water, and eat either under way or at anchor once it gets dark. The town and the hotels along Médano Beach light up while you're still out in the bay.

What changes between yachts is who handles the food and drinks.

Option 1: the McKinna 70, with a chef on board

The McKinna 70 is the only yacht in our fleet with a chef included in the price; the Azimut 70 also serves food and complimentary drinks through its crew of three, from USD 4,199 (MXN 79,799) for three hours, with a chef only at an extra charge. The McKinna 70 is a 70-foot luxury motor yacht for up to 12 guests, and the price includes:

• A bilingual crew of five, including the captain and deckhands
• A chef on board and a multi-course menu cooked on board
• Welcome snacks and fresh guacamole
• Complimentary drinks, served by the crew

The minimum is three hours. For a dinner cruise, four hours leaves time for the sunset and a full meal at anchor.

The McKinna 70 boards at Marina Cabo San Lucas, so it can stay anchored in the bay until 10 PM like the rest of the marina yachts. For everything else that comes with it, our all-inclusive yacht guide goes through the boat in detail.

Option 2: any yacht, with dinner from our menu

On every other yacht, food is optional. You add it in the planner when you book, and it's waiting on board when you arrive. Drinks are yours to bring: we don't sell or serve alcohol, and guests 18 and over can bring their own.

These are the dishes that work for an evening on the water. Prices are cash prices in pesos; paying by card adds 16%. The USD column uses the site's rate of 19 pesos per dollar.

We usually suggest one Mexican feast as the main meal, plus a board to put out while you watch the sunset. Sodas are MXN 51 and bottled water MXN 17 if you don't want to carry them.

What time should a dinner cruise leave?

Plan the departure around sunset: leave the dock about an hour and a half before it, so you're out by the Arch or on the Pacific side when the light turns. These are mid-month sunset times from our trip guide:

The other limits are the clock. Departures run from 7 AM to 7 PM, and yachts sail until 8 PM. After 8 PM, yachts that boarded at the marina may stay anchored in the bay until 10 PM. The Sea Ray 65 is the exception: it meets you at Fisherman's Landing restaurant, by the Cabo Escape terminal, which closes at 8 PM, so it has to be back by then.

Two examples of how that plays out:

• In December, leave around 4 PM on a 4-hour charter. You catch the sunset at about 5:37 PM, eat at anchor in the dark, and you're back at the dock by 8 PM.
• In June, leave around 5:30 PM on a 4-hour charter. You cruise until about 8 PM, through a sunset close to 7:06 PM, then spend the last stretch at anchor in the bay with dinner until 9:30 PM.

For the routes themselves, bay side versus the Pacific side, see our guide to the best sunset cruise in Cabo. Our sunset cruise page covers the trip itself.

What a private dinner cruise costs: four example setups

These combine the boat price with food from the menu at cash prices, converted at 19 pesos per dollar. They're before the 15% crew tip.

Set your group size and hours to see what each yacht costs per person.

What it costs per person

Guests:

8

Hours2 h3 h4 h6 h

1. Loading

Per boat, 16% tax included, tip not included. Pick a yacht to see its page.

On the first three, add whatever drinks you bring. On the McKinna 70, drinks are part of the price.

Which yacht for dinner on the water?

Azimut 45 Flybridge, up to 12

The Azimut 45 Flybridge is a 45-foot flybridge yacht. It includes a captain and deckhand, a cooler with ice, water and sodas, towels and snorkel gear. The flybridge gives you an upper deck for the sunset, and three hours is USD 1,649 (MXN 31,399), four hours USD 2,099 (MXN 39,899).

Sea Ray 55, up to 15

The Sea Ray 55 is a 55-foot flybridge motor yacht with air conditioning, cabins and heads, plus bottled water, sodas and ice. Air conditioning matters on a summer evening, and so does a real bathroom on a long dinner. Three hours is USD 2,129 (MXN 40,399), four hours USD 2,709 (MXN 51,499).

McKinna 70, up to 12

Pick the McKinna 70 if nobody in the group should have to plan the food or pour the drinks: the chef cooks a multi-course menu on board and the crew serves complimentary drinks, from USD 4,499 (MXN 85,499) for three hours.

Bayliner 30, for two

For a couple, the Bayliner 30 is a 30-foot cabin cruiser for up to 6, with a captain, a cooler with ice, bottled water and sodas, and snorkel gear. Three hours is USD 799 (MXN 15,199).

A dinner cruise for two

Many of the dinner cruises we book are for couples. Our couples experience covers sunset trips for two, our anniversary dinner on a yacht guide plans that evening by month, and our Cabo honeymoon guide has more ideas for the rest of the trip. If the chef is the point, the private yacht with a chef guide covers who cooks on each yacht.

For two people, a small board and your own bottle of wine on the Bayliner 30 is the simple version. The McKinna 70 is the splurge: the same chef, crew and complimentary drinks whether you're 2 or 12.

What to bring

Booking your dinner cruise

Pick the yacht by group size, then open the planner. Choose a departure time from the table above, add food from the menu, and the planner shows the price in USD and MXN.

We reply within two hours, 8 AM to 8 PM Cabo time, or on WhatsApp at +52 624 300 8029. Once the date is confirmed in writing, you pay by secure Stripe link. If the Port Captain closes the harbor under a storm threat, which happens mostly between September and mid-October, you get a new date or a full refund.

Yachts in this guide

McKinna 70Luxury motor yacht · up to 12 guestsfrom $4,499 / 3 hAzimut 70Flybridge motor yacht · up to 12 guestsfrom $4,199 / 3 hAzimut 45 FlybridgeFlybridge yacht · up to 12 guestsfrom $1,249 / 2 hSea Ray 55Flybridge motor yacht · up to 15 guestsfrom $2,129 / 3 h

Questions people ask

Is there a private dinner cruise in Cabo with a chef?

Yes. The McKinna 70 has a chef on board who cooks a multi-course menu, plus complimentary drinks served by the crew, for up to 12 guests. It starts at USD 4,499 (MXN 85,499) for three hours, tax included.

Can we have dinner on a smaller yacht in Cabo?

Yes. Order food from our menu in the planner and it's on board when you arrive. A Mexican feast for 6 to 8 people is MXN 2,600 in cash, and paying by card adds 16%.

What time does a sunset dinner cruise leave in Cabo?

About an hour and a half before sunset. That's around 4 PM in November and December and around 5:30 PM in June and July, when sunset is close to 7:06 PM.

How late can a dinner cruise stay out?

Yachts sail until 8 PM. Yachts that leave from Marina Cabo San Lucas may stay anchored in the bay until 10 PM, while the Sea Ray 65 must be back at the Cabo Escape terminal by 8 PM.

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