Marina Cabo San Lucas
The marina is about 6.1 km west in a straight line, around 14 minutes by car without traffic.5
Photo: jrtaylor08, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Hotels · luxury cliffside resort
Esperanza, Auberge Collection
Santa Carmela · Zone 3 · 6.1 km in a straight line
- Zone
- Cabo San Lucas
- From the marina
- 6.1 km
- Opened
- 2002
- Swimmable beach
- No
The hotel
Esperanza, Auberge Collection is a luxury resort built into the cliffs of Punta Ballena, a gated community on the Los Cabos tourist corridor at kilometer 7 of the Transpeninsular Highway, east of Cabo San Lucas. It is about 6.1 km in a straight line from the Cabo San Lucas marina, around 14 minutes by car without traffic, and the drive takes longer at rush hour. Esperanza opened in 2002 on 17 acres above the Sea of Cortez and was the second member of the Auberge Collection.
Esperanza overlooks two private coves at Punta Ballena. The beach is private but not swimmable, as is the case with many beaches in Cabo, so swimming happens in the resort's pools.1
History and curious facts
The story of Esperanza, Auberge Collection
Esperanza opened in 2002 as a new build. It was the second member of the Auberge Collection and the first one outside the United States. The resort occupies 17 acres on the cliff at Punta Ballena, a stretch of coastline whose name comes from its resemblance to a whale's tail. After Hurricane Odile hit Los Cabos, the resort closed for a full redesign: Auberge reopened it in June 2015 with interiors by Mary Alice Palmer of Roam Interior Design and landscape work by George Girvin, using pieces by Mexican artisans from Guadalajara and Oaxaca, among them José Noé Suro of Cerámica Suro. At that time Esperanza was described as a 57-room resort with 60 privately owned villas and 36 private residences. In June 2017 it announced its first AAA Five Diamond rating, for 2018, and the hotel lists itself as a Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star hotel for 2026. The rooms were refreshed again in 2025, and the standard casitas measure about 925 square feet, each with a terrace facing the Sea of Cortez.
Things you may not know
- On June 18, 2012, during the G20 summit in Los Cabos, President Barack Obama met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Esperanza, according to official White House photo captions.2
- Punta Ballena, the point where the resort stands, is named for its resemblance to a whale's tail.3
- Esperanza was Auberge's first property outside the United States and the second in the collection, which today also includes Chileno Bay in Los Cabos.1
- The signature restaurant, Cocina del Mar, has tables on a rocky outcrop that juts out over the ocean, and it serves totoaba, a fish found only in the Gulf of California.1
- The first AAA Five Diamond rating for Esperanza was announced in June 2017, for the year 2018, after it had already received the Forbes Five-Star award twice.4
Around the hotel
What is near Esperanza, Auberge Collection
San José del Cabo
San José del Cabo, the other town of Los Cabos, is about a 15-minute drive east of the resort, in the opposite direction from the marina. It has its own historic center and restaurants.1
Land's End and El Arco
The coves below Esperanza look toward Land's End. The arch there is the granite formation where the Pacific becomes the Gulf of California.6
Getting to the marina
From Esperanza, Auberge Collection to Marina Cabo San Lucas
Esperanza, Auberge Collection is 6.1 km in a straight line from Marina Cabo San Lucas, and the closest boarding dock is Fisherman's Landing. The trip is about 14 min by car without traffic, according to the route OSRM calculates with OpenStreetMap data. At rush hour the drive takes longer, so give yourself a margin before boarding.
We can book a driver who picks you up at the hotel, takes you to your yacht and brings you back. Esperanza, Auberge Collection is in Zone 3: Cabo San Lucas, Hacienda Encantada, Puerto Los Cabos. The prices below are per vehicle and in USD, and you pay them to the driver on the day, separately from the yacht: the first price in cash, or the second by card on the driver's terminal, which adds a 5% fee.
- 6.1 km
- in a straight line
- 14 min
- by car without traffic
| Vehicle | Guests | One way | Round trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUV | up to 4 | USD 95 cashUSD 100 card | USD 160 cashUSD 168 card |
| Escalade | up to 6 | USD 115 cashUSD 121 card | USD 180 cashUSD 189 card |
| Van (Hiace) | 9 to 11 | USD 95 cashUSD 100 card | USD 160 cashUSD 168 card |
| Sprinter | 19 to 20 | USD 125 cashUSD 132 card | USD 220 cashUSD 231 card |
Confirm the zone when you book: this hotel is near the edge between two zones.
All zones and pickup pricesBoarding docks
Where the yachts board
There is no single dock for every boat. Each yacht boards at its own dock in Marina Cabo San Lucas, and your boarding pass has the exact one with a map link. These are the meeting points and the yachts that use each one:
Your yacht day
A day on a yacht from Esperanza, Auberge Collection
From Esperanza the drive to the boat runs west along the coast road. Our driver picks you up at the resort entrance inside Punta Ballena and takes you to the Cabo San Lucas marina, about 6.1 km away in a straight line, where you board at your yacht's dock. You pay the transfer to the driver; for Esperanza the transfer zone and its price are confirmed when you book. Many guests here are couples, so a sunset outing with dinner afterward in Cabo San Lucas is a good fit. Families staying in the villas often prefer a daytime snorkel trip, since the resort's own beach is not swimmable, and from December to April a whale watching outing lets you see from the water the same humpbacks that guests watch from the terraces.
Chaparral 28
Up to 10 guests · from $519 for 2 h. See the yacht
Sea Ray 40
Up to 12 guests · from $879 for 2 h. See the yacht
Azimut 45 Flybridge
Up to 12 guests · from $1,249 for 2 h. See the yacht
Sea Ray 55
Up to 15 guests · from $2,129 for 3 h. See the yacht
Pontoon 38
Up to 18 guests · from $869 for 2 h. See the yacht
Charters that fit this hotel
Questions
Esperanza, Auberge Collection: what guests ask
Is the beach at Esperanza good for swimming?
No. Esperanza's beach is private but not swimmable. Guests swim in the resort's pools, or on a snorkel trip by boat.
How far is Esperanza from the Cabo San Lucas marina?
About 6.1 km in a straight line, around 14 minutes by car without traffic. At rush hour the trip takes longer.
What does the transfer from Esperanza to the yacht cost?
The price depends on the transfer zone, and for Esperanza the zone is confirmed when you book. You pay the driver directly.
When can I see whales from Esperanza?
Humpback whales pass Los Cabos from December to mid-April, and guests can spot them from the resort. For a closer look, a whale watching charter leaves from the Cabo San Lucas marina.
From your hotel to the water
Tell us your hotel and your group. We plan the pickup and the boat.
A written reply within 2 hours, 8 AM to 8 PM Cabo time.
Sources
- Condé Nast Traveler, reseña reproducida en auberge.com
- Casa Blanca, foto oficial de Pete Souza en Commons (18 jun 2012)
- Esperanza, sitio oficial (Auberge Collection)
- Auberge, AAA Five Diamond (13 jun 2017)
- Esperanza, cómo llegar
- Wikipedia, El Arco de Cabo San Lucas
- Auberge, comunicado del rediseño (21 abr 2015)
- Distances: OpenStreetMap/OSRM (straight line from the hotel to the closest boarding dock in the marina; drive time without traffic with OSRM). Hotel location: INEGI DENUE and OpenStreetMap.
- Pickup prices: our price list by zone and vehicle (data/transport.json), paid to the driver.
Private Charters Cabo is an independent company with no affiliation with Esperanza, Auberge Collection. The hotel's name and information are shown for reference only; photos carry their author's credit and license.