This year for my birthday, I partnered with Alaska Airlines to get away from the chilly December of Portland, and headed to Baja, Mexico.

We flew nonstop from PDX to San Jose Del Cabo which took less than 3.5 hours, and rented a car easily at the airport.

Our friend Pina, who we met a few years back at a floral retreat in Costa Rica, offered to host us in her beautiful home for part of the trip. All in all it was 6 days, two nights with Pina, two nights at Acre, and two nights at San Cristobal in Todos Santos.

Before meeting her, we found a beachfront restaurant to soak up a few margaritas and have some tacos. We arrived early in the evening and had the entire place to ourselves. The wrap around benches were situated so you could kick off your shoes and bury your toes in the sand. It was beautiful, delicious, and just what we needed.

The best part of the evening was watching a wedding party assemble on the beach, and after the sun set, they lit off an EPIC display of fireworks, directly in front of us (ok a few hundred yards away) but it felt like they did it just for us.

We met Pina later that evening and spent a few wonderful days with her and her family. We went surfing ( I stood up on the board! Woot!) we ate fresh fruit sprinkled with Chili Salt, and slept soundly and deeply at her beautifully appointed home.

The next stop on our stay was Acre Baja. I had seen the lush and inspiring spot on Instagram, and my friend Kelly mentioned that it was her favorite spot with a Dog rescue, a wandering donkey, beautiful treehouse accommodations, and some sexy tile. We were sold.

We stayed in a treehouse for two nights, and I woke up on my birthday, ate a delicious fresh breakfast of fruit and homemade granola, went to a yoga class (no-one else was there so it was private for just us), and played by the pool. Adam and I got into a little argument, as is bound to happen (so silly in retrospect) but the sunshine melted our hearts and after swimming and reading we laughed it off.

TODOS SANTOS

After a few relaxing days at Acre, we drove across the peninsula to spend the last two days at Hotel San Cristobal . 

One of Adam’s best friends grew up with the manager of the hotel, and as we entered the room, we were welcomed with a bottle of chilled champagne. Needless to say, it was a super delightful way to arrive. But what really captured our delight was the design. The simple lines, the playful tile, the nice creative touches. Every detail was considered. So we drank the bottle, ate some incredible guacamole from room service, and chilled out until dinner.

We had heard of a cute restaurant in Todo Santos that had really special Verde Chilaquiles. It was called La Esquina, and we played dice in the garden, drank our green juice, and I can honestly say we nearly went back the next day for a repeat of the chilaquiles, they were that good.

In the afternoon we went back to the hotel and lounged by the pool with our books. The hotel is beachside, but the waves were pretty strong. We watched a pod of whales make their migration south, and enjoyed a pink and lavender sunset from the deck of the hotel, margaritas in hand.

We loved our experience so much and couldn’t stop talking about trying to get back to San Cristobal again. We are planning our wedding this Fall, and we joked about doing a tiny private ceremony there as well….. I hear there is a shaman who leads special ceremonies there too.

The town was quiet and very charming and we did find some super special fish tacos. We didn’t have nearly enough time to relax, eat, and explore, but it means we saved some for later.

Thank you to Alaska Airlines, Acre Baja, and San Cristobal Hotel for helping to make my birthday trip unforgettable.

Get there:

• Alaska Airlines flies NONSTOP from many destinations, including Portland, to San Jose Del Cabo. It was a 3 hour flight from rain to sunshine….

SAN JOSE DEL CABO

• Eat:
  • Casa Calavera
  • Flora Farms
  • Acre Baja
  • El Marinero Borracho (super yummy and cheap!)
  • Taqueria Rossy

• Stay
  • Acre Baja
  • Vidanta (we didn’t stay here, but it was super pretty and on the beach)

TODO SANTOS

• Eat:
  • Pool Bar at San Cristobal
  • La Esquina
  • Santo Chilote (yummy ceviche and tacos)
  • Cafe Santa Fe (we didn’t go but heard it was good)

• Stay
  • Hotel San Cristobal (so worth it!)
  • We were also told that Cerritos beach was a good place to check out, especially if you want to surf. We never made it there. But next time?

All in all, the trip was incredible and we can’t wait to go back. Have you been down there? What are your favorite spots? Let me know below!