review

Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos Pools, Activities and Transportation

Whether you want to lounge around the pool all day, play beach volleyball or explore the area outside of the resort, there’s something to do for everyone at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos.

The resort has a gym, tennis court, and three pools to burn off the extra calories, nighttime theatre performances, a teen club, tons of kids activities, and easily accessible transportation for getting to nearby downtown San Jose or the Cabo San Lucas Marina. 

Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos Pools

The Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos has three pools, with something for everyone. There’s the massive main pool, where you’ll be hard pressed to find an empty lounger after 8 AM, but which empties out in the afternoon.

Main pool at Hyatt Ziva Los Cabo
The main pool at Hyatt Ziva Los Cabo

There’s an adult pool behind Building 3, which is pretty small and secluded. It’s perfect if you want a quiet place to relax. I couldn’t find a photo of the adult pool when browsing through my phone, but this photo on TripAdvisor is a pretty good representation.

The resort also has a kid’s pool and accompanying clubhouse behind Building 2. The living room of our suite faced the kids pool, so the noise didn’t really bother us.

The kids pool at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos
The kids pool at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos

The kids pool is pretty small and wasn’t really crowded any time I walked by. It certainly looks like a fun place for kids and the fact that it’s behind Building 2 means all the noise is pretty contained.

If you’re traveling with kids and want to be close to the kids pool, I’d ask for a room on the first floor of Building 2, for easy access.

The kids club house at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos
The kids club house at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos

Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos Gym

I brought my running shoes, fully intent on going to the gym every day, but didn’t make it there until the last night. The resort’s gym is located on the fourth floor of the main building, which means during the day it offers a nice unobstructed view of the ocean.

Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos gym front desk
Front desk at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos gym

I got there about an hour before closing and it was completely deserted. Nobody was manning the counter, but there were lots of fresh towels and water bottles lying around for those who wanted to work out at that hour.

Workout Equipment at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos Gym
Lots of workout equipment at the Ziva Los Cabos gym

I’m not a good judge of gym equipment, but it seemed to be sufficient. They had lots of treadmills, stationary bikes, elliptical machines, and weights (really, what else is there?). 

Weights at Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos Gym
The gym at Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos

There’s also an open-air tennis court outside of the gym, and I heard a few people complain that it gets really hot up there during the day. Again, that’s not something I can comment on since I didn’t actually use it. 

Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos Beach

The beach at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos, with its white sand set against the blue water and cloudless sky, is incredibly beautiful. I spent the first three days doing nothing but relaxing in a beachfront cabana and eating my weight in tuna tostadas.

The beach at Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos
The beach at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos

The water is pretty turbulent and unsafe to swim in, but that didn’t stop lots of people (including kids) from wandering in. The beach has free cabanas for rent, most of which get snapped up pretty quickly in the morning.

There are also a few “premium” cabanas available for $30 – $97 per day, though Hyatt Diamond and Platinum members get 20% off.

Beach Cabanas at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos
Free beachfront cabanas at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos

There are merchants on the other side of a roped fence, but they’ll leave guests alone and you can simply walk over if you want to buy anything. 

Entertainment at Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos

Every evening, there is a performance at Teatro Real. The performers make the rounds at every restaurant, asking patrons to come see the show. On the first two nights, dinner ran so late that we missed the show.

When we did check out the performance on the third night, it was a Disney themed production targeted towards kids.

Disney Performance at Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos
Disney Performance at Teatro Real

It was loud, the singing was off-key and I only stayed for a few minutes. It’s worth checking out if you have kids, since they seemed to be enjoying it.

After this, I didn’t really get a chance to see another show because after dinner I preferred sitting on the terrace outside of the coffee shop and enjoy a nice frappe while reading Bossypants.

Other Activities at Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos

The resort has a variety of activities scheduled throughout the day. Guests can take Spanish classes, various water sports, yoga, to name a few. Every afternoon there would be kids playing soccer on the lawn while the nearby TeenZ club (located next to Coco Loco) provided entertainment for the moodier demographic.

None of this is disruptive to adults (and I’m not exactly the most kid-friendly person to begin with), so both families and those traveling without kids will find activities to partake in around the resort without bothering each other.

Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos as seen from the Beach
View of the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos from the beach

Transportation to the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos and Beyond

The Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos is a short 20-minute ride from Los Cabos International Airport. A cab ride will cost you around $60 and I’ve heard the drivers will literally take you for a ride, so I didn’t want to deal with that.

Los Cabos International Airport Transportation

The four of us arrived on different days, so we simply booked the Transcabo Shuttle for $16 per person. The company had good reviews on Flyertalk and I was ultimately happy with the service and the very comfortable vehicle they provided.

Federal law requires tourists to make shuttle reservations at least 24 hours in advance. If you miss this cut-off, you will have to book your ride when you land at the airport. There are lots of shuttle company reps scattered throughout the airport who will arrange a ride for you quickly and they accept cash or credit.

If you don’t make a roundtrip shuttle booking before your trip, local law mandates that you take a taxi from the hotel to the airport. The one-way taxi fare from your hotel to the airport is a flat $25 for up to 4 passengers and then an additional $6 per passenger.

If you’re traveling with two or more people, this works out cheaper than a shuttle anyway. There’s a taxi stand near the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos, but you can just wait in the lobby and the hotel staff will call one over for you.

Cabo Taxi Fares
Taxi fares from the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos to the airport and other places

Local Transportation

When it comes to getting around the area, the best option is to take a bus. Downtown San Jose is about a 5-10 minute bus ride from the resort and you can also walk, as the area leading up to it is pretty much one large strip mall.

Look for a yellow school bus with a red stripe outside of the resort (though I think the white stripped bus also stops in downtown). You will need to flag it down, otherwise, it will just keep going. 

Bus to downtown San Jose del Cabo
Bus headed to downtown San Jose

The Cabo San Lucas Marina is about a 30-minute ride and the bus fare is 40 pesos or around $2.25. Be sure to let the driver know you want to go to the Marina, so he can give you a heads up when you get to your destination.

Cabo Marina at Cabo San Lucas
Cabo San Lucas Marina

Bus to Cabo San Lucas

To get to the Cabo San Lucas bus, you’ll need to walk to the nearby Hyatt Place Los Cabos, go up the hill, then cross the highway (it’s not as dangerous as it sounds). There, you’ll see the Cabo San Lucas bus, which I believe makes the rounds every 15 minutes or so.

The buses are air-conditioned, comfortable, and you’ll be treated to some really nice views if you sit on the driver’s side. 

Cabo Marina

Once at the marina, you can take a water taxi to Lover’s Beach and the famous Arch of Cabo San Lucas. It was pretty overcast most of the boat ride, so I don’t have a good photo of the Arch. But here’s a (heavily filtered) photo of Lover’s Beach I’m especially proud of…

Cabo San Lucas Lover's Beach
Lover’s Beach, Cabo San Lucas

The water taxi guys are real hustlers and they will pounce on you like hyenas on a gazelle. Don’t pay more than $10 roundtrip for a water taxi. One particularly large group talked the water taxi operators down to $8 per person.

Also, know that there isn’t much to see unless you go on a snorkeling tour. There are a bunch of rocks that are inexplicably passed off as tourist attractions and of course, you can spend the day on the beach if you’re prepared ahead of time.

If the water taxi operator offers to drop you off at the “flea market” – don’t bother. It’s a row of overpriced souvenir shops. Upon arrival, you’ll be approached by a guy with a wad of cash, demanding a “docking fee” of $1.50 per person. It’s not much money, but it feels like a shakedown and I for one am not down with that nonsense.

Interested in reading about the restaurants at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos? Stay tuned for the next installment in this series. 

Have you stayed at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos? Do you have any tips or advice for getting around, getting the best room, etc.?

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14 Comments

  1. Hi. What do you think of the Holiday Inn Los Cabos all-inclusive?

  2. hollyatclubthrifty

    I’m glad you liked this property! It’s on my list once I get around to it.

  3. Great information! Thanks.

  4. going this coming memorial holiday with family and kid staying at hyatt ziva, would you consider driving is safe? I will be renting car

    • The roads were actually not at all busy/hectic like I’d imagined. It seemed safe to me, but I’ve heard reports of the police pulling people over and shaking them down for money – small amounts, but still. I can’t speak to that obviously, but I personally didn’t want the responsibility of a car and it worked out well for us.

  5. Hi again Ariana. Very helpful, and really appreciate your multiple posts on this Hyatt and area. Re. the transportation from the airport to the resorts, you reference “federal law” as requiring us to take a taxi or a pre-reserved shuttle or taxi to a resort? Why would that be? Couldn’t one rent a car? (as you mention in an earlier post — albeit with the horrendous Mexican fees,taxes, insurance risk thrown in) Maybe I’m misunderstanding the guidance here?

    Concur with you that the bus options look very promising, including from the airport, no? tripadvisor sites regular mention this bus service as a nice, dependable way to go…:

    http://www.rutadeldesierto.travel/english/precios.html

    If I read it right, that’s 80 pesos or well under $5 per person from the airport to the resort area…!? (and they too have lots of local routes, etc)

    • The Hyatt website (as well as the hotel concierge) cites federal law as the reason tourists can’t make return shuttle reservations once they arrive. You can certainly rent a car, but if you want to take a shuttle and you didn’t book a roundtrip fare 24 hours before arrival, you’ll have to take a taxi. Even the shuttle companies insisted on this when I called to make a reservation for my parents less than 24 hours before they landed. I don’t have any experience with the bus service (other than the ride to Cabo San Lucas), but it looks like a really good deal.

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  7. Hi Ariana, We are planning a trip there in a few months. May I ask if you book any tour(s) from this hotel or somewhere else? Camel Safari or Los Cabos City Tour? Thanks.

    • We booked our tour at the harbor, but I recommend doing it through the hotel. They have an activities desk and you’ll deal with far less nonsense than when you go with the vendors directly (it might cost a bit more, but I’d pay it to avoid hassles and possibly be able to charge it to the room).

  8. Hi Ariana we just read this article it’s amazing! We find other options to get to your hotel in a cheaper way, which in addition to this COVID thing are quite hygienic and safe to use
    it’s named the cabo shuttle link on my user name

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