Feeling grateful today because I chose to be a YES to traveling safely to Cabo San Lucas! To share I was hesitant to fly since the pandemic and drawn from travel inspiration through road trips usually no more than five to six hours from my home in Los Angeles. When the invitation from Los Cabos Tourism was extended for a three-day adventure including an inaugural flight, I couldn't pass it up. My trip was a FAM excursion, a travel industry group of professional advisors, journalists, and influencers to share about the region through their platforms. To say I was honored to be part of this three-day trip with four other like-minded I would be traveling with was an understatement.
As I prepared for my first flight in over sixteen months I became very present to how much I missed packing my luggage, downloading a boarding pass, and dusting off my passport. To be fair this wasn't a crazy long flight. This was a two-hour flight to Los Cabos! It took me longer (five hours) on a Friday afternoon to drive from LA to San Diego a few weeks ago for my mom’s 80th birthday weekend getaway. To be continued. Back to Cabo. The flight and airport experiences were positive, LAX was definitely cleaner than I remembered, and if you haven't seen all the construction at LAX, wow! Fingers cross LAX becomes the airport we've always wanted it to become.
This wasn't any regular flight I was onboard the inaugural JetBlue direct flight from LAX to San Jose del Cabo, Airport in Mexico. This could have been the most fun ever on a flight! It was a festive atmosphere at the gate with a ribbon-cutting send-off, musical performance serenading us, serving chips, salsa, and drinks pre take-off. This was the perfect reintroduction to flying post our recent pandemic. It felt almost normal and comforting to have air travel back in my life.
"Being back at the airport was like running into that old friend I hadn't seen in so long but we picked right back up where we left off."
Onboard the flight fun continued with raffle prizes from Los Cabos Tourism and JetBlue including activities, dinners, and hotel stays in Los Cabos. *Note to all tourism boards, tour operators, and hospitality brands let’s get this to be a part of the traveling experience.
When we landed in Los Cabos the awesomeness continued with a water cannon fire truck salute over the plane. The water cannon experience was definitely a bucket list moment that I didn't know I wanted. That was pretty cool!
To my New York, New Jersey, and east coast friends JetBlue launched JFK to CABO direct flights with the very first flights departing the same day as my flight from LAX.
Pictures: Inaugural JetBlue send-off cand landing in Cabo from Los Angeles International Airport, June 17th, 2021.
My travel companions for over the next three days, Lindsay Myers, from Get Lost With Lindsay and her producer/partnerJimmy Salabert, Nutritionist and Wellness Expert Rachel Harshfield, Health and Fitness authority Jill Chapman and Susie Najera from Los Cabos Tourism who brought us all together. I am a huge advocate of solo traveling but in the past year I've been craving community and coming together with this incredible group had me super excited for the adventure ahead!
Hello Los Cabos!
If reconnecting with air travel after a sixteen-month break was like seeing an old friend, then my first time back to Cabo in twenty-five years is a trip down memory lane with an old love I could not wait to see! My memories of Cabo take me back to Spring Break parties with gorgeous beaches and lots of young people. Amazing memories! : ) But not what I experienced on this magical trip. Yes, we made memories, had so much fun by exploring culture as we embarked on many local businesses excursions for all we experienced. There was newfound energy of Los Cabos, which is considered San Jose, and Cabo has evolved to be a world-class destination. San Jose provides a traditional inviting feeling with a slew of upscale, but very affordable large to mid-size hotels along the stunning Sea of Cortez. Most hotels are either all-inclusive or European plan, which means breakfast included.
Pictures: Our walking tour In the heart of San Jose.
We had a pretty packed schedule of daily activities to explore and experience as much as possible. Trust me I’m not complaining and there is something very refreshing about not having to plan and trust our next activity or meal is going to be awesome because it will be. Normally when I travel I have an idea of things I want to do but tend to be more carefree with limited plans. The structure of the FAM trip was actually very enjoyable for me and is another reason why I’m an advocate for small group travel. We maximized the adventure in two and a half days. I'm still so blown away by all we did and how much Los Cabos has evolved since my last visit.
Los Cabos really has something for everyone. Sure, if you want to just drink poolside and hit the clubs at night there's that, but what I experienced was SO MUCH MORE! From world-class culinary dining at