The Journal 7 min read
Cash, cards, ATMs and tipping in Cabo
Which currency to carry in Cabo, where cards work, ATM fees to dodge, and exactly who to tip and how much.
By The One Happy Aruba Team · Updated Sep 30, 2026 · How we know
Bottom line: Pay with a no-foreign-fee credit card almost everywhere, carry US$100–200 in ones and fives for tips, and pull pesos from a Banorte, BBVA or Santander ATM for tacos, taxis and anything priced in pesos. Dollars are accepted nearly everywhere in Los Cabos and many menus are priced in them, but paying in pesos is 5–15% cheaper, and declining the "pay in USD" prompt on the card terminal is the single easiest saving of the trip.
The peso, and whether dollars work
Mexico runs on the peso (MXN), trading roughly 17–20 to the U.S. dollar in 2026. Los Cabos is so American-facing that you can spend a week without touching one: resort menus, tour desks, marina restaurants and most shops in Cabo San Lucas price in dollars or accept them at a posted rate. The catch is that posted rate. A restaurant taking your twenty at "18 to the dollar" when the bank rate is 19.5 has quietly charged you 8% for the convenience, and change often comes back in pesos at whatever rate the cashier feels like.
So the rule is simple: pay in pesos wherever the price is in pesos, and let your card do the converting. Where the price is in dollars, a card is fine. Where you want to hand someone a tip, small U.S. bills are welcomed everywhere, and nobody in a resort has ever been sad to receive a five.
In San José del Cabo, Todos Santos and anywhere off the resort strip, pesos are the currency people actually use and the taco stand will look at your twenty with mild despair. Carry a few hundred pesos in small notes and coins for those days.
Cards, contactless and the dollar-conversion trap
Cards work nearly everywhere: resorts, restaurants, gas stations, the Walmart and Chedraui supermarkets in both towns, pharmacies, and tour operators booked online. Visa and Mastercard are universal; American Express is accepted at most resorts and upscale restaurants and hit-or-miss elsewhere. Tap-to-pay is common on newer terminals, and a handheld terminal brought to the table is the norm at restaurants, which is good: your card never leaves your sight.
The trap is dynamic currency conversion. When the terminal offers to charge you in U.S. dollars instead of pesos, it's offering to convert at the merchant processor's rate, typically several percent worse than your bank's. Always choose pesos (MXN). The same prompt appears on ATMs; same answer. Pair that with a card that charges no foreign transaction fee and you're paying the real rate on everything.
Tell your bank you're traveling, carry a second card on a different network in case one gets blocked, and check your app every couple of days for test charges. Card cloning is rare in Cabo but not unheard of, and the fix is boring: use the card at real businesses, keep it in sight, and pull cash from bank ATMs rather than the lonely machine in a convenience store.
ATMs: which ones, what they cost, how much to take out
Use bank-owned machines: Banorte, BBVA and Santander are the three to look for, ideally in a branch lobby, a supermarket or your resort. They dispense pesos, charge a fixed local fee per withdrawal, and are far less likely to carry a skimmer than the standalone machines along the marina boardwalk, in bars and in OXXO stores, which add higher fees and worse rates on top.
Decline the on-screen conversion to dollars. Take out a larger amount once rather than small amounts often, because both the local fee and any fee your own bank adds are per transaction. A withdrawal of MXN 4,000–6,000 (roughly US$200–330) covers most couples' cash needs for a week away from the resort; if your bank refunds ATM fees, take out less more often and don't think about it.
Airport ATMs are fine and are bank-operated; the currency exchange counters at SJD and in town are not worth the walk. Skip the hotel front desk exchange too, unless you're desperate for a few hundred pesos at a bad rate.
How much cash to bring for a week
For a couple at an all-inclusive on the Corridor: US$100–200 in ones, fives and tens for tips, plus one ATM withdrawal of a few thousand pesos if you plan to leave the property for dinners, a taxi to town, or a day trip. Many couples at all-inclusives spend almost nothing beyond tips and a couple of Uber rides.
For a couple at a non-inclusive hotel in town, eating out every meal: the same US$100–200 in small bills for tips, and pesos for the taco stands, market breakfasts and cabs. Most dinners go on a card. A family of four doing tours every other day should push toward US$300 in small bills, because boat crews, guides and drivers all get tipped in cash and 15–20% of a fishing charter alone is real money.
Bring the small bills from home. Your bank at home will give you a stack of ones and fives without blinking; no bank in Cabo will, and breaking a twenty at a swim-up bar is a small daily misery.
Who to tip, and how much
Tipping in Los Cabos follows U.S. habits more than the rest of Mexico, partly because so many visitors are American and partly because resort staff wages assume it. Dollars or pesos are both fine; small bills of either are appreciated, and coins of either are not.
| Who | How much | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant server | 15–20% | Check whether service is already added on resort and marina bills; many menus are in USD. Cash tips reach the server faster than card tips. |
| Bartender / swim-up bar | US$2–5 per round | A five at the start of the afternoon makes the rest of the afternoon better. |
| Housekeeping | US$3–5 per day | Leave it daily, on the pillow or with a note; staff rotate. |
| Bellhop / porter | US$2–5 per bag | Per stop, arrival and departure. |
| Airport transfer driver | US$5–10 per vehicle | More for a big group with lots of luggage; a couple of dollars per person on a shared shuttle. |
| Taxi | Round up, or 10% for help with bags | The fare is negotiated, not metered, so agree it first. |
| Tour guide (ATV, snorkel, city) | US$5–10 per person | More for a full-day trip or a small private group. |
| Fishing crew / boat captain | 15–20% of the charter | Split between captain and mate, handed over at the dock. |
| Sailing or sunset cruise crew | US$5–10 per person | There's usually a tip jar at the end; the crew has been feeding you drinks for three hours. |
| Spa therapist | 15–20% | Often not included; ask when you check in for the treatment. |
| Resort concierge or butler | US$10–20 per day | For a butler-level suite, at the end of the stay; skip for a quick restaurant reservation. |
| Gas-station attendant | MXN 10–20 | Pumps are attended; confirm it reads zero before they start. |
| Grocery bagger | MXN 10–20 | Baggers at Walmart and Chedraui are often retirees working for tips only. |
At an all-inclusive, work out a daily rhythm and stick to it: five to housekeeping in the morning, a couple of dollars a round at the pool bar, a few dollars at dinner even where service is "included." Over a week that's US$100–150 for a couple, and it is the difference between a good stay and a great one. The trip cost guide builds these lines into the totals.
What travelers report
We don't yet have community answers on file for Cabo money questions, so this is a summary of the patterns in review data rather than our own weekly pulse. The theme that repeats: people arrive with too much cash and too few small bills. Couples come home with a hundred dollars in twenties they never broke, and spend the week apologizing to bartenders. The second theme is the conversion prompt; card users who tapped "USD" out of habit notice the difference when the statement arrives. The third is the airport exchange counter, which nobody has ever recommended. When answers from the Facebook groups start coming in, they'll show up on the community page.
The short version
- No-foreign-fee credit card for almost everything; a second card as backup.
- US$100–200 in ones, fives and tens, from your bank at home.
- One ATM run at Banorte, BBVA or Santander for pesos; decline the dollar conversion.
- Pay in pesos where the price is in pesos; it's 5–15% cheaper.
- 15–20% at restaurants, US$2–5 a round, US$3–5 a day for housekeeping, 15–20% for boat crews.
- Agree taxi fares before you get in; getting around has the benchmarks.