Cabo Airport Guide: Getting From SJD to Cabo San Lucas, San Jose and Todos Santos

Los Cabos International Airport at a glance

When people say "the Cabo airport", they mean Los Cabos International Airport. It is the gateway to the whole southern tip of the Baja California peninsula: Cabo San Lucas, San José del Cabo and the Tourist Corridor of resorts between them, plus Todos Santos on the Pacific coast and the East Cape to the north.

The airport is run by Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP), a private airport operator. Its codes are SJD for passengers and MMSD for pilots. It sits in the desert about 11 kilometers from San José del Cabo, which is why the code says SJD and not CSL.

For a first-time visitor, three things matter more than anything else on the airport map.

Know which terminal you land in. Decide how you are getting to your hotel before you fly, because the arrivals area is set up to sell you a ride. And know that the walk from customs to the curb runs through a sales gauntlet.

The rest of this guide covers each of those in turn: terminals and services, every way to reach your hotel with what it costs where prices are published, which airport to book, the code, shuttles, rental cars and the arrival process step by step.

If you are staying in San José del Cabo itself, a calm base close to the airport is the Krystal Grand Los Cabos, an all-inclusive in the San José hotel zone where you can compare current room rates before booking a transfer.

Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 at SJD

Terminal 1 handles all domestic flights and some international ones. Terminal 2 handles international flights only, which in practice means most flights from the United States and Canada.

Check your boarding pass or the airline app for the terminal before you book a transfer, because each terminal has its own exit and pickup points.

Terminal 2 is the larger, two-level building: arrivals with immigration, customs and baggage claim on the ground floor, departures on the upper floor with the check-in halls, security, shops and gates. Terminal 1 is a single-story building with a smaller concourse. The airport operator lists a further terminal under construction to take more international traffic, so expect signage and walkways to change.

The airport in Cabo San Lucas is in San José del Cabo

Searching for the airport in Cabo San Lucas leads to the same place: the main airport for Cabo San Lucas is in San José del Cabo, at the other end of the Tourist Corridor. Los Cabos is the municipality that contains both towns, and the airport serves all of it.

That geography decides your transfer. San José del Cabo hotels are the shortest ride from the terminal. Corridor resorts sit in between. Cabo San Lucas, the marina and Medano Beach, about 32 km west of San José del Cabo, are the longest of the usual transfers. Transfer companies price by these zones, which is why the same company quotes different fares for neighboring hotels.

Los Cabos SJD services: Wi-Fi, ATMs and lounges

Los Cabos SJD has the services you would expect at a busy resort airport. Both terminals have baggage claim, car rental desks, taxi stands and snack bars in arrivals. The Terminal 2 departures level has restaurants, food stands and duty-free shops, and each terminal has a VIP lounge past security.

Withdraw a small amount of pesos at an airport ATM if you need cash for tips or a taxi, and leave larger withdrawals for town, where bank machines usually give better rates. For pesos, cards and paying drivers, see our guide to currency and payments in Mexico.

Cabo airport transportation to your hotel

Cabo airport transportation comes down to five options, and the right one depends on how many of you there are and where you are staying. How do you get from the Cabo airport to your hotel?

Decide before you land. Booking at the curb after a long flight is how travelers end up overpaying.

Shared shuttle. A van shared with other passengers, sold per person, that stops at several hotels.

Cheapest door-to-door option for one or two people, slowest overall.

Private transfer. A car, SUV or van for your group only, sold per vehicle, leaving as soon as you are out.

The best value for families and groups.

Airport taxi. Available without a booking from the authorized stands at the terminals. Convenient, but you pay the fare on the day.

Rental car. Desks in the terminal, cars on lots nearby.

Best if you plan day trips or are going to Todos Santos or the East Cape.

Uber and other ride apps. Not an option for the trip from the airport. The US Consulate General in Tijuana reminded travelers in June 2026 that ride share apps such as Uber can drop passengers off at SJD but are not allowed to pick them up there. Use a clearly numbered airport taxi with a readable license plate, or a pre-booked transfer.

On the way back to the airport, an app ride for drop-off is allowed.

Private car, SUV and minibus transfers

A private airport transfer in Cabo is a pre-booked vehicle for your party alone. Operators sell it by vehicle size: a car or SUV for a couple or small family, a van or minibus for groups. Because the price is per vehicle, it gets cheaper per head as the group grows.

For a larger group it can cost about the same as buying shared seats while saving the waiting and the hotel stops, though sources differ on the group size: at Gray Line's published prices, one private vehicle costs the same as six shared seats.

Book one if you are traveling with children, arriving late, staying in a villa or gated community, or carrying golf bags, surfboards or extra luggage. Tell the company at booking how many bags you have and whether you need car seats, so they send the right vehicle.

Good operators track your flight number, so a delay does not cancel the pickup.

Transfer companies with a long track record

Dozens of companies run airport transfers in Los Cabos. Gray Line Los Cabos, TransCabo, Cabo Transfers and All Ways Cabo Transportation are among the names that appear most often in traveler reviews, and several sell through booking platforms as well as directly.

Whichever you choose, check four things before paying: that the company tracks your flight, where exactly its greeter waits outside your terminal, what its cancellation window is, and whether the quote includes the toll road and taxes.

Paying online locks the price; some companies offer a lower cash price to the driver, so ask which applies.

Transfer prices by zone: San José, the Corridor and Cabo San Lucas

As a published reference point, Gray Line Los Cabos lists its shared airport shuttle at $33 per person and a private transfer for one to eight passengers at $198 per vehicle.

Its site does not state the zone or whether those are one-way fares, so confirm both when you book.

Getting from SJD to Todos Santos. Todos Santos sits on the Pacific coast north of Cabo San Lucas, on Highway 19. Book a private transfer, quoted as a long-distance run, or pick up a rental car at the airport, which also gives you a way to explore the beaches along the Pacific coast.

What airport to fly into for Cabo San Lucas, and who flies there

What airport for Cabo San Lucas should you book? Los Cabos International Airport, SJD. It is the commercial airport for the whole region, and it is where the major US airlines fly.

There is a second, much smaller airport just outside Cabo San Lucas, and its name causes most of the confusion. It is covered below.

SJD offers flights to more than 50 destinations across the Americas and Europe, and most US and Canadian mainline airlines serve it. That makes Cabo one of the easiest Mexican beach destinations to reach nonstop from the United States.

Flying to Cabo San Lucas: nonstop routes from US cities

Flying to Cabo San Lucas from the US usually means a nonstop flight. Los Angeles is the busiest international route into SJD, followed by Dallas/Fort Worth, Phoenix, Houston and San Francisco. Year-round nonstop service also runs from cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Newark, New York, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Seattle and Las Vegas, with more seasonal routes added in winter.

The closest airport to Cabo: SJD versus the CSL airfield

The closest airport to Cabo San Lucas by distance is Cabo San Lucas International Airport, in Cabo San Lucas itself. It is a small, privately owned airport with a single runway and one terminal, open from 6 am to 8 pm. It mostly handles regional flights within western Mexico, charters, private jets and air taxis.

The one scheduled US link is JSX, the semi-private jet operator, which flies to Cabo San Lucas from Dallas Love Field and Los Angeles, with Scottsdale starting October 8, 2026.

Unless your ticket names JSX or a charter, you are flying into SJD.

Which airport to book for a Cabo San Lucas trip

What airport do you fly into for Cabo San Lucas? For nearly every traveler, SJD, even if your hotel is in Cabo San Lucas.

Book SJD and plan the transfer across the Corridor. Choose the CSL airfield only if you are flying JSX, a charter or a private aircraft, and confirm ground transport there in advance, since it has far fewer flights and services. La Paz has its own airport, but it is far to the north and not practical for a Los Cabos stay. For the country-wide picture, see our Mexico airports guide.

The Cabo airport code: SJD

The Cabo airport code is SJD, from San José del Cabo, the town the airport serves. That is the code to enter when you search for flights, and the one on your bag tags. Its four-letter ICAO code, used by pilots and air traffic control, is MMSD.

Three codes cause most of the mix-ups. CSL and CSW belong to the small Cabo San Lucas airfield.

SJC is San Jose, California, a completely different airport.

A search for "San Jose" flights can return SJC, so check that your ticket says SJD before you pay.

Cabo airport shuttle: shared and private

The Cabo airport shuttle market has two products that share a name. A shared shuttle is a van seat sold per person: you wait for other passengers, then the van drops everyone at their hotels in turn, so your hotel may be first or last. A "private shuttle" is really a private transfer, sold per vehicle, with no other passengers and no stops.

The airport itself does not run a shuttle to hotels. Licensed private companies do, and their greeters wait outside the terminal at numbered stands with company signs. Book the shuttle from the airport to your hotel online before you fly, and book the return at the same time.

Cabo airport car rental: counters, lots and insurance

Cabo airport car rental makes sense if you want to explore: Todos Santos, the East Cape, the beaches of the Corridor or the art district of San José.

If you plan to stay at an all-inclusive and leave only for a dinner or two, transfers and taxis are simpler and often cheaper once parking and fuel are added.

International brands and local companies operate at SJD. Desks sit in the arrivals areas of the terminals, and most cars are on lots nearby, reached by the company's courtesy shuttle. Avis, for example, runs its shuttle from the terminals to its lot from 6 am to 10 pm.

The price you see online is rarely the price you pay. Mexico requires liability insurance that a US auto policy does not provide, and rental companies add their own coverage at the counter, so compare the full insured price, not the daily rate.

To compare insured prices across companies before you land, search car rentals in Mexico and read what each quote includes.

Arriving at Cabo airport: immigration, customs and the timeshare gauntlet

Arrival at SJD follows the same order for every international flight: immigration, baggage claim, customs, then the exit hall. US citizens need a valid passport book to fly to Mexico and can visit as tourists without a visa for up to 180 days.

The immigration officer decides the length of your stay, so keep your return ticket handy.

After immigration, collect your bags and walk to customs.

Then comes the part every Cabo regular warns about. Between customs and the exit doors, the hall is lined with agents offering free rides, discounted tours or "official" help. Most are selling timeshare presentations, and none of them is your transfer.

Do not stop, do not show your voucher, and say "no, gracias" as you walk.

Your pre-booked driver waits outside the building.

One more payment to plan for: Baja California Sur charges international visitors a tourism fee called Embrace It. From January 1, 2026 it is 488 pesos per person, payable by visitors over 12 who stay more than 24 hours in Los Cabos, La Paz or Loreto. It is paid online on the state's official Embrace It site, before travel or on arrival, so you can do it from your phone in the taxi line.

Heading home, leave plenty of time. Book the return transfer in advance, or use an app ride, which can drop you at departures. For general safety in the region, read is Cabo safe.

Final Thoughts

The Cabo airport is easy once you know three things. You land at SJD, outside San José del Cabo, not in Cabo San Lucas. Your transfer should be booked before the plane touches down, matched to your group and your hotel's zone: a shared shuttle for one or two, a private transfer for families and groups, a rental car for Todos Santos and day trips. And the hall between customs and the curb is a sales floor, not a help desk. Walk through it, find your driver outside, and leave the ride app for the trip back. With that settled, the first hour of your trip is the shortest. For moving around once you have arrived, see our guide to getting around Mexico.

FAQ: Cabo Airport

Related Guides

• Mexico Airports Guide: Best Airports to Fly Into
• Is Cabo Safe? A Traveler's Guide to Safety in Los Cabos
• Getting Around Mexico: Buses, Flights, Taxis and Car Rentals
• Tipping in Mexico
• Currency and Payments in Mexico
• Is Mexico Safe to Visit?