Camel Rides in Cabo San Lucas: Best Tours, Prices & Reviews (2026)

Camel rides in Cabo San Lucas are guided desert-and-beach tours where you ride dromedary camels along the Pacific coast, usually combined with an eco-ranch experience, a Mexican buffet, a tequila tasting, or an ATV adventure.

It's one of the more unusual things you can do in Mexico. The tour takes you on dromedary camels through the Baja desert: past cardon cacti that stand taller than most houses, through sandy arroyos, and eventually out to a stretch of Pacific coastline that you won't reach by car. The whole route runs along the desert shelf above the Pacific, so you get the dry, rocky Baja landscape on one side and open ocean on the other.

These Cabo camel tours run year-round and require no riding experience. The camels are dromedaries (one hump), accustomed to tourists, and led by handlers who walk alongside the group. The options range from a 3-hour beach ride and encounter (from $73.15) to 4 and 5 hour experiences that add a Mexican buffet, tequila tasting, a UTV or ATV segment, or a boat ride to the Arch (up to $149), all plus a $25 park fee paid on the day; a separate Wild Canyon tour pairs the camels with water slides. Most include hotel pickup or round-trip transport. If you're still mapping out your itinerary, see our full guide to the best things to do in Cabo San Lucas for more ideas, or our Cabo San Lucas itinerary guide for day-by-day planning help.

The tour operates year-round, but the experience varies significantly by season. Sunset tours sell faster than morning ones regardless of season. If you have a specific date in mind, we'd book ahead rather than waiting to sort it out in Cabo. This overlaps with whale watching season, so it's easy to combine both in a single trip.

Get a feel for what the tour is actually like: the desert terrain, the camels up close, and the Pacific views along the route.

A standard Cabo camel tour starts at $74 USD per person for a beach ride with a Mexican buffet and tequila tasting, and the Cactus Tours beach ride and encounter starts at $73.15. UTV and ATV combos run $94.01–$100, and the boat-and-camel combo is $149. On top of that, every tour here charges a $25 per person park fee paid on the day. What affects price:

• What's included: The $74 sunset beach ride already covers hotel pickup, the camel ride, a Mexican buffet, and a tequila tasting, so the entry price is better value than it looks. We think the jump to the $94.01–$100 combos is mostly the added UTV or ATV driving time, not a better camel ride.
• Group size: The highest-volume Viator tour ($74 entry) takes up to 30 travelers per booking and is the most value-for-money option. Tours with a smaller cap, such as the ATV combo and the boat-and-camel combo (max 14 per booking) or the Wild Canyon ride (max 10), cost more but give you a quieter experience. What matters more than price is the group size cap; the difference between a large convoy and a small group is significant in terms of how much the guide can engage with each rider.
• Add-on activities: Packages that bundle a UTV or ATV run $94.01–$100 (Cactus Tours) or $99 (Cabo Adventures), the Wild Canyon canyon-and-water-slides combo is $115, and the boat-and-camel combo is $149. These full-activity days cost more because of the driving, the boat, and park access, not the camel time.
• Don't forget the entrance fee: A $25 per-person park fee is charged on the day on every tour here and isn't included in the online price (half price for kids at Cabo Adventures). The Cabo Adventures ATV combo also requires $35 per person collision insurance, so its $99 price becomes $159, and the boat-and-camel combo adds a $4 dock fee. Read the confirmation email for the exact breakdown.

Children's pricing (usually ages 6–12) tends to run 20–30% less than adult rates. Most operators require children under 6 to ride with an adult. Check current prices on Viator to compare what's available on your dates.

Short answer: yes for most visitors, with one caveat. The camel ride itself is short, roughly 10 to 30 minutes along the beach in recent reviews, so the tours that feel worth it are the ones where the desert scenery, the ATV segment, the eco-ranch, and the Mexican buffet and tequila tasting are as much of the draw as the camels. Booked with that expectation, it consistently lands as one of the more memorable half-days in Cabo. Here's how it breaks down by traveler:

• Families: A strong yes. The pace is slow, no riding experience is needed, and tours take children from around age 4 to 5 (younger kids ride with an adult). The variety of camels, ATVs, ranch animals, water slides, and a beach stop holds kids' attention better than a single-activity tour.
• Couples: Worth it for the novelty and the Pacific-beach setting, especially on a sunset departure. If you want something quieter and more romantic, book an option with a smaller booking cap (14 or fewer) rather than the largest group departures.
• Cruise visitors: Plan around the return time. Every option runs about 3 hours or more before transport, and the sites are 20 minutes to an hour out, which is tight against an all-aboard time. The 3-hour Beach Camel Ride and Encounter (from $73.15, plus the $25 park fee, round-trip transport included) is the shortest option; confirm the return time with the operator before booking.
• Adventure travelers: Manage expectations. The camels walk single file and the ATVs run convoy-style at a slow, guided pace, so this is scenery and novelty, not adrenaline. If speed and self-driving are the point, an ATV tour on its own is the better fit (see the next section).
• Who should skip it: Anyone whose only interest is a long camel ride. The saddle time on the beach is brief, so if the camel is the sole draw, the ATV and ranch portions can feel like filler. Riders near the weight limits (220 lb at Wild Canyon, 265 lb at Cabo Adventures, 270 lb at Cactus Tours) should also confirm the operator's policy before booking.

Camel rides and ATV tours are the two signature Baja desert experiences in Cabo, and a lot of visitors choose between them. The honest answer is that they're different experiences, and in Cabo they often overlap: many camel packages already bundle an ATV segment on the same desert property. Here's how to decide.

Our take: choose the camel tour if you want a relaxed, all-ages half-day with a bit of everything (camels, a short ATV leg, a ranch meal, and a Pacific beach), and choose a dedicated ATV tour if the driving itself is the point and you want more time behind the wheel. If you can't decide, the camel-plus-ATV combo packages on this page give you both in one booking, which is why we'd lean toward those for first-time visitors. If you would rather drive a side-by-side, our Cabo UTV tour guide compares those.

Because the camel tour runs for half a day, it pairs well with other Cabo activities on the same day or trip, and we'd especially lean toward the morning-ride-plus-afternoon-snorkel combination for the best use of a single day:

• Morning camel ride + afternoon snorkeling: Do the camel ride early, then head out to Pelican Rock or Chileno Bay in the afternoon. Both are accessible from the Cabo marina.
• Camel ride + ATV or UTV: You don't have to book these separately. The Cactus Tours combos in the table above bundle an hour of beach camel riding with an hour of UTV or ATV driving in one trip; for a dedicated off-road day instead, see our Cabo ATV tour guide.
• Camel ride + horseback: The same desert and Pacific beaches at Playa Migriño host both animals; if you'd rather actually steer your own animal, see our Cabo horseback riding guide.
• Camel ride + boat to the Arch: The Cabo Adventures boat-and-camel combo in the table above pairs a fast boat ride to the Arch with a beach camel ride and a Mexican buffet in one booking (daily except Thursday).
• Camel ride + whale watching (December–April): A whale watching departure typically finishes by noon, leaving the afternoon clear for a sunset camel ride.

The three operators behind these Los Cabos camel tours run from different sites around the region, not from the marina itself. Cabo Adventures is closest to Cabo San Lucas, Wild Canyon sits in the Tourist Corridor at El Tule canyon toward San José del Cabo, and Cactus Tours is north of town toward the Pacific at Migriño. Hotel pickup or round-trip transport is included on most tours, so you won't need to drive yourself. The map shows where each one is and how it's rated.

• Budget for the park fee on the day. Every tour here charges $25 per person that isn't included online. The Cabo Adventures ATV combo also requires $35 per person collision insurance, so it runs $60 above the listed price; the Cactus Tours combos offer optional vehicle protection instead. Read the confirmation email for the exact breakdown.
• Read the confirmation email the day before. Pickup comes well before the activity start time: Cactus Tours collects guests about 35 minutes to 1 hour ahead, and several recent Cabo Adventures reviews describe missed pickups after going by the listed start time. Missing the van means missing the tour.
• The camel ride runs roughly 10 to 30 minutes along the beach, tethered in single file. It's scenic and a genuine experience, but it's brief. The ATV portion through desert and beach terrain is the longer activity. If the camel ride is your main draw, set expectations accordingly.
• Claim a solo ATV seat early if you want to drive. ATVs can be ridden solo or tandem, but guides don't always proactively offer the switch. Speak up at the start if you want your own vehicle rather than sharing.
• Leave your phone secured: you won't be able to use it during activities. Cabo Adventures doesn't allow cameras on the camel ride, Cactus Tours doesn't allow phones on shared tours, and Wild Canyon provides free lockers for cameras and personal items. The operators photograph the ride and sell the pictures afterward; recent Cabo Adventures reviews quote around $50 for a single photo and $120 to $250 for a package. Budget for this if you want photos.
• Experienced ATV riders should know the pace is slow and convoy-style. The route is a guided trail designed for all experience levels. The desert and beach terrain make it fun regardless, but it's not open riding; lower your expectations on speed and you'll enjoy it more.
• Allow for the drive. Cactus Tours is about 20 to 25 minutes from Cabo San Lucas, while recent reviews describe the van ride to the Cabo Adventures ranch as about 50 minutes to an hour. Plan for a genuine half-day commitment; this isn't a quick loop from town.
• Wear long pants. The saddle has padding but inner-thigh chafing is real on longer rides; leggings or lightweight trousers are better than shorts. Bring a neck gaiter if you're prone to dust.
• Closed-toe shoes are required. Sandals and flip-flops won't be allowed on the ATVs or the camel. Sneakers are fine.
• Sunset tours fill faster. In December–April especially, sunset departures book out days ahead. Morning tours have more availability.