On June 2, 2026, the US Embassy in Mexico City issued a security alert following two incidents involving criminals and law enforcement near San José del Cabo International Airport (SJD). The embassy’s guidance is directed at travelers arriving into or departing from SJD, specifically in the immediate airport corridors and approach roads.
We want to be clear about what this advisory is and what it isn’t. This is a targeted alert for the airport environs — not a blanket warning against visiting Los Cabos. The resort areas where most visitors spend their time, including the Cabo San Lucas marina, Medano Beach, El Pedregal, the Tourist Corridor, and the San José del Cabo Art District, are not mentioned in the advisory and remain generally safe destinations. Millions of tourists visit Los Cabos without incident every year. This alert asks us to be more deliberate about one specific moment of a trip: the ground transfer to and from SJD.
What the Advisory Says
The US Embassy alert, published June 2, 2026, describes two separate criminal-vs.-law-enforcement incidents in the area surrounding San José del Cabo International Airport. The embassy advises US citizens to exercise increased caution in the airport area and adjacent corridors, and recommends that travelers use only pre-booked, vetted transportation when arriving at or departing from SJD.
You can read the full official advisory at the US Embassy Mexico website.
Pre-Book Your Airport Transfer — Don’t Hail at Curbside
This is the single most actionable step you can take. The embassy’s core recommendation is to avoid unmarked or unofficial vehicles at the airport, and that means making your transfer arrangements before you land.
Concrete options we recommend:
- Welcome Pickups — A reliable pre-book service with fixed fares and verified, professional drivers. Book online before you travel; the driver meets you inside arrivals.
- Hotel-arranged transfers — Any resort or hotel on the Tourist Corridor or in Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo can arrange a private shuttle or car service to pick you up from SJD. Call ahead and get confirmation. This is often the simplest option and costs $25-45 USD per vehicle depending on your destination.
- Suburban shuttles (shared ground transport) — Companies like Los Cabos Transfers operate shared Suburban vans that do official runs between SJD and the major hotel zones. These are legitimate services, but book them in advance through their official websites rather than purchasing at curbside kiosks.
- Airport-authorized taxis — The official taxi dispatcher inside the arrivals hall operates fixed-rate authorized vehicles. If you need a taxi at SJD, use this desk — don’t accept solicitations from drivers inside or outside the terminal.
What to avoid: unmarked private vehicles, anyone who approaches you in the arrivals area and offers a ride, and unverified apps or services you haven’t researched before travel.
At the Airport: Stay Alert in Arrival Areas
While you’re at SJD — waiting for luggage, walking through arrivals, or waiting for your driver — a few habits help:
- Stay in well-lit, populated areas of the terminal. The main arrivals hall is staffed and monitored.
- Keep your luggage visible and close. The baggage claim area at SJD is compact and gets crowded on peak arrival times.
- If your driver isn’t where they said they’d be, call the service directly before accepting help from a stranger.
- Arrival times between 10pm and 6am tend to have thinner crowds in the terminal — if you’re on a late arrival, confirm your transfer in advance and have the contact number ready.
Register with STEP Before You Travel
The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) is a free service run by the US Department of State. Registering means the US Embassy can contact you in an emergency, provide safety updates, and assist your family in reaching you if something goes wrong. It takes about five minutes and is worth doing before any international trip.
Register at step.state.gov.
US Embassy Contact
If you need consular assistance while in Los Cabos:
US Embassy Mexico City: +52 55 5080-2000
Emergency after-hours line for US citizens: +52 55 5080-2000 (press the prompt for emergencies)
US Consulate Cabo San Lucas: There is no full consulate in Cabo — for emergencies, contact the Embassy main line or the nearest consular agency. The closest is in Hermosillo or Mexico City.
The Bigger Picture
Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo are still very much worth visiting. The marine life is extraordinary, the food scene is outstanding, and the natural landscape at Land’s End is unlike anything else on the Baja peninsula. This advisory doesn’t change any of that.
What it does change is one thing: how we handle the airport corridor. Pre-book your transfer, use official services, and be deliberate in the arrivals area. That’s reasonable and achievable for any traveler, and it’s how we’d approach SJD on our next trip regardless of this specific advisory.
We’ll update this post if the embassy issues revised guidance or lifts the alert.