Los Cabos Surf Spots — Cerritos, Zippers, Monuments and Old Man's

Two coasts, two completely different surf zones

Los Cabos sits at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula where the Pacific Ocean wraps around into the Sea of Cortez. The 33 km road between San José del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas is the famous "Cape Tourist Corridor", but for surfers what matters is the dividing line a few kilometres west of Cabo San Lucas — past it, you are on the Pacific side with full west-northwest exposure; before it, you are on the Cortez side where only south, southwest and southeast swells get in.

This split is why a single-region trip can deliver two completely different experiences in 30 minutes of driving. Cerritos can be 1.5 m clean groundswell on a Pacific north-swell day while Zippers is flat as a lake. The reverse happens May–October: Zippers and Monuments are barrelling on a powerful south swell while Cerritos is messy windswell. Plan around this calendar (see our month-by-month swell guide).

Cerritos — Pacific side, beginner heaven

Playa Los Cerritos sits about 65 km north of Cabo San Lucas, just south of the town of Pescadero on Highway 19 toward Todos Santos. It is the only true beginner-friendly break in the entire Los Cabos region. The wave breaks on a sand bottom, peels in both directions (rights on the south end, lefts on the north end), and rarely closes out under 1.5 m. There are surf schools, board rentals, palapa bars and a parking lot with restrooms — everything a new surfer needs.

• Skill level: Pure beginner to intermediate. Advanced surfers come for warm-up days or longboard sessions.
• Wave type: Beach break with peaks scattered across a 1 km bay. Sandbar shifts with hurricane swells.
• Swell direction: West-northwest groundswell preferred (Nov–Mar peaks), but takes south swell too.
• Wind: Cross-shore northeast wind is offshore here in the morning — surf early, glass off by 11 a.m.
• Hazards: Rocks on the north end at low tide. Mild rip on the south outside. Bottom is sand otherwise.
• Localism: Low. School scene. Mostly visitors and a friendly local longboard crew.
• Best season: November–April for size and consistency. Workable year-round.

Cerritos is where 90% of our surf lesson bookings happen. Foam-top longboards, instructor pushes, 2-hour sessions. If you have never surfed and you are flying to Los Cabos, this is the spot.

Zippers — Costa Azul's marquee right-hander

Zippers sits in front of the Costa Azul Surf Shop, kilometre 28 of the tourist corridor, just southwest of San José del Cabo. It is the most photographed wave in Baja Sur and the main reason ASP-era pros came to Los Cabos in the 1990s. The wave is a right-hand reef break peeling over a sand-and-cobblestone bottom, with a fast take-off, hollow inside section that "zips" (hence the name) and rides of 80–120 m on a good south swell.

• Skill level: Solid intermediate to advanced. The take-off is steep and crowds are unforgiving.
• Wave type: Right reef-point break. Sand and cobblestone bottom.
• Swell direction: South to south-southwest (180–210°). Best with long-period (14–18 s) south Pacific swell.
• Wind: Light west or no wind. Onshore east trades blow it out by 10 a.m. in summer.
• Hazards: Shallow inside section, urchin-covered rocks at low tide. Strong rip channel pulling outside on big days.
• Localism: High. Costa Azul has a tight local crew. Show respect, never drop in, paddle around the channel.
• Best season: May–October, peak July–September with south Pacific storm season per Surfline regional forecasts.

On a Cat-1 hurricane swell wrapping in from 400 km offshore, Zippers easily holds head-and-a-half (2.5 m) and barrels through the inside section. On those days, paddle out only if you genuinely have head-high reef-break experience.

Monuments — exposed right point, the heaviest of the corridor

Monuments is a kilometre west of Zippers, accessed via the El Tezal residential road. It is named after the rock formations on the headland that look like Easter Island moai from the water. The wave is a right-hand point break over a boulder/reef bottom, more exposed to swell than Zippers and therefore bigger and heavier on the same swell. When Zippers is 1.5 m clean, Monuments is 2 m and punching.

• Skill level: Advanced only. Take-off is on a ledge, drops are vertical on big days.
• Wave type: Right point break, reef and boulder bottom. Steep, fast, sometimes barrelling.
• Swell direction: South-southwest (190–220°). Catches more west swell than Zippers.
• Wind: Glassy mornings only. East wind onshore.
• Hazards: Boulder bottom, shallow at low tide. Wash-in onto rocks if you lose your board on the inside.
• Localism: Medium-high. Smaller crowd than Zippers because the wave is harder, but the regulars are protective.
• Best season: June–October, peak hurricane swell window August–September.

Monuments is also the photo wave of Los Cabos — the rocks frame the line-up beautifully from the cliff. If you are not surfing it, drive up at sunset on a south swell day with a long lens.

Old Man's — the longboard wave

Just east of Zippers, between Costa Azul and Acapulquito, sits the gentle right-handed cousin: Old Man's. Same south swell window, but the wave reforms more slowly and offers a longer, more forgiving shoulder ideal for longboarding, beginners stepping up from Cerritos, and intermediate shortboarders who want to log waves without the Zippers crowd intimidation.

• Skill level: Late-beginner to intermediate. Longboarders dominate.
• Wave type: Mellow right reform over sand and rock.
• Swell direction: South to southwest, same as Zippers.
• Wind: Same morning glass-off pattern.
• Hazards: Sparse rocks at low tide. Lower energy = lower risk.
• Localism: Very low. School-friendly atmosphere.
• Best season: May–October.

If you book a Los Cabos surf lesson in summer and Cerritos is flat, instructors usually drive you here.

Costa Azul corridor — the other peaks worth knowing

Beyond the headline three (Zippers, Monuments, Old Man's), the kilometre between them holds a handful of secondary peaks that fire on specific swell angles:

• The Rock — sketchy ledge between Zippers and Monuments. Only on small south swell. Hardcore locals.
• Acapulquito — east of Old Man's. Smaller and friendlier, but breaks less consistently.
• La Bocana — at the rivermouth in San José estuary. Only after summer rains shape the sandbar. Right-hander, fast.
• Shipwrecks — east of San José airport, 4WD-only access. East-southeast swell required. Empty, exposed, advanced.
• Nine Palms (Punta Perfecta) — 60 km east of San José on the East Cape dirt road. Long right point over reef. South swell. Camping spot.

All 8 breaks at a glance

Localism, etiquette and the unwritten rules

Compared to Puerto Escondido or Pascuales where localism can be aggressive, Los Cabos line-ups are relatively friendly — but Costa Azul is still a tight local scene with surfers who have ridden Zippers for 30 years. The unwritten rules:

• Priority: the surfer closest to the peak has it. Never paddle inside someone who is up and riding.
• Paddling out: use the channel, not the line-up. If you must cross, paddle wide behind breaking waves.
• Take turns: locals get the first set of every block. Wait your turn. Sit slightly inside or wide, not on the peak.
• Hooting and respect: smile, nod, let a local have one even if you had priority. Reputation builds quickly here.
• Photographers: ask before pointing a long lens at locals. The Federación Mexicana de Surfing has been pushing surf-zone respect codes that apply.

For Cerritos specifically, localism is a non-issue — the surf school scene means everyone is used to learners. But once you cross into Zippers or Monuments, you are in a different culture. Surf one level below your comfort the first day, watch, then commit.

Getting there, parking, board rental

• Cerritos: 50-min drive from Cabo San Lucas on Highway 19 north. Free parking on the beach end. Surf rentals at the parking lot ($15–20 USD/day).
• Zippers / Old Man's / Monuments: 25–30-min drive from Cabo San Lucas east on Highway 1 toward San José. All accessed off km 27–28. Public parking at Costa Azul Surf Shop, rentals on site.
• La Bocana: drive into San José old town, follow signs to the estuary boardwalk.
• Nine Palms / Shipwrecks: requires 4WD and dirt-road navigation; consider a local guided surf trip.

Most schools include the board in the lesson price ($80–120 USD per 2 h). Pure rental is $15–25 USD/day for a foam longboard, $25–35 USD/day for a fibreglass shortboard. Wax in Mexico is hard to find — bring your own from home or pick up a bar at Costa Azul Surf Shop.

Crowds, time of day and seasonal pressure

The crowd math at each break shifts depending on day of week, time of day, season, and swell size. Some patterns hold consistently:

• Cerritos is busiest from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. when surf schools run their main blocks. Dawn patrol (6:30–8:30 a.m.) sees 15–30 surfers — manageable. Sunset session (5–7 p.m. winter, 6:30–8 p.m. summer) sees mostly longboarders and is often the most relaxed lineup of the day.
• Zippers is heaviest 7–11 a.m. during south swell season because that is the entire glassy window. After 11 a.m. east trades typically blow it out. Off-peak crowds are minimal because the wave is bad with onshore wind.
• Monuments filters by skill — the wave itself keeps numbers low. Even on a great day you might see 10–15 surfers in the lineup. Mostly locals and elite visitors.
• Old Man's stays busy whenever Zippers fires because the overflow lands here. Surf early or accept the longboard sprawl.

For all spots, weekends draw Cabo San Lucas locals plus visitors. Weekdays are noticeably emptier, and Tuesday–Thursday tends to be the calmest crowd window. Holiday weeks (Easter, Christmas-NYE, July 4th, Thanksgiving) compound crowd issues with every restaurant booked solid.

Reading the wave the first morning at each spot

Even seasoned surfers benefit from sitting on the beach for 15 minutes at any new break before paddling out. For Los Cabos specifically, what to look for at each spot:

• Cerritos: watch the south-end peak vs north-end peak. The south-end has lefts breaking into deeper water (safer). The north-end has rocks. Identify the rip channel between the two peaks — it's usually visible as smoother water cutting through the wave line.
• Zippers: note where locals are sitting (line-up shifts north or south by 20 m depending on swell direction). Watch a full set roll through to time the cycles. The take-off zone is small — maybe 5 m wide. Sit wider on first session.
• Monuments: watch where the wave bowls onto the reef. The take-off ledge varies by swell — sometimes 30 m off the rocks, sometimes 50 m. Wrong spot equals broken board. The locals' positioning is your map.
• Old Man's: identify the inside reform zone — it's a separate wave from the outside section. Beginners surf the inside, intermediates the outside. Don't paddle into the wrong zone.

Most line-up confusion comes from picking the wrong zone for your skill, not from inability to ride the wave. Five minutes of observation saves an hour of frustration.