By Diego RodriguezYour PersonalMexican Concierge

CABO SAN LUCASG U I D E T O

Welcome to BizCon 2019 in beautiful Cabo San Lucas, Mexico! You will be among an elite group of drone entrepreneurs who will dedicate 2 full days of their lives to take their business and their personal lives to the next level. Congratulations for taking action!

Two years ago, we had our first BizCon event in Mexico, and everybody loved it! So, by popular demand we are going back to Mexico, but this time on the other side—to the world famous Cabo San Lucas.

However, we realize that not everyone is comfortable traveling internationally and many people have lots of reservations, skepticism, or just general questions regarding traveling to Mexico. We understand!

The good news is that I am going to be your personal concierge for this trip to Mexico. I am going to personally walk you through everything you need to know to enjoy yourself in Cabo San Lucas. And I’ll answer any questions you may have along the way on our webcasts.

Please take a few minutes to read through this guide—it has all of the information you need to have an incredible trip to Cabo. But I warn you, if you follow my advice and do what I tell you to do, you’re gonna fall in love with Mexico. And you’re going to want to come back again and again and again.

I’ll see you in Mexico!

Diego Rodriguez

GENERAL INFO

Cabo San Lucas is one of Mexico’s top tourist destinations. People come here from all over the world, all year round. In fact, there are direct flights from over 20 cities in the USA including: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Portland, Seattle, Dallas, Phoenix, Charlotte, Chicago, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, New York, Denver, Las Vegas, Houston, Austin, and Dallas. And “Cabo” has become synonymous with vacations, beaches, sun, and fun.

Cabo San Lucas is actually a small town with only about 80,000 people living there. It is at the very tip of Baja California and the climate is hot, but dry (its straight up desert—imagine Arizona with a coastline).

When people say “Cabo” they are generally referring to Cabo San Lucas, but there is another town on the coast about 30 minutes north of Cabo San Lucas called San Jose del Cabo, and the area that covers Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo is known collectively as “Los Cabos.” In fact the airport, which is 45 minutes north of Cabo San Lucas is called “Los Cabos International Airport.” I just don’t want you to be confused.

In case you were wondering, “cabo” means “cape,” as in Cape Canaveral and not as in what Batman wears.

YOUR PERSONAL CONCIERGE

Lucky for you, I am going to be your personal concierge. Do what I say and you’ll have a great time. Follow my suggestions, and you’ll be safe and will leave Mexico with an intense desire to return as soon as possible.

If you don’t follow my suggestions, I can’t guarantee you’ll enjoy yourself. You’re on your own, baby!

And yes, I know this area well. And I have lots of friends here and I’ve done most of the activities that you can do. And yes, I’m a real Mexican. A real one. Remember all of the Mexicans you

think you know are just brown people. But I’m a real Mexican!

Yup, its true—I am an actual Mexican citizen. I’ve got a Mexican passport, a Mexican National ID card, and the whole works! I’m legit. So relax, you’re in good hands.

The Cancun Hotel Zone or “Zona Hotelera” is in the shape of a 7.

You’ve got a real Mexican guiding you so no worries!

LANGUAGE (Speaking Spanish)

Go ahead and brush up on some Spanish—it will go a long way in helping you enjoy your time in Cabo. But don’t worry, you don’t need to speak Spanish to get along. Pretty much everyone speaks English in Cabo.

Here’s a couple of quick phrases to note and remember for general courtesy:

• Thank you = gracias• You are welcome = de nada• Please = por favor• Hello = hola• How are you? = ¿Como estas?• I am fine, thank you = Bien, gracias• Good morning = buenos dias• Good afternoon = buenas tardes• Good evening = buenas noches• Good day, friend = feliz dia, amigo• Bathroom = baño / sanitario• Party = fiesta• I am sorry = lo siento• Pardon me = disculpame

I would recommend calling everybody you meet “amigo” (for men) or “amiga” (for women). That means “friend” and people appreciate it when you are friendly like that.

If you’re a dude, most professional staff will call you “caballero,” which basically means “gentleman.” If you look young, they might call you “joven,” which means “young man.” The general word for “man” is “hombre.”

If you’re a woman, they will call you “señorita” if you’re a single lady or “señora” if you’re married. A “lady” is a “dama” and “mujer” is “woman.” You’ll hear all of these words in reference to women.

Word to the Wise - never call a woman “caliente.” Most people know that “caliente” is the spanish word for “hot.” But when you say “caliente” in reference to a woman, it means she is horny. Trust me on this one.

SAFETY (Isn’t Mexico Dangerous?)

The news is currently filled with propaganda about the dangers of Mexico. If you follow the news, you’d be led to believe that Mexico is even more dangerous than Syria or Afghanistan. And you’re probably going to be robbed, mugged, or killed if you visit!

Look, as someone who has personally traveled to Mexico 49 times in the last 3 years,

visiting 9 Mexican states and over 30 different cities, I can tell you that Mexico is perfectly safe. I have also visited over 200 American cities and 41 American states—and I can tell you that Cabo San Lucas in particular is much safer than most cities in America—especially the large ones. So if you’re not afraid to visit Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, Las Vegas, New York, Miami, or God forbid . . . Chicago—then by no means should you be worried about Cabo.

There is very little crime in Cabo, and most of the crime that exists is related to drug trafficking. So if you’re not a drug addict or criminal, you have nothing to worry about.

Cabo lives off of tourism dollars, and it actually has an extended police force, in addition to Federal Police, State Police, and Municipal Police, specifically to protect tourists in Cabo (no joke). You will be fine.

That being said, you should still take all of the normal precautions you would otherwise always take traveling anywhere like:

• Don’t flash lots of money.• Stay in groups—don’t wander alone.• Don’t go out late at night.• And other common sense stuff…

STEREOTYPES AND PROPAGANDA

Humorously, the perception the rest of the world has about Mexico is the same perception most Americans have about Hawaii. When you say “Hawaii,” you instantly think of “paradise,” tropical beaches, and sipping Mai Tais by the pool, right? Well, that’s

Tourist Police in Cancun (Cabo has the same)

American’s perception of Mexico Worldwide perception of Mexico

what Canadians, Europeans, Asians, and South Americans think about Mexico.

Only in America do we think: death, murder, danger, and fear when we think of Mexico. But you guys know I’m a scuba diver and I’ve visited all of the islands in Hawaii as well as all of the major (and minor) tourist hotspots and beaches in Mexico. And I’ll tell you right now, Mexico blows Hawaii away—hands down (but I still love Hawaii).

For starters, Mexico is cheap. Real cheap. A Ruth’s Chris quality dinner will run you about $25. A gorgeous hotel in the right location can cost you as little as $99 for a 4-5 star quality hotel. (I’ve paid as low as $60 per night for a 5 star resort with a beach view overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Ixtapa). Second, the food is legendary. I think its obvious that Mexican food is delicious. Everybody likes it. But Mexican food in Mexico is different from Mexican food in America. There is no comparison. I personally NEVER eat any Mexican food in America—no matter how “authentic” every one says it is. Even if it is prepared by a little Mexican viejita in the kitchen, the food just doesn’t taste the same. And real Mexican food is a little bit different. For example, burritos don’t come from Mexico, they were invented in America. The real Mexican staple is the taco, which is typically served up as a pile of meat with tortillas on the side. Then you make them yourself and dig in! Yum!

Third, the beaches in Mexico are as beautiful as any you’ve ever visited. While the Mayan Riviera (where Cancun and Tulum are) get all the attention, the beaches in Baja California are likewise gorgeous. And the water is blue and relatively clear, with visibility anywhere from 25 -50 feet or more. By way of comparison, California’s coastline enjoys visibility of about 5 feet. It’s dirty and cold. Same goes for most of the Atlantic coastline.

Fourth, the people in Mexico are super friendly. They are much more friendly than any large American city. And they are usually happy

to serve you, especially if you are kind to them. Just don’t treat them like an arrogant, demanding, or condescending Americano, and you won’t get the “gringo treatment.”

Stereotypes

The vast majority of stereotypes you’ve heard about Mexicans are true. Yes, Mexicans

Who doesn’t love Mexican food?

Just another sunset on a beach in Cancun!

are short. They are mostly dark skinned. They eat tacos. They eat spicy food. They pass lots of gas. They are greasy. They pack 12 people in a car that seats 4. They are never on time. I could go on and on. Bottom line—they are mostly true. So just roll with it.

MEXICAN POLICE OFFICERS

You don’t have to worry about cops unless you are renting a car. If you rent a car, it is quite likely that you’ll get pulled over by a cop if you are speeding. They don’t mess around with speeding. And when they pull you over, you will have to pay a bribe. Don’t worry about it. It’s the way things work in Mexico. You can try to fight it and fuss, and be “principled” if you want, but you won’t solve anything.

If you’re a gringo who doesn’t speak Spanish, you won’t be able to get out of a ticket for less than $50 USD or $1000 MXN pesos. So here’s the trick. As soon as you’re pulled over, take out your wallet and empty it completely except for two $500 MXN bills (or $50 USD). Put the rest of your cash temporarily in the car door pocket. Do it quickly so they don’t see you.

When the cop comes to your door, he will threaten to take your license as a guarantee to insure that you will pay your ticket. And he will tell you that you have to come down to the police station to pick up your license the next day in order to pay your ticket, which will amount to over $300 USD. Seriously. And if you want to fight him, that’s what you will have to do—you’ll have to pay the full fine.

But then, he will tell you that you can take care of it on the spot if you want. In other words, you can pay a bribe and they’ll let you go. At that point, you open up your wallet in front of his eyes and show him that all you have is $1000 pesos in your wallet. He’ll tell you that he’ll take it, and that you need to slow down and to have a good day.

That’s it. It’s unjust and it’s lame. But it’s the way they operate down there. Don’t worry, it’s not scary. If you get pulled over, relax. Just do what I said here and you’ll be fine.

For what it’s worth, I’ve been pulled over at least 10 times in Mexico. Thrice I talked my way out of it. Twice the cop gave me a warning and let me go. The other times I paid the bribe (mordida in spanish).

By the way, don’t ever call it a “bribe” when you’re paying it. Just say that you’re paying for the ticket. That’s it. And definitely never use the word “mordida” in front of a cop!

Don’t be afraid if you happen to get pulled over by one of Mexico’s finest. ;-)

POLICE LIGHTS

By the way, the cops in Mexico always drive with their lights on all the time. So don’t panic if you see the lights on behind you. That’s how they drive. You’re only being pulled over if they turn the siren on or speak to you through the megaphone.

AIR TRAVEL

There are direct flights to the Los Cabos International (SJD) airport from almost every major city in America. My suggestion is to use Kayak.com to find your best price on a direct flight. Just fly direct if you can. There is no reason to take multiple flights if you don’t have to. I also suggest flying in as early as possible. You want to arrive in Cabo while the sun is still out. There is no danger to arriving later—it’s just that you want to give yourself time to get through customs and immigration and get to the El Tesoro hotel (its 45-60 minutes away from the airport), so you can properly settle in while the sun is still shining. Then get a good night sleep your first night so you can start the fun the next morning.

CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATION

If you’ve never traveled internationally before, know that every country requires you to pass through two different checkpoints called Customs (Aduana) and Immigration (Inmigracion) before entering into the country.

In Mexico it’s a relatively fast and simple process. But depending upon the time of day and the number of tourists entering into Mexico, you might get stuck waiting in a long line. It could be as short as 5 minutes to as long as an hour. So don’t plan on physically leaving the airport until an hour or so after your plane lands.

When you’re on the plane, they’ll give you both forms for Customs and for Immigration. Fill them out as noted on the right. They’re really self explanatory.

When you land, you’ll have to pass through Immigration first. This is where you may

Cops always drive with their lights on

have to stand in a line if there’s a lot of people arriving at the same time. Once you pass through, you can go pick up your luggage at the luggage carousel. Most likely, someone from the airline will have unloaded all of the luggage from your flight while you were waiting in the immigration line and will have them all standing neatly in a row, waiting for you. How nice of them!

Once you’ve grabbed your luggage you will head over to the line to pass through customs. You will have one form for both you and your spouse and they will have you press a button—if it’s green (which it always is) you can pass through. If it’s red (which happens almost never), they will search your bags. If this happens, don’t panic. Just let them search your bags like the TSA do at American airports and you’ll be all done.

LEAVING THE AIRPORT

Once you’ve passed through Customs and Immigration you will enter the Mexican Tourist Jungle. Think about it like a used car lot—where all of the used car sales people are just vultures promising to take good care of you and all offering the best deal available. But they’re all just slimy used car salesmen, right?

Bottom line? Don’t talk to anyone on your way out of the airport. Just ignore them. Trust me. Don’t talk to anyone. Just head out to your transportation and go to the hotel. Listen to me…don’t talk to anyone on your way out of the airport! They’re all selling Timeshares and other junk that you don’t want or need. So just ignore them and keep walking.

TRANSPORTATION IN CANCUN

Taxis - Taxis are generally safe and cheap in Cabo. However, taxi fares from the airport to your hotel are going to be the most expensive fares in Cabo. You can expect to pay $50 or more. So take care of transportation to the hotel in advance by paying for transportation online.

Also, most Mexican taxis are small and dirty. They are not totally uncomfortable, but just know that they are small and dirty. Most of them are old Nissan Sentras.

But generally speaking they are cheap and safe. But here’s a general rule of thumb—if the driver looks shady, don’t take the taxi. Same rule of thumb you would follow in America.

Stay away from these TimeShare People!

Uber - Uber is technically allowed in Cabo, but there’s lots of problems with the Taxi Union fighting Uber. So you can’t get picked up at the airport with Uber. So you’re going to have to use a transportation service to get from the Airport to the Hotel (or rent a car).

Rental Car - I rent a car whenever I go to Mexico. If you’re not afraid to drive a car in Los Angeles, then don’t be afraid to drive in Mexico. It’s about the same. The difference is that there really is very little respect for the rule of law in Mexico. And there are no lines on the road outside of the major tourist zones. Seriously. Its pretty funny.

Anyhow, renting a car in Mexico is crazy cheap. You can get a mid-sized car for less than $5 per day. I have rented a brand new Mercedes for 78¢ per day one time. And I never pay more than $5. But you have to be prepared for the following:

1. $5/day (or so) may be the legitimate price to rent a car, but you will have to buy mandatory liability insurance. This is not noted on any travel website when you make your reservations and it means that Americans get pissed off and waste their energy complaining about this oversight. Just be prepared to pay it. Now, if you think you’re going to get in an accident, then buy full insurance which will run about $40 per day. If you are confident you will not get in an accident, but just want to pay the minimum insurance required by Mexican federal law, you can pay for liability (this is called Daños a Terceros). It costs anywhere from $17 to $30 per day depending upon your rental company.

2. Another thing to note—your credit card company does not cover you when you’re in Mexico. So you have to buy insurance. Trust me, your credit card company doesn’t cover you. And don’t’ waste your time buying Mexican car insurance online. Most of those websites are scams. Just buy it on the spot from your rental car company.

3. You will have to pay a deposit for your car. They will put a hold on your credit card for anywhere from $2,500 - $5,000. So be prepared to be without access to that credit while you are on your trip. My suggestion is to use one credit card just to secure this deposit and use a separate credit card for everything else you will buy on your trip.

4. Mexican cars are small. So a full-size car in Mexico is the equivalent of a Mid-size car in America. The most common “Full Size” car in Mexico is a Volkswagen Jetta or a Nissan Bento.

5. Loyalty programs with major companies like Hertz, Avis, etc. mean absolutely nothing in Mexico. And the cars are all the same, so there is no reason to go with one company over another based on a loyalty program. I’m a President’s Circle

Actual rental car rates for Cancun during the week of BizCon. But remember you will pay another $30 - $40 per day for

insurance, which you MUST buy.

member with Hertz and doesn’t mean jack in Mexico. So I never use Hertz because they are the most expensive and I won’t get better service nor a better car.

6. Do not buy the Rental Car Insurance on any website (like Hotwire, Travelocity, etc.) because the insurance offered doesn’t cover you in Mexico.

7. Also, before you take possession of your rental car, make a complete video on your cell phone of the entire car and point out any damage, dents, or scratches on the car. As long as you return the car in the same condition, you won’t be charged. If there are new scratches or new damage that wasn’t there, they’ll take it out of your deposit. This video is your own personal insurance that any damage on the car was there already when you took possession of it.

My suggestion is to go with Dollar Rent a Car. They have the lowest price insurance and their cars are all the same as the other companies. I would also suggest buying actual full coverage insurance since your credit card company and your personal car insurance will not cover you in Mexico. So you can expect to pay about $30 per day for insurance only and another $5 for the car. With taxes, you’re looking at about $40 per day or $280 or so for a week. It’s a pretty good deal.

For what its worth, I always rent with Dollar and I only get the 3rd party liability insurance for $16.99 per day. With a rental rate of $5 per day for the car, plus taxes, I pay around $25 per day. So a 7 day trip costs me about $175 to have my own car for a week. Its awesome. (For those of you who are crazy travel hackers—ask me about it on the BizCon webcast and I’ll tell you how I now rent a car for as low as $5 per day, without paying insurance and end up paying about $40 total for an entire week, taxes included).

MONEY, CASH, AND EXCHANGE RATES

Money is really simple in Cabo because everyone and everywhere accepts US dollars and American credit cards. So you really don’t have to worry about converting anything to MXN pesos unless you want to, and you think you’ll travel “off the beaten path.”

Credit Cards: Make sure you call your bank or credit card company in advance and let them know you are traveling to Mexico. They will put a travel alert on your account to ensure that you don’t have any unnecessary declines for security reasons.

Cash: Bring enough cash to buy crap and pay for stuff on the streets, and also to give out tips. But I would recommend paying for everything else with a credit card.

That being said, my recommendation is to bring only $5 and $20 bills. $5 is a great tip anywhere and everywhere. So if you want to make people happy and have them waiting on you hand and foot, be ready with $5 tips.

An ATM machine is called a “Cajero.”

Use any ATM from a major Mexican bank like Banamex. Don’t use “Cashola” ATMs.

$3 is acceptable but $5 will make you a lot of friends really fast.

Mexican pesos: If you insist on using Mexican pesos (which I do, by the way), then do not exchange your US dollars for Mexican pesos at the airport or at any Casa de Cambio. Just go to any ATM. The ATM will usually charge $81.20 MXN as a fee for doing the exchange (which is about $5). And your bank might charge you another $5. So for about $10, you can have the exchange done with market rates.

If you go to a casa de cambio, they’ll give you anywhere from 10% - 30% less on your exchange—which is a total ripoff. Believe me, the math doesn’t work. If you want the best deal and the simplest experience, just go to any ATM from any major bank at the airport, like Santander, HSBC, Banamex, or Bancomer. And take out however much money you want. Remember the exchange rate right now is about 19 pesos per dollar. So 6,000 pesos which is usually the max you can take out of most ATM machines, is about $315.

MEXICAN PESOS VS AMERICAN DOLLAR SIGNS

By the way, the symbol for the Mexican peso is the same as the symbol ($) for the American Dollar. So don’t get confused. And don’t panic if you see something that looks really expensive. For example, don’t panic when you see a water bottle for sale for $15. That’s not 15 dollars USD, that’s 15 pesos (MXN) which is about 80¢.

CELL PHONES

The 4 major US carriers all have roaming in Mexico. But you better call in advance and have them set up international service or you will pay through the nose!

Verizon - If you have Verizon, they have something call International TravelPass which is the best deal anywhere. For $2 per day, you can use your existing plan while in Mexico! So if you have unlimited data, and unlimited calls and texts on your Verizon plan, you can use that exact same plan while in Mexico for only $2 per day! It’s a no brainer. If you don’t call ahead and have them set that up on your phone, you can pay $100 or more for a few calls to the kids while you’re gone. So call ahead and set this up. Because most phones are set to automatically go to roaming when you leave the country. So if you don’t turn this off on your phone or you don’t turn on International Service, you’re gonna get a rude awakening when you get your bill.

Also an important warning—don’t make heavy use of data while on an International TravelPlan with Verizon. Use WiFi in your hotel for heavy data instead. Because Verizon will only allow you 1GB of data each day at normal speed even if you have an unlimited

data plan or a plan with lots of data. After that they claim to slow your data access down to half speed. But the truth is they slow it down so slow that it becomes completely unusable. No joke. So you will really only have 1GB of data use per day.

INTERNET ACCESS

Internet service in Mexico is hit and miss. At the Tesoro Resort where we are staying, you can expect decent internet service like a typical traveler’s hotel in the United States (in other words, its sucks for everything other than email). So you can get whatever business done that you need to get done. But I would recommend doing as much as possible to disconnect while on this trip.

Also, for what it’s worth, most restaurants and coffee shops all have WiFi. You just have to ask for the password. The password in Spanish is called the “clave” CLAH-VAY or “contraseña” CONE-TRAH-SENYA. You might see that word printed on menus or other places. That’s just the password for WiFi access. If you don’t see it, just ask the waiter. They’ll give it to you.

SCUBA DIVING (and other activities)

There are so many things to do in Cabo! Feel free to look it up on the internet and do whatever sounds good to you. However, as everyone knows, we’ll be going scuba diving at BizCon!

This is basically the reason I fell in love with Mexico. Mexico has some of the best scuba diving in the world, period. Most of you know that my hot wife and I got certified to Scuba Dive in Cancun in 2015—that was just 4 short years ago. Now its an addiction and I go diving basically every month. Yeah, I know, its a real addiction!

But after getting certified in Cancun, my first several months of diving was in Cabo and La Paz. And I found it to be, to this day, some of the best diving in the world!

Some of my favorite diving and favorite dives were in La Paz. So what and where is La Paz? Well, La Paz is the capital city of Baja California Sur. It is a 2 hour drive from Cabo San Lucas and it is on the other side of the Baja California peninsula. So its coastline is actually the Sea of Cortez.

The ocean life here is phenomenal—probably more variety and beauty than you’ve ever seen. On one dive you can see sharks, turtles, rays, moray eels, and more. And of course, its famous for whale sharks! You can snorkel with whale sharks just 10 minutes from the beach!

So I will be taking a crew of people to La Paz to dive on one day (including my entire family) and possibly two. Just check the BizCon website for the details.

If you’ve never gone scuba diving before, but you want to give it a shot, then you might as well just stay in Cabo and do a “Discovery Dive.” Even without certification, you can go on an ultra safe dive with a Divemaster to discover the joy of diving. I highly recommend it. But I warn you, Mexico is where I got started Scuba Diving, and the rest is history. You might get addicted…in fact, several SEN members took their first dives in Cancun 2 years ago and BizCon, and now they too are certified divers!

Yes, there is more stuff than this to do in Cabo. Take a look at TripAdvisor and do whatever you want. If you’re curious about anything else in Cabo, just ask me—I’ve probably already done it.

Remember, the conference is on Thursday and Friday (November 8th - 9th). Feel free to come early or stay late and do whatever you want.

TRAVEL EXPENSE WORKSHEET

SAMPLE EXPENSES: YOUR ACTUAL EXPENSES

BizCon Ticket (Early Bird) $399 BizCon Ticket $ _________

Airfare from Houston (for 2) $1,000 Airfare $ _________

Hotel ($101 x 6 nights) $606 Hotel $ _________

Rental Car ($40 x 7 days) $280 Transportation $ _________

Food $500 Food $ _________

TOTAL $2,685 TOTAL $ _________

CANCUN TRAVEL CHECKLIST

TRAVEL INFO

I have a current Passport that doesn’t expire within 6 months . . . . . . . . ____________

I have contacted my cell phone company to put an international travel plan

on my cell phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ____________

MONEY

I have enough cash for the trip (mostly $5 and $20 dollar bills) . . . . . . . . ____________

I have called my credit card companies so they know I’ll be in Mexico . . . . ____________

I have a separate credit card I will use for my rental car deposit . . . . . . . ____________

OTHER IMPORTANT ITEMS

I brought bug spray. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ____________

I have non-toxic sunscreen (they will not let you use chemical based

sunscreen in most water parks or when diving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ____________

I have a hat to protect myself from the sun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ____________