Surfers have been coming to Los Cabos since the 1950s, meaning they were among the first to take advantage of the region’s charms as a tourist destination. In recent decades, golf has surpassed surfing in popularity locally, not only because of how many great courses there are — 18 and counting — but because of how effective these layouts are in helping to attract resort guests and sell real estate.
However, a certain innovation may address this imbalance, making surfing easier than ever for those who’ve never tried it and proving the worth of surf technology to complement golf in marketing the Los Cabos lifestyle for those considering primary or secondary homes in the area.
The Endless Surf wave basin premieres at Cabo Real Surf Club
Work began in December 2024 on the Cabo Real Surf Club, the first development in North America to feature a private Endless Surf wave basin. Endless Surf has led the charge for this technology, using pneumatics in recent years to achieve customizable waves for surf parks. But what it’s doing in Los Cabos is really special.
Cabo Real Surf Club will feature a four-acre wave basin able to accommodate 40 surfers and provide 480 customizable ocean-quality waves per hour. This is only possible thanks to a pneumatic air system powered by 250-horsepower motors that can generate 25-second rides on waves up to seven feet high.
“Given the large number of waves per hour and the ability to create an infinite number of wave shapes, surfers are able to catch a month’s worth of ocean waves in a single day and all of them are captured on video,” notes David Likins, formerly president and CEO of the Kelly Slater Wave Company and now a partner in Meriwether Companies, which along with the Sánchez Navarro family, are behind the development at Cabo Real Surf Club.
“This huge amount of repetition and access to analysis creates an extremely steep learning curve allowing even beginners to become advanced surfers and for advanced surfers to learn expert skills they will never master in the ocean.”
Real estate and lifestyle amenities at Cabo Real Surf Club
The Endless Surf basin is a centerpiece of Cabo Real Surf Club, part of a larger 3,000-acre master-planned Cabo Real development in the Los Cabos Tourist Corridor between Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo. Over 200 homes are planned at Cabo Real Surf Club, from estate lots and boardwalk homesites to surf casitas and ocean-view villas, with over US $50 million in sales already logged.
However, Endless Surf isn’t the only attraction for home buyers. There’s also golf, of course, not to mention the swimmable beach nearby with an oceanfront beach club for members; a racquet club with facilities for tennis, Padel and pickleball; two swimming pools; state-of-the-art fitness facilities; and networks of hiking and biking trails that show off the development’s gorgeous natural setting.
“We are thrilled to partner with Meriwether Companies in bringing Cabo Real Surf Club to life,” Diego Sánchez Navarro said via a press release: “My father acquired the land at Cabo Real in 1983 because of its beautiful beaches and ideal location between vibrant Cabo San Lucas and charming San José del Cabo. With existing properties such as El Dorado Golf & Beach Club and Las Ventanas al Paraíso, it is fitting that Cabo Real will be home to the most exciting, next-generation private club in Mexico.”
The history of the Sánchez Navarro family in Los Cabos
Eduardo Sánchez Navarro, Diego’s father, was one of the second wave of developers in Los Cabos, coming after pioneers like Rod Rodríguez, Bud Parr, Luis Cóppola and Luis Bulnes. But in terms of legacy, he’s already in a class of his own.
Since breaking ground on Cabo Real in 1989, the elder Sánchez Navarro has helped to transform Los Cabos via high-profile resort and real estate investments, including the 2000-acre development at Puerto Los Cabos just outside San José del Cabo, which includes a marina, 27-hole golf course from Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman and some of the finest art in Los Cabos, including sculptures from famed British-Mexican surrealist Leonora Carrington and Guadalajaran Gabriel Macotela.
Grupo Questro, where Sánchez Navarro serves as president, has also opened two other golf courses and owns or manages several local resorts, including Casa Dorada, Casa del Mar, Dreams, El Ganzo, ME Cabo and Secrets Puerto Los Cabos. Eduardo Sánchez Navarro was likewise the guiding force behind the Los Cabos International Film Festival — formerly the Baja International Film Festival — which launched in 2012.
Eduardo is also, it should be noted, brother to Mercedes Sánchez Navarro, girlfriend of Carlos Slim, the richest man in Mexico. Eduardo’s family members have become key contributors to the success of Grupo Questro, with several serving in executive positions.
The future of Endless Surf wave basins in Los Cabos
Eduardo Sánchez Navarro, among his many other accomplishments, was behind one of the first golf courses in Los Cabos, the Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed Cabo Real, which opened in 1993, the same year Jack Nicklaus opened Palmilla Golf Club. The course is currently undergoing renovation before reopening in 2025 and like the Endless Surf wave basin, it will serve as a signature amenity for the Cabo Real Surf Club. It will likely become private for members— big news for destination golfers since Questro Golf offerings like Cabo Real, Club Campestre and Puerto Los Cabos have all traditionally been open to the public, and the latter two still will.
As surfing in Los Cabos is world-class thanks to breaks along the Sea of Cortés and the Pacific Ocean, the expertise provided by reps in the Endless Surf basin in effect opens up countless other regional amenities, from East Coast surf breaks at Shipwrecks and Nine Palms to Pacific Coast favorites such as Cerritos, San Pedrito and La Pastora, as well as points in between, like Zippers — site of the one-time World Surf League sponsored Los Cabos Open of Surf — and Monuments, a legendary lefty point break with views of Land’s End in Cabo San Lucas.
Will surf basins now start popping up at other Los Cabos real estate developments as golf courses began doing starting in the 1990s? It’s still too early to tell. But simulators and video, which have helped to revolutionize the golf experience, will certainly help. However, there is only one for now, and Cabo Real Surf Club has it.
Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.
Where is the water coming from?
The building of communities in the area is getting out of hand. Where is the water going to come from to support all of these developments that are coming? It is a crying shame what has happened to this once beautiful sleepy little place.
I’d be interested in knowing pricing as long as the wave pool is only available to property/condo owners!