The Marina Below El Pedregal Keeps Office Hours This Fall

At 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 14, a scale opens in front of Puerto Paraíso Mall. It stays open until 9:00 p.m. that day and on the next two days too. A week later the same schedule runs again for three more days. From El Pedregal you can see the whole marina. For the next month, though, the busy part is much smaller than the view. Most of the crowd will be in one spot in front of one mall, during a seven-hour window, on six weekdays.

That is the useful thing about this fall's calendar. Bisbee's, Day of the Dead and the weekend before them all publish their hours. Once you know those hours, you know which evenings will be busy and which will be quiet.

The month starts on the hill

The first event of the season isn't at the marina. From Thursday, October 8, through Saturday, October 10, Don Manuel's at Camino del Mar 1 hosts a culinary weekend with Chef Travis Swikard. Evenings run from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. Swikard is the chef and owner of Callie, which holds a MICHELIN Bib Gourmand, and of the newer Fleurette. He cooks a style he calls Cuisine du Soleil, drawn from the coasts of the Mediterranean and Southern California. Fontanafredda wines, presented by Fabio Bosio, and Clase Azul are paired with the food.

These three evenings matter for timing. They are the last weekend before the tournament boats arrive, and you don't have to drive down the hill to get there. Anyone hosting guests in mid-October can book this weekend while the marina is still on its ordinary rhythm.

The 2-to-9 window

Bisbee's runs two tournaments one week apart. Both follow the same daily schedule.

The first is the Bisbee's Los Cabos Offshore. Pre-registration is Monday, October 12. Registration and bag pickup are Tuesday, October 13, at Puerto Paraíso Mall, with the captains' meeting at 7:00 p.m. Fishing runs October 14 through 16. Lines start at 7:00 a.m. and must be out of the water by 5:00 p.m. The weigh station in front of the mall is open from 2:00 to 9:00 p.m.

The second is the Bisbee's Black & Blue, the bigger and better-known event. Gringo Gazette calls it one of the world's richest fishing tournaments. Its schedule repeats the first week's pattern on a larger scale:

1. Monday, October 19. Pre-registration from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Puerto Paraíso, near the weigh station.
2. Tuesday, October 20. Registration from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m., then the captains' meeting at 7:00 on the stage beside the weigh station. Opening ceremonies start at 7:30 p.m. with flag honors and a Mexican Naval escort, the Mexican National Anthem, a Pre-Colombian New Fire Dance, the lighting of the tournament torch and live music.
3. Wednesday through Friday, October 21 to 23. Boats must be behind the line by 6:45 a.m. for the 7:00 a.m. shotgun start. Lines come out at 5:00 p.m. The weigh station is open from 2:00 to 9:00 p.m., and any boat inside the harbor entrance by 9:00 p.m. can still weigh in.
4. Saturday, October 24. The awards celebration begins at 6:00 p.m. at The Place at Cabo, in front of H, I and J docks.

That 9:00 p.m. harbor deadline shapes the end of every fishing day. A boat that hooks a fish late in the afternoon still has until nine to get back inside the harbor, so the last weigh-ins can happen after dark.

FishingBooker's 2026 spectator guide says the weigh-in is free and open to the public. The Tuesday opening ceremony on the same stage is the one night with a program built for a crowd. Expect New Fire dancers and a torch lighting next to a fish scale.

Gringo Gazette has warned to expect "higher-than-usual activity in the marina districts" during both tournaments. It adds that the city is coordinating traffic, public safety and permits with organizers. No 2026 street-closure or parking map has been published so far. Until one is, the best guide is the schedule itself. The busiest stretch of the downtown waterfront will be in front of Puerto Paraíso, from mid-afternoon to 9:00 p.m., on October 14–16 and 21–23.

One note on dates. In August, Gringo Gazette listed a "Bisbee's Billfish" tournament on October 11 and 12. The official Los Cabos Offshore schedule was updated on September 2, and it lists fishing on October 14 through 16. Cabo Sportfishing Magazine's October calendar, published today, gives the same dates. Plan around the Bisbee's dates.

The two Saturdays move down the malecón

Each tournament ends somewhere new on Saturday night. The crowd leaves the mall and moves to The Place at Cabo, on the malecón near the H, I and J docks. The Los Cabos Offshore awards are on October 17 at 6:00 p.m. at La Antojería Cabo, inside The Place at Cabo. The Black & Blue celebration follows on October 24 at 6:00 p.m. It opens with cocktails, then dinner, a big-screen tournament video and the awards.

The weigh-ins are open to anyone. The FishingBooker guide says the Black & Blue awards celebration requires a team pass. So for a household without a boat in the tournament, the free public part of Bisbee's is the scale on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Saturday belongs to the teams.

The week after Black & Blue is quiet at the marina. The next scheduled event is Catrinas Night at Grand Fiesta Americana on Thursday, October 29, which The Cabo Mag lists as an early Day of the Dead event.

Then the water changes hands

Eight days after the last marlin is weighed, the same bay hosts a very different crowd. Altares en el Mar returns for its sixth edition from Sunday, November 1, through Wednesday, November 4. It runs from 12:00 to 10:00 p.m. each day across the bay and port of Cabo San Lucas. The organizer, Festivales Náuticos MX, describes a nautical festival with a parade of decorated boats and cultural activities on land and water. Altar displays, Catrina photo installations and stages will line the marina's pedestrian walkways.

The hours are the big change. Bisbee's crowds build in the late afternoon. Altares en el Mar starts at noon, runs for four days and spreads out along the walkways. It never settles in front of a single stage.

Monday, November 2, is the night everything overlaps. The festival's closing show, El Retorno de Chalchiuhtlicue, takes place on the bay that night. Chalchiuhtlicue is the Mexica goddess of water, a fitting name for a show staged on the bay. The organizer hasn't published a start time yet. On the same day, Visit Los Cabos lists the Day of the Dead parade through Cabo San Lucas Centro and along Avenida Lázaro Cárdenas, together with the marina procession. Away from the water, the 10th annual Altar Competition runs from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Flora Farms.

For the marina, that means three things on one evening: a parade on Lázaro Cárdenas, boats in the bay and a show on the water. The 2026 boat parade time hasn't been announced. The time that circulated last year was for 2025 only. Check the Festivales Náuticos MX site closer to the date for the 2026 timetable.

If you'd like the Day of the Dead without the crowds, the city's own calendar has quieter options:

• October 31, 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Halloween at The Rooftop at The Cape, with costume prizes.
• November 1, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Día de Muertos brunch at The Ledge at The Cape, USD 88 per person, by reservation.
• November 1, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A Día de Muertos Candle Bazar at The Cape, MXN 300.

Where the calendar goes next

The marina's busy stretch ends right as the region's next big event begins. The World Wide Technology Championship week runs November 2 through 8, with tournament play November 5 through 8 at El Cardonal at Diamante. When the altars on the walkways come down on November 4, the crowds head up the Pacific side to Diamante.

That leaves a short list of high-traffic evenings at the marina this fall. They are October 13 and 20 for registration and opening night, the six weigh-in afternoons, the two Saturdays at The Place at Cabo, and November 1 through 4 for Altares en el Mar. Every other evening between now and the golf tournament runs on the marina's usual schedule.

If friends or family are visiting in late October or early November, Goldsmith Group can help with timing, whether that means booking a table at Don Manuel's or picking the best afternoon to walk down to the scale. Schedule your private Los Cabos consultation with Paul and Daria. We're glad to plan that calendar with you, along with anything else on your mind in Cabo.