While in Cabo we booked a tour with Desert Park. We were picked up at our resort and driven to the location where the tour began. The "home base" for Desert Park is very close to the Cabo Real Golf Course. We were advised to wear long pants rather than shorts. We were given colorful bandannas and goggles to wear over our faces. My husband and I decided to use just one ATV, so we learned the cost of the tour we took was based upon the number of ATVs rented---$75 per machine---rather than the number of people in our group. Our guide gave us a crash course on how to shift, brake, and accelerate. We were instructed to drive around a loop course to get comfortable with the controls, and then we were off into the desert!
I have to say I didn't think I'd like doing this all that much, but I had a great time holding onto my husband's waist, looking at the expansive blue sky, waving to the bulls and cows owned by a local rancher, admiring the twisted, smooth trunks of the white trees that grow here despite the area's lack of water. We stopped a couple times for photo ops and water before getting to a rocky "oasis" where a natural spring that seemed more like a leaky faucet than anything else trickled from the earth. Here our guide talked to me about the tarantulas and snakes that make the rocks their home while encouraging me to try out my broken high school Spanish. He was fluent in English though it was obvious he was still learning. We laughed together at the ways we misused each other's native tongues.
After the Oasis, we were given the choice to go for a walk on the beach or to ride the ATVs around a bit in a sandy pit area obviously engineered for this purpose. While it wasn't running at the time of our visit, there is also an ATV tour that allows people to scale down a rock face to end the journey.
When we made it back to the home base a little less than two hours later, all of us were filthy with dirt. Surprisingly, we weren't hot. Just more geared up for a dip into the Sea of Cortez.
I had a great time doing this, and I would suggest it to anyone. Tours run almost every hour on the hour, so it's not hard to fit into a day. You can get more information about Desert Park at their website: www.desertpark.net.