In Cabo San Lucas, the sun sets between roughly 5:40 pm in December and about 7:25 pm in June and July. The table below gives you an approximate sunset time for each month, so you can plan a ceremony, a session or a first dance around the best light of the day.
Approximate sunset times in Cabo San Lucas
| Month | Sunset (local) | Golden hour (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| January | 5:50 pm | 4:50 – 5:50 pm |
| February | 6:20 pm | 5:20 – 6:20 pm |
| March | 6:40 pm | 5:40 – 6:40 pm |
| April | 7:00 pm | 6:00 – 7:00 pm |
| May | 7:15 pm | 6:15 – 7:15 pm |
| June | 7:25 pm | 6:25 – 7:25 pm |
| July | 7:25 pm | 6:25 – 7:25 pm |
| August | 7:10 pm | 6:10 – 7:10 pm |
| September | 6:45 pm | 5:45 – 6:45 pm |
| October | 6:15 pm | 5:15 – 6:15 pm |
| November | 5:50 pm | 4:50 – 5:50 pm |
| December | 5:40 pm | 4:40 – 5:40 pm |
These are approximate local times, and golden hour is calculated as the hour before sunset. The exact minute shifts a little each year, so confirm the time for your specific date. Last updated: September 2026.
Golden hour: the hour before sunset
Golden hour is the last hour before the sun goes down, so if sunset is at 6:30 pm, the best light begins around 5:30 pm. It is the softest, warmest, most flattering light of the day, and it is the window I plan portraits around. After the sun drops, you get another twenty minutes of blue hour, when the sky turns deep indigo and the string lights start to glow.
Best months for sunset photos in Cabo
October through December is my favorite stretch. The skies clear up, the summer haze is gone, and the color runs from gold to deep orange to pink. Summer gives you a later sunset and long, warm evenings, which is wonderful for a relaxed schedule, though it is also the humid season and the one to watch for storms. Spring sits in the middle: comfortable temperatures and a sunset that lands right around dinner time.
How to use this for your timeline
Work backward from sunset. If you want your ceremony to lead straight into golden hour portraits, start the ceremony about ninety minutes before sunset. That gives comfortable light for the vows, then puts you and your partner in the best light right after the first kiss, with sunset behind the first dances. For a couples or family session, meet about an hour before sunset and shoot straight through the color.
For your exact date and venue, use my Cabo ceremony time calculator: pick your day and it gives you the sunset, golden hour and the ideal ceremony start.
Planning photos around the light in Cabo
I build every session and wedding timeline around these times, so the light is working for you instead of against you. You can go deeper with my guide to golden hour in Los Cabos, see how I cover a wedding day in Cabo destination wedding photography, and find the best spots in my guide to the best photo spots in Cabo San Lucas. For trip planning, the official Los Cabos tourism board is a good reference.
