Yes, you can smoke at Los Cabos International Airport (SJD) — at designated outdoor areas outside the terminals, landside. Both terminals are smoke-free indoors under Mexico’s national tobacco law, so plan to smoke at the curb before you clear security.
Los Cabos International Airport in San José del Cabo is the main gateway to the Baja California Sur resort corridor, operated by Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP) and handling around 7.5 million passengers a year — much of it US and Canadian resort traffic. Because the passenger buildings are enclosed public spaces, smoking indoors and airside is not permitted anywhere on site; the practical option for smokers is the open-air curb outside each terminal.
Where to Smoke
Smoking at SJD is outdoors only, landside, at the designated areas along the terminal curbs. Step outside the departures or arrivals doors, move clear of the entrances, and use a marked spot to light up. The airport’s own guidance is that smoking is allowed only outside the terminal, in designated smoking areas — there is no indoor or airside smoking facility in operation.
Because Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 are separate buildings, each has its own curbside area — smoke outside whichever terminal your airline uses, and finish before you go through screening.
Terminal 1
Terminal 1 is the single-storey domestic building, with eight ground-level gates serving Mexican carriers such as Volaris, VivaAerobús and Aeroméxico Connect. Smoke outdoors at the departures and arrivals curbs before you enter; once you are past security there is no smoking area, so finish outside first.
Terminal 2
Terminal 2 is the larger two-storey international building, with 19 gates (nine on jet bridges) handling most of the US and Canadian resort traffic — American, Delta, United, Alaska, WestJet and Air Canada among them. Smoking here is at the outdoor curb on the departures and arrivals levels only; the interior, gates, duty-free and the airside lounges are all smoke-free. The lounges have no smoking terrace, so lounge access does not change the outdoor-only rule.
After Security
Neither terminal has a smoking area past security. If you are connecting or have already cleared screening and need to smoke, you will have to exit the building to the landside curb and then re-clear security to reach your gate — budget time for the walk and the queue, which can be long in Terminal 2 at peak resort-departure hours.
Vaping
Mexico bans the sale, import and distribution of e-cigarettes, though personal use is not criminalised. Treat vaping the same as smoking at SJD: not inside the terminals, only at the outdoor areas. Because bringing a vape into the country is restricted, a device may be confiscated at customs on arrival.
Summary
| Area | Smoking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Indoor terminals (T1/T2) | No | Smoke-free under Mexican law |
| After security / airside | No | No airside smoking area in either terminal |
| Airside lounges (T2) | No | Non-smoking, no smoking terrace |
| Outdoor (landside) | Yes | Designated areas at the terminal curbs |
For Mexico’s airport smoking rules and vaping law, see our Mexico airport guide.