Baja California

[zollo]

Some advice, tips, recommendations etc. from locals, folks who have visited the area etc. would be welcome.

I am planning to visit SoCal and Baja California for approximately 3 weeks next spring, probably in March and possibly in early April. I will be flying to LA, probably LAX.

Initially I wanted to scout out the SoCal deserts, an area/a landscape I almost entirely avoided during my trip in August/September 2006 (due to time issues and the season). I am still interested in checking some of those deserts out, especially with a chance of seeing them in bloom (assuming decent winter rains). In addition I was planning to do a couple of whale and seabird watches off the SoCal coast (both onshore and offshore).

However, as per usual, this plan expanded and expanded until I convinced myself that I really should pop into Mexico to check out Baja California (north and south), its Gulf and its Pacific coast line. The problem is of course that Baja is huge, that I have only 3 weeks and that I'd like to spend some time in the aforementioned deserts. And of course this means that I will have to get 2 rentals, one for Cali, to be brought back before leaving for Mexico and for Mexico, to be returned before heading back into the US. From there it'll be some form of public transport back to LA.

I am not the kind of traveller who wants to race against the clock. The only thing I'll be racing for is a cold Mexican beer (and of course no driving afterwards ). I generally don't make a solid plan, just an approximate route and let time and inclination do its job whilst en route. On the other hand, it won't be easy to maintain a good time balance between visiting SoCal and Baja, since the latter is, as said, huge and it would be a pity to spend most of my time there churning through mile after mile.

Since the waters around Baja should be teeming with cetaceans around that time of the year, I am very much jumping on the opportunity to see Gray, Blue, Sperm and Humpback whales, a bazillion dolphin species, sea birds, etc. I have already checked out various travel reports, whale watching tour operators and so on.

I will probably bring along a tent, since staying in motels for 3 weeks won't be cheap (although I assume it will be cheaper in Baja, at least in those places were tourism hasn't popped up majorly).

Also, I generally do this kind of thing alone, but if anyone feels like coming along for a bit, that is fine with me.

Trips always need some input beyond the printed or binary word though so I am hoping some of you can give me some tips, insight, do-s and dont's or simply some good luck.

[Bronn Stone]

Don't know Baja well enough to be any help there, but it is possible to get to/from the border to LAX without a car. You'd take the LA Metro from LAX to Union Station (30-45 mins) and board the Amtrak Surfliner to downtown San Diego (2.5 hrs). From San Diego, you'd take the trolley to the border (45 mins). By SoCal standards, this is excellent public transportation.

The neighborhood through which the LA Metro travels is a bit dodgy, but you should be fine at any reasonable hour. A lot less expensive than renting a car one-way or storing a rental whilst you galavant around Baja.

[Arbor Gold]

Don't know Baja well enough to be any help there, but it is possible to get to/from the border to LAX without a car. You'd take the LA Metro from LAX to Union Station (30-45 mins) and board the Amtrak Surfliner to downtown San Diego (2.5 hrs). From San Diego, you'd take the trolley to the border (45 mins). By SoCal standards, this is excellent public transportation.

This plan just sounds exhausting. That's at least half a day shot just getting from LA to the border. I vote rent a car in LA, do the desert thing, then drive down to San Diego. Do you need a different car for the Mexico part? I know for personal cars you just have to buy special Mexican insurance right before you cross the border (it's like 15-30 bucks, IIRC).

[Myshkin]

There's really only one major route that traverses the Baja; Route 1. Baja in not quite as huge as you may think it is, you can drive from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas (Southernmost point of Baja) in 2 days. For whale watching you should go to Guerrero Negro, which is about half way down the Baja, just over the border between Baja and Baja Sur. Other than that there are a few points of interest along route 1: Santa Rosalia is a quaint little town, and is probably the only town in Baja where the buildings are made out of wood (there's a story behind this, ask the locals when you get there); Three kilometers south of Mulege is the most beautiful beach in Baja (keep your eyes peeled for the 3km marker because the beach is very secluded and the entrance is hard to find); Down near the southern tip of Baja is Todos Santos (famous for being the site of the original Hotel California), it's a very low key town and a great place to hang out and relax; Then, of course, at the very tip of Baja is Cabo San Lucas, famous for it's fishing and night life. If you do make it all the way in to Cabo please stop by the clothing store "Magic of the Moon", and say hi to my mom.

[Kat]

If you get a car with 4WD and are interested in cool fossils, I can try and get directions to this rather remote beach on the west coast...it's not too far from Ensenada...but it is awesome if you want the easiest fossil hunting ever. Normally I find fossils kind of boring, but this rock is relatively soft Cretaceous sandstone and every year it erodes back about a meter and exposes new fossils (ammonoids and stuff) and it's pretty near when it just falls out of the cliff and into your hand.

If you're interested in ecological stuff, in the northern part of Baja there's two different desert systems--the one on the western side of the mountains is more like southern CA/Mojave, and in the east, it's Sonoran, so more like Arizona with cacti and that sort of thing.

Um. There's also cool tidal flats in the Gulf of California. They have quite a tidal range there.

Hm...while you're in California, be sure to go to Death Valley--spring is the best time for wildflowers, if we have a wetter winter this year. Another good place to go in the Mojave is Rainbow Basin...I can't recall what type of park it is, but it's not going to be very crowded.

[ztemhead]

This plan just sounds exhausting. That's at least half a day shot just getting from LA to the border. I vote rent a car in LA, do the desert thing, then drive down to San Diego. Do you need a different car for the Mexico part? I know for personal cars you just have to buy special Mexican insurance right before you cross the border (it's like 15-30 bucks, IIRC).

yeah you do need a different car in Mexi than in the US. most car rental places will ask you that right away, 'specially if you're a furriner: "Will you be taking the vehicle out of state or out of the country?" I'm not sure if you're allowed to do this or not, but if so, I'd expect they'll charge a bit more.

Cars I've rented recently also have a GPS transponder letting them know where the vehicle is located, and if/ when they leave a specified area. Being so close to a foreign country, I'd suspect the major rental companies near LA have equipped all their cars with this.

re: "Mexico insurance" have you ever read one of those policies? I have, right after coughing up $20 while en route to Rocky Point. Their list of exclusions for what they won't cover is very broad, and the policy (at least in Arizona) says right on it, "this is not regulated by the state department of insurance." Meaning basically don't waste your money; and I could whip up a similar document with just as much validity right here on my laptop.

I've been wanting to do baja by motorcycle for a while now, but that's the kind of trip I definitely need a group to go with, and probably a more rough and ready bike than my dainty Nipponese girl.

[Bronn Stone]

This plan just sounds exhausting. That's at least half a day shot just getting from LA to the border. I vote rent a car in LA, do the desert thing, then drive down to San Diego. Do you need a different car for the Mexico part? I know for personal cars you just have to buy special Mexican insurance right before you cross the border (it's like 15-30 bucks, IIRC).

The plan is exhausting, but I believe essential unless Z wants to spend a couple hundred dollars on a rental drop-off fee. SoCal rental car companies are quite concerned about people who might cross the borders with their cars and never be seen again - a foreigner coming in and asking for a one-way rental to San Diego is going to set off every alarm they have.

It might be slightly easier to take a flight into San Diego - getting from Lindbergh Field to the trolley station downtown is a cheap cab ride. But the Surfliner train is actually very scenic once you get into southern Orange County/San Diego and I'd say worth it (definitely grab a window seat on the right hand side of the train when headed southbound). Maybe these transponder things have changed their attitudes - but yes, if you can get a rental car at LAX and drive to San Diego and then drop off the car you will be better off.

On the topic of Mexican insurance - it might seem ludicrous by American standards, but going without it is a license to be ravaged by crooked Federales (a redundant term if there ever was one). Get pulled over by a cop in Mexico as a gringo without the proper papers and you can expect to see the dollar signs in his eyes multiply by an order of ten.

[Arbor Gold]

Ok, that all makes sense. I've crossed the border into Mexico so many times I really have no idea what it would be like for a foreigner with a rental car.

re: "Mexico insurance" have you ever read one of those policies?

Of course I haven't.

[zollo]

Thanks for that folks.

Being used to public transportation I don't find it much of a problem to travel from LA to the border as Bronn described. Currently I am inclined to rent a car in LA (Alamo was excellent last time I used them), drive along the coast towards San Diego, turn east there, check out Riverside and San Bernadino counties in order to visit Anza Borrego SP, Salton Sea, Joshua Tree and possibly the Mojave as well. I am not sure about Death Valley as of yet because it would mean going north a good deal further than I intended to.

I would then return to LA, return the car, take public transportation to the border, get a rental in Tijuana/Mexicali and head down south. I know Baja isn't the same size as California yet with my style of visiting nature reserves, national monuments, whale watching shenanigans, taking little roads, it'll be a good while before I get to the southern end. All in all it will be interesting to come up with a somewhat viable time schedule (obviously to be discarded immediately upon arrival).

Any more suggestions are more than welcome.

[ztemhead]

most important is what to put on your Ipod playlist.

Here's a few suggestions:

Propellerheads - "Take California"

Local H - "California Songs"

Tupac - "California Love"

U2 - "In God's Country" 'Desert rose... dreamed I saw a desert rose'

Sublime - "April 25, 1992" (or any of their songs really, they're all Long Beach/ LA related)

and once you get down to Cabo, hit up the Sammy Hagar and Jimmy Buffett.

just a few from off the top of my head. last time I road tripped in California, I think I had about 30 tracks on my playlist.

[Aegon Blutarsky]

Thanks for that folks.

Being used to public transportation I don't find it much of a problem to travel from LA to the border as Bronn described. Currently I am inclined to rent a car in LA (Alamo was excellent last time I used them), drive along the coast towards San Diego, turn east there, check out Riverside and San Bernadino counties in order to visit Anza Borrego SP, Salton Sea, Joshua Tree and possibly the Mojave as well. I am not sure about Death Valley as of yet because it would mean going north a good deal further than I intended to.

I would then return to LA, return the car, take public transportation to the border, get a rental in Tijuana/Mexicali and head down south. I know Baja isn't the same size as California yet with my style of visiting nature reserves, national monuments, whale watching shenanigans, taking little roads, it'll be a good while before I get to the southern end. All in all it will be interesting to come up with a somewhat viable time schedule (obviously to be discarded immediately upon arrival).

Any more suggestions are more than welcome.

I'd suggest flying to somewhere in Baja, then driving to where you want to go. Out of LAX you could fly to Loreto, rent a car and get over to Mag Bay or Laguna San Ignacio for Whales, kayaking and other ecotouristy stuff. Santa Rosalia is cool, as is Mulege. If you get up past GN , the Catavina Desert is amazing- full of boojum trees and wild otherworldly scenery. Also, the best goat tacos in Baja are near Catavina at the Rancho San Ines. You could go south from Loreto and hang out in Todos Santos, which I am very partial to (have land I'm planning to build on there). You could do a mule trip into the mountains behind TS, which has some incredible meadows and pine trees - and birds! I personally feel the "real" Baja starts from El Rosario south. North of there is physically much the same as SoCal and is more crowded than the rest of Baja to boot. If you get over to the East Cape you may be able to dive with whale sharks - its one of the few places on Earth that can be done. You can also fly from Tijuana to GN - maybe do that, get a dropoff of a car in Cabo, and fly back to the US from Cabo or La Paz,.

What else.....don't going during Easter week - Semana Santa is a HUGE holiday week for Mexicans, and it seems the whole country goes to the beach and just gets destroyed for a week. Then doesn't clean up.

Ignore what ztem said about Mexican insurance. If you choose to rent a car in the US to take into Mexico (bad idea IMHO)and don't get insurance, you GO TO JAIL if you get into an accident, no matter whose fault it was. I've had several friends who have had accidents and the Mexican insurance companies have been helpful and more than fair. Keep in mind the difference between buying basic liability insurance and actual collision, theft, medivac etc coverage.

If you have a few hours to peruse a few threads This Board has tons of good info and helpful people. I think you'll find the trip reports and photo gallery especially interesting. Just search for the places or things you're into and I bet you'll learn a lot, especially practical stuff.

[zollo]

I'd suggest flying to somewhere in Baja, then driving to where you want to go. Out of LAX you could fly to Loreto, rent a car and get over to Mag Bay or Laguna San Ignacio for Whales, kayaking and other ecotouristy stuff. Santa Rosalia is cool, as is Mulege. If you get up past GN , the Catavina Desert is amazing- full of boojum trees and wild otherworldly scenery. Also, the best goat tacos in Baja are near Catavina at the Rancho San Ines. You could go south from Loreto and hang out in Todos Santos, which I am very partial to (have land I'm planning to build on there). You could do a mule trip into the mountains behind TS, which has some incredible meadows and pine trees - and birds! I personally feel the "real" Baja starts from El Rosario south. North of there is physically much the same as SoCal and is more crowded than the rest of Baja to boot. If you get over to the East Cape you may be able to dive with whale sharks - its one of the few places on Earth that can be done. You can also fly from Tijuana to GN - maybe do that, get a dropoff of a car in Cabo, and fly back to the US from Cabo or La Paz,.

What else.....don't going during Easter week - Semana Santa is a HUGE holiday week for Mexicans, and it seems the whole country goes to the beach and just gets destroyed for a week. Then doesn't clean up.

Ignore what ztem said about Mexican insurance. If you choose to rent a car in the US to take into Mexico (bad idea IMHO)and don't get insurance, you GO TO JAIL if you get into an accident, no matter whose fault it was. I've had several friends who have had accidents and the Mexican insurance companies have been helpful and more than fair. Keep in mind the difference between buying basic liability insurance and actual collision, theft, medivac etc coverage.

If you have a few hours to peruse a few threads This Board has tons of good info and helpful people. I think you'll find the trip reports and photo gallery especially interesting. Just search for the places or things you're into and I bet you'll learn a lot, especially practical stuff.

Thank you very much for that, Egg. That link is very helpful and has given me quite a few ideas already. I am now planning to go late February early March in order to avoid the Easter week and to avoid going too late in the whale migration season.

As to cars, no worries, I am certainly not taking one over the border. My own policy, that, but I am not one for attracting more attention than needed when abroad.

I'll keep you guys informed about my plans and any further questions that may pop up.

[ztemhead]

other idea: learn to ride and rent a BMW dual sport morotcycle.

roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads...

sorry, projecting a fantasy of mine onto your trip.

[Aegon Blutarsky]

Thank you very much for that, Egg. That link is very helpful and has given me quite a few ideas already. I am now planning to go late February early March in order to avoid the Easter week and to avoid going too late in the whale migration season.

As to cars, no worries, I am certainly not taking one over the border. My own policy, that, but I am not one for attracting more attention than needed when abroad.

I'll keep you guys informed about my plans and any further questions that may pop up.

Cool- if any specific questions pop up let me know. As to cars, you can easily rent one there and not have the insurance worries. A lot of places rent shortbed Nissan trucks that seat 4. I like them b/c they have tough suspensions, a bit more clearance than most cars and are pretty UTR. They're also a lot cheaper than real 4x4s, which aren't all that necessary for what you'll likely be doing.

[Knight of City of Bayonne]

other idea: learn to ride and rent a BMW dual sport morotcycle.

roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads...

sorry, projecting a fantasy of mine onto your trip.

I would use my Honda XR650L.