The Ultimate Road Trip Baja California, Mexico
December 2021
“By that evening we reached our first wild camping beach. Bahia de Los Angeles.
We noticed a group of coyotes lurking around our campsite in the evening. There were six of them looking out for food and they came uncomfortably close from time to time.
After a stunning sunrise, we continued our way. From time to time the endless road took us through small settlements.”
The chances are that if you are reading this post, then you are interested in making this or similar trip yourself, so I will try to answer some questions you might have based on my personal experience.
Table of contents
- Baja CaliforniaBaja California
- Renting a car in Baja CaliforniaRenting a car in Baja California
- The itinerary north to south and backThe itinerary north to south and back
- What else?What else?
Baja California
A Mexican peninsula extending into the Pacific Ocean from the southern end of the US state of California, Baja California provides some of Mexico‘s most dramatic sea and landscapes. This includes everything from vast and remote deserts, dormant volcanoes, and wonderful old mission towns.
The first political capital of “old California” is found here as well as many remnants of the colonial past. Camping and hiking opportunities are plentiful, and much of the region is sparsely or even unpopulated.
Baja California is also home to world class surfing, sailing and deep sea fishing destinations. Lastly, traditionally the peninsula has provided south-of-the-border fun for youthful miscreants from the USA in both the border region to the north and more recently at the far end of the peninsula in the resort towns of Los Cabos. The Baja California peninsula is one of the longest in the world and offers an interesting mix of cultures with a wonderful combination of Latin American, Spanish, pre-Hispanic, and Anglo influences. It varies greatly even from the Mexican “mainland” with its own lifestyle and identity within Mexico.
Renting a car in Baja California
I am guessing that you will be starting your Baja road trip either from the north in Tijuana or in the south (San Jose del Cabo, La Paz or Loreto). We were staying in Ensenada, so we needed to find a car somewhere around there.
There are also a few car rental places in Ensenada but we found the best (read: cheapest) deal in Tijuana airport. If you have the budget, wish and expertise then I totally recommend getting an SUV or similar, so you have the option to get out from the main roads and explore some sand/dirt tracks. But, it is definitely not necessary! The main roads are really good and there are no problems with a normal small-engine city car. We rented a 1.4L Kia Rio (3rd generation) and had absolutely no issues. All of the main roads are asphalt.
We ended up using the services of Mex Rent A Car. Rental with insurance for the period of 17.12.2021-02.01.2022 (16 days) was in a total of 705 USD. We ended up extending it for 4 more days. So in total, we had the car for 20 days. The price per day came up to 44 USD. The cheapest we found but not cheap. I was hoping for something more affordable.
The itinerary
Baja California is really long and it takes quite some time to drive all the way down to the southernmost point. The road from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas along the most direct way is 1700km and technically could be driven in 2-3 days. But that is not the point of a road trip 😉 We calculated 16 days but extended it to 20 days in total. That allowed us to take some days off and also do some activities like snorkelling. We definitely also skipped some things that would have been cool to do and just drove through places that would have been cool to stay at.
The following is our full itinerary for the Baja California road trip. We did not have anything set and just followed the road south with a general idea.
Day 0 (dec 17)
Renting the car from Tijuana + stocking up + driving to Ensenada
Day 1 (dec 18)
Leaving from Ensenada.
Visiting La Bufadora, a blowhole.
Driving to the mountains (with moonrise) and staying in Rancho Meling Hotel.
Day 2 (dec 19)
Drive and hike to Sierra de San Pedro Martir viewpoint. Hiking 3h one way. We saw some foxes.
Driving back to the coast with sunset.
Staying the night in San Quintin.
Day 3 (dec 20)
In the morning we drove to Volcan Ceniza.
The whole day driving through the desert, for example through Catavina (rocky landscape).
Camping in the beach called Playa La Gringa in Bahia de Los Angeles. We saw 6 coyotes in the evening around the campsite. A nice walk on the beach in the morning.
Day 4 (dec 21)
Staying in Guerrero Negro.
Day 5 (dec 22)
In the morning driving to Los Gaviones lighthouse. Birds, wildlife, narrow road, salt fields.
In the evening staying in Eco Tour Las Tres Virgines in the middle of the desert. Absolutely nothing around us.
Day 6 (dec 23)
A day off in Eco Tour Las Tres Virgenes. Relaxing, reading etc..
Day 7 (dec 24)
We hiked to the peak of Volcan Tres Virgenes at 1940m (Volcan Azufre). Starting at 5 am and getting back in the late evening. The guide was a local guy from the guesthouse.
There was a big Mexican family celebrating Christmas in the guesthouse and they invited us to sit with them at the table.
Day 8 (dec 25)
Camping on beach in Bahia Concepcion (Playa El Coyote).
There was phosphorescence on the beach at night. We saw the sunrise and had a swim in the morning.
Day 9 (dec 26)
Driving to La Paz.
Day 10 (dec 27)
Sightseeing in La Paz. Making arrangements and plans for the following days.
Day 11 (dec 28)
Driving to Todos Santos and Cabo San Lucas. Driving back in the evening to sleep in La Paz.
Day 12 (dec 29)
Snorkelling tour to see and swim with sea lions and also whale sharks next to Isla Espirito Santo at Isla Lobos. We booked the whole day tour with Eco Migrations.
Driving to Cabo Pulmo in the evening.
Day 13 (dec 30)
Another snorkelling tour in Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park where we were lucky to see:
- Coral reef with colourful fish
- Humpback whales
- A huge school of fish (inc. dolphins)
- Turtles
- Sealions
Day 14 (dec 31)
Having a day off in Cabo Pulmo to celebrate the New Years Eve.
Day 15 (jan 01)
We start driving back to the north. Staying a night in Ciudad Constitucion in Hotel Paraiso del Valle.
Day 16 (jan 02)
Giving a ride to a old man who was hitchhiking. We dropped him off at his house. He gave us sugarcane from his garden.
Stayed the night in Guerrero Negro.
Day 17 (jan 03)
Had brunch in a cool restaurant (Restaurant Nva. Chapala) next to a dried-up Lake Chapala.
Drove to San Felipe for the night.
Day 18 (jan 04)
Drove back to Ensenada through San Pedro Martir mountain range.
Day 19 (jan 05)
Drove back to Tijuana to return the car and had a flight out on the same day.
The road to south
the road back up north
What else?
The climate in December was really pleasant. We were wearing short pants and t-shirts throughout the day. It can get a bit colder in the evening and nights though. We had summer sleeping bags for 15 degrees with us and it was definitely not enough. That was the reason we didn’t camp as much as we would have liked. The temperatures also differ from north to the south.
All in all, I must conclude that Baja California is freaking amazing. The views, landscapes and vastness of the land is mind-blowing. I have never experienced anything similar in my life and even on the last days while driving to San Felipe my jaw was dropped the whole time just because how amazing and different everything is. Not to even mention the sea life that you can experience – the whales, dolphins, sea lions, turtles, whale sharks.
I highly recommend to watch the video as well to get the full idea about the region.
Recent posts
If you liked this post and would like to be notified when new posts are published then feel free to subscribe to the email list. No spam, just information about new articles, videos and upcoming trips.
