Help planning Baja

[Gladiator Overland]

Since we are heading from GA west towards Colorado then following the Continental Divide Trail to Canada then making our way to the Arctic up the Dalton Hwy then back down to the Top of the World Hwy to explore Alaska. We then head down the Steward-Cassiar Hwy south hitting the coast until we reach ORegon then inland hopefully finding our way through the sierra nevadas down south towards baja. Point is we are already traveling a very long way and will have to limit our time in Baja right now. IE not making it all the way down to Cabo as I am not looking to do 200 miles average a day for 3 months. Time is limited medically . So looking for some suggestions on must see and routes through Baja we use Gaia for our planning and GPX would be greatly Appreciated.

 

[RJ Howell]

I'll say rethink going that far and not going deeper! Baja Sur just gets nicer and nicer. I didn't get all the way and plan on returning to spend much more time there. Catavina is a interesting geological area. San Ignacio area is also very cool (find the bone yard). You'll be late for the whales, but the beaches just get better as you travel south. We crossed in AZ so we traveled Highway 5 and crossed over.

Get the Almanac! I bought one down there and very happy I did. iOverlander worked very well down there and showed more spots to stay.

Be prepared for backup spots to stay if your going to use local Campo's. Can't say the open to closed ration, but it's fairly high. Same goes for fuel.. get it as you can!

Safe Travels!

 

[Gladiator Overland]

I'll say rethink going that far and not going deeper! Baja Sur just gets nicer and nicer. I didn't get all the way and plan on returning to spend much more time there. Catavina is a interesting geological area. San Ignacio area is also very cool (find the bone yard). You'll be late for the whales, but the beaches just get better as you travel south. We crossed in AZ so we traveled Highway 5 and crossed over.

Get the Almanac! I bought one down there and very happy I did. iOverlander worked very well down there and showed more spots to stay.

Be prepared for backup spots to stay if your going to use local Campo's. Can't say the open to closed ration, but it's fairly high. Same goes for fuel.. get it as you can!

Safe Travels!

I would love to spend more time and may be a second trip there in the future. But we are limited due to the necessity of having to see a doctor monthly to get my meds, on a permanent morphine medication for my pain from my blast injury in Combat.. I was able to convince them to be able to do out to 3 months without seeing them but having to do a telehealth visit with them. That and meds can only be filled monthly, luckily my pharmacist she is a good friend and is going to fedex us our meds while we travel. Otherwise we would be stuck to doing 30 day long trips at most. Freaking ball and chain it is and what a pain in the ass, people abused it and it destroys my freedom because of it.

 

[Luinil Explorations]

We got back from Baja last month after spending all of February there. Lots to see and do. I agree with RJ about taking Route 5 and suggest that you use the Mexicali east gate crossing. It is best to cross in the morning on Monday-Thursday. Weekends get hectic. The same applies to coming back to the US.

 

[Luinil Explorations]

To me it looks like your trip is around 20,000 miles or more. Are you really planning on driving every day for 90 days? Seems ambitious and not my idea of an enjoyable trip. You could easily burn yourself out. I drove from Atlanta to Portland and I was pretty wiped out after just five days of driving. Long distance driving can be hazardous as you never get fully rested. You definitely need to plan rest days.

Some thoughts on your meds. Mexico strictly enforces their drug laws. FedEx may not be able to deliver your meds to you in Mexico. Not sure about drugs delivered to you in Canada. Definitely something you will want to check.

Hope you have a good trip.

 

[MMc]

Your trip looks like a good one! I go a lot to Baja.
How far south do you want to go? The highway route is 20 to 25 hours of driving time. The dirt is about the same if you are racing trophy truck, other wise it's longer.
Would go down 5, see the giant cactus garden south of San Felipe. Punta Final. South to Bahia de Los Angeles. Jump down to Bahia Los Animas. head north up 1 to San Quintin out to La Corera on the outer bay and dunes. You can stay at a oyster house or a restaurant over looking the bay. Hit the beach at Camalu and follow it to Colonet river. you can than drive from Colonet north Punta San Jose. Highway 3 north past Ensenada to Tecate. I'll let you figure the best track for you and yours. I think this would be a good 5 to 10 trip. if you want more PM me.
I would make sure to have your drugs and prescriptions before you cross.

 

[Gladiator Overland]

To me it looks like your trip is around 20,000 miles or more. Are you really planning on driving every day for 90 days? Seems ambitious and not my idea of an enjoyable trip. You could easily burn yourself out. I drove from Atlanta to Portland and I was pretty wiped out after just five days of driving. Long distance driving can be hazardous as you never get fully rested. You definitely need to plan rest days.

Some thoughts on your meds. Mexico strictly enforces their drug laws. FedEx may not be able to deliver your meds to you in Mexico. Not sure about drugs delivered to you in Canada. Definitely something you will want to check.

Hope you have a good trip.

Planned out it’s close to it. Somewhere need 18.5k Hence me trying to find some areas to cut out of the trip. And Baja is where I was looking to do so. This is always an area we can come back to.

We would have meds before getting into Mexico. Alternatively I do not see it too difficult to have a written prescription filled there if needed.

 

[Gladiator Overland]

Your trip looks like a good one! I go a lot to Baja.
How far south do you want to go? The highway route is 20 to 25 hours of driving time. The dirt is about the same if you are racing trophy truck, other wise it's longer.
Would go down 5, see the giant cactus garden south of San Felipe. Punta Final. South to Bahia de Los Angeles. Jump down to Bahia Los Animas. head north up 1 to San Quintin out to La Corera on the outer bay and dunes. You can stay at a oyster house or a restaurant over looking the bay. Hit the beach at Camalu and follow it to Colonet river. you can than drive from Colonet north Punta San Jose. Highway 3 north past Ensenada to Tecate. I'll let you figure the best track for you and yours. I think this would be a good 5 to 10 trip. if you want more PM me.
I would make sure to have your drugs and prescriptions before you cross.

Originally we wanted to go down to Cabo. But when planning everything out we started to cut things and still found that although we cut 1k miles we still want to take more off from our trip. Along with filming and the stops it takes along a drive I’ll tell ya I would like to have the must do without going all the way down. I also know realistically that Baja could be cut out totally depending on time unless we can extend out. Could be a possibility as well depending on what doc says.

 

[MMc]

What are the goals for the trip? what do you guys like to do? Baja is very pretty and has some fantastic drives. Places to see on the route I gave you, Mission San Borja in route to BdLA. taking a boat tour of BdLA is fun. El Marmol is a onyx mine about 30 mins. off the highway, north of Cativina. The desert 50 miles north and south of Cativina is very cool. La Lobera is a collapsed sea cave where you can watch seals. The beaches always good, the mountains are to 10000 feet, the star gazing is insane up there.
Pain meds can be very to get in Mexico and imposable without a Mexican doctors script.

 

[Gladiator Overland]

What are the goals for the trip? what do you guys like to do? Baja is very pretty and has some fantastic drives. Places to see on the route I gave you, Mission San Borja in route to BdLA. taking a boat tour of BdLA is fun. El Marmol is a onyx mine about 30 mins. off the highway, north of Cativina. The desert 50 miles north and south of Cativina is very cool. La Lobera is a collapsed sea cave where you can watch seals. The beaches always good, the mountains are to 10000 feet, the star gazing is insane up there.
Pain meds can be very to get in Mexico and imposable without a Mexican doctors script.

I have a few goals. No particular order. First is to feed my and my wife’s soul to recharge us. Second is to be able to improve our relationship. Since my last deployment and loosing my team sergeant who sacrificed himself for my life I’ve struggled immensely along with my own injuries and pushed everyone away. Same as healing from my struggles with my TBI, PTS, and survivors guilt. To inspire others to get out, by sharing my story my struggles etc. we hope to reach out to veterans to do the same in an effort to help curb veteran suicide. This trip is our start to get to know some places to experience first for ourselves and later be able to share with others on group trips. As far as things we like to do and what I’d like myself is the mountains and my spouses is the beach. We loved in Hawaii and she’s from Florida so it’s her element. Myself Colorado is my calling as far as the country we left colorado our last duty station to be closer to family and allow her assistance with family for me. Something that never transpired and has had us looking back like it was a mistake to leave and a longing to get back out there. . But anything from exploring the land to ruins and history, fossils, spending time at the beach, stargazing, spending quality time together, allowing our dogs to explore and enjoy their gifted lives. Maybe some fishing stuff like this.

Note: we have discussed the possibility of breaking down our trip even further into two sections since it’s quite a goal to see all this stuff and we don’t want to rush it. We have a rough plan and even though I’d like to improve it a bit instead of winging the whole south bit. We will enjoy our trip either way and if it looks like we cannot do something this time around. We are considering breaking down the trip almost in half and on the end could have six months to do it all. We will see what transpires and will play this part by ear. This way we can have the mist do within reason in Baja and also an extended plan for another time. Knowledge and experiences are quite welcome as I also assume we will make our own discoveries along the way.

 

[MMc]

I have a few goals. No particular order. First is to feed my and my wife’s soul to recharge us. Second is to be able to improve our relationship. Since my last deployment and loosing my team sergeant who sacrificed himself for my life I’ve struggled immensely along with my own injuries and pushed everyone away. Same as healing from my struggles with my TBI, PTS, and survivors guilt. To inspire others to get out, by sharing my story my struggles etc. we hope to reach out to veterans to do the same in an effort to help curb veteran suicide. This trip is our start to get to know some places to experience first for ourselves and later be able to share with others on group trips. As far as things we like to do and what I’d like myself is the mountains and my spouses is the beach. We loved in Hawaii and she’s from Florida so it’s her element. Myself Colorado is my calling as far as the country we left colorado our last duty station to be closer to family and allow her assistance with family for me. Something that never transpired and has had us looking back like it was a mistake to leave and a longing to get back out there. . But anything from exploring the land to ruins and history, fossils, spending time at the beach, stargazing, spending quality time together, allowing our dogs to explore and enjoy their gifted lives. Maybe some fishing stuff like this.

Note: we have discussed the possibility of breaking down our trip even further into two sections since it’s quite a goal to see all this stuff and we don’t want to rush it. We have a rough plan and even though I’d like to improve it a bit instead of winging the whole south bit. We will enjoy our trip either way and if it looks like we cannot do something this time around. We are considering breaking down the trip almost in half and on the end could have six months to do it all. We will see what transpires and will play this part by ear. This way we can have the mist do within reason in Baja and also an extended plan for another time. Knowledge and experiences are quite welcome as I also assume we will make our own discoveries along the way.

The quiet and solitude of Baja is one of the major attractions for me. It will always be there for you. The tourism is way up and it is getting smaller. I can give you places you will be completely alone and unplugged. I sounds like this trip is more about each other, being on the road discovering new things is a great way to rekindle love. You can wonder around Baja for years and not see it all. The trip I shared with you is about a week or two, it's help you get a flavor. There is history of the Missions, fossils be to discovered, plenty of fishing as well.

 

[Bob Berryhill]

My wife and I are headed to Baja in late May. We will don't have a strict schedule so could easily spend 2-4 weeks. We are thinking of going all the way down one side and backup the other. My wife loves the beach, I enjoy the beach but also enjoy the mountains and tropics. Photography, landscape, sunsets wildlife and people are of interest to us. @MMc if you don't mind sharing some of those "completely alone and unplugged" places we'd love to check them out. Also any advice on finding camp sites. I've been looking through iOverland and see lots of sites - the established sites seem pretty straight forward, what about the "informal" and "wild" sites listed? How much pre-planning / worrying about campsites should I do versus just finding sites as we go? We will be travelling in a JKU Rubicon with 33's, a 2 1/2" lift and an RTT. Haven't picked up traction boards yet but from some of the descriptions of campsites I've read it sounds like those would be a good idea. Don't mind using the highways but also looking for opportunities to travel on the dirt - any good suggestions for off-roading and camping?
Thanks for any advice / tips / suggestions.

 

[Luinil Explorations]

Wild camps are available. Just do not a be surprised if a local shows up to check you out. There is very little public land, like BLM here in the US. If you are going to wild camp my suggestion is to find it early in the afternoon. We have been hard pressed to find a place large enough close to sundown. We passed up several in hopes of finding a better one. The one we finely had to use was very tight.

If yo cross at Calexico/Mexicali you can take 5 down to the turn off to the Bay of LA. From BLA head south on dirt from there. Towards San Francisquito and then back towards highway 1. This route is about 160 miles of decent dirt road.

Hope you have a good trip.

 

[MMc]

If you know how to air down you will not need traction boards, a shovel and a compressor is better (IMO). The route above is good, I would add Animas. If you want mountains Laguna Hansen or Parque Nacional Sierra deSan Pedro Martir are great places to camp. Pines and condors will be you company. Highway 1 offers some of the best of Baja, Highway 5 is fast, I would go down on one side and back the other. Pick up Baja Road and Recreation Atlas for Baja Bound, get your Insurance here.

A couple of must do:
Valle de Guadalupe for wine and food. Both world class.

Oysters in San Quintin, drive out to the outer bay. Also there are great restaurants out at the Old Mill. All of them are good. Jardines is also very good. The crab plate at Cilito Lindo is a Baja classic.

Mama Esponsa's has been there before the the road was paved, famous for Lobster burritos and crap soup.

Bahia de Los Angeles, very pretty place.

Guerrero Negro, go see Zihul Martinez at Zihul's knifes, he is a guide arrange a trip to the cave paintings and mission Santa Gertrdis. A truly fantastic day.

Bahia Asuncion and San Roque. Great town stay at Shari Bonny's hotel and campground, eat a Mary's sunset grill for dinner.

San Ignacio, see the mission and get ice cream just off the square, ask anybody where.

Mulege and beach's south, very popular pick any of them. Buenaventura is alway very good, a bit farther south.

Aqua Verde is a great beach. Very remote.

San Evaristo south to LaPaz is a great drive and should be done. Leave from Ciudad Constitucion.

On 5, stop and meet Coco, he is a Baja icon, buy a beer from him, sign his book ask about his history.

Check you PM. I love my remote beaches and will not post them for everybody. I have lost to many places to crowds over the 40 years.