[mx-rider]

Your ‘best route’ will depend on several factors including how much time you have, how much of a hurry are you to get there, are you the type who focuses mainly on the destination and not much interested in any sightseeing along the way, etc.

There are some different options and with more info we can help you plan a great trip!

[jaynalani]

I have 3 weeks to play with, we don’t want to drive at night and definitely enjoy the road as well as our ‘destinations’ per say. Thank you so much in advance.

[JuanSoler]

Drive during daylight hours and avoid the temptation to go over 70 as animals on the roadway, potholes and long stretches with no shoulder can quickly turn a happy vacation into a tragedy. Leave early in the morning, plan your stops for food and fuel and stop before sundown for your overnight stays to get a good meal and needed rest for the next day. With more information about how much time you have, what type of vehicle your driving and interests we can offer more suggestions.

[jaynalani]

Thank you, we are taking a big SUV, have 3 weeks to play with, and we enjoy the drive and the stops throughout the day. With teenagers, it’s definitely important to make time for stops. Also, any good recommendations for a portable Wi-fi in Mexico? It’s not a priority but it’d be nice to entertain teenagers. Thank you in advance!

[JuanSoler]

For your first trip down, I also would suggest you take Mex1 (Transpeninsular Hwy) with the option of crossing at Tecate (if you would prefer to avoid Tijuana) and taking Mex3 south to Ensenada with the added bonus of getting to drive through the Guadalupe Valley which is beautiful with lots of wineries, restaurants and boutique hotels.

As far as wifi and teenagers, do they have smartphones now? If so, the best and cheapest fix is to pickup a Telcel Plan Amigo (prepay)sim card for each one and load it with 200 pesos (10 USD) to purchase the monthly plan that will give them unlimited access to social media and about 3GB as I recall of other data uses.

I like BajaBill’s suggested driving plan although you may prefer to stop in Mulege vs Loreto as that’s just a personal choice. Or you could stop at both!

[bajabill]

If it’s your first time driving it, plan to do it in 2 and a half days from the border to La Paz. That pace will take a lot of the stress off and allow you to drive a bit slower (which also saves you gas) and you can stop more often to stretch your legs, sightsee, etc.

For your first trip driving down I would head down the Transpeninsular and plan on overnighting in Cataviña. The Hotel Mission Santa Maria there is awesome and you will really get to experience what the Baja desert is like at night. Trust me – you’ll love it!

The next morning I would leave by 7:00 AM and then just pick a big semi heading south and stay 100 yards behind. That way you will have plenty of warning of any problems ahead and those drivers know the road like the back of their hands including when you need to brake and when you can speed up. Stop for lunch in Vizcaino and you would have no problem with that pace of reaching Loreto by 5:00PM max.

Enjoy a nice evening in Loreto – another beautiful town – and you’ll be in good shape to reach La Paz around mid day or so, based on how early you leave Loreto.

Enjoy your trip and share your trip report here with us when you get back!

[jaynalani]

This is a wonderful list. Thank you so much! I am taking all my notes, and yes I will share photos and share our experience. 🙂

[bajabill]

Juan made a good point, some people like Mulege better than Loreto and some people like them both a lot. In fact I do too but if my final destination is La Paz, Cabo or Todos Santos I don’t want to spend too many days on the trip just to get there. Take some time to research each place along the way and figure out which one you want to stop at and explore on this trip, knowing there are always a lot more places yet to see in the future. One trip to see it all would literally take a lifetime I suppose!

We have still to make it out to Bahia Asuncion, Abreojos or Bocana as well as where Ron’s at out at Chorera beach west of San Quintin. Seems like every trip down and the more places we get to see, the list of places we still to go to grows much, much longer! All part of what we love about Baja.

[Cruiser]

Welcome Beach Girl and good luck on your upcoming trip. Are you guys planing to stay at hotels or camp out?

[jaynalani]

A combination of camping and some hotels/air b&b’s.

[Cruiser]

Smart! I have done it both ways – camping every night and nothing but hotels the entire trip and the reality is that while camping under the stars in Baja is spectacular, once we reach middle age most of us need to hit a nice hotel / vacation rental every so often else it just becomes grueling. I’ve been coming down here since I was a young boy and while this place continues to amaze me, the way I experience it has evolved over the years.

We always plan our trip now with a mix of camping, hotels and vacation rentals, depending on where we are going on any particular trip.

[jaynalani]

Thank you for sharing. Yeah, we splurged a little and are doing all inclusive for 5 days so our girls can feel spoiled for a tiny bit after traveling and camping, lol

[bajabill]

@jaynalani So how was the trip? A trip report with photos to follow?

[jaynalani]

Yes, I will have a ton of photos to share in the next few days. I had just been updating them on my go pro and transferring some to my computer.

[amandae]

We look forward to seeing them and hope it was a great trip!

[jaynalani]

Thank you everyone for your advice, I had lost track of this website since I was hacked on my Facebook account and then didn’t see the talk baja group anymore when I finally logged back on but I prefer to stay on here.

We ended up going doing through Mexicali, spent 1st night in San Felipe, 2 nights in San Bruno, then Cabo, Cabo Pulmo, then lastly La Paz. It was one of the best trips of my life.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by  jaynalani. Reason: I don't see the pictures I added

[BajaGringo]

Post some photos of your trip here:

https://talkbaja.com/groups/trip-reports-from-baja-mexico/