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ehines
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Route Suggestions: Hwy 1 vs Hwy 5 from PHX
Planning to drive to Loreto from Phoenix AZ. Trying to decide the best route. Most suggestions I have seen are to cross at San Luis and take Hwy 5
south till it meets up Hwy 1. I understand there is a good stretch of this highway that is under construction and is a dirt road currently. The other
route I have seen is to head to Tecate and go south on Hwy 3 to meet Hwy 1 and avoid the long dirt section of Hwy 5. The Tecate route shows to be
about 2 hours longer and over 150 miles longer. We will be driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee 4x4. Ultimate question is it worth it to go the longer way
through Tecate, Ensenda or is it just easier to sick to Hwy 5. Has anyone done either route straight through and have a realistic drive time? Thanks
for your input.
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JZ
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Hwy 5 all the way, every day. Hwy 1 along the Pacific is littered with stop and go traffic. Plus you avoid the hairiest part of Hwy 1, which is just
past El Rosario.
I live in LA and take the 5, 8 out of 10 times.
Grand Cherokee will take that dirt easy. Just deflate the tires a bit (30-40% or so) to make the ride smoother. Take a small $50 compressor to air
back up once you hit Hwy 1. Get one that connects directly to the battery.
Crossing at San Luis and taking the 2 over is a good route. It's an easy drive. You can avoid most of Mexicali by doing that, as opposed to taking
the 8 over and then going down.
Trying to reach Loreto in one day is not advisable. I drive Hwy 15 coming down from Phoenix in Sonora at night as it's 4 lanes and fenced. Hwy 1 is
a whole other ball game. No shoulder and no fences. We drive a bit at night, but that's just way too far. Plus you miss all the beautiful scenery.
Stop at Gonzaga Bay. Hit it early the next day.
[Edited on 7-30-2018 by JZ]
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willardguy
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I'd opt for tecate or even Otay or SY...get over to the pac side as soon as possible!  ....jmo
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TMW
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Coming from Phoenix you'll save 3-4 hours at least maybe more taking hwy 5. Unless you have a reason to take hwy 1 from Ensenada to Laguna Chapala.
There are nice places along that section to eat and stay overnight plus excellent sightseeing places. But if you want to get south take 5.
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JZ
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If I was a newbie and you gave me this bad advice and I found out the truth later, well.......
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bajabuddha
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Depending on your time frame, you should do BOTH. Either go down 1 and up 5, or vice-versa. Reserve your opinions on both for future trips. All of
Baja should be travelled and experienced. If time is of essence, do 5 absolutely. Coming from Phoenix and doing 1 means at least one full day of
more travel.
You have to GO to KNOW.
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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mtgoat666
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3-4 hours?
More like 2 hours.
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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TMW
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He is driving from Phoenix not San Diego.
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thebajarunner
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It always amazes me that people who drive off road type vehicles (Jeep 4 x 4?)) don't want to drive on dirt.
The advice to make the circle is a good suggestion
I always try to see the most country, so that is good
However, anyone trying to talk you out of the 5 (dirt) route should not be on a Baja board.... just my view.
And, that unpaved stretch is hardly "Baja rough" so I never air down.
And, if you do, there is a llantera (tire shop) as soon as you re- connect to hiway 1, so don't even think about trying to air yourself back up. A
couple bucks makes them happy and you aired up.
And yes, the 5 route will save you at least 3 hours, not only a lot shorter but except for the 45 minutes on dirt a lot less congested.
Go for it.
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David K
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Seriously, you have a Jeep 4x4 and you are wondering about 20 unpaved highway miles that all sorts of regular cars and semis use???
Yes, it's only about 20 now, was 23 for the past 5 years.
Some photos of the unpaved Hwy. 5 from last year, north to south but images are looking north:
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rts551
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I have driven Tucson to BCS many, many times. It is almost exactly 200 miles shorter going through San Luis to 5 than it is going Tecate to 1. 3-4
hours difference depending on your average speed.
There are 2 dirt sections now. About 10 miles or so North of Puertecitos there is a detour as they rebuild the road. This section is washboard and
dusty. Then From west of Gonzaga it is 20 miles of washboard/rocky dirt road where they are building the new 5 to Laguna Chapala. You should have
no problems in your Jeep. Just make sure you have good tires.
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ehines
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Thanks all for the input. Looks like Hwy 5 it is.
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JZ
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Tell us more about the trip. We'll give you more "advice." Lol.
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ehines
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I guess any "advice" will be helpful as I have never made the drive before. We are ultimately headed to Los Barriles to fish for a week. I have always
wanted to drive Baja and finally found three friends I could convince to do the trip with me. Planning to hit the San Luis border at first light.
Probably around 6 a.m. We are hoping to make it to somewhere between Santa Rosalia and Loreto the first day. I know this seems like a daunting task
but we like to drive and we have 4 drivers that we can switch off between. We plan to stop either when it gets dark or when we were just too exhausted
to go further. Our second day will head to our destination. Trying to knock out as much driving the first day as possible.
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JZ
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Quote: Originally posted by willardguy  |
 hey buckeye, someone must have told you calabasas was the "in" spot for
hipsters.... a long time homeowner in gonzaga bay you're gonna
school me on hwy5? |
Do you have 2 handles on here my friend? PM me if you want, I won't tell your secret.
Can I stay at your place in Gonzaga sometime?
Btw, how do you know I'm a Buckeye? Tell the hull truth, Del.
[Edited on 7-31-2018 by JZ]
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willardguy
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| Quote: Originally posted by JZ | | Quote: Originally posted by willardguy |
hey buckeye, someone must have told you calabasas was the "in" spot for
hipsters.... a long time homeowner in gonzaga bay you're gonna
school me on hwy5? |
Do you have 2 handles on here my friend? PM me if you want, I won't tell your secret.
Can I stay at your place in Gonzaga sometime?
Btw, how do you know I'm a Buckeye? THT, Del?
[Edited on 7-31-2018 by JZ] |
you're not the only Rivals fan here.....
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JZ
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| Quote: Originally posted by ehines | | I guess any "advice" will be helpful as I have never made the drive before. We are ultimately headed to Los Barriles to fish for a week. I have always
wanted to drive Baja and finally found three friends I could convince to do the trip with me. Planning to hit the San Luis border at first light.
Probably around 6 a.m. We are hoping to make it to somewhere between Santa Rosalia and Loreto the first day. I know this seems like a daunting task
but we like to drive and we have 4 drivers that we can switch off between. We plan to stop either when it gets dark or when we were just too exhausted
to go further. Our second day will head to our destination. Trying to knock out as much driving the first day as possible. |
Ok. Here's my 50 pesos of advice.
1. You are defeating the purpose of the trip by ripping through it so fast like that. You'll miss everything interesting
2. Hwy 1 is a very dangerous road. No shoulder. Push it and you are asking for trouble.
3. If you want to go to Los Barriles, fly into Cabo. Rent a jeep and drive over. Tons of very cheap flights into Cabo and some very cheap rentals.
Fly from TJ if you have to.
4. Loreto is way better than Los Barriles. Much better water. I'd pick La Paz over Los Barriles as well.
[Edited on 7-31-2018 by JZ]
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JZ
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Hahaha... wow.
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Marc
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| Quote: Originally posted by JZ |
If I was a newbie and you gave me this bad advice and I found out the truth later, well....... |
You and I both!
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David K
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LOL
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