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echino
Newbie
Posts: 5
Registered: 8-14-2019
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Driving from Canada to Los Cabos: Smart or Dumb Idea?
I am thinking of driving from Vancouver to Los Cabos and back for Christmas. Here are some facts:
- I have never driven in Mexico
- We are a family with elementary school aged kids
- I will be driving a new expensive looking SUV
- I will have an expensive photo camera
- We don't speak Spanish
- My wife is freaking out about the idea
So, in your opinion, is it a good idea or dumb idea? We did drive in the States a lot, is it the same safety wise in Baja, or is it more dangerous?
Will we be shaken down by police for bribes? We will be visibly not poor, looking like we have money. Should we worry about crime more so than in the
States?
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64479
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Why Los Cabos when there is so much more Baja before that?
It is a great idea for the family to experience but how long do you have for Christmas? From Canada, I hope 3 weeks to a month minimum.
Welcome to Baja Nomad... Plenty of options will flow!
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Mulege Canuck
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Posts: 386
Registered: 11-27-2016
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I have been driving down from the “great white north” for the last 7 yrs. Dont go to Cabo. May as well go to Vancouver.
If your into camping and water activities, Baja is the place for you. I have a shack in Mulege and do all my adventures out of that little town.
Start working on your Spanish on Duolingo. It is free and you will pick it up quick. If you decide to head down, there are a lot of boys here that
will have some great info for you. Just decide what type of trip your interested so you can get the right kind of advice. Hotels or camping, etc.
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echino
Newbie
Posts: 5
Registered: 8-14-2019
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We've a got a non-refundable reservation for the Christmas week in Cabo that we made a long time ago. Now the airline tickets are so expensive we
cannot afford them for the family. So the choice is either to drive, or don't go at all.
If we drive, we will visit a lot a places on the way. Especially interested in hot springs. But we don't have much time. From San Diego to Cabo we
have about four days, on the way back we have about two days.
My wife is really freaked out. She keeps showing me the news about Cabo being the world murder capital with the highest murder rate per capita of any
city in the world. This sounds very serious. So we are worried about violent crime, especially because we will have kids with us.
Also, we may look like rich dumb gringos and easy targets. Police corruption is also a concern.
I would go, but convincing my wife especially with kids is very difficult.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64479
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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From Cabo to San Diego in 2 days is NOT recommended. Just leave the place a day sooner. Days are short in the winter, the highway is mostly very
narrow, and driving in the dark is unwise. Take more time off work and school, and spend more days north of Cabo.
The news you are reading is very odd. If that was true for tourists, it would be all over this forum. Many members live on the peninsula.
San Quintín, Cataviña, Bahía de los Angeles (40 miles on a paved side road), Mission San Borja (22 miles on a easy dirt road), The whale watching
lagoon: Ojo de Liebre (15 miles on a side road), San Ignacio town plaza, Mulegé, Bahía Concepción, Loreto, San Javier (22 miles on a paved side
road) would all be wonderful stops for the family.
I would be happy to make up a photo trip detail if you can give Baja (north of Cabo) more time than 2-4 days!
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Bajazly
Senior Nomad
Posts: 991
Registered: 6-4-2015
Location: Goodbye Cali and Hello San Felipe
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Mood: More Relaxed Everyday
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So if you have 4 and 2 drive days to and from the border, how much time do you have to get to and from the border from the great white north? You’re
really pushing it with the 2 days north, short days means a lot of driving at night, don’t do that having never driven in Mexico before. Even if you
have driven here, still a bad idea.
You might look at driving to San Diego and flying from TJ using the CBX. That would save you the 6 if not 8 days you’ll need for the drive down and
back. Flights in Mexico are much cheaper but that isn’t a good time of year to be flying to nice weather places, cheap.
Believing is religion - Knowing is science
Harald Pietschmann
"Get off the beaten path and memories, friends and new techniques are developed"
Bajazly, August 2019
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paranewbi
Senior Nomad
Posts: 913
Registered: 4-15-2011
Location: San diego
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That much driving in a short time in Baja will get you on your way to a divorce from a reluctant wife (and being stuck in a car for that much time
will cause the kids to choose her).
There are a lot of less than day drives to comfortable abodes before and around Loreto. Maybe a couple of days on Conception bay would soothe your
wife's soul. Great accommodations are available on the way there.
You wouldn't be the first to bail out on reservations already paid for...let Cabo go. Get DK to personalize some points closer to the midsection of
Baja with accommodations that your wife and kids will choose you for.
PS. Go as fast as you can through the major cities of California...much scarier than Baja.
[Edited on 8-15-2019 by paranewbi]
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23S52N
Nomad
Posts: 135
Registered: 7-30-2015
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I drive every November from Calgary to La Paz and stay until April. Averaging about 7 hours a day, I take 8 days to arrive In La Paz. Its just under
5K kms one way. I think its unrealistic to attempt it in your time frame.
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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
Posts: 17294
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
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Mood: Hot n spicy
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Quote: Originally posted by echino  | We've a got a non-refundable reservation for the Christmas week in Cabo that we made a long time ago. Now the airline tickets are so expensive we
cannot afford them for the family. So the choice is either to drive, or don't go at all.
If we drive, we will visit a lot a places on the way. Especially interested in hot springs. But we don't have much time. From San Diego to Cabo we
have about four days, on the way back we have about two days.
My wife is really freaked out. She keeps showing me the news about Cabo being the world murder capital with the highest murder rate per capita of any
city in the world. This sounds very serious. So we are worried about violent crime, especially because we will have kids with us.
Also, we may look like rich dumb gringos and easy targets. Police corruption is also a concern.
I would go, but convincing my wife especially with kids is very difficult. |
It takes 3 or 4 days to drive San Diego - cabo, one way. 3 day drive San Diego to Vancouver.
Don’t drive at night (it’s a 2 lane road w/ no markings, no shoulders, livestock hazards).
The drive has little crime concerns, you should worry more that it is narrow 2-lane road for much of the way.
Dumb idea to spend 1.5 to 2 weeks driving for a 1 week vacation.
The money you spend on driving/hotels in transit will pay for plane tickets.
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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BajaRun
Nomad
Posts: 222
Registered: 2-25-2012
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Mood: Just Cruisin'
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| Quote: Originally posted by Bajazly | So if you have 4 and 2 drive days to and from the border, how much time do you have to get to and from the border from the great white north? You’re
really pushing it with the 2 days north, short days means a lot of driving at night, don’t do that having never driven in Mexico before. Even if you
have driven here, still a bad idea.
You might look at driving to San Diego and flying from TJ using the CBX. That would save you the 6 if not 8 days you’ll need for the drive down and
back. Flights in Mexico are much cheaper but that isn’t a good time of year to be flying to nice weather places, cheap. |
Do This ^^^^
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4x4abc
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4163
Registered: 4-24-2009
Location: La Paz, BCS
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Mood: happy - always
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OP does not sound serious
someone wants to stir up the pot
Harald Pietschmann
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CaboMagic
Super Nomad
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Registered: 4-30-2005
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Consider the cost of driving - fuel/food/accommodations. that will add up more than you think.
That is ALOT of driving for one week. As others have said .. heed the advice.
Check the costs of getting family to one of the Alaska Airline California cities that fly either nonstop, or direct with connection. Apply for the
Alaska Air travel credit card.
If you drove, you would 'fit in' fine in Baja Sur (cities south of Guerrero Negro where it changes from Baja Norte) and would definitely look like ya
belong in Cabo with your 'expensive looking....' but you might be a target for mordida along the way (looking like a flaunter of your 'wealth/toys'
in places where life is not focused on "things")
Bsjszly and BajaRun advice is important to put into your consideration equation.
I have never driven in Mexico
- We are a family with elementary school aged kids
- I will be driving a new expensive looking SUV
- I will have an expensive photo camera
- We don't speak Spanish
- My wife is freaking out about the idea
So, in your opinion, is it a good idea or dumb idea? We did drive in the States a lot, is it the same safety wise in Baja, or is it more dangerous?
Will we be shaken down by police for bribes? We will be visibly not poor, looking like we have money. Should we worry about crime more so than in the
States?
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SFandH
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6925
Registered: 8-5-2011
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: Originally posted by echino |
My wife is really freaked out. She keeps showing me the news about Cabo being the world murder capital with the highest murder rate per capita of any
city in the world. This sounds very serious. So we are worried about violent crime, especially because we will have kids with us.
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I thought quaint and charming Tijuana had the honor of the world's murder capital, or close to it. By far, most of the violence in Mex is gang
violence, bad guys killing bad guys in the slums. Tourists are seldom involved, but sometimes as collateral damage. It's not like the United States
where crazy people murder innocent people in movie theaters, schools, popular bars, and shopping malls.
I'd say you don't have enough time to make the drive. Two nights and three days minimum down from the border and the same back to the border. Plus,
the road is unlike any road in the US or Canada, it's very heads up driving. In fact, I'd say more danger is involved in driving than with the bad
guys, especially for a newbie in a hurry.
[Edited on 8-15-2019 by SFandH]
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advrider
Super Nomad
Posts: 1847
Registered: 10-2-2015
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That's a lot of driving and stress to put on the family. I think the drive and fly idea is good and gives you more time to enjoy Baja. Maybe turn it
to a camping trip and just cut your losses in Cabo! You could spend your time in Northern Baja between camping and hotels with some beach time...
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AKgringo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5807
Registered: 9-20-2014
Location: Anchorage, AK (no mas!)
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I have to ask, is your schedule centered around your children's school vacation? If so, go to their teachers and tell them that you will be home
schooling them for the week before and after the scheduled break.
A road trip with your young family will provide life long memories, and the adventure far out weighs any risks if you use your head. Do some
research, but don't over think things!
By the way, when I was in grade school, my parents pulled us out of school twice for three months at a time for road trips in Mexico.
I did the same with my kids when they were that age, and I am trying to push them in to continuing the tradition with my grandchildren. For what it
is worth, Vancouver is about a halfway point for us on the road to Cabo!
I would not attempt the drive given the time frame you described. Hope it works out for you and your family, you won't be sorry if you can buy more
time!
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
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Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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Check flights from Vancouver or Seattle to San Diego (Alaska Air or Southwest), then cross the border and take a flight from TJ to Cabo
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Paco Facullo
Super Nomad
Posts: 1301
Registered: 1-21-2017
Location: Here now
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Mood: Abiding ..........
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Besides Cabo isn't all what it's cracked up to be, unless you only like resorts.
It's certainly NOT Mexico
Since I've given up all hope, I feel much better
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MMc
Super Nomad
Posts: 1679
Registered: 6-29-2011
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Mood: Current
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echino, it's your trip, do what you want. The drive time from TJ to Cabo is 20 to 24 hours, I do the drive every year or so. I do it in 2 days.
I would look into flying TJ to Cabo via Volaris Air also. You can park on the USA side (secure), and Uber to the USA entrance of the TJ airport. it is
much cheaper than San Diego. I like the idea of pulling the kids out of school for a couple of days.
Cabo is fun and safe. Midnight bar crawls or durg tears not so much. Many here are not fans of Cabo as it gearer for tourism. If you never have been
it is a very good way to experience Baja for the first time.
Figure out a way to do this trip and have a great time.
You can U2U me if you would like to chat about it.
"Never teach a pig to sing it frustrates you and annoys the pig" - W.C.Fields
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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
Posts: 17294
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
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Mood: Hot n spicy
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My map shows Cabo in Mexico.
Perhaps you meant to say it is a resort town, and no longer a rural/dusty fishing village that you prefer.
There are many resort areas in Mexico, silly to suggest the resort areas are not Mexico. Mexico is more than rural/dusty fishing and agricultural
villages.
There are resort areas, manufacturing areas, big cities, little villages, alpine areas, jungles, deserts, etc., many types of areas.
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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AKgringo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5807
Registered: 9-20-2014
Location: Anchorage, AK (no mas!)
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I suspect you are right! I did not notice the poll at the top of the post before. Highly unusual for a newbie, first post to start that way.
Oh well, some of the replies and advice given here may be of help to someone else with similar thoughts.
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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