Happy Monday!
Looking for help in understanding the best way to do a one way car rental from TJ to Cabo.
It seems that on top of a high rate rental, aprox. $25 added each day for Mexican insurance, I noticed a $.30 per Km for one way drop off. That adds
an additional $ aprox. $550.
Is it me? I see my planned trip slowly going down the tubes.
Can anyone offer some creative ideas?
many thanks for any help. Thanks for taking the time.
enjoy todayDENNIS - 6-25-2007 at 07:39 AM
Is that pesos or dollars?Boshvideo - 6-25-2007 at 07:40 AM
dollars I'm afraid.DENNIS - 6-25-2007 at 07:43 AM
It's getting to the point that you could just buy a beater in San Diego then walk away from it.
Have you considered the ABC busses? They're comfy, fast and inexpensive.woody with a view - 6-25-2007 at 08:04 AM
so what's the running total-itemized, so far? maybe we can help if you lay it out here?rob - 6-25-2007 at 08:30 AM
What do you want to achieve in this trip?
A friend town-hopped by bus one July (not for the faint of heart she said) from Tijuana to La Paz - for $500+ you could fly first class to (say)
Loreto return and THEN rent a car to Cabo.
If you are going to buy a beater, get it in Tijuana - you may even negotiate a deal to return the vehicle. Registration in Mexico does not require
insurance, unlike California.Minnow - 6-25-2007 at 09:10 AM
Fly from TJ to La Paz rent a car there and enjoy your time. MX 1 is really not a road you want to fool around with anyway.comitan - 6-25-2007 at 09:40 AM
Minnow has the best idea, fly to La Paz rent a car you can cover the area from Mulege to Cabo the most scenic areas. Then Fly back.Minnow - 6-25-2007 at 09:47 AM
You can get cheap round trips right now too. I think right around 200 bucks.Boshvideo - 6-25-2007 at 10:01 AM
My original plan was to get a one way car rental from TJ to Cabo and fly out from Cabo back home. The breakdown is:
Car: $31US per day.
Insurance: $22US per day (full)
drop fee: $.30US per Km
I have 11 days and was in hope of covering the length of the Baja.
help!vandenberg - 6-25-2007 at 10:29 AM
How about buying a car, just good enough to make that trip. in ,either TJ or Mexicali ( according to Bruce, cheapest place )
and drive it down. Insurance reasonable. Than, as soon as you get there, put it up for sale ( gringos only ).Should be pretty much able to recoup most
of your money. Always gringos looking for transportation down that way.
Just a thoughtcomitan - 6-25-2007 at 10:43 AM
Yes buy a car in Mexicali, drive it down and spend all of your time in the Mechanics shop. Or take the bus to La Paz you'll see the upper portion,
then rent a car in La Paz to see the south half. Fly back.Minnow - 6-25-2007 at 11:06 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by comitan
Yes buy a car in Mexicali, drive it down and spend all of your time in the Mechanics shop. Or take the bus to La Paz you'll see the upper portion,
then rent a car in La Paz to see the south half. Fly back.
From what I have seen, and it is not pretty, that may be a best case scenario.Boshvideo - 6-25-2007 at 11:17 AM
How's this? Since my original point of origin is LA. I'm thinking of flying down to Cabo, get a car there and do a big loop and return to Cabo and fly
out.
My new question is: Would a similar scenario work for La Paz?woody with a view - 6-25-2007 at 11:52 AM
yes. but i wouldn't worry about heading north any farther than el rosario. leave san ignacio for a days drive +/- 7 hours and stay in el rosario for
the night. north of here you enter the CROWDED NORTH, i.e....civilization. others will give their views!!!!
edit: this is a better plan than your previous!!!! you see the beauty and soul of baja (cabo not included in this statement) and leave out 200 miles
each way of crowded roads and cities.
[Edited on 6-25-2007 by woody in ob]danaeb - 6-25-2007 at 12:21 PM
If you decide to do the 'fly-TJ-LaPaz' route, check out Thrifty car rental www. thrifty.com. They have good deals in La Paz. I just used their
19.99/day midsize rental special.Boshvideo - 6-25-2007 at 02:05 PM
OK, La Paz it is. I'll fly from LA to La Paz and get a Thrifty. I'd like to do a big loop and end up back in La Paz. Ten days... any ideas on a good
itinerary?Paula - 6-25-2007 at 04:42 PM
Make a north loop and a south loop from La Paz. Spend 4-6 days going north with San Ignacio as your farthest point. Drive to Mulege the first day,
and maybe stay at Serenidad, south of town. It's a laid back old place, and Margaritas in the pool bar will be nice after the drive. Or someone may
advise you on a hotel in town. Stop in Santa Rosalia for a while on your drive to San Ignacio. At San Ignacio stay at Ignacio Springs, or at Casa
Leree for a night or 2. On the drive south, spend a night or 2 in Loreto. Go back to La Paz, and have dinner at Tres Virgenes.
Nex day, start your trip south. Make a loop through Todos Santos, San Lucas and San Jose. Between San Jose del Cabo and La Paz, there are some
interesting stops you can make. Santiago, Milflores, the Santuario del Cactus (less than 5 miles on a good dirt road), and El triunfo with the music
museum are all worth visiting, and none take too much time.
Save the northerrn half of Baja for another trip. Better to get a good look at the south only than a glance at the whole peninsula.comitan - 6-25-2007 at 05:47 PM
Paula
That is a very well thought out and excellent plan.Boshvideo - 6-25-2007 at 06:30 PM
Many thanks Paula. That's just plain excellent. I love this forum and the helpful folks on it.oslotboom - 6-25-2007 at 07:42 PM
Thanks Boshvideo for parsing out this problem to reach the best solution. I'm been struggling with your same problem, on how to pull off a trip.
Issues like border crossings, dirty cops and criminal element in the Tijuana area, and car rental issues all gave me grief.
Now I realize that flying into La Paz and renting for a week is the best. I can even rent a Jeep from Thrifty, although somewhat expensive, to do some
lightweight offroading.
Be sure to post a trip report with emphasis on the perspective of a Baja rookie.Boshvideo - 6-27-2007 at 04:42 PM
That will be my plan as well. If it had not been for this excellent forum I would have never thought to do my trip this way.
I do have an additional question: My plan is to do two "loops". One north to San Ignacio and the other south to Cabo.(From La Paz) I see that I can
actually "loop" on the southern loop but don't see how for the northern loop. Must I backtrack once I'm in San Ignacio? I don't have much time. 10
days
many thanks
Bob
(Boshvideo)woody with a view - 6-27-2007 at 04:57 PM
yes. there is only one paved road from san ignacio southbound. there are MANY "other" roads, but you should stick to the pavement on your first trip.Boshvideo - 6-27-2007 at 06:23 PM
Got it Woody. Thanks again.shari - 6-27-2007 at 07:38 PM
Amigos of mine have done the "buy the beater" thing and had a gas! they bought an old small station wagon and ended up selling it for more than they
bought it for! Just buy it and drive it across the border or get one in TJ...doesn't need insurance if you are risk takers...fun way to go and cheap.joel - 6-27-2007 at 07:56 PM
You could also email one of the Baja car rental companies and see if they have any cars in Cabo they need to return.... They'd likely cut you a deal
on the rental if you'd fly down and bring it back up for them.
Bob - I know you have an ambitious schedule, but if you can, spend at least a couple of days in La Paz, since that's going to be your jumping off
point. There are beautiful uncrowded beaches, great restaurants, kayaking right there. And if you're there on a Sunday evening, stroll the malecon
and take in the evening's entertainment.Paula - 6-27-2007 at 08:15 PM
Good advice above, don't overlook La Paz. The malecon and the plaza both deserve some time, and maybe a breakfast at the open air restaurant in La
Perla hotel. The food and service aren't that great, but it is a wonderful place to "be"!Boshvideo - 6-28-2007 at 07:13 PM
Thanks Danaeb and Paula for allowing me to take another look.CaboRon - 6-29-2007 at 04:36 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by woody in ob
yes. there is only one paved road from san ignacio southbound. there are MANY "other" roads, but you should stick to the pavement on your first trip.
Also your rental insurance generally does not cover off road driving. CaboRon
