BajaNomad

Two months in Baja with dog and camper

LJ77 - 10-15-2007 at 09:24 AM

Hi everyone!
I am hoping that I can get some advice from you experienced Baja folks. I have been to the Baja once 3 years ago and loved it and am coming back for two months with my dog and boyfriend! We are going to try surfing for most of our trip but I know there is so many other great things to do there.

I have a few questions to ask though and if you think of anything else that I may need to know but haven't please pass it on.

First with regards to the dog. She has her rabies vaccine and I am going today to get her heartworm meds. Anything else that is recommended for dogs? What things should I bring in a first aid kit for her?

We will be camping as we have a little homemade camper on our old toyota pickup. We think that we will head south first, maybe to Todos Santos to learn to surf, are there any amazing camping spots not to miss? Are there any that we should miss?
Is camping generally safe? I speak a little Spanish but not tons but can't wait to learn more!

Should we aim to drive through Tijuana at a certain time to miss traffic? We are Canadians, so we have to get vehicle insurance when we cross the border. Is it fairly obvious where you have to go to get it?

That's all that I can think of now but I may ask more questions later.

Thanks in advance!
Laura

jorgie - 10-15-2007 at 11:40 AM

insurance off this site or go to lewis and lewis, have it before you cross. best boarder crossing is Tecate [ also the best beer ]. which route are you planning on taking ????

Hook - 10-15-2007 at 11:41 AM

First off, tell us when you plan on beginning the trip. What month?

DianaT - 10-15-2007 at 11:46 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by LJ77


First with regards to the dog. She has her rabies vaccine and I am going today to get her heartworm meds. Anything else that is recommended for dogs? What things should I bring in a first aid kit for her?


Thanks in advance!
Laura


We also have our dogs on frontline---for stickers and cactus thorns, we carry hemostats---better than tweezers.

Diane

Bajagypsy - 10-15-2007 at 12:00 PM

A fellow canadian!! Where are you from?

shari - 10-15-2007 at 02:55 PM

Hola fellow canucks...why don't you stop in and visit us on your way down, you can camp at our place and there is a nice friendly learners wave in front of jdtrotters house and your dog can hang out with theirs too! Love to meet you all!

Bob and Susan - 10-15-2007 at 03:05 PM

get your insurance online at
http://www.bajabound.com

print the policy right on your printer...and you're done

"come on down" waters warm...at least in mulege:saint::saint:

dogs are brought all the time...no problem
we also use "frontline" ...heartworm is a problem

get your visa at tj in secondary
cross anytime...
it's ALWAYS bad...
just "get out of town" as soon as possible

good luck

LJ77 - 10-15-2007 at 05:29 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Hook
First off, tell us when you plan on beginning the trip. What month?

We will be leaving here, Vanouver Canada, around the beginning of Nov. probably taking about 2 weeks to get to BCS

LJ77 - 10-15-2007 at 05:35 PM

Thanks for all the good advice!

I got some other heartworm medicine but it comes recommended so it should be good.

As far as insurance, I have looked at some and have anyone used Grupo National Provincial before? It is on the DriveMex webiste and came up when I looked for quotes. We have a really old truck 20 years or so, so a lot of companies won't cover ones that old or won't do tows. This company seemed to though. Thanks for the advice of getting insurance before crossing, I don't like the idea of stopping in Tijuana.

How about tourist cards, can you order those before too? I don't think so but are they easy to get when you cross?

Shari, maybe we will come to your place, it looks great! I will let you know if we will come that way, thanks!

Thanks again,
Laura

805gregg - 10-15-2007 at 06:22 PM

Todos Santos is not a good place to learn to surf. Stop in San Diego and take a few lessons maybe at La Jolla Shores. Cross at Tecate and avoid TJ all together.

Bob and Susan - 10-15-2007 at 06:53 PM

evem if you buy tourist cards before you go you STILL have to stop at the border to get them stamped

you might aas well do everything right there and save service fees

it's fast and easy

DianaT - 10-16-2007 at 08:43 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by shari
Hola fellow canucks...why don't you stop in and visit us on your way down, you can camp at our place and there is a nice friendly learners wave in front of jdtrotters house and your dog can hang out with theirs too! Love to meet you all!


Follow this link to see a picture of the little surf beach in our front yard. Surf Beach

Now, our big dog Tommy would love to play with your dog---he loves all other dogs. Then there is little Ms. Crabby, our little dog, Maggie Mae----but she really is quite harmless, just makes lots of noise and if another dog runs, she loves to chase them off---the bigger the better.
:tumble::tumble:

Diane

[Edited on 10-16-2007 by jdtrotter]

bajajudy - 10-16-2007 at 01:59 PM

Just talked to some friends who got back yesterday from El Coyote and they said that dogs were a problem and that they had had to keep theirs on tethers most of the time. So be sure to have that sort of equipment. Also mentioned that it was crowded.

Edit to say
Todos Santos is definitely not the place to learn to surf. The Doyle surf school at the Surf Hotel in San Jose del Cabo is an excellent one.

[Edited on 10-16-2007 by bajajudy]

LJ77 - 10-18-2007 at 07:48 PM

Hi all,
I have a new question. I was just reading in the lonely planet that you need to have a few more things other than just a rabies vaccine certificate for the dog. It says that you need to have the dog vaccinated for hepatitis, pip, and leptospirosis as well as having a pet health certificate dated less than 72 hours prior to entering Mexico. Ahhh! Has anyone had to show records of these in the last little while? If this is the case, does anyone know of a 'cheap' vet in San Diego? We are going to be leaving here in less than two weeks!!
Thanks again for all the replies for my other questions!
Buenos noches
Laura

DianaT - 10-18-2007 at 08:37 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by LJ77
Hi all,
I have a new question. I was just reading in the lonely planet that you need to have a few more things other than just a rabies vaccine certificate for the dog. It says that you need to have the dog vaccinated for hepatitis, pip, and leptospirosis as well as having a pet health certificate dated less than 72 hours prior to entering Mexico. Ahhh! Has anyone had to show records of these in the last little while? If this is the case, does anyone know of a 'cheap' vet in San Diego? We are going to be leaving here in less than two weeks!!
Thanks again for all the replies for my other questions!
Buenos noches
Laura


Bad news; A cheap vet in San Diego? No, they are expensive here.

Good News: The only time we have had Mexican officials ask for any dog papers was when we crossed the southern border from Guatemala.

Going into Baja we have been red-lighted several times---never any questions about the dogs.

There are no guarentees; that is my disclaimer. Have a great trip.

Diane

[Edited on 10-19-2007 by jdtrotter]

Hook - 10-19-2007 at 10:53 AM

The questions about the dogs vaccine/papers are usually asked by the US agents as you come back into the US, not the Mexican officials.

And it is rare. But I did get checked once at Nogales. It was a simple health certificate from my vet (much older than 72 hours) that showed the basic shots he'd had and they accepted it without question. I think the only shots he'd had were rabies and lyme's disease and maybe heartworm treatment.

Our vet didnt even charge us a visit to get it. He just looked up the shot info in his database and charged us for the form itself. Check with your vet.

[Edited on 10-19-2007 by Hook]