BajaNomad

Traffic on Hwy 3?

mcbockalds - 3-19-2008 at 07:43 AM

We are planning our first Baja trip. Hope to make it to Bahia Concepcion for a week or two next January (nothing like planning ahead). ;D

Since we will be retired and very flexible as to the day of the week we could cross into Baja, at Tecate and take Hwy 3 south, is there a day of the week when traffic heading south might be the lightest? Also, is the early morning the best time of the day to cross?

We will be pulling a small 17ft travel trailer that is only 6.5 ft wide (about the same width as our truck), but when I reached my early 60's I started to realize that I am not the excellent driver I once was. The up side to that is that I don't complain so much about the other poor drivers all around me. :)
My hunch is that Sunday morning might be the best time to cross the border. Is the truck traffic less on Sundays?

Cheers...John and Karen

David K - 3-19-2008 at 07:48 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by mcbockalds
We are planning our first Baja trip. Hope to make it to Bahia Concepcion for a week or two next January (nothing like planning ahead). ;D

Since we will be retired and very flexible as to the day of the week we could cross into Baja, at Tecate and take Hwy 3 south, is there a day of the week when traffic heading south might be the lightest? Also, is the early morning the best time of the day to cross?

We will be pulling a small 17ft travel trailer that is only 6.5 ft wide (about the same width as our truck), but when I reached my early 60's I started to realize that I am not the excellent driver I once was. The up side to that is that I don't complain so much about the other poor drivers all around me. :)
My hunch is that Sunday morning might be the best time to cross the border. Is the truck traffic less on Sundays?

Cheers...John and Karen


Hi John, here's that photo you asked me to post... which I did, but then it was removed (?) you said... Anyway, this is Hwy. 1 south of San Quintin (Km. 0 is where it narrows at the start of the newest section to get built, in 1973). This photo is from jrbaja...

DSCF0034 copy.jpg - 26kB

capn.sharky - 3-19-2008 at 07:52 AM

" but when I reached my early 60's I started to realize that I am not the excellent driver I once was." Boy, ain't that the truth. I find I must be extra careful these days or I will run a stop or miss a car coming from the side. The so-called golden years just ain't so golden.

Diver - 3-19-2008 at 07:58 AM

The wait times at Tecate' are usually pretty small heading south.
I might avoid weekend mornings and try not to follow a caravan into immigration.

One suggestion is to camp at Potrero County Park about 8 miles from the border, the afternoon before you cross. As parking with a trailer at the border can often be a challenge, you could unhook and drive to the border for your FMTs. Walk across to get them and then plan to cross the next morning with no delays.
Crossing early will allow you to get to San Quinton, El Rosario or even Catavinia if you desire.
The road from Tecate to Ensenada is very scenic but also curvy and patched potholes in a few spots. I drive it with my F350 and 24'x8' camp trailer with no problems; you will be fine.

.

mcbockalds - 3-20-2008 at 06:44 AM

Thanks again David for the picture. Now when I get back to town I can show it to my wife. Your post in the "Off Topic" section no longer has the picture in the post...at least not when I view it. Your sentence "The roads were wider than this." is still in the post, but not the picture.

Diver, thanks for the suggestion about staying at the Potrero county park.I had spotted that park and in fact was thinking about staying there the day before crossing. Your idea of getting our FMTs the day before sounds great. I didn't know you coould do that and it makes since that it willsave us time when we cross with the TT the next morn.

My question about traffic actually had more to do with driving on Hwy 3 and 1, rather than the traffic at the crossing. After seeing David's photo I was not looking forward to meeting that many big trucks on my first day in Baja with its narrow roads.

So my question still is "When might be the best day of the week for light traffic, especially big trucks heading north, while I'm driving south from Tecate with sweaty palms? :O:!: Or should I not be that worried until I hit Km 0 south of San Quintin, like in David's picture?

Cheers, John

Diver - 3-20-2008 at 07:37 AM

There is probably the least truck traffic on Sunday, actually. It's not like you will pass tons of trucks; maybe 10 a day, depending on your location. Last time heading south from Tecate I don't think we passed more than 3 trucks coming north and none passed us heading south. We typically cross around 9 or 10 am on a weekday.

But with a trailer that is only as wide as your truck, you should have no worries. Set your drivers side mirror so you can see the center stripe at the trailer's tires. Keep the trailer 6" to a foot inside this line - you will get used to it quickly.
Also, keeping your foot on the gas a bit while you are passing/being passed will help keep the trailer tracking straight behind you. And slow down for curves before you get to them and then use the gas peddle to pull the trailer around the curves for the same reason.
.

wilderone - 3-20-2008 at 09:34 AM

There are always big trucks. Lots of them. Lots of motorhomes. Lots of people towing boats. A few buses. Crossing in Tecate into Mexico - you just drive through - not a problem. People going to school and to work around Jamul will slow you down - weekends not so. Not really too much difference on the road in Mexico weekend/weekday, except holiday weekends. There seem to be fewer after El Rosario, but still mountainous, slow uphill sections, sharp turns, blind turns. Lots of small towns where you need to slow down, stop lights all through town - figure about 40 mph average until you get to Catavina, then the road straightens out a bit, and the towns fewer in between, and you can get up to 50 mph average. It is COLD in January. The gulf is cold in January. October or April would be better.

mulegemichael - 3-20-2008 at 03:17 PM

After many, many trips southbound, we think Sunday mornings are best, also. The bank isn't open then so you won't be able to pay for your tourist permit but can do it further south, manana. It's a bit tricky negotiating through Tecate, but on Sunday morning is better, much better, than Monday morning. BE SURE to stop at all stop signs and lights; a few issues having occurred lately with local law enforcement and gringos. Last time through north bound found the army had reestablished the checkpoint north of Ensenada. One other thing; when you cross the border, go one block down, turn right, then another block to find a place to park by the school. There should be ample parking on Sunday for a vehicle towing something. Have fun!

mcbockalds - 3-20-2008 at 08:09 PM

So it is cold in the gulf in Jan. is it? Well, Duluth, MN isn't the coldest place in the lower 48 in Jan. but you can skate to it from here. Duluth is known as the city with 9 months of winter and 3 months of bad sledding.

We can't leave Duluth in Oct. or April because those are two of my favorite months. Oct. for the peak color of the fall foliage and April is when we begin to dig out from underneath the snow to see how many of the neighbors survived another winter. My other favorite time of the year is summer, and if it comes on a weekend we usually have a picnic.

Actually, we WANT to leave Duluth in Jan and Feb, because we are getting too old to enjoy sledding and other winter sports, except maybe some of the indoor ones, but at our ages even those sports might be a bit easier without 15 blankets to get tangled up in.

Thanks for the additional help about traffic and parking suggestions. I think we will try to get the paper work done on Sat afternoon, as Diver suggested, and then drive across on Sun. morning.

We are going to make our pace a leisurely one and will have a large number of possible camping/dining places picked out along the route south toward Concepcion. If something strikes our fancy, we will stop and smell the cacti, sample the local brew, sip the vino, see the sights, spot the whales, and stretch our legs when the seats of our pants get too sore. ;D

Cheers...John

thebajarunner - 3-20-2008 at 08:33 PM

If you park on Sat. and walk across to do the papers, then walk on down to the town square (a whole three blocks or so) and enjoy the sidewalk cafe scene.
Good food, cold cervezas, probably Saturday action in the park,
it don't get no betta....

And no long wait at the border, just an easy walk across.

mcbockalds - 3-21-2008 at 08:36 AM

The cafe scene is a great idea, thanks thebajarunner.

That is exactly the type of "leisurely pace" activity that we look forward to. People watching and practicing our pathetic Espanol are good activities. Much better than watching sled dog races (you watch them start the race and 5 days later you watch them return, gets cold during the wait) and practicing our "Fargo" accents..."Oh for fun!"

[Edited on 3-21-2008 by mcbockalds]