Is this a realistic travel plan(s) to Mulege?

For the past couple of years my wife and I have been thinking about taking our kids to Baja, specifically Mulege. I have been once, approx 20 years ago, and my wife has never been. We will be driving a Honda Pilot with a small utility trailer. We will take camping supply's along with a couple kayaks and my motorcycle. We would not be camping at Mulege.

The basic plans with some questions are as follows

Plan A
Cross the border at Otay Mesa (1st choice) or Tijuana (2nd choice) as the sun rises. Drive all day until we stop at Bay of LA (approx 10 hrs??) Layover a day at Bay of LA and then hit San Ignacio on our way to Mulege (approx 5hrs???) on Mex 1.

Plan B
Cross the border at Otay Mesa (1st choice) or Tijuana (2nd choice) as the sun rises. Drive until we reach San Quintin. Stay the night and drive to Mulege the next day on Mex 1.

Plan C
Cross the border at Mexicali and drive to Gonzaga Bay. From Gonzaga to Mulege the next day on Mex 1.

I realize we are trying to pack alot of driving time into our little adventure. I also understand that the road from Gonzaga Bay to Mex 1 is dirt and that the conditions of the road continually changes (I actually prefer Plan C because of this. My wife prefers Plan A because of this). We have a limited time frame for this adventure because of school schedules and that is why this is not a "smell the roses" kind of trip.

My first question is: What time does the immigration offices at the border open to buy the tourist cards? I've read somewhere 9am.

Second question: Are these time frames / distances reasonable? We have taken 10 - 12 hour car trips before with little drama, but not 3 days in a row.

Third question: We were planning this trip for the first week in April 2013, yes Easter and the week following, is this crazy to do, or is the first week of June better? I know it will be hotter in June, but is it unbearable? (I hate crowds but we will have our own space around Mulege).

If you have made it this far any recommendations / admonitions would be appreciated. Thanks.

Utahman + family


PS If we chose Plan C we would air down the tires . I have quite a bit of desert driving experience but none when help was possibly 50-100 miles away.

The April trip might be a bear coming northbound crossing the border. We have waited up to four hours crossing at San Ysidro in past Easter breaks. Now we generally cross Tecate around 7:00 AM, clear immigratin and arrive in Guerrero Negro between 6:00 and 6:30 PM without really pushing it. The June heat is tolerable since the humidity is still reasonable as opposed to later in the summer months. The trek across from the Pacific at GN to the SOC will be warm, but unless you stop at SI, it's only a few hours across and can be accomplished at day break before it heats up. Biggest challenge for us is finding clean restrooms for my wife and two daughters. Bring your own TP and seat covers!!
Good luck and enjoy!

If we go to Bay of LA then yes we will stay at least one full day there. San Ignacio would be a stretch your legs stop with some ice cream thrown in for good measure.

Thanks BajaParrotHead for the time estimation going back. We would be heading down on Easter Weekend and heading back 10-12 days later so I don't know if that would still be in the "busy spring break time" or not. I guess that's why I'm asking.

BajaBlanca thanks for the reply. I guess from DavidK's response the question I should have asked is when the "money box" opens.

NO,,NO,,NO !!!

SEE POst above

My son and I a few years ago during Spring Break on one of those crowded beaches

Thanks for all the recommendations and responses. DavidE you paint quite the ummmm, interesting picture. FYI the trailer is a good trailer. We will have spare bearings and tire(s). The critical fasteners are marked and safety wired (I believe in prevention of the problem) since my motorcycle is my “other woman”.

MMc when you mention that the trailer and kayaks make us a “target” do you mean a target of the Police or of the more unsavory character types we might run into.

Bajaboy and shari the Pacific Coast looks wonderful, but we have experienced the cold Pacific before and are looking for warmer waters. Basically my kids have never been snorkeling where the fish have color and the water is warmish. That is why we are aiming for the SoC.

Just to be clear, is the week leading up to Easter the wild and wooly week, the week after Easter Sunday or both?

Again, thanks for all of the replies. Each post has given us more to think about.

Utahman + family

UTAHMAN

Say What ?? LOL

Palm Friday to Easter Sunday is considered Easter Week by most of the Christian world.

[Edited on 1-30-2013 by MMc]

Spain,10 days long !!!

THis is Nuts !!

Was there a specific reason to get to Mulege, other than it is the "Hawaii of Baja" as one web site calls it and yopu were there before? What is the max. days you can be in Mexico?
Is camping some of the nights and motels the others what you wish to do?
San Ignacio is very close to the atmosphere of Mulege, without the ocean... a tropical river/ lagoon surrounded by desert... and old Spanish mission... etc.
Check out http://ignaciosprings.com and stay in a luxury yurt... some with wildlife experience! Camping nearby on the river, Desert Inn (? or new name) hotel, motels, Casa Leree Inn for traditional place next to the mission plaza. Ricardo's Rice and Beans motel closer to the highway.

In the summer, it is one long day's drive to the border, but two would be better (El Rosario's Baja Cactus motel with the big family room and upstairs loft is the place)... that is 5-6 hours from the border making your trip most restful and less stressful!

DK for PreZ

Words are just colors we paint with... and sadly some are just plain color blind! LOL