BajaNomad

Advice on trip from Mulege north to Southern California

CliffW - 12-3-2019 at 12:21 PM

Hey all, thanks in advance for any advice. My 21y.o. son is finishing an expedition with the National Outdoor Leadership School in Mulege in the next few days. I am planning to pick him up there in a rental car, drive to Tijuana, return the car there, and then we need to get north to San Francisco, CA in another rental car. And unfortunately, I am quite aware that I maybe bit off more than I can chew time-wise -- we will set out early on the morning of December 7 and have to make San Francisco by mid-day on the 12th.

He and I may be slightly at cross purposes, in that he may be ready to get back to something slightly more urban, or at least a nice bed, after many weeks in the field there, whereas I have never been to Baja and will have only just arrived (in Loreto) a couple of nights before.

SO, with that long preamble out of the way, I am trying to find ways to maximize our mutual enjoyment. We both enjoy road trips but I hate the thought of driving right past so many beautiful places. I was thinking of trying to make 4-7 hours per day in distance over the entire 5.5 days of our road trip, though we could perhaps spend two nights somewhere as well and make it up elsewhere.

One thought was to try to get to Bahia de Los Angeles the first day (looks like roughly a 7-hour drive, but we still could get there by mid-afternoon, I think), then go north and maybe stop in Ensenada, which a friend recommended to me.

I know I'm rambling, but one other question: If we stay on main roads, and don't drive at night, will I be able to return the car I rented in one undamaged piece? (Funny/stupid story -- I followed some bad advice in Vieques, Puerto Rico one time and drove a rental down a road to the bioluminescent Mosquito Bay -- at night, no less! -- huge mistake!)

Sorry for being so unfocused here -- any tips and advice much appreciated!

David K - 12-3-2019 at 02:52 PM

There is just too much to see and you just need to do that in another trip. If you only have 2-3 days to get from Mulegé to San Diego, then that will entirely be for driving safely and short stops for sightseeing and meals.

Since paved roads do not go to all points of interest, you may need to pass on most until your next trip in your own SUV or truck.

San Ignacio is a must see, so turn off the highway and drive the paved road 2 miles to the town plaza (mission church built in the 1700s).

The pronghorn reserve is not far off the highway, north of Guerrero Negro.

L.A. Bay is a worthy side trip but with short days, what can you see? Mission San Borja is 22 miles on dirt, so too far and too rough for a rental car.

2 miles north of Cataviña, park and hike up to the painted cave near the highway.

From El Rosario to Ensenada, Hwy. 1 is following El Camino Real and the mission sites of El Rosario, San Vicente, and Santo Tomás are passed very close to, less than a mile from the highway. Mission Santo Domingo is about 5 miles off the highway. North of Ensenada, San Miguel and Descanso are two missions along the free highway.

Sorry that I can't think of much more to see other than just the desert gardens you drive through, but they are great between Nuevo Rosarito and El Rosario.

greasecoyote - 12-3-2019 at 08:23 PM

I live in San Diego and have driven from here to BCS and to the bay area many times. I can get to Mulege in one day of driving with minimal stops and crossing the border in the early hours of the morning but its a long drive and not for those wary of driving. Here is what I would do given your itinerary...

Spend the first day/night in Mulege. Maybe your son can show you around. It's actually a cool little town and more reminiscent of what "small town in Mexico" feels like than most other places on the Baja peninsula are. Leave early the next morning, stopping briefly in Santa Rosalia to check out the turn of the 20th century French architecture in the central part of the town and metal church designed by Eiffel (of tower fame) and in San Ignacio to look at the well preserved mission church that dates from the colonial era. Spend the night in Cataviña which is a tiny town in a desert boulder field and look at the rock paintings the following morning. Or detour to Bahia de los Angeles and stay there skipping Cataviña but its really not that different from Mulege or Loreto- rocky desert and sea of Cortez, but it is much more rustic and your son may be tired of that.

Alternatively you can drive straight through to Ensenada but it's a long day of driving with lots of checkpoints and long distances between gas stations (fill up whenever gas is available between Santa Rosalia and San Quintin). I avoid Guererro Negro and El Rosario and don't think they're very attractive and I don't think you have time for whale watching. Spend the following night in Ensenada at a hotel downtown. Dedicate the following day to the Ensenada-Tijuana drive (leave mid-morning to avoid the morning rush hour), returning the car, taking a taxi or whatever to the border, crossing the border, taking another ride/taxi, and renting another car. All of those things will take longer than you think so expect to be tired and unwilling to drive much further once you're in the U.S. Hopefully you will still be early enough to miss the afternoon rush hour in SD and can at least get an hour or so north, leaving you one easy day of driving to return to SF. I like to take 15 then west through Pasadena when driving to the bay area as this avoids crossing most of the LA metro area unless you want to drive up 1 or 101 but that will add time.

You won't see all that Baja has to offer by sticking to highway 1 but you will at least get to experience a very different country and what is realistically one of the last parts of the planet that still feels mostly void of human settlement and I think it is worth doing.

CliffW - 12-3-2019 at 09:42 PM

Thanks very much David K and grease coyote -- this is very helpful. I'm very much looking forward to the trip and I'm sure I will want to return again soon when I can spend more time exploring.

David K - 12-4-2019 at 08:23 AM

El Rosario has been a good experience for many of us with perhaps the finest roadside motel in North America (Baja Cactus) for several reasons besides it helps Antonio's emergency rescue and fire service. The gas station is 100% honest, too. Try Hugo's Tacos Misión for a quick meal with giant burritos or stuffed baked potatoes plus view his 'art gallery' there. Other good sit down meals at El Faro or Mama Espinoza's.

Hook - 12-4-2019 at 08:46 AM

These are now some of the shortest days of the year. Driving in the dark isnt advisable, to put it mildly.

Just drive the drive, and plan on going back. See the area around Mulege, since you are there, but that's it, IMO.

Marc - 12-4-2019 at 10:19 AM

What Hook said.

CliffW - 12-4-2019 at 11:49 AM

Hey, thanks everybody. I had some frequent flyer miles to burn, so based on your advice I decided to skip the California section of the drive -- we'll fly out of San Diego mid afternoon on the 11th. That should give us at least a bit more time to enjoy our trip up from Mulege to Ensenada/Tijuana (we'll meet up in Mulege the morning of the 7th).

@greasecoyote, you mentioned giving ourselves plenty of time to get across the border. I'm thinking we will stay in Ensenada the last night, then return the car at the Tijuana airport the morning of the 11th, cross the border on foot and then taxi to the San Diego airport. Do you think setting out by 8 AM or so from Ensenada will allow us to make it comfortably to the San Diego airport by 2 PM or so?

Maybe we could schedule a fishing trip on December 8 or 9 somewhere if anyone has a trusted guide to recommend too.

Again, many thanks for your very helpful responses.

BajaBlanca - 12-4-2019 at 03:38 PM

I think you made the right decision to fly home and enjoy Baja more!

We are way off the beaten path,on the Pacific side and fishing is really good right now....we live in La Bocana and Shari lives in Bahia Asuncion.

Both of us have neat bnb's and the local cooperatives offer fishing in both communities. It is a little over $200 to do catch and release in our lagoon. More to do the open sea.

To get to us, drive north from Mulege, stop in san ignacio to see the huge mission church. continue driving north on highway 1. The first exit to the right is Punta Abreojos. Take it and after one hour veer to the right and head to La Bocana.

It is now lobster season and the beach restaurant offers a big lobster meal for $250 pesos. Oh sooooo good!

Fish next morning and then head to Bahia Asuncion. Fish next morning and continue north.

I think you will be fine returning the car at 8 am in TJ and reaching the airport by 2pm. You can UBER/taxi to the airport and it takes less than 30 min.

Have fun and be sure to co a trip report when done.

bkbend - 12-4-2019 at 04:42 PM

Blanca's suggestion is a good one to especially for your son to see something different since he's been on the Sea of Cortez side. If he did the kayak portion of NOLS he can advise you on whether or not Bahia de los Angeles is worthy of a side trip, I watched the kaykers prep and take off at the end of October. Pay attention to Hook's advice, you'll never travel as many miles as you think you can in December. I did a lot of Christmas vacations with the family and never met my travel targets and night travel is just not productive due to reduced speeds and hazards. Enjoy yourselves, it's easy to kill four days between Mulege and San Diego.

CliffW - 12-4-2019 at 07:09 PM

Thank you Blanca -- I will consult with my son but I looked at your site and that sounds pretty amazing!

And yes, Hook and others warning of shortened daylight hours: we'll keep an eye on the time, thanks for the heads up.

greasecoyote - 12-4-2019 at 07:55 PM

Quote: Originally posted by CliffW  
Hey, thanks everybody. I had some frequent flyer miles to burn, so based on your advice I decided to skip the California section of the drive -- we'll fly out of San Diego mid afternoon on the 11th. That should give us at least a bit more time to enjoy our trip up from Mulege to Ensenada/Tijuana (we'll meet up in Mulege the morning of the 7th).

@greasecoyote, you mentioned giving ourselves plenty of time to get across the border. I'm thinking we will stay in Ensenada the last night, then return the car at the Tijuana airport the morning of the 11th, cross the border on foot and then taxi to the San Diego airport. Do you think setting out by 8 AM or so from Ensenada will allow us to make it comfortably to the San Diego airport by 2 PM or so?

Maybe we could schedule a fishing trip on December 8 or 9 somewhere if anyone has a trusted guide to recommend too.

Again, many thanks for your very helpful responses.


I would even leave later but I'm slow to get it together in the morning. It will take you about 1.5-2 hours to get to the Tijuana airport from the malecon area of Ensendada and about 30 minutes to get from the border on the U.S. side to SAN. Tijuana is a very chaotic, congested and confusing city, even by Mexican standards. Figure out how to get to your destination, turn by turn, before you set out, and pay really close attention or you can quickly wind up miles from where you want to be.

But I don't think you can cross the border at the Tijuana airport. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but the CBX crossing I think is only for ticketed passengers at Tijuana's airport. I think you will have to take a taxi from the TJ airport to the pedestrian gate at San Ysidro or Otay, I'd opt for San Ysidro, its closer to San Diego's airport and is more set up for dropping off passengers at the pedestrian crossing. Have the rental car place call you one (or maybe they will drive you), its only a short drive to the border crossing. The taxis that operate within the airport itself are a rip-off, by mexican standards at least.

The unpredictable factor is the border crossing itself. It can take 15 minutes or it can take 2 hours and it gets very bad during the holiday season for both pedestrians and cars. Mid-day, during the work week should be less crowded than weekends when the wait will be very long this time of year. To be safe I would say you should expect crossing the border to take at least an hour, more if its on a weekend right before Christmas.

Prices between SAN and the bay area airports sometimes drop as low as $39 each way if you want to do this again.

greasecoyote - 12-4-2019 at 08:03 PM

Not sure you're aware of this but you cross a time zone too. 5:00 in Mulege in BCS is 4:00 in northern Baja (and San Diego) too but it will be dark by 5:00 pm everywhere except BCS which is an hour ahead.