BajaNomad - Advice for 3-day San Diego to Cabo Roadtrip?

Advice for 3-day San Diego to Cabo Roadtrip?

sohailcoelho - 2-9-2021 at 03:59 PM

Hi Bajanomad friends:

I'm doing my first drive down to cabo from san diego and would love some advice. I'm been dying to do this trip but a few people's sketchy experiences is making me nervous (mostly due to police checkpoints) and I wanted to hear from this crew. Any advice on the following:

1) Safety Concerns w/ Police checkpoints: I'm driving my 2017 Acura RDX with Oregon plates. And am a brown guy (of Indian origin) with two full sleeves of tattoos. I'm a business consultant but I heard tatted people being targeted by the police checkpoints as they think they have drugs. any concerns with my tatts or my car. it seems ridiculous to ask but just wanna be cautious. thoughts?

2) Cities: any recommendations on cities to break the journey into 3 days? I'll take more time on the way back up in a couple months, but just want to get down there sooner.

3) Hwy 5 via Mexicali vs Hwy 1 via TJ. any advice? google maps says #5 and I heard Mexicali is easier.

thanks all. appreciate the help.

David K - 2-9-2021 at 04:36 PM

3 days to Cabo will be nothing more than a driving trip with not much to try and see or enjoy. ALL of Baja is BEFORE you get to Cabo... Just fyi.

The checkpoints are manned by the army not police and all they are searching for is drugs, guns, and ammo. If you are a hunter, make sure no loose shells or rounds are anywhere. No marijuana, you are not in the USA anymore. That's all. There can be Federal Police checks, but only if you are a criminal do you need to worry!

Highway 5 is loads easier and faster, less towns or farm traffic. Where is your drive starting from? San Diego to San Felipe is 4.5 hours. The next place with abundant motels is Guerrero Negro, followed by San Ignacio.

There is far too many wonderful places to tell you about, but not in 3 days of driving to get to Cabo.

1) You need Mexican Auto Insurance, we recommend Baja Bound, online and easy.

2) You MUST have a valid passport and STOP at the first building inside Mexico. Park and walk in, look for INM desk (immigration) and show them your passport to get an FMM (tourist paper, like a visa). It is about $25 for up to 180 days.

3) Come to complete stops at all stop signs! DO NOT PAY a cop... if you broke a law, go to the station, fines are cheap in Mexico. If you didn't break the law, insist to the cop that you go to the station... He will let you go before getting to the station. Don't let the cop scare you with jail threats or high fine threats.

[Edited on 2-9-2021 by David K]

RocketJSquirrel - 2-9-2021 at 04:47 PM

Cover your ink as much as you can and do your best to look like a harmless old (or young) fool. Smile, be friendly, don't try to be a tough guy. The less threat you present, the less they will want to bother with you.

You'll have very little time to see anything on the way down. I took three days from Ensenada to La Paz and it was pretty much all driving. If it is your first time, you'll need to go a little slower until you get used to driving conditions (lack of a shoulders, difficulty getting around slower traffic, etc). Overall though, I found the road in much better condition than previously.

bajarich - 2-9-2021 at 11:49 PM

Don't drive at night, there are cows, burros, possibly cars without tail lights going slow. Hwy 1 is narrow, not much shoulder and in many places dropoffs. There are mountains and curvy roads that are like 35 mph. It's not like driving the freeways in the states. You don't want to have an accident down there (think an hour or two for ambulance response (each way)). If you have months to spend, spend more time enjoying the drive and stay safe. Hwy 5 is new and has shoulders.

There is another thread about non essential travel...

http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=95636

David K - 2-10-2021 at 09:41 AM

A few years old, before Hwy. 5 and others were paved, but accurately shows highway names and towns in Baja California:

Roads fully paved since this 2004 map:

To San Pedro Mártir (observatories).
San Felipe to Chapala (Hwy. 5 to Hwy. 1).
Vizcaino to Bahía Tortugas and Bahía Asunción.
To San Francisco (de la Sierra), except the final 4 miles.
San Ignacio to Laguna San Ignacio, except the final 6 miles.
To San Juanico, from the south.
To Comondú, from the southwest.
Loreto to San Javier.
The first 6 miles of road to Agua Verde.

[Edited on 2-10-2021 by David K]

ReTire - 2-10-2021 at 10:09 AM

Don’t forget about the left turn signal thing!

The 1st time I came up on a slower moving vehicle, they put their left turn signal on. So I slow down to give them plenty of room and time to complete their maneuver. I’m hanging back being patient, after a bit his arm comes out the window and he waves me on by.
This happens a few more times. A courtesy thing that is different in Baja.

Of course, you have to determine if they are ACTUALLY making a left hand turn!

surabi - 2-10-2021 at 12:30 PM

Would definitely be a good idea to wear a long sleeve shirt. No need to draw undue attention to yourself. Very visible tatts aren't nearly as common a sight in Mexico as up north and a lot of Mexicans do associate them with being a badass.

mtgoat666 - 2-10-2021 at 12:55 PM

Not sure tatoos make difference relative to overall appearance...

Tats look different to different people.

But in mexico i only notice extensive tats on gang banger types.

I am glad that young me did not get a tatoo. My tastes have changed over a few decades. I am sure the tatoo i would have chosen in youth would not be what i wanted in middle age :light:

AKgringo - 2-10-2021 at 01:08 PM

Keep your paperwork where you can reach it without digging deep. If you have tinted windows, lower them when approaching an inspection point, or if you get pulled over. If it is dark, turn on your interior lights.

The more they can see, the less likely they will want to start digging.

PaulW - 2-10-2021 at 01:37 PM

Good advice above
sohailcoelho
Advice for 3-day San Diego to Cabo Road trip?

1) Safety Concerns w/ Police checkpoints
2) Cities: any recommendations on cities to break the journey into 3 days?
3) Hwy 5 via Mexicali vs Hwy 1
=== ==
1) Nothing to report No safety concerns. Just behave like you would in the states, meaning be careful about out of the way places.
Checkpoints are common - cooperate. The military are looking for drugs and guns/ammo – nothing else. Be sure you do not have such. No marijuana or its derivatives.
To get to the Mexicali west border choose Hwy 98 and watch for the border sign.
For East crossing stay on I8 until Ca7 south and follow the signs.
Drive thru no declare or declare line and STOP and ask for parking for your FMM. They may inspect for duty and may ask for car registration. Customs and immigration will ask the questions.
West crossing is easier due to better parking.
2) first stop San Felipe Lots of good choices.
3) Good choice.

BajaBlanca - 2-10-2021 at 03:04 PM

Stop at border and get the FMM which is the document that makes it legal to be in Mexico.

Every military stop, take ALL your documents esp passport and all cash out of the car with you.
Keep an eye on the guys searching the whole time. One guy may ask you questions but you have to keep an eye on the other(s).
Def cover the tatts as much as possible. Even gloves on the hands if they are visible there. Here tatts mean drugs or prison or gangs.

Have fun on the way back when you have more time, let us know how it all went!

BajaMama - 2-10-2021 at 04:23 PM

You can fly to Cabo for $135 from San Diego. That'e cheaper than gas/food/motels for 3 days.

If you drive to Cabo in 3 days all you get to do is....drive.

thebajarunner - 2-10-2021 at 04:24 PM

Get pesos!! Makes all transactions a lot simpler and cheaper
ATM is my favored system
Just remember you are requesting pesos which are 20 to 1
If you plug in $400 thinking you are dealing in dollars you will receive 20 bucks worth of pesos.... not too helpful
Plenty of banks in Mexicali and Ensenada to do so.
Bank in Guerrero Negro
and then lots of them in Cabo

Don't get all locked into 5 as alternate to 1
(There is a recent trend on this board to get all gushy over 5)
You will miss Catavina- the loveliest piece of desert in all the world
You will miss the cirio cactus forest (boojum( trees)
You will miss lots of interesting ag
You will miss the great coastal drive from TJ to Ensenada
Best shopping is south end of Ensenada, Costco/WalMart/Lots of banks and big supermarkets
Easiest place to get FMM is immediately after you cross the border at TJ
STAY RIGHT!!!! Like immediate right into easy parking

From Mexicali to San Felipe is BOOOOORRRRRINGGG!!!
Not too great on to Puertecitos
Beautiful from there to Gonzaga, then not so great across to Hwy 1

OK.....
Whales.... for sure allocate a couple extra hours to see the whales - easiest and quickest is at Scammons Lagoon, just past Guerrero Negro
Our nomad Shari has a whale camp there, check it out on this board
Why go to Baja in late winter and miss whales???? No way!!

Be sure to take a half hour and loop into San Ignacio. Park on the square, check out the church. Too nice to miss.

From there, it is interesting, to say the least.

Oh, and from La Paz, my preference is West side down through Todos Santos....much better and faster road, Todos Santos needs a stop, maybe for lunch at the Hotel California (careful, you can check in but you cannot check out)

David K - 2-10-2021 at 04:50 PM

There are plenty of boojum trees south of Chapala (where 5 meets 1).

In any case, the OP has not returned and responded to any of our contributions... based on a desire to only spend time in Cabo, the flying suggestion from BajaMama is the best one here!

mtgoat666 - 2-10-2021 at 04:57 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K

There are plenty of boojum trees south of Chapala (where 5 meets 1).

In any case, the OP has not returned and responded to any of our contributions... based on a desire to only spend time in Cabo, the flying suggestion from BajaMama is the best one here!

Perhaps he has not returned due to shock of learning his tatoos make him a stereotypical gangster, eh?

Regret and tatoos, made for each other!

TMW - 2-10-2021 at 06:08 PM

Every guy should have mom tattooed on their arm and every woman should have dad on her arm. Show some respect.

whoaaaa thank you

sohailcoelho - 2-10-2021 at 07:29 PM

This is all super helpful. thank you so much. dang what a crew here!

Definitely goin to cover up the tatts and class it up a bit. lol. I am a consultant in business, so super professional, but the exterior can look a little rough and tumble.

I'm not flying cause I want my car down there for the 2.5 months I'll be there. so it's worth it for me.

Love all the city recos. will check them out and now will likely extend to 5 days going down just to check the whales and slow the whole damn thing down.

Will take Hwy 5 on the way down and then Hwy 1 on the way back up as I'd like to spend some time in the wine region of Guadalupe.

keep the recos/advice coming. really appreciate this crew. Makes my solo adventure not feel so solo.

Welcome to the forum!

AKgringo - 2-10-2021 at 08:01 PM

Glad to see you are still here, every now and then someone will ask a question, and disappear after their one and only post!

You didn't mention when you are planning your trip. I would recommend waiting until you have been vaccinated, and check into the what kind of patient load the hospitals in Baja are dealing with, because things can change.

The trip will be so much more enjoyable when you can mix safely with people along the way, but sadly, that is not the case right now.

eguillermo - 2-11-2021 at 08:43 AM

Super curious about Blanca's comment on watching the checkpoint guys.

In the past, that was always my assumption: get anything small and valuable like phones, etc into my pockets before coming to the checkpoint, and try to watch what they're up to.

After years of zero issues, I have got a lot more relaxed about letting the guys search while I stand and chat with the other guy, usually young and usually holding a rifle.

Is it better to be watchful? Have people lost stuff at checkpoints? I once gave away a camo-colored folding chair on the way north, but that was voluntary

[Edited on 2-11-2021 by eguillermo]

David K - 2-11-2021 at 09:12 AM

Quote: Originally posted by sohailcoelho

This is all super helpful. thank you so much. dang what a crew here!

Definitely goin to cover up the tatts and class it up a bit. lol. I am a consultant in business, so super professional, but the exterior can look a little rough and tumble.

I'm not flying cause I want my car down there for the 2.5 months I'll be there. so it's worth it for me.

Love all the city recos. will check them out and now will likely extend to 5 days going down just to check the whales and slow the whole damn thing down.

Will take Hwy 5 on the way down and then Hwy 1 on the way back up as I'd like to spend some time in the wine region of Guadalupe.

keep the recos/advice coming. really appreciate this crew. Makes my solo adventure not feel so solo.

Wow, glad to see you come back to get more 'abuse' from us! LOL
Very happy that you will slow it down a bit!

My wife and I had a glorious trip to Cabo and back in 2012 and spent time in La Paz with Nomad amigo 'Baja Tripper' who showed us sites in the cape region. We also visited Blanca and Shari out on the 'hook' of Baja, southwest and west from San Ignacio.

Of all our summer vacation trips to Baja California Sur, the July 2012 one was the finest we ever had. Here are my trip photos and details: http://vivabaja.com/712/

Feel free to ask questions. When you come to San Ignacio (halfway in miles from the border to Cabo) do take the side road into the town plaza (just 2 miles) the river crossing and the mission from the 1700s are both incredible. A wonderful motel is just past the mission (Hotel La Huerta) and is inexpensive, too.

This San Ignacio oasis is surrounded by lava flows and harsh desert:

The mission of San Ignacio is pretty impressive, with four-foot-thick walls.

sohailcoelho - 2-11-2021 at 11:48 AM

wow San Ignacio looks incredible. maybe I will do a little side trip there. Thanks for sharing all that. I appreciate it.

Quote: Originally posted by David K

Quote: Originally posted by sohailcoelho

The mission of San Ignacio is pretty impressive, with four-foot-thick walls.

sohailcoelho - 2-11-2021 at 11:52 AM

I'm going next week. Thurs/Friday leaving SD. I know, I wish I could wait for a vaccine - but I'm just going to be safe as I've been here in the SD. I have friends in Cabo so will have people to hang with once I get down there. And I'll get tested once I'm there. Realities of the world right now.

Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo

Glad to see you are still here, every now and then someone will ask a question, and disappear after their one and only post!

You didn't mention when you are planning your trip. I would recommend waiting until you have been vaccinated, and check into the what kind of patient load the hospitals in Baja are dealing with, because things can change.

The trip will be so much more enjoyable when you can mix safely with people along the way, but sadly, that is not the case right now.

David K - 2-11-2021 at 11:56 AM

Please post after you get to Cabo to tell us about the drive!

sohailcoelho - 2-11-2021 at 03:28 PM

Totally will do.

So outside of these towns, any other towns or hotels worth stopping at: San Felipe, Mulegé, San Ignacio, Geurrero Negro, Todos Santos - anything else?

Quote: Originally posted by David K

Please post after you get to Cabo to tell us about the drive!

mtgoat666 - 2-11-2021 at 04:52 PM

Hotel Mision in Catavina. Great hotel (ask for room in old part, new rooms are boring).
Great place for first night, make sure to arrive with a couple hours of daylight left, and go climb the rocks about 3 to 5 miles north hotel. Any rock pile will do, great place to spend an afternoon scrambling on rock amongst the boojums

You will see things without trying! Baja has so much to give...

David K - 2-11-2021 at 04:59 PM

Here is just a sample...

San Felipe for fish tacos... go to the south end of the malecon (bayshore street).

Gonzaga Bay for a beautiful beach view (easiest access at Rancho Grande, south of Pemex and south side of runway).

The state border (just north of Guerrero Negro) has the famous 135 ft. Eagle Monument. You lose an hour going south, into Mountain Time Zone (Km. 220 [from Santa Rosalía]).

I showed you a bit of San Ignacio, just off the highway, you turn at the whale bones (Km. 73).

Santa Rosalía (Km. 0/ 195 from Loreto) has the steel prefab church designed by Gustave Eiffel in the 1880s.

Mulegé is known by some as the Hawaii of Baja... a river lined with palms (like San Ignacio) and with a mission founded in 1705 and built in 1766 with a view that is worth a walk behind the mission to see! Take the road signed for the mission beyond the south side of the bridge over the river (Km. 134).

Bahía Concepción with its many beaches is some of the best of Baja to many! A fun cantina on the beach is at Playa Buenaventura (at Km. 93) with great cheeseburgers!

Loreto (Km. 0) is the first town and mission in California, 1697.

He said the plan is 5

thebajarunner - 2-11-2021 at 08:46 PM

Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666

Hotel Mision in Catavina. Great hotel (ask for room in old part, new rooms are boring).
Great place for first night, make sure to arrive with a couple hours of daylight left, and go climb the rocks about 3 to 5 miles north hotel. Any rock pile will do, great place to spend an afternoon scrambling on rock amongst the boojums