pauldavidmena
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Baja and driving and dogs, oh my!
My employer gives its employees a paid one-month sabbatical after ten years of service, a milestone I will be reaching a year from now. This would
give me and my wife our first opportunity to spend more than a week in Baja, so we want to start planning right away.
One consideration is our dog. Being away for only a week at a time didn't seem to justify the logistical hassles of traveling from New England to
Southern Baja with a dog, so we ended up having him boarded. So having four weeks to work with presents an opportunity - but also a lot of challenges.
For one, we'd have to decide whether to drive the 3300+ mile trip (each way) or to fly with a 40-pound dog. Does anyone have any recent experience
making the trek from the Northeast to BCS by car?
Thanks in advance as always.
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SuperScrappy
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We travel to Baja all the time with our 7 dogs (yes 7). Although we don’t live in the northeast, but Arizona, we do usually do stay for about 1-2
weeks. Never had a problem and they get plenty of beach time which they enjoy. I can’t imagine the trip without having at least some of the dogs
with us if all 7 can’t come along 😳
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BajaBlanca
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Location: La Bocana, BCS
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We are taking our springer spaniel Rex to La Paz with us for the month of February. 10 hour drive south. He has no car issues, which makes it easy.
We flew him all the way from England to California 12 years ago.
No experience coming from the NE but if I were you, I would fly and then drive. More time for fun in Baja!
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AKgringo
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Location: Anchorage, AK (no mas!)
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My trips with dogs to Baja are about 5000 miles (from Anchorage) and my 90 pound mutt, and the 60 pounder before her love every minute of the drive.
Not so much being stuffed in a kennel when I fly!
Have you flown with your dog before? If so, and that worked out, then the decision should be whether you and your wife want a roadtrip through the
heartland, or more time on the beach!
I realize that this is a longer vacation for you, but for us retired guys, it is only a month! Your dog will be thrilled to be on the trip either
way, so please yourselves with your choice.
Keep us posted on your decision, some of us may have useful advice either way. I have only flown with my dogs between US airports, so I have no
advice about flying into Baja.
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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pauldavidmena
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Quote: Originally posted by SuperScrappy  | | We travel to Baja all the time with our 7 dogs (yes 7). Although we don’t live in the northeast, but Arizona, we do usually do stay for about 1-2
weeks. Never had a problem and they get plenty of beach time which they enjoy. I can’t imagine the trip without having at least some of the dogs
with us if all 7 can’t come along 😳 |
Thanks for the feedback! Our dog travels well in the car, although so far the longest stretch has been the 1000+ trip between Boston and the Upper
Peninsula of Michigan (done in two days). My guess would be 7 days each way, leaving 3 days for getting through Baja. I suppose another option would
be to take the ferry over the SOC. We've never done either, as we've only flown thus far.
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pauldavidmena
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| Quote: Originally posted by BajaBlanca | We are taking our springer spaniel Rex to La Paz with us for the month of February. 10 hour drive south. He has no car issues, which makes it easy.
We flew him all the way from England to California 12 years ago.
No experience coming from the NE but if I were you, I would fly and then drive. More time for fun in Baja!
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Flying into LAX has some appeal in that I have a brother in nearby Redondo Beach. I believe there's an issue, however, in renting a car stateside and
driving it into Mexico. I've posed this question in a separate thread at http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=89048.
[Edited on 1-24-2018 by pauldavidmena]
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pauldavidmena
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Location: Centerville, MA, USA
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| Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo | My trips with dogs to Baja are about 5000 miles (from Anchorage) and my 90 pound mutt, and the 60 pounder before her love every minute of the drive.
Not so much being stuffed in a kennel when I fly!
Have you flown with your dog before? If so, and that worked out, then the decision should be whether you and your wife want a roadtrip through the
heartland, or more time on the beach!
I realize that this is a longer vacation for you, but for us retired guys, it is only a month! Your dog will be thrilled to be on the trip either
way, so please yourselves with your choice.
Keep us posted on your decision, some of us may have useful advice either way. I have only flown with my dogs between US airports, so I have no
advice about flying into Baja.
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You have a good point in noting that what's a long vacation to us is just a fraction of what we'll have available to us when we finally retire - about
five years from now. Until then, this sabbatical will be the longest amount of time I've taken off since 2 weeks back in 2000, which was just before
the age of "always needing to be connected".
We've never flown with our dog, and in general he doesn't do well in a crate beyond a few minutes. Without sedation (which we've never tried on him),
this might be a non-option. Heck, we might need some sedation ourselves when it's all done!
[Edited on 1-24-2018 by pauldavidmena]
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pauldavidmena
Super Nomad
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Location: Centerville, MA, USA
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| Quote: Originally posted by SuperScrappy | | We travel to Baja all the time with our 7 dogs (yes 7). Although we don’t live in the northeast, but Arizona, we do usually do stay for about 1-2
weeks. Never had a problem and they get plenty of beach time which they enjoy. I can’t imagine the trip without having at least some of the dogs
with us if all 7 can’t come along 😳 |
Another question: did you make this trip in an RV, an SUV or a sedan? We have a Jeep Renegade or a Toyota RAV 4 at our disposal.
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8knots
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A minimum of 14 days....long, exhausting days after a while out of a 30 day vacation. You will spend time just recovering from that long drive. Fly or
board. Driving seems like a punishment instead of a well deserved perk.
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pauldavidmena
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Location: Centerville, MA, USA
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| Quote: Originally posted by 8knots | | A minimum of 14 days....long, exhausting days after a while out of a 30 day vacation. You will spend time just recovering from that long drive. Fly or
board. Driving seems like a punishment instead of a well deserved perk. |
You make a good point. Given that our time is limited to 4 weeks, we have to weigh the pros and cons of spending half of it in a car. 14 days of
driving might be manageable if we could do it over several months as opposed to several weeks, but that's not the hand we've been dealt at this point.
Our dog has never flown before, but we're debating the idea of flying into LA or San Diego, renting a car, and then driving the length of Baja. We do
have good boarding options, but we'd love to have Tito along for the adventure (see my Avatar).
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BajaBlanca
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Location: La Bocana, BCS
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Fly in. Bring Tito and introduce him to Rex. Rent a car and drive down Baja. La Bocana would love to meet you. We even have a rental beach house
RIGHT ON THE BEACH that will be ready this summer. Perfect for walks on a beach that is sandy, has shells at one end and never has a soul on it.
Sedation is a wonderful thaaaang. Tito will be ready for his adventure.
Way back when someone posted about rental car companies that allow you to go south of the border....anyone remember who?
BTW I have an ex-student who lives in Ensenada who can pick you up at the San Diego airport, take you to TJ to rent your car and do the reverse when
you are ready to go home. She works for Uber.
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
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Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
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Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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When traveling in the US with our two Labradors we have found that the La Quinta chain is pet friendly. Nice places to stay
Would rather drive with the dogs than put them in a kennel and fly
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pauldavidmena
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| Quote: Originally posted by BajaBlanca | Fly in. Bring Tito and introduce him to Rex. Rent a car and drive down Baja. La Bocana would love to meet you. We even have a rental beach house
RIGHT ON THE BEACH that will be ready this summer. Perfect for walks on a beach that is sandy, has shells at one end and never has a soul on it.
Sedation is a wonderful thaaaang. Tito will be ready for his adventure.
Way back when someone posted about rental car companies that allow you to go south of the border....anyone remember who?
BTW I have an ex-student who lives in Ensenada who can pick you up at the San Diego airport, take you to TJ to rent your car and do the reverse when
you are ready to go home. She works for Uber. |
La Bocana and Bahia Asunción are definitely on our bucket list, and if La Bocana is really just a 10-hour drive from San Diego, perhaps that makes it
a viable option - maybe even an alternative to Todos Santos for this trip.
Tito is pretty choosy about his dog friends. He tends to respect older dogs but is particularly snarky with goofy, friendly dogs. On the other hand, I
suspect Rex has been around other dogs before and could deal with an obnoxious 5 year-old (Australian Cattle Dog mix).
Your Ensenada-Tijuana connection sounds intriguing in that we can get the border crossing out of the way before renting, which could save us some
time.
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pauldavidmena
Super Nomad
Posts: 1715
Registered: 5-23-2013
Location: Centerville, MA, USA
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| Quote: Originally posted by bajaguy | When traveling in the US with our two Labradors we have found that the La Quinta chain is pet friendly. Nice places to stay
Would rather drive with the dogs than put them in a kennel and fly |
We're torn, which is why we've never traveled for more than a week at a time without Tito. Good to know about La Quinta. We've stayed at Residence
Inns in the past for this same reason.
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AKgringo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6030
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Location: Anchorage, AK (no mas!)
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Forget the ferry!
Or at least do some research. I checked into taking the ferry to Maztlan from La Paz three years ago. I was told that my good old dog would have to
ride in an airline kennel on the vehicle deck, and not in my car! The ride is longer than any flight that I have taken, and I would not be allowed to
check on her during the voyage.
One person posted that he was able to bribe an agent into letting his dog ride in the car on a trip departing Topolobampo, but I would not take that
chance. As always, different ports, and people may have different results! I don't think you would shave enough time off the trip to make much
difference.
[Edited on 1-24-2018 by AKgringo]
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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pauldavidmena
Super Nomad
Posts: 1715
Registered: 5-23-2013
Location: Centerville, MA, USA
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| Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo | Or at least do some research. I checked into taking the ferry to Maztlan from La Paz three years ago. I was told that my good old dog would have to
ride in an airline kennel on the vehicle deck, and not in my car! The ride is longer than any flight that I have taken, and I would not be allowed to
check on her during the voyage.
One person posted that he was able to bribe an agent into letting his dog ride in the car on a trip departing Topolobampo, but I would not take that
chance. As always, different ports, and people may have different results! I don't think you would shave enough time off the trip to make much
difference.
[Edited on 1-24-2018 by AKgringo] |
Having to check Tito separately during a lengthy ferry ride was a variable I wasn't expecting, and to your point, possibly a deal-breaker. I also
wouldn't risk getting kicked off the ferry for attempting to bribe an agent unsuccessfully!
I think a more workable compromise might be flying non-stop from BOS to either LAX or SAN and then driving down.
Thanks again for your input!
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AKgringo
Elite Nomad
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Location: Anchorage, AK (no mas!)
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kennel conditioning
My old girl Cleo was almost seven the first time I flew with her. It wasn't too bad, because she did not know what was going on. The second time, it
took two of us to get her in the kennel!
With the girl I have now, I got her accustomed to using the kennel (with the door removed) as a bed in the main room where I hang out. She got
accustomed to using it as almost a sanctuary , and would go there on command. It is a good place to toss her toys also!
A couple of weeks before her first flight (about eleven months old) I put the door on and got her used to having it shut for increasingly longer
periods of time. Either the conditioning, or her temperament is different enough that flying with her now is no big deal.
Tranquilizers can be helpful, but you will need to experiment ahead of time to find out what dose is correct for your dog, and how long they take to
be effective. Cleo required almost double the recommended dose of a veterinary product. With Bailey (90 lbs), a couple of 25mg Benadryl is helpful,
but probably not necessary.
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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