spikemd
Junior Nomad
Posts: 38
Registered: 10-4-2013
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Heading to Guerrero Negro whale watching and BOLA 3/26 to 4/3
Planning a trip south March 27th to April 3. Crossing at Tecate and heading to Ensenada wine country. Plan to camp somewhere in wine country. Then
down past Ensenada to stay in El Rosario or Catavina depending on travel time. Then to Guerrero Negro for a couple days of whale watching. Then to
BOLA for beach and hopefully some fishing. Up 5 to Puertecitos hot springs for a night and cross back at Mexicali. 4 vehicles, 3 families, 6 adults
and 6 children from 5 to 14. It will be a mix of camping and hotels.
Questions - best camping in winery region? Should we make reservations? Is everything open including wineries? Maybe stay at El Valle RV park.
Hesitant to make reservations at El Rosario or Catavina as we don't know how far we will make it that day.
Recommendations for hotel in Guerrero Negro? We may make reservations before leaving. Leaning toward Hotel Los Caracoles. Hoping to book whale
watching when we arrive. Best boats?
Recommendations for fishing boats in BOLA? Was planning on asking at Guillermo and staying there or Campo Archelon.
Thanks in advance. Its my 3rd trip into Baja.
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tiotomasbcs
Super Nomad
Posts: 1837
Registered: 7-30-2007
Location: El Pescadero
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Spring Break?! make reservations if you have to join the Crowd. I'd go before or after Easter but let us know how you survived!
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David K
Honored Nomad
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Whale watching? Use our own Nomad whale expert: Shari Bondi of Whale Magic Tours www.whalemagictours.com Shari can also book your room in Guerrero Negro. 
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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
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Mood: Hot n spicy
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Quote: Originally posted by spikemd  | Planning a trip south March 27th to April 3. Crossing at Tecate and heading to Ensenada wine country. Plan to camp somewhere in wine country. Then
down past Ensenada to stay in El Rosario or Catavina depending on travel time. Then to Guerrero Negro for a couple days of whale watching. Then to
BOLA for beach and hopefully some fishing. Up 5 to Puertecitos hot springs for a night and cross back at Mexicali. 4 vehicles, 3 families, 6 adults
and 6 children from 5 to 14. It will be a mix of camping and hotels.
Questions - best camping in winery region? Should we make reservations? Is everything open including wineries? Maybe stay at El Valle RV park.
Hesitant to make reservations at El Rosario or Catavina as we don't know how far we will make it that day.
Recommendations for hotel in Guerrero Negro? We may make reservations before leaving. Leaning toward Hotel Los Caracoles. Hoping to book whale
watching when we arrive. Best boats?
Recommendations for fishing boats in BOLA? Was planning on asking at Guillermo and staying there or Campo Archelon.
Thanks in advance. Its my 3rd trip into Baja.
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Recommendations...
Skip the hot springs (they are disappointing), spend another day at bola, whale watching or exploring around Catavina.
Go to San Ignacio instead of GN for whale watching. Good camping to be had at Kuyimita.
Call ahead for hotel reservations as soon as your schedule is set,... hotels fill up during spring break, whale season, Easter break, etc. you
can’t count on vacancy if dropping in last minute.
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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David K
Honored Nomad
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I agree with goat, about Puertecitos...
The Puertecitos hot springs can only be enjoyed if the tide is in the right position, and you don't mind the sulfur (rotten egg) smell. They also
charge you a hefty amount even to just take a photo vs. overnight (the same price, was 200 pesos per person, 4 years ago).
[Edited on 3-12-2021 by David K]
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BajaBlanca
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Location: La Bocana, BCS
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I recommend staying at Terra Sal in G Negro and eating at malarrimo restaurant, down the street, on the right.
We are just 2 hours from Guerrero Negro and our village (La Bocana) is very fun if you want to get off the beaten path? The road is 100% paved all
the way.
We boast a lagoon that you can spend 4 hours on a boat/catch and release tour for $80. We boast a restaurant open 365 days a year from 8 to 9 pm.
plus a couple others that are smaller and great fun too. Miles of beaches for walking and Blanca and Les to entertain you LOL
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advrider
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I would have to agree with goat as well on the hot springs and I think I would go down 5 both ways. So slow with all of the towns on Hwy 1, 5 is much
nicer drive.
I think we stayed and ate at Malarrimo in GN, unless I'm getting my towns mixed up? Food and rooms were good. San Ignacio has several good places
to stay, the yurts and La Huerta but they will fill up quick. I've only watch whales out of San Ignacio but they will be amazing where ever you go.
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BajaDanD
Senior Nomad
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March 27 is going to be very late for whale watching .most whales will have already left Scammons lagoon/ojo de liebre by then. They usually stop
the tours by April 1st. Doubt there will be any Whales left in San Ignacio lagoon by then. We usually go early March.
Maybe Shari will chime in She has been running Whale tours for years and knows what's up .
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spikemd
Junior Nomad
Posts: 38
Registered: 10-4-2013
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Thanks for the info. We got back from our trip and had a wonderful time. 4 trucks, 6 adults and 6 kids. Crossed at Tecate, went to Guadalupe Valley
for the wine country. Most wineries require reservations with Covid so we only got to taste at one. Lunch took way to long and killed our afternoon.
We stayed at El Valle RV park which had nice bathrooms and camping. Great place except for the dogs barking all night. Next day headed into Ensenada
for fish tacos at El Fenix. Then did the tourist trap at La Bufadora mostly for the kids to see. Then kept going south to Catavina.
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spikemd
Junior Nomad
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Stayed at the Hotel in Catavina as we rolled in late and were hungry and tired. Kept going south to Campo Esmeralda about 40 minutes north of GN.
Stayed there for a night and kids played in the waves. They have rudimentary flush toilets and showers. Kids got to ride one of the horses on the
beach. Next day did our whale tour with Malarrimo and saw a bunch of whales. Really cool experience.
  
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spikemd
Junior Nomad
Posts: 38
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Some pics of whales. Needed to scale down pics a lot for posting.
 
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spikemd
Junior Nomad
Posts: 38
Registered: 10-4-2013
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That looks great. We actually prefer being off the beaten path and camping. We are fully self sufficient and can go days without resupply. This trip
was more civilized having the kids and wives along.
| Quote: Originally posted by BajaBlanca | I recommend staying at Terra Sal in G Negro and eating at malarrimo restaurant, down the street, on the right.
We are just 2 hours from Guerrero Negro and our village (La Bocana) is very fun if you want to get off the beaten path? The road is 100% paved.
We boast a lagoon that you can spend 4 hours on a boat/catch and release tour for $80. We boast a restaurant open 365 days a year from 8 to 9 pm.
plus a couple others that are smaller and great fun too. Miles of beaches for walking and Blanca and Les to entertain you LOL |
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David K
Honored Nomad
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Thank you for sharing! 
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spikemd
Junior Nomad
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We then headed to BOLA. Wind picked up for a rough night in the tents but our roof top tents can handle a lot. We camped at Campo Archelon which had a
wonderful cafe, Siete Filos. Excellent food and coffee. I took my son son wife fishing for the first time on a boat. We caught some yellowtail and cod
and took it to a new restaurant in town, Las Hamacas, and had it sashimi style and the cod in tacos. Best fish I've ever had!
  
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spikemd
Junior Nomad
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Registered: 10-4-2013
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Then rolled north to Bay of Gonzaga. It was a busy weekend being close to Easter so we had a tough time finding open free spots. We had a sportsmobile
with us so we were limited where we could go in the sand. We eventually found a spot at El Sacrificio campground and tucked away from the other
campers. Kids went paddleboarding and enjoyed the beach. My buddy got stung by a scorpion in the morning, lol... My family then drove 16 hours home.
One of the other families went to an orphanage in Tecate to help build a new play structure and the other family stayed near San Felipe for a few
days. Great trip. Next time, we want to stay off pavement as much as possible.
 
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BornFisher
Super Nomad
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Location: K-38 Santa Martha/Encinitas
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Nice pics, cool rigs, great report!! Thanks!
"When you catch a fish, you open the door of happiness."
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advrider
Super Nomad
Posts: 1864
Registered: 10-2-2015
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Sweet set up and report..
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Tioloco
Ultra Nomad
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Nice trip report! I saw you in Bahia de LA. Almost stopped to tell you your rig is cool.
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bajafreaks
Nomad
Posts: 404
Registered: 3-27-2007
Location: Gardnerville, NV./ Los Barriles BCS
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Mood: No Bad Days !!!
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Thanks for sharing, we're heading out in 10 days for 6 weeks...I'm so ready.
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