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wilderone
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3824
Registered: 2-9-2004
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There are many places along the way where you can spend that 1/2 day sight-seeing, exploring. Break it up into 3 or 4 one-hour sojourns. A hike into
the arroyos around the boulder gardens of Catavina, see the blue palms, pictographs; visit a Mission; take a detour 6 mi. to El Marmol - kids will be
fascinated - look for the cemetary on the small hill. I would advise an overnight at Bahia de Los Angeles - get in the water there, some beachcombing
- that would be your first Gulf stop; no reason to stay in Guerrero Negro unless you need groceries -- you can get gas at the Jesus Maria (on the
highway). Ditto San Quintin, unless you're coming home that way, and that would be your last night. Also recommend Hwy 3 through San Felipe on the
return trip -- pull down one of the campground roads for a dip before you head for the final leg across the border. And consider crossing in Tecate
and stop at one of the wineries - stock up on a couple bottles of wine for your trip. If you've got a whole day at La Paz, take a snorkle boat trip
to Isla Espiritu Santo - IMO a must-do. As you pass San Bartolo (out of La Paz), head down the hill on the main drag, go straight across the flat
arroyo which head straight for the free spring pool. Gotta get in. The restaurants along there are good too. When you start to head back, loop
around the cape toward Todos Santos. Once there, tour the little town, and ask about the turtle conservation camp and when they'll have a hatchling
release. Would be a memorable occasion if you time it right.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64855
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Now we are talking!
winwin, on the return trip, to see L.A. Bay (Bahía de los Angeles), you can drive there via Mission San Borja and see some of the best of Baja's
desert gardens which the road to San Borja passes through.
Northbound, leave Hwy. 1 at Rosarito (aka Nuevo Rosarito). The dirt road does not require 4WD, is mostly graded and only a few rough areas. It is 21
miles to the mission. There are camping palapas with showers and flush toilets at the mission if you want to spend extra time. The host is José who
has lived there with his family since the 1990s. To continue on to L.A. Bay, it is another 21 mile dirt road north, and is better than the one from
Rosarito.
The stone mission church was completed in 1801 by the Dominicans.
The adobe mission church ruins were built by the Jesuits and Franciscans. The mission was founded in 1762. The Franciscans replaced the Jesuits in
1768. After five years, the Franciscans handed the Baja peninsula over to the Dominicans, while they continued to develop Alta California missions.
May I recommend my book, to make your Baja travels more enlightening for your family? www.oldmissions.com
Road details in this part of Baja (from the future guide pre-publication edition):
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=91898
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AKgringo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6029
Registered: 9-20-2014
Location: Anchorage, AK (no mas!)
Member Is Offline
Mood: Retireded
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Good on you for taking your kids to Mexico!
My parents took us on our first three month road trip in 1957, and out of a lifetime of memories, those are some of my most cherished ones!
I did the same with my kids in 1986, and now I am trying to get them to do the same with my grandchildren so that we will all have similar, but very
different great memories.
For you and your children, this will always be "The good old days"!
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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BajaMama
Super Nomad
Posts: 1108
Registered: 10-4-2015
Location: Pleasanton/Punta Chivato
Member Is Offline
Mood: Got Baja fever!!
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Mision Hotel in Catavina is fabulous - nice pool, bar, and restaurant. Beautiful desert area. The Yurts at San Ignacio Springs is a nice experience
- group dinner with other travelers and breakfast. Right on the lagoon with paddle boards, kayaks, and a party raft for guests to use. The Oasis in
Loreto is a hoot - nice bar, fun breakfast with music right out of the 50s & 60s. That's all I got.
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JZ
Select Nomad
Posts: 10563
Registered: 10-3-2003
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Quote: Originally posted by winwinstudios  | RFClark, good call on staying at the yurts in San Ignacio; place looks pretty cool. Decided to skip GN and save Mulege for the trip home. Will go to
BoLA when we are heading north. I've got a 4x4 SUV; the idea of going off road seems fun, but doubt my family will be into that. Thanks for the
idea.
Thank you for the hotel recommendations JZ; we've stayed at the Coral in Ensenada in the spring time.
Thank you all for the words of encouragement and advice. I am looking forward to this road trip. |
To me the best part of Baja is getting out on the ocean.
You can do that at all the Sea of Cortez stops. The easiest place to do it is in Loreto. A trip in a panga to Isla Coronado only costs about $90.
The water color at the island makes you think you are in the Caribbean.
The pangas hang out at the marina which is a 3 min walk from Hotel La Mision. Your kids will love it. Guaranteed to see a bunch of sea lions and
likely a hundreds of dolphins. PM me and I'll give you the name of a panga captain.
One super easy offroad drive would be just South of Loreto to Agua Verde. It's a well graded dirt road that goes down to a really beautiful bay. It
will blow your kids minds. Mine drove it at age 13.
Here is a video that has shots around Loreto, road to Agua Verde, San Javier mision near Loreto, and Isla Coronado. Show it to the misses.
PM me if you want any help, or just ask here.
https://youtu.be/4VNTIhRa6q0
[Edited on 6-29-2021 by JZ]
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JZ
Select Nomad
Posts: 10563
Registered: 10-3-2003
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: Originally posted by wilderone | | There are many places along the way where you can spend that 1/2 day sight-seeing, exploring. Break it up into 3 or 4 one-hour sojourns. A hike into
the arroyos around the boulder gardens of Catavina, see the blue palms, pictographs; visit a Mission; take a detour 6 mi. to El Marmol - kids will be
fascinated - look for the cemetary on the small hill. I would advise an overnight at Bahia de Los Angeles - get in the water there, some beachcombing
- that would be your first Gulf stop; no reason to stay in Guerrero Negro unless you need groceries -- you can get gas at the Jesus Maria (on the
highway). Ditto San Quintin, unless you're coming home that way, and that would be your last night. Also recommend Hwy 3 through San Felipe on the
return trip -- pull down one of the campground roads for a dip before you head for the final leg across the border. And consider crossing in Tecate
and stop at one of the wineries - stock up on a couple bottles of wine for your trip. If you've got a whole day at La Paz, take a snorkle boat trip
to Isla Espiritu Santo - IMO a must-do. As you pass San Bartolo (out of La Paz), head down the hill on the main drag, go straight across the flat
arroyo which head straight for the free spring pool. Gotta get in. The restaurants along there are good too. When you start to head back, loop
around the cape toward Todos Santos. Once there, tour the little town, and ask about the turtle conservation camp and when they'll have a hatchling
release. Would be a memorable occasion if you time it right. |
A lot of good advice here.
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winwinstudios
Newbie
Posts: 9
Registered: 6-25-2021
Member Is Offline
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Wilderone - great ideas for side trips. It's the reason we decided to take 6 days to get down to Los Cabos. Wanted to check things out instead of
just driving through. If we wanted to do that, flying would have been the best option.
David K - I'm taking your advice on the road to Bahia of Los Angeles. Those are some amazing pics you put up. Thanks for the map, very helpful.
AKGringo - you're right, the plan is to build some memories of the "trip". Figure we'll be gone about 4 weeks. Nothing like family time in the car
checking out the scenery.
JZ - Thanks for the link, didn't realize how beautiful baja is. We've been making the trip to Rosarito and Ensenada every year since 2016. This will
be our first time going further south.
Didn't expect this much feedback. To everyone I didn't mention, thank you for your tips/advice. Trust me, I've read every line numerous times and
have cross referenced it with other sites and reviews.
I've got the trip figured out on the way down. Started planning the trip north. It seems as though there will be multiple 5-6 hours of driving per
day to arrive at new places.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64855
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Try to not have time limits or mandatory destinations... Baja is a different kind of travel experience and it is best enjoyed if you don't force
yourself to get somewhere at a certain time or day.
In the Baja Road Conditions forum, here at Nomad, are some helpful travel threads:
FREE INFO...
All 31 of my road maps:
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=88771
The Baja Nomad Kilometer List: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=81948
Some of my road logs from 2018 (pre-publication version):
Mexicali to Laguna Chapala: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=95028
San Quintín to Guerrero Negro (incl L.A. Bay and side trips): http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=91898
Guerrero Negro to San Ignacio (incl Bahía Asunción and side trips): http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=92377
An updated, refined road guide book is in the works from Baja Bound Insurance.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not Free, but worth it!:
The new Baja California Road & Recreation Atlas is available from Baja Bound at the low price of $20 and it contains much of my mapping research:
https://www.bajabound.com/baja-atlas
Finally, the old Spanish missions in Baja California include the first 18 California missions, before San Diego, are detailed in my books should you
want your family to learn the who, what, when, where, and why: www.oldmissions.com
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winwinstudios
Newbie
Posts: 9
Registered: 6-25-2021
Member Is Offline
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Hey David,
Dude, those maps are bad ass. Has anyone attempted to combine the files into one large map?
I'm trying to take my time getting down there, but we have reservations at two Airbnbs and a resort. So far, there are no plans on the return trip.
Would like to visit the eastern part of the peninsular that we missed on the southern journey.
That's pretty impressive you're a published man.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64855
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: Originally posted by winwinstudios | Hey David,
Dude, those maps are bad ass. Has anyone attempted to combine the files into one large map?
I'm trying to take my time getting down there, but we have reservations at two Airbnbs and a resort. So far, there are no plans on the return trip.
Would like to visit the eastern part of the peninsular that we missed on the southern journey.
That's pretty impressive you're a published man. |
LOL... DUDE, YES! Baja Nomad geoffff combined all 31 0f my maps into a single peninsula map that you can zoom into. He also filled in the parts of the
peninsula not on the 31 maps... It is in the map thread... I will add them here, too...
The peninsula combo maps (you can click to zoom in):
http://octopup.org/img/misc/davidk/davidk-baja-combo-map.jpg
http://octopup.org/img/misc/davidk/davidk-baja-combo-map--fu...
The key map for the 31 parts:
http://octopup.org/img/misc/davidk/davidk-baja-index-map.jpg
The peninsula rotated for wall map purposes:
http://octopup.org/img/misc/davidk/rotated/combo-rotated-fla...
Here it is sized to 800 pixels to fit on Nomad. The link above is much larger...
Viva Baja Everyone! www.vivabaja.com
Thank you 'geoffff'!
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JZ
Select Nomad
Posts: 10563
Registered: 10-3-2003
Member Is Offline
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Hey op, this is going to be a trip you and your family will remember forever. Your kids will talk about it to their kids (seriously).
From your PM, I know you are going to be in La Paz for a few days.
Here is a side trip recommendation.
Drive from La Paz to San Evaristo. It's about a 2.5 hr drive. Can go up and back in one day no problem. Probably a top 1 or 2 coastal drives in all
of Baja.
At San Evaristo, you can rent a panga to take you out to Isla San Jose and Isla San Fransisco.
Route up is a very easy dirt road that can be done with most 2-wheel drive vehicles.
Pics from the islands.
[Edited on 7-3-2021 by JZ]
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honda tom
Nomad
Posts: 493
Registered: 8-28-2003
Location: middle calif
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JZ,
I will be boating from Loreto to La Paz in the next couple weeks....
to cruise the mangroves of San Jose do I enter from the east?
and about what depth should I expect at the entrance?
Also...
Is the gap between Partida and Espiritito passable... or do you beach it and walk?
did this trip 30 years ago and missed these 2 stops.
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JZ
Select Nomad
Posts: 10563
Registered: 10-3-2003
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Jealous Tom. That's is one beautiful stretch.
Here is the entrance to the mangroves: 24°53'11.21"N 110°34'24.40"W.
Last time I was there, there were several high-end yachts off the beach. Don't know how deep it is, but you can get a small draft boat like a center
console in there. There are several fingers in it that the kids took the Zodiac into.
I've never taken a boat in between the islands, but think you could on a high tide. Definitely not on a low tide.
Another place I'd highly recommend is Puerto Gato. Lined with red rocks. 25°18'14.28"N 110°56'53.16"W. About 20 miles South of Agua Verde.
Puerto Gato
[Edited on 7-3-2021 by JZ]
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honda tom
Nomad
Posts: 493
Registered: 8-28-2003
Location: middle calif
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stopped at puerto gato a few years back on a boat trip to Timbabichi. walked up at Timbabichi and got a cool tour of casa grande (I beleive) the guy
there had lived there many years and had some great old photos.
I only need about 3 feet with my kicker motor... love your shots of the zodiac in the mangroves...
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JZ
Select Nomad
Posts: 10563
Registered: 10-3-2003
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I looked on Navonics at the passage between the islands. Sounds dicey.
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honda tom
Nomad
Posts: 493
Registered: 8-28-2003
Location: middle calif
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Answered! thanks... ill pull in anchor and walk.
i will also be checking out Navonics
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JZ
Select Nomad
Posts: 10563
Registered: 10-3-2003
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Navonics is awesome. I run it on my phone and tablet.
[Edited on 7-3-2021 by JZ]
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64855
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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From Driving to Boating... Baja has it all!
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winwinstudios
Newbie
Posts: 9
Registered: 6-25-2021
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Hey JZ and Tom,
Is there a difference in sights between renting a panga in Loreto vs La Paz?
The pictures you posted of the trip to San Evaristo are breathtaking.
We are bringing snorkeling gear with us, should we make a side trip to Cabo Pulmo and explore around Arbolito Beach?
Again, thank y'all for the responses. Still planning this trip.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64855
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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One trip will not be enough... Be prepared to have your life altered and Baja will become your mistress for all time.
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