Travel suggestions for a Baja introduction to wife
Hello everyone, Love perusing all the topics and posts. Here is my deal. I have been to Baja many times as part of a race team and of course fell
in love with it.
I wanted to take my wife to see more than just TJ as thats all she knows. My thoughts are the weekend of June 14th thru the 17th, enter via Tecate
crossing to Valle de Gudalupe and tour a winery en route to possibly Ensanada for the day or San Quentin for the night. Then head over to Gonzaga Bay
and either camp or stay at Alfonsina's for a night. Then head to San Felipe then home.
OR, can anyone recommend an outfit like Camp4lo or Baja Legends?
Then we could be off the beaten path with knowledgeable guides. As far as the guides its roughly 1650 and 1900 usd respectively to join their guided
groups all inclusive minus fuel.
I have never traveled alone in and around Baja but I do feel comfortable staying on the roads (of course daylight only) and making destination stops.
Thank you in advance
Fly down to Loreto. Rent a Jeep there. If you are in SD, you can walk across the border to the airport and fly Calfia direct to Loreto. Cheap
flights.
Things to do:
- take a panga ride out to Isla Coronado - about 1,500 pesos. Swim, lunch, and beers on the beach; top 3 beach in all of Baja.
- drive 40 mins out and see the San Javier mission - most beautiful mission in Baja. Nice drive on a paved road.
- Drive 25 miles North of Loreto, then drive 10 miles in the dirt to Bahia San Jaunico. Top 10 bay/beach in Baja. Awesome for camping. Easy drive
out. Take wood and build a big fire on the beach.
- Drive 20 miles or so South of Loreto. Turn off to Agua Verde. About an hour drive, give or take, to AV in the dirt. Road is smooth, but it's
definitely a nail bitter road. Super fun drive. My 15 yo kid drove it.
This will be 10x better for the wife. Gonazaga Bay is great, but San Felipe terrible. It will turn her off. There are all kinds of other stuff to
do there too, like mule rides and stuff.
Bonus, stay at La Mision in Loreto. Probably cheap that time of year.
Watch the first 3-4 mins of the video in my sig to see all these places.
Did that with my ex. We went to Aqua Verde back when it was nothing. She liked it but wasn't happy with my offroad driving style. I scared her a
little. I think it was the jumping part.
But come on! What part of Jeep in Baja don't you get?
I had been there with Orange Coast once and wanted to show her.
I flew my Cherokee non-stop from Pomona to Loreto.. 4 hours.
It was just her and I. I had full fuel and we took turns climbing in back for a lavatory break.
Can't do that with a full plane.
If I have passengers we take a break and land about 2hrs into the flight. Just like driving people need to stretch their legs.
Leroto is a good 1st trip.
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
Awesome idea! I just flew from LAx to LTO in November as I raced the Baja 1000 last year- I got in the truck at @ race mile 640 San Ignacio.
Unforgettable!! Plus we finished the 50th Baja 1000 62nd overall and 17th in class.
I was planning on flying down with her next February-ish to explore all those places you mentioned plus see the whales.
This year maybe I will do what I mentioned in the 1st post minus SF
"As far as the guides its roughly 1650 and 1900 usd respectively to join their guided groups"
You don't need a guide. Whatever they're doing, you can do on your own. This forum can custom plan your weekend. Personally, I think that's a lot
of driving for 3 nights, 4 days. What else do you enjoy doing? Did you want to fish? Hike? Loll around in an inner tube with a beer? Ruta de Vino
will be fun. I'd suggest taking Hwy. 3 from Ensenada (stop at Fish Market pier for fish tacos), to San Felipe. I don't think SF is so bad - a little
shopping, restaurant, etc. Then head down to Gonzaga Bay. Drive back home from there via Hwy. 5 (backtracking to SF), exit Mexicali. You'll
experience a variety of geography, small towns, food - none of it is really off the beaten path. I don't think it will scare wife off.
Thank you for the reply. A little sightseeing, alot of beach and beers! Hiking maybe take in a mission, sgn Coco's books etc, A tiny bit of tourist
shopping , after all we live in Vegas and well, lots of touristy stuff here.
I love the Sea of Cortez and its colors. I have a truck more than capable to get off the beaten path.
June 14th is my wifes b-day and I am excited she is down for a nothern Baja excursion.
No camping in gonzaga in june. She will hate being sweaty all night.
Ditto for lower east SOC. She'd be miserable in the heat; up north will be cooler, with wonderful wineries and A/C. For 3 days keep your itinerary
intact. Do Loreto later, you'll enjoy it when it's a bit more temperate. I'd stay more in the winery-Ensenada belt, forget San Flip mid-june... hot,
Hot, HOT.
Use the KISS technique, get to know the close-in area and don't try to cram too much in a 3-day weekend, plus if you wanna bail, you can. All around
cheaper in the long run (minus tastings and menus).
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
Gonzaga in June is great... too many hot-weather snowflakes here!
Heat makes the body feel good... and the sea is warm enough to bathe in without a wetsuit, as well.
I can lead a group of four-wheelers or you can ride in my 4WD Tacoma for a personal, custom tour to some of the best of Baja. I have designed tours
for Cameron Steele, who created the Trail of Missions tour seen on television and YouTube, and a small group like for our Baja Extreme Tour of 2016.
The more days you have available the more Baja you can see.
My idea of fun is going to beautiful sand beaches, palm-lined canyons, old Spanish missions, prehistoric painted caves, old mines, desert gardens that
will amaze anyone new to Baja! The food and people of Baja are amazing, too!
Enjoy this fun example of 10 days in Baja that included:
San Felipe, Shell Island, Gonzaga Bay, Coco's Corner, Mission Calamajué, Mission San Borja, Montevideo painted cliff, Bahía de los Angeles, Pancho's
San Rafael, Painted cave of El Carmen, San Ignacio, Mulegé, Bahía Concepción, Bahía Asunción and the hospitality of Juan and Shari, Mission San
Fernando, Las Pintas fossil grotto, San Quintín, Guadalupe Valley, Tecate.
Hello everyone, Love perusing all the topics and posts. Here is my deal. I have been to Baja many times as part of a race team and of course fell
in love with it.
I wanted to take my wife to see more than just TJ as thats all she knows. My thoughts are the weekend of June 14th thru the 17th, enter via Tecate
crossing to Valle de Gudalupe and tour a winery en route to possibly Ensanada for the day or San Quentin for the night. Then head over to Gonzaga Bay
and either camp or stay at Alfonsina's for a night. Then head to San Felipe then home.
OR, can anyone recommend an outfit like Camp4lo or Baja Legends?
Then we could be off the beaten path with knowledgeable guides. As far as the guides its roughly 1650 and 1900 usd respectively to join their guided
groups all inclusive minus fuel.
I have never traveled alone in and around Baja but I do feel comfortable staying on the roads (of course daylight only) and making destination stops.
Thank you in advance [/
Way too much driving for a “weekend”. Valle de Guadalupe and Ensenada can be a fun full weekend. Then you just drive back home within an hour of
the border. Let her enjoy Baja not the front seat for hours.
As a follow-up to TecateRay's reply, if you want just a 3 day intro, then don't go too far so it isn't all driving.
Of interest, I was able to introduce my future wife to my bit of Baja in a 3 day trip over New Years (2005). We did a long night drive to El Rosario
to get a good start, however. See it at www.vivabaja.com/105
What does your wife like to do? Start there.
My wife never camped before I meet her, Five years later she would post up for 2 weeks of dry camping at distant surf spots. Make sure she has a great
time, first.
Check U2U.
"Never teach a pig to sing it frustrates you and annoys the pig" - W.C.Fields
Hello everyone, Love perusing all the topics and posts. Here is my deal. I have been to Baja many times as part of a race team and of course fell
in love with it.
I wanted to take my wife to see more than just TJ as thats all she knows. My thoughts are the weekend of June 14th thru the 17th, enter via Tecate
crossing to Valle de Gudalupe and tour a winery en route to possibly Ensanada for the day or San Quentin for the night. Then head over to Gonzaga Bay
and either camp or stay at Alfonsina's for a night. Then head to San Felipe then home.
OR, can anyone recommend an outfit like Camp4lo or Baja Legends?
Then we could be off the beaten path with knowledgeable guides. As far as the guides its roughly 1650 and 1900 usd respectively to join their guided
groups all inclusive minus fuel.
I have never traveled alone in and around Baja but I do feel comfortable staying on the roads (of course daylight only) and making destination stops.
Thank you in advance
Take her to Seville and Costa del sol. She will like it better than dusty off-road tour
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.”
The video was made by a friend who is in the media industry and did that all in one take, unrehearsed, so it is totally natural.
The website was made in 2000, so the 90s look is right, and so what... anyone can use it to explore Baja, for free? Try and see beyond the cover of a
book for what's inside.
There must be a friendly way you can offer help without condescending and profanity? Guess I am too old to relate to that method of communicating?
Here is the other video Robert Marcos made for me, to promote my book. Again, no rehearsing, one take:
"If it were lush and rich, one could understand the pull, but it is fierce and hostile and sullen.
The stone mountains pile up to the sky and there is little fresh water. But we know we must go back
if we live, and we don't know why." - Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
"People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt
"You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them or to them." - Malcolm Forbes
"Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others
cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you." - Jim Rohn
"The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer." - Cunningham's Law
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