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Travel guide
Baja California
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: November to April
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Welcome
Baja California, in a few days
A desert peninsula about 1,250 km long between the Pacific and the Sea of Cortez, where grey whales calve in the lagoons from January to March and whale sharks feed off La Paz. Add cardón cacti, Jesuit missions, the empty beaches of Bahía Concepción and the vineyards of the Valle de Guadalupe.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Isla Espíritu Santo · a full dayAn uninhabited, UNESCO-listed island of pink cliffs and turquoise coves off La Paz, with a stop at the Los Islotes sea lion colony.
- Afternoon · Whale sharks in La Paz Bay · half a dayFrom October to April, young whale sharks feed in the shallows off El Mogote; outings are strictly regulated, with small groups and no touching.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Posada de las Flores Loreto€110 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Todos Santos free · half a dayA small colonial town on the Tropic of Cancer, with artists' studios, galleries and cafés in 19th-century brick houses beside a date-palm oasis.
- Afternoon · El Arco, Cabo San Lucas · about 2 hWater taxis from the marina round the granite arch at the tip of the peninsula to Playa del Amor, reachable only by sea.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Catedral€130 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Cabo Pulmo · a full dayA national park created in 1995 at the request of local fishermen; fish biomass on this old coral reef has more than quadrupled since.
- Afternoon · Loreto and Isla Coronado · a full dayThe first capital of the Californias, with its 1697 Jesuit mission, facing a marine park of desert islands where dolphins and blue whales pass.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Oasis€120 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Ojo de Liebre Lagoon · half a dayNear Guerrero Negro, the main calving ground of the eastern Pacific grey whale, where mothers and calves gather between January and March.
- Afternoon · Valle de Guadalupe · a full dayAn arid valley near Ensenada that makes most of Mexico's wine, from big names such as L.A. Cetto and Monte Xanic to small newer wineries.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Tesoro€150 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Tacos al pastor: pork marinated and carved off a vertical spit, with pineapple and coriander.
- Mole: a sauce of chillies and chocolate, built from twenty ingredients or more.
- Guacamole and antojitos: avocado, quesadillas and the wide Oaxacan tlayuda.
- Tamales: corn dough with a filling, steamed inside a leaf.
- Mezcal and tequila: sipped slowly, not thrown back.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Drink bottled water only, ice included once you leave the hotels.
- Check which areas are advised against before you go, and use Uber or a registered taxi.
- Keep valuables out of sight and carry little cash.
- Haggle in the markets, but not down to nothing: the weaving took days.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Spanish
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Hello | Hola |
| Thank you | Gracias |
| Please | Por favor |
| Yes | Sí |
| No | No |
| Excuse me | Perdone |
| Goodbye | Adiós |
| Do you speak English? | ¿Habla inglés? |
| I don't understand | No entiendo |
| How much is it? | ¿Cuánto cuesta? |
| Where are the toilets? | ¿Dónde están los baños? |
| The bill, please | La cuenta, por favor |
| Help! | ¡Socorro! |
| Cheers! | ¡Salud! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyMexican peso (MXN)
BudgetAbout €100 a day, mid-range
Best seasonNovember to April
PlugA/B · 127V
Tap waterBottled only
Tipping10 to 15%, expected
Emergency911
EntryNo visa for stays of up to 180 days with a passport, for EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian citizens. An officer writes the number of days granted on entry, so check it.
HealthHepatitis A and typhoid are recommended. Malaria is limited to a few lowland areas and there is none on the Yucatán coast. Dengue is present: use repellent.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/baja-california
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.