Hi!
I'm going to San Diego in December and have 12 days to spend in the area. I was thinking of taking the bus into Mexico, perhaps Baja California. I've been to Mexico before (DF, Chiapas, Yucatán and further south) but never that far north / west. What is there to do in the area? Is it nice to hang out on the beaches, are there any nice beachtowns closer to the border to the US or are the best ones further south towards the Cabo? What places are the most beautiful in Baja?
Would you recommend to spend a week or so in Baja or would you rather go somewhere else and spend more money on a plane ticket to e.g. Yucatán? Because of lack of time, I thought perhaps Baja was a good place.
Are there many buses going from San Diego to Baja? How long is the drive and how much does it cost? Are there any cheap flights?
Many thanks :)
I'm going to San Diego in December and have 12 days to spend in the area. I was thinking of taking the bus into Mexico, perhaps Baja California. I've been to Mexico before (DF, Chiapas, Yucatán and further south) but never that far north / west. What is there to do in the area? Is it nice to hang out on the beaches, are there any nice beachtowns closer to the border to the US or are the best ones further south towards the Cabo? What places are the most beautiful in Baja?
Would you recommend to spend a week or so in Baja or would you rather go somewhere else and spend more money on a plane ticket to e.g. Yucatán? Because of lack of time, I thought perhaps Baja was a good place.
Are there many buses going from San Diego to Baja? How long is the drive and how much does it cost? Are there any cheap flights?
Many thanks :)
1
Hi, I live in the San Diego area and spend time visiting Mexico. The beaches in the San Diego area are great, but if you want to explore Baja, I'd suggest going further south in Baja. Baja sur is safer and lots of great places to explore on Sea of Cortez side and Pacific (and they aren't far apart as you can see from a map but not a lot of roads crossing east/west).A very affordable option to explore is to take Volaris airlines out of Tijuana, I have used them several times myself, very nice airline, part owned by Southwest and very much cheaper than US carriers (you can bus/trolley to San Ysidro on US side, and cab or bus from Mexico side to Airport, which is close by), to La Paz (usually cheaper to go to La Paz than Cabo), then rent a car and drive down or even take a bus, but a car would give you more freedom. I've never been to La Paz personally but it has some things to offer to (the town is a port, nice beaches are a short drive away).
You could go to San Jose Del cabo (very nice authentic city, more relaxed than Cabo), Cabo, Loreto, Todos Santos, then drive back to La Paz or fly back to TJ via San Jose del Cabo (closest town to airport).
The best seafood in the world in my opinion, in Baja too.
2
Also important is what dates -- if your dates are including holidays everything is more $ of course.If you're primarily looking for beach type places, warmth in December, Baja Sur is what you'd want. If you've spent time only on the other side, you'll be amazed what a different world Baja is from east coast of Mexico.
Greyhound does go to Tijuana, you have to pick up the other buses to wherever you're going at the main bus terminal in TJ. The hassle part is coming back over the US border.
3
A big, sweeping, generalization would be to say there is nothing much to see in Mexico north of the Tropic of Cancer. It would not be fair, or true, but it's one way to begin answering your question.There is no reason for Tijuana, Tecate, or Mexicali to exist, other than being on the border with the U.S. Ensenada is an okay seaport. San Felipe and Puerto Penasco are minor fishing villages that happen to be convenient to the southwestern part of the United States. More unfair, sweeping generalizations.
I like La Paz during the cooler months, but it might be too tame for most. Is it worth the bus ride down and back? Nyaaaa, maybe not.
You can go to any of these places and have a great time. But it's not because they have pyramids, or outstanding beaches, or any natural attractions worth talking about. The posters above make some great points about the area. How about coming back to us with more about your expectations, and maybe we can help. Bus travel almost anywhere in Mexico is not a problem.
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