Every Miles A Memory
Expedition Leader
Conclusion
With our first adventure South of Border under our belt, we thought we'd put together a page to list a few of the things we learned while traveling through this beautiful area in case you dont want to go and read the entire thread.
We're not trying to replace Mike and Terri Church's Traveler's Guide to Camping Mexico's Baja, which most call the Baja Bible. We're just passing along a few pieces of info that we learned in our 6 weeks in Baja.
First and foremost, we'd recommend that anyone who is going to travel into Mexico, have their RV or any vehicle you plan on bringing in tip-top shape. These roads are some of the worst we've ever seen, and any vehicle that is not in perfect shape is just asking for trouble.
Our 25' travel trailer was fine for the rough roads, but we think the ideal way to travel in this country would be with a Slide-In Truck Camper, a van camper or something small and dompletely self sufficient.
Many of the beautiful sights are on some rough roads and a Class A motorhome or anything larger than a small travel trailer will limit you to where you can get to.
Even with our small camper, there is just no way to pull off the road when you see the breath taking boulder fields around Catavina, or one of the many magnificent vistas when coming over a mountain top, or being able to get back to those secluded beaches along the Pacific Coast that leave you with miles of empty shoreline. But with a 4-wheel drive truck and a slide-in, we think you could just about reach every part of the Baja Peninsula.
The weather is nice enough and you'll be outside 90% of the time, so the small living quarters of a slide-in would be suitable for an extended stay. Not like the winter in the States where those cold nights and chilly days leave you feeling cramped when you're holed up in those small spaces.
Even though I normally hate tent camping for any length of time because of the dampness of it, the weather we experienced while in Baja for the months of March and April, would make even that type of camping tolerable. This would also make setting up camp on many of the beaches a breeze and would allow even a lighter mode of travel for better fuel mileage. For those two months, we experienced daily temperatures in the 70's and 80's, with some days getting up into the 90's, but there was almost always a nice breeze to cool you off.
Most nights we fought for the blankets when the temperatures would drop down into the upper 50's. But this makes for fantastic sleeping weather. The only places we found it too hot, was in the middle of the Peninsula (Ciudad Constitución) where you don't have the ocean breezes to keep you cool.
Then again, who wants to camp here except for just passing through?
Travel Tips for Baja
* Take It Slow - Don't plan on getting anywhere fast! The roads are bad, and the locals drive like crazy lunatics. If there is one thing we would stress over and over, it would be to take it slow, and don't plan on logging too many miles in a single day.
Do not Drive at Night! Almost all of Baja is open range and the cattle migrate towards the roads at night for the warmth. Only one night did we drive after dark and we saw numerous cattle along the edge of the road side!
* Mexican Insurance - You need to have a separate insurance policy for any vehicle you bring into Mexico. Don't risk being caught without insurance, and most American Companies will only cover the first 20-50 miles across the border.
* Fuel - There are only Pemex gas stations in Baja. The government owns them all so the prices should be regulated. Make sure you know they don't accept Credit Cards. Cash Only!
We heard tons of rumors about scams at the pump, but had no problems what so ever! We just made sure the attendant knew we were watching as every station is full serve. I just always stood beside him making small talk or watching what he was doing.
Another thing to remember if you need Diesel is the color of their diesel pumps are Black not Green. In the United States every station lets you know which pump to go to with the color of the pump. Diesel is almost always green in the USA. Not here, it's Black. Green means they have Gasoline. If you have a brand new diesel, Mexico doesn't have Low-Sulfur Diesel yet...as of 2008 when this trip was made? This might have changed since then.
If you use Gasoline, not every station has premium and many of the stations run out of fuel at various times. Plan on bringing a few fuel cans and keeping them full. You'll have numerous sections of road where you might go for 300 miles or more with no stations in between.
We kept three, 6-gallon fuel cans with us at all times just incase we ran into any stations that were out of fuel. A few times we would pull into a station that would be out of Gas, but all still had diesel. Remember that not all stations have diesel to begin with just like in the states.
Not all of the stations have Premium Gas either. So if you're bringing a vehicle that is used to higher octane fuel, bring some bottles of Octane Boost. A few of the stations we noticed the gas was a 86 octane rating which is Farm Grade here in the States
* Cash vs. Credit Card - Credit Cards are seldom accepted unless in big cities like Cabo, La Paz or a few of the other growing towns. Plan on having plenty of cash on hand.
* Travelers Checks - We were told to bring travelers checks down with us but few places would accept them. Unless you go to the bank and get them exchanged for Peso's, you'll be stuck with money you cant use. Remember when you do go to the bank to exchange them, you need to have your passport with you.
* Pesos - The best thing to do is exchange your currency for Pesos as soon as possible. If you try and spend your American or Canadian Dollar, no one will give you the exchange rate, so you're just wasting money.
Find a bank and exchange your American or Canadian Money for Pesos which are much easier to use anyway. This way there is no confusion in trying to figure out how much you owe the cashier for your six-pack.
* Cell Phones and Calling Cards - We have Verizon Cell Phones and were told that we would have a signal the entire time we were in Mexico but would be charged international rates which would equal to anywhere from $1 per minute to $4 per minute.
Thank God we never needed to use them in case of an emergency because we never once got a signal. We were in one spot with another couple while she sat talking on her AT&T phone while my Verizon phone said 'Service Unavailable'. So don't plan on having cell phone coverage in Baja if you use Verizon.
To use a calling card, you must use Telmex cards which can be bought at most convenience stores in many of the towns and villages. At first we were unable to get our AT&T calling cards to work, but Luke Porter sent me an email and said this
"The numbers I use for my AT&T card to call from Mexico are 01-800-288-2872 or 001-800-462-4240. No typos there.
Then they ask for the number you are calling. This refers to the 800 number you use in the States to initiate a call. Then your pin, then the US number you are calling."
Once we tried the number Luke gave us, everything worked fine. Thanks Luke!
* Internet Coverage - Normally in the United States we use a Broadband Card to stay connected. We were told by our provider we would be charged $.99 per minute to use it in Mexico.
We had so much trouble sending emails while in Baja, we ended up starting a Google Gmail account because our normal email wouldn't work. The only reason we found this out was after sitting in an internet cafe in Mulegé talking about how nothing would work, a fellow American said he was having the same trouble and went to Gmail.
One thing to remember is most places have fast download speeds, but turtle slow upload speeds.
* Specialty Items - Anything that is a specialty item, make sure to bring it with you. I was surprised at the limited availability of just about any RV/Camping accessories South of the Border. I don't think we saw any stores where we could have bought a sewer hose, awning parts, jack stands or any item to repair anything that might break.
It's not like in the States where you have a RV Shop around every corner incase you forgot anything. Baja is for an experienced RVer who already has many of the kinks of RVing under their belt. It's not the place to take your brand new RV/Camper to to see how you like it.
We did get this email from Chuck after we had mentioned our limited findings on RV Supplies.
Hi Pat and Cindy, Chuck here from Wahoo RV Center in San Jose Del Cabo , as a fellow Michigander, I would like to let you know that we have the largest stock of repair parts for RV's in Mexico and if you are still in Los Cabos and if there is anything you two need for your trailer to make your trip go smother, please let me know. If you are in San Jose just stop by and say hi.
Were in Michigan are you from? Our phone at the shop is 624-142-3792
If you need a map to our store, Click Here. Hope to meet you some time.
Chuck Schmuck from Howell, Michigan
* Bring an Extra Sewer Hose. We normally carry a 20' hose and a 5' hose. We use our 5' hose for when we are just pulling up to the dump station, and the 20' hose for when we're camped with full hook-ups.
What we found in Baja was most campgrounds that had full hook-ups had their sewer taps behind the camper. This means you have to have enough hose to make it a few feet behind your camper. Like I said, you wont find a place to buy more hose once you're down here, so it's best to make sure you have plenty of sewer hose.
* Electrical Surge Protector and proper connectors to make the switch between 15amp to 30amp and if you have a 50amp coach, then make sure you have the proper connections to step down. We didn't have one for our first trip, but next time we come down, I'd make sure to buy one of the Line Conditioners like an Autoformer or one of the Electrical Surge Guards. Most of the Campgrounds only offered 15amp services and the power was very dim and erratic
* Voltage Tester- This is a good tool to have in any RV, but is mandatory in Mexico. One campground we stayed in had such low power, that we just decided to not hook up and pay for the site with no amenities. The voltage would jump from red to green non-stop and we didn't want to risk having anything surged, so we just chose not to plug in.
* Window Awnings or Window Covers. To find a campsite with shade is next to impossible in Mexico, and I cant imagine how hot the camper would have been if we hadn't had the window covers made before we left for the trip. Check out Best RV for great Window Covers that helped keep the inside of the camper cool during the hot part of the days.
* Solar Panels or a Wind Turbine and a good set of Deep-Cell batteries. The best campsites are going to be without hook-ups. We camped on Playa Santispac for a week and never had to run our generator due to the power of the sun. There wasn't a cloud in the sky from sun up to sun down and our batteries were never low on power.
I only wish we had Our Wind Turbine to generate power from the daily winds that would blow off the ocean. There was never a day that we didn't have a nice breeze that we could have been using to our advantage. If there was ever a place where Solar Panels and Turbines make since, it's Baja Mexico.
* Tires - A good set of tires on anything you bring. This is probably one of the most important items you should have. We cant stress enough how rough the roads are. Luckily for us, we went without incident for 6 weeks.
But we spoke with one guy who said he had 5 flats in 600 miles! He went through a full set of tires and was waiting for another shipment before he could leave. I don't know if he was that overloaded, but all of them were complete blowouts and not something that could just be patched.
Our travel partners we tagged along with for the first few weeks had one incident where he found a screw in his tire of his tow vehicle and was able to get it patched for only $6. But a new set of tires is not something you want to be waiting on.
* Whale Watching - If you're coming down during the months of March, plan on stopping in Guerrero Negro and going on one of the whale watching trips.
We camped at Malarrimo Campground in Guerrero Negro where you can take their own guided trip for $50 per person. The trip was outstanding and something I'll never forget. You also leave right from the campground on their bus and return back to your camper. A sack lunch is included, but they fed us Fish Sandwiches! After spending a few hours photographing whales, I was in no mood for a fish sandwich!
Plan on bringing plenty of batteries for you camera and a few more Memory Cards than you think you'll need for all the images you'll be taking.
We also took a Whale Watching Trip out of Lopez Mateos which was just as good as the one in Guerrero Negro and maybe even better. Each area you'll see different whales with different personalities. The trip out of Lopez Mateos was only $21 per person, but we drove to the boat dock, and it didn't include a lunch.
I'd recommend taking multiple trips as this is such an awesome experience I could do it every day if I could afford it.
* Day Trips - Another great day trip was a boat tour around Isla Espiritu Santo off of La Paz. This island offers so much to see and gives you a chance to snorkel with California Sea Lions. This was amazing and I'd highly recommend it! Our Gallery from this day trip can be seen here Isla Espiritu Santo Gallery
* This leads me to my next subject. An Underwater Camera. This used to be a very expensive option for a photographer, but with the new digital cameras becoming so advanced, they have plenty of options of inexpensive Point & Shoots that have underwater capabilities. With the amount of amazing underwater wildlife you'll see in Baja, this is a must for any photographer.
If you don't want to drop a bunch of money on an underwater specific camera, at least buy a Aquapac Underwater Bag which will allow you to use it both above the aquatic surface and keep your camera safe from sand, dust and anything else Mother Nature can throw at it.
* Satellite Radio - This is a must unless you enjoy Mexican music. There are no American radio stations, and only a few Mexican stations to choose from. We have a Sirius Satellite Radio and before we left I called the company to see if we needed to do anything different to get a signal while in Baja.
The operator told me I'd probably only get a signal for the first 100 miles and then they didn't offer anything farther South than that. But this is untrue. We kept the signal the entire time and never lost it at all.
I cant imagine the long drives with no radio available and would put this at the top of any Baja Road Trip. Talking with a few other travelers, they all mentioned how boring the roads would be without their satellite radio.
