Happy Baja-lidays

December 12, 2008 11:11 AM

The missus and I will be in Baja for the holidays, winging it as usual with no agenda. Where should we go, especially for Christmas and New Years Eve?

We fly into San Diego the night of the 19th and, thanks to all of the reports of violence near the border, have changed our initial plans for a drive down the peninsula in a rental car. Now we're thinking we'd fly down to Loreto or La Paz and spend our time in Baja Sur.

That said, we're wide open as to where to spend our time and where to celebrate the holidays themselves. We've never been to Baja before so all suggestions are welcome.

posted by JaredSeth to travel & transportation (11 comments total)

Well done on canceling the drive.

I was down there for a week with my in-laws for New Year's probably three years ago. Don't know how far south you'd like to go if flying into La Paz, but we had a hotel in Cabo San Jose (loved it), just east of Cabo San Lucas (hated it). We stuck generally to the southernmost portion of Baja California for our forays. Regardless of your destination, you can hire drivers just about anywhere. The trip was planned and paid for by my mother in law (so we stayed at an awesome all-inclusive resort, something I'd never done before with my own family or on my own), so we pretty much hung around the hotel for late-night stuff. ALL the hotels and bars have pretty fantastic New Year's parties though, so I would imagine hitting up either of these (admittedly touristy, though San Jose's less so) cities would be a very safe bet for some safe-ish fun.

And I don't care how cold the water is (it was for us), rent a wetsuit and some snorkeling gear and go snorkeling.

Just like anywhere: tourist zones will be a bit more opulent (Baja Califonia standards) if you're looking for a party, and there will be more to "do" (i.e., spend money on); and face it, you'll have more fun there if you don't speak Spanish since many of the vendors/workers/etc. in the touristy areas spoke English (I speak Spanish and hardly ever had to, as everyone was just so excited to get you to buy something from them). Just like anywhere: It's not as much fun when you're in an impoverished area and you don't know how to ask someone "is this a bar or just your crappy house?"
posted by resurrexit at 11:41 AM on December 12, 2008

Thanks for the info, resurrexit. I should have mentioned that we tend to avoid touristy areas (so I imagine we'd prefer Cabo San Jose over San Lucas, assuming we don't avoid Los Cabos altogether). In fact, we figure if we have nights where we can't find where to stay, we can always camp.
posted by JaredSeth at 11:59 AM on December 12, 2008

Remember in The Shawshank Redemption where Andy Dufresne talks about where he'd go if he got out of prison? Zihuatanejo. Its actually turned into a really incredible beach resort town. Its not in Baja though, further south, a couple hours north of Acapulco. US Air flies direct to Ixtapa (15 minute cab ride to Zihua) from Phoenix, not sure about SD though. There's a Club Med there, the Tides Zihua Hotel comes highly recommended, and there's a nice botique-style place called Hotel Tentaciones. Lots of other options too. Incredible eating, shopping, and beaching. One of my favorite places in all of Mexico - feels incredibly removed.
posted by allkindsoftime at 12:53 PM on December 12, 2008

If you avoid touristy areas then just steer clear of Cabo altogether. Loreto, La Paz or Todos Santos would be much more your speed.

La Paz is much more of a small city than Loreto. We've been to both and enjoyed each, but Loreto has much more of a relaxed small town vibe. Plus, you don't need a car- you can walk everywhere in town, and the best stuff you need to take a boat ride to go see anyway. Do you dive? I've been diving in La Paz, a pretty interesting wreck dive with very playful sea lions checking us out. I was pregnant when we were in Loreto so no diving, only snorkeling, and was pleasantly surprised at the clarity of the water and the variety of marine life.

If you are less interested in diving, you might consider Todos Santos. It's on the other side of the peninsula, a good drive from either La Paz or Cabo, very small but really charming with a couple of great restaurants and interesting galleries. I'm not a surfer but I understand that there is great surfing to be had near Todos Santos.

I should add that Loreto hasn't been ruined by development yet, but the emphasis is on yet. So that would be my first choice if I were in your shoes.
posted by ambrosia at 1:49 PM on December 12, 2008

ambrosia: yes, we dive and snorkel. And, as it happens, I don't drive so good to know about Loreto.

allkinds: Zihua is on my someday list, and Shawshank is what first put it on my radar.
posted by JaredSeth at 2:36 PM on December 12, 2008

I haven't been there in ten years, but Mulege, up the Cortez coast from Loreto, is a neat little town (with a NOLS headquarters on a beach just outside town to the south).

Loreto's a great little town though. Definitely worth a few days to explore the area.
posted by Pantengliopoli at 3:41 PM on December 12, 2008

I'd pick Loreto over Mulege. They're both reasonably non-tourist but Mulege is a bit too small for me to want to spend more than a day or two (pop 3,000 vs 10,000 for Loreto.)

(I so wanted to go to Loreto this winter, but can't make it.)
posted by anadem at 5:38 PM on December 12, 2008

Just curious, can I expect beach going weather as far north as Mulege?
posted by JaredSeth at 6:01 PM on December 12, 2008

I spent a New Year's camping on the beach south of Mulege a while back, and I remember mostly mild weather but with one day that was windy enough to blow tents over. We moved on when the Green Tortoise bus unloaded down the beach. I have heard that Mulege has grown quite a bit recently, but I think Mulege, Loreto, Santa Rosalia, and (for a bigger-city feel) La Paz are all great places to spend some time.
I also liked spending an evening in San Ignacio, which is on Highway 1 between Santa Rosalia and Guerrero Negro -- it was easy to imagine being in a Mexican town 100 years back, with people visiting and playing guitars on their front porches under an incredible desert night sky. The town cop checked on us and then told us to just pitch our tent wherever. Not sure how you'd get there without driving, though.
posted by Killick at 7:50 AM on December 13, 2008

I drove down from San Diego about three years ago and stayed in Ensenada for New Year's Eve. It was a great time. I don't know about violence on the border but the main highway is a standard, well-used and busy highway like you would find anywhere. I sincerely doubt that you would have any troubles driving this highway unless you get well off the beaten road in questionable areas. I'm sure driving through LA provides more danger.
posted by JJ86 at 7:51 AM on December 13, 2008

Thanks, everyone. I've marked a few answers as "best" but if anyone else checks the thread, please feel free to add more info.
posted by JaredSeth at 8:16 AM on December 13, 2008