USA to ENSENADA

Driving Baja California – Part One

Updated July 2022

USA to Ensenada. The first step in driving down the Baja California peninsula to Cabo San Lucus.

Chula Vista, California – To Caravan or not to Caravan

First, get yourself to the KOA campground in Chula Vista, California.   Here, if you have a trailer and intend camping,  you have a decision to make.  You have the option to join a caravan or go alone.  If you decide to go in a caravan, you can arrange that ahead of time (you can find caravan companies on the internet) or just ask around at the campground.   All the caravans form up here.  Being part of a caravan has benefits but also disadvantages.  Here are the benefits:

• The caravan has a leader who knows where he is going, and you will get to your next campground without getting lost.
• You will get assistance if you have mechanical or other problems.
• You will have company to tour with and chat with at each stop.
• There is safety in numbers.

Disadvantages

• It is expensive.  Joining a caravan will cost you about $1,000.  This does not include payment for campgrounds or entrance fees, or anything else.  All you get is what is listed above.
• You have less flexibility.  This is a significant disadvantage for me.  If you like a place and want to stay another day, you can’t because the caravan is moving on.

Another Option

There is a third option.  I did not join a caravan, nor did I go alone.  I started alone but was lucky enough to meet up with another couple with the same timetable, and we travelled the length of the peninsula together.  (They stayed longer than us at Cabo, so we drove back alone).  If you can find someone to drive with, I think this is the best option.  It gives you a second vehicle for assistance if you have any problems.  Perhaps you can talk a friend or relative into going with you or ask around the campground at Chula Vista or your first campground stop in Mexico.

I would not be overly concerned about crime.  Crime is possible anywhere in the world, but the Baja California Peninsula and the Yucatan Peninsula are the safest parts of Mexico.  Millions of tourists go there every year.

For non-campers, you won’t need a caravan or a campground.  There are plenty of good hotels along the way.  Still, you have the option to go alone or with friends in another vehicle.

Insurance and Permits

Before you head into Mexico, you must do a couple of things.  First, you need auto insurance.  Canadian and American auto insurance is not valid in Mexico.  There are plenty of places near the border to buy insurance.  Check more than one as the prices and coverage vary.  Don’t go without it.  If you have an accident in Mexico and don’t have insurance, you might be in big trouble.  Two months with a truck and trailer cost me $450 a few years ago.

Second, you need a Mexican tourist permit.  Many people will tell you that you don’t need one, and that is true if you are staying close to the American border for less than seven days.  For longer trips, you will need one.  You can get it when you drive across the border, but you will have to park and find the place to get it.  I chose to walk across the border the day before and get one so that I did not have to stop on the day I was driving across with my truck and trailer.  Once you get this paper, you don’t need to do anything with it for now.  Somewhere along your trip, before you get back, take it to any bank and, for a fee, they will stamp it.  Be sure to give it back on your way out, or you might have problems on your next trip to Mexico.

And of course, you should have arranged health insurance before you left home.

Vehicle Import Permit

A permit to bring a vehicle into Mexico is required if you are going to the Mexican mainland but not in the Baja California Peninsula if that is the only place you are going.  There is a ferry crossing at the tip of the peninsula if you wish to cross and return on the mainland.  Check all these things before you go, as the rules might change,  but by listing them here, you know what you need to check.

Crossing the Border to Tijuana

OK, you are at Chula Vista, California and have chosen one of the options for travel mentioned above.  You have your auto insurance, and you either have your travel permit or will pick one up when you cross the border.  In my case, I chose the camping method without the aid of a caravan.  Once that is settled, the next problem is to get across the border and past the city of Tijuana.

Getting past the border crossing is simple, although this is the second busiest border crossing in the world, (after the border between Singapore and Malaysia and not counting internal borders between China and its special areas) with some 90,000 vehicles crossing here every day.  You won’t have any problems or delays here.  The problem is getting back into the U.S.A, but we will discuss that later.

After the border crossing is a multi-lane road.   As you cross the border, ensure you are in the extreme right-hand lane.  Just after the border crossing, there are a couple of right turns into a little border community.  You don’t want to go there.  You want the first exit after the border community and the Rio Tijuana (Tijuana River, which is not much of a river).  It is not very far.  It is not a sharp turn but a curve like an exit ramp.  The road then heads back north towards the border, then west to the coast. 

Remember First right after the river. See map.

If You Miss the Turnoff

If you miss this turn, you will be going into the city of Tijuana.  You don’t want this.  It is not a good place to be driving with a large truck and trailer.   However, if this does happen, don’t panic (it happened to me).  Get off the highway.  You should be on Carrilo Puerto.  Look for signs to highway number one or take Negrete to the right.  See the map above and get back on Highway One. This route is shown in purple on the map above.

Trivia

Tijuana is pronounced Tee-Juana, not Tee-a-Juana as most English-speaking people pronounce it

Tijuana Trivia.  The Ceasar salad was invented by an Italian named Caesar Cardini who moved to Tijuana and opened a nightclub there in 1923, called Ceasars.  I have been to it.  It is not much to look at from the outside but is fancy inside.  My brother and I went there in blue jeans and everyone else was wearing suits and ties and the ladies wore long dresses.  One night in 1927, the restaurant was running low on supplies, so Caesar threw together a salad with whatever he had available.  He called it the Caesar salad. 

Update on Ceasars Restaurant 2010. Due to a lack of tourists after 9/11 and long delays at the border, Ceasars went bankrupt and closed in 2009. It had been open since 1923. In 2010, it opened again under new ownership as a hotel and restaurant. No longer a nightclub. The interior is done to look like the 1920s. The new owner is a Mexican, Javier Plasencia, the best chef in Tijuana. It is still the best restaurant in Tijuana, and they still make the original Caesar Salad tableside.

Visiting Caesars

If you want to visit Ceasars, go a day or two before your drive down the Baja Peninsula. Leave your vehicle in the USA.

Website for Ceasars click herehttps://hotelcaesars.com.mx/ (in Spanish)

Choose a campground in Ensenada using a guidebook or online.  I suggest one within walking distance of the Malecon, which is the paved walkway along the town’s coast.

We left early in the morning, so by the time we got settled in the campground, it was only mid-day, and we had time for a walk along the Malecon.  You will see many fishing boats, yachts and perhaps a cruise ship in the harbour.  We saw lots of brown pelicans.  We watched them for a while, and a couple flew by just a metre about our heads.  It was a wonderful sight.  A Mexican navy base with a gigantic flag can be seen all over Ensenada.

Driving Baja California – Part Two

Part one of this trip is mostly about crossing the border.  The fun and photos begin on day two in Ensenda.  Driving Baja California Part Two.