Baja California Overview

Cradled between the warm, tranquil Sea of Cortés on the east and the cold, raging Pacific Ocean on the west, the peninsula of Baja California claims one of the most spectacular and diverse landscapes in the world. Sparse expanses of sandy deserts give way to barren mountains jutting into cloudless sky. The high-altitude national parks of northern Baja California are home to evergreens and snow during the winter months. And then, of course, there’s the unbelievably blue-green water surrounding Baja California’s miles of uninhabited shoreline. Waters flow past coral reefs, encircle rocky coves, and lap at thousands of miles of white sand lining both coasts. Called “el otro México” (the other Mexico), Baja California is neither here nor there: not at all California, yet nothing like mainland Mexico. Baja was permanently settled by the Franciscans and Jesuits in the 1600s, who left their legacy in sleepy towns like San Ignacio. Indeed, the peninsula’s small Jesuit missions contrast with mainland Mexico’s massive Mayan and Zapotec temples.

Until 1973, when the Transpeninsular Highway (Mex. 1) was completed, the only way to reach Baja California’s rugged desert terrain was by plane or boat. With the addition of better toll roads and ferry service, Baja has become a popular vacation spot among Arizonans, Californians, and Mexicans, as well as a destination for American expats and retirees. Vacationers range from hardy campers to families that stay in the peninsula’s many RV parks. Large resort hotels and condominium complexes are rapidly developing to accommodate human torrents to the south. Cabo San Lucas, the mega-resort haven on the southern tip, and Tijuana, the bawdy border wasteland of Baja California Norte, have both embraced the US dollar, leading to two highly Americanized travel destinations at opposite ends of the peninsula. La Paz, the capital of Baja California Sur, is a southern beacon of beauty for resort-weary port-seekers. But it is Baja’s southern midsection—from the tranquility of Mulegé to the palm-laden oasis town of San Ignacio to the thousands of undisturbed beaches beneath sheer cliffs—that is most pristine and mysterious. Most of Baja California is still somewhat of an undiscovered country, prime for the budget traveler to explore.

• Getting Around

Highways quickly degrade into pothole-ridden stretches of pavement, making speeds in excess of 80km per hr. dangerous. Livestock on the highways and a lack of guardrails make driving at night impossible—if ...more