Baja Sea Kayaking
The Baja Peninsula of Mexico is the most popular winter paddling destination in North America. Miles of wilderness coast are ideal for exploration by sea kayak. And it's not just great sunsets. Snorkeling, scuba, whale watching, hiking, fishing, and surfing. Oh, and drinking tequila.
Plan
I want to do the following things in Baja, in this order of importance.
- Eat Fish Tacos
- Kayaking
- Diving
- Camping
- Desert Inn Hotels has rooms throughout Baja ( www.desertinns.com).
- Camping is generally easy and free in undeveloped areas like Cataviña, or pull into one of the many roadside campgrounds ($5 to $10).
- Surfing
- Season are May to August and December to late January.
- Playa Esmeralda outside the town of Rosarito is a favorite of the surf camping set. Todos Santos and Scorpion Bay are popular to surfers around the world.
- Weather Forecast www.surf-forecast.com;
- surfing guides www.blueplanetsurfmaps.com.
- Mountain Biking
- large Single track network around the town of Los Barriles and into Sierra de la Laguna
- Dune Buggying
- See the Rock Paintings of Sierra de San Francisco
Guides
Self Guided
- La Paz Tourism Office
- Get ingo on self-guided trips here
- Mar Y Aventuras
- Driving: There is no more ideal way to visit Baja than driving some or all of Mexico's 1,034-mile (1,664-kilometer) Highway 1. If you have your own vehicle, bring a license, vehicle registration, and temporary insurance ($13 a day for a late-model SUV; www.discoverbaja.com). For renters, Hertz and Avis have offices in Tijuana and La Paz (between $115 and $130 a day for a 4WD). Car campers may want to learn more about Sportsmobiles, possibly the ultimate Baja vehicle (www.sportsmobile.com). Imagine a Ford Econoline van tricked out with gnarly off-road suspension, comfortable beds, equipment racks, a shower—you get the picture. Keep in mind, Baja's roads are legendarily rugged, with potholes, zero shoulders, asthma-inducing trucks, frequent military checkpoints, and meandering livestock. Definitely sporty.
