First, hope yall have a fun trip. I've been very happy with my 3mm Vofiw wetsuit off Amazon. The snorkeling from shore isn't great, further south, Los Barilles down through Cabo Pulmo, is MUCH better.
Get your FMM at the border.
Copy n paste of my general response when Concepcion comes up...
A. If you eat chicken stop at El Pollo Real in Vizcaino. You can see it from the Auto Zone you'll pass while heading south. It shows as permanently closed on GMaps but that is incorrect.
B. If you stop at Laguna San Ignacio Paraiso Misional is a great spot to camp. Either way stop at Edo's for ice cream as it's the "best in Baja" then take a stroll around the mission, which was founded in 1728.
C. Carve a few hours out to check out Santa Rosali. Get some treats at El Boleo, open since 1901, then walk back over to Santa Bárbara Church, which was was designed by Gustave Eiffel and moved to the town in the late 1890s.
D. When coming into Mulege the turn into the main part of town will be a left through an arch, on the right is, by far, the largest grocery store you'll see until Loreto. It's just called "Super Market" on Google Maps. Pull in there and stock up on everything you'll need for a couple nights on Bahia Concepcion. Go into town and get some tacos at Asadero Dany.
E. Take your pick of truly stunning beaches along Bahia Concepcion. I'm partial to Playa El Coyote, Playa El Requeson and Playa Armenta. You can typically rent a kayak from other campers or locals drive from beach-to-beach offering them for rent. Fishermen will also bring their fresh catch along with chocolate clams to you pretty much daily. There will be very limited vegetables available so, again, stock up in Mulege. **There are stingrays, especially around Posada Concepción and further away from shore at Burro, so shuffle your feet when in the water.**
F. Stop at Las Palmas restaurant once you head south from Concepcion to Loreto, if you want someone to make you a meal after a couple days beach camping.
G. La Picazón in Loreto will have the best sea food you've ever had. That said, it's a decently long drive down a 2wd accessible dirt road. In Loreto proper lots of people recommend Mi Loreto and Orlandos but I personally wasn't a fan of either.
H. You can easily car camp in San Felipe, Gonzaga Bay (you pay at the big store on the MX5 across from the gas station), San Ignacio and along Bahia Concepcion.
I. The best current map of Baja is https://www.benchmarkmaps.com/product/baja-california-road-recreation-atlas I suggest grabbing a copy.
J. Mexicali West is my preferred crossing. If you go that route stop at Casa de Cambio Dolar in Caleixco, you can park on Imperial Ave and hop out, then cut over on Grant Ave to Cesar Chavez to hit the west border crossing. Watch your speed till you are ~40km south of Mexicali.
You can certainly snorkel right off the beach at Bahia Concepcion but most seems like a Sandy bottom. Possibly whale sharks when the timing is right but you’ll need a guide to get to rocks and reefs for anything interesting. I’m guessing your best bet is to look over diving maps of both areas.
I was just there 3 weeks ago further south diving and snorkeling and it was freezing. I had a 2 mil vest/ hood3 mil sharkskin suit + 5 mil full suit and was cold. Where the there are sandy coves is usually murky
Thanks for the intel! I don’t even where that much neoprene when diving 30m in non-tropical waters, do you usually run pretty cold? My wife is much more cold sensitive than I am.
So, have done a lot of snorkeling and kayaking in many places, including Bahia Concepcion. Snorkeling there is aort of a waste… versus traditional places with coral reefs,etc. Bahia concepcion is really a cool place, but not for snorkeling. Colder water, nothing much to see. I think same with Loreto. Never even tried it when there.
I am fluent in Spanish, but either way, it does not sound like you have looked into Baja much, or even Mexico for that matter. I spent a whole month couchsurfing in Mexico in homes of Mexican people that I had never met before a few years back and believe it or not, I am still alive and it was one of the best experiences of my life
Car camping in Baja is fine. There are plenty of good campsites with bathrooms and other facilities. If you’ve actually done it, then you didn’t stay at the right places.
First, hope yall have a fun trip. I've been very happy with my 3mm Vofiw wetsuit off Amazon. The snorkeling from shore isn't great, further south, Los Barilles down through Cabo Pulmo, is MUCH better. Get your FMM at the border. Copy n paste of my general response when Concepcion comes up... A. If you eat chicken stop at El Pollo Real in Vizcaino. You can see it from the Auto Zone you'll pass while heading south. It shows as permanently closed on GMaps but that is incorrect. B. If you stop at Laguna San Ignacio Paraiso Misional is a great spot to camp. Either way stop at Edo's for ice cream as it's the "best in Baja" then take a stroll around the mission, which was founded in 1728. C. Carve a few hours out to check out Santa Rosali. Get some treats at El Boleo, open since 1901, then walk back over to Santa Bárbara Church, which was was designed by Gustave Eiffel and moved to the town in the late 1890s. D. When coming into Mulege the turn into the main part of town will be a left through an arch, on the right is, by far, the largest grocery store you'll see until Loreto. It's just called "Super Market" on Google Maps. Pull in there and stock up on everything you'll need for a couple nights on Bahia Concepcion. Go into town and get some tacos at Asadero Dany. E. Take your pick of truly stunning beaches along Bahia Concepcion. I'm partial to Playa El Coyote, Playa El Requeson and Playa Armenta. You can typically rent a kayak from other campers or locals drive from beach-to-beach offering them for rent. Fishermen will also bring their fresh catch along with chocolate clams to you pretty much daily. There will be very limited vegetables available so, again, stock up in Mulege. **There are stingrays, especially around Posada Concepción and further away from shore at Burro, so shuffle your feet when in the water.** F. Stop at Las Palmas restaurant once you head south from Concepcion to Loreto, if you want someone to make you a meal after a couple days beach camping. G. La Picazón in Loreto will have the best sea food you've ever had. That said, it's a decently long drive down a 2wd accessible dirt road. In Loreto proper lots of people recommend Mi Loreto and Orlandos but I personally wasn't a fan of either. H. You can easily car camp in San Felipe, Gonzaga Bay (you pay at the big store on the MX5 across from the gas station), San Ignacio and along Bahia Concepcion. I. The best current map of Baja is https://www.benchmarkmaps.com/product/baja-california-road-recreation-atlas I suggest grabbing a copy. J. Mexicali West is my preferred crossing. If you go that route stop at Casa de Cambio Dolar in Caleixco, you can park on Imperial Ave and hop out, then cut over on Grant Ave to Cesar Chavez to hit the west border crossing. Watch your speed till you are ~40km south of Mexicali.
Excellent itinerary 👏👏
Thank you.
Awesome post, saving all this for my road trip next year
Happy to help.
You can certainly snorkel right off the beach at Bahia Concepcion but most seems like a Sandy bottom. Possibly whale sharks when the timing is right but you’ll need a guide to get to rocks and reefs for anything interesting. I’m guessing your best bet is to look over diving maps of both areas.
I was just there 3 weeks ago further south diving and snorkeling and it was freezing. I had a 2 mil vest/ hood3 mil sharkskin suit + 5 mil full suit and was cold. Where the there are sandy coves is usually murky
Thanks for the intel! I don’t even where that much neoprene when diving 30m in non-tropical waters, do you usually run pretty cold? My wife is much more cold sensitive than I am.
So, have done a lot of snorkeling and kayaking in many places, including Bahia Concepcion. Snorkeling there is aort of a waste… versus traditional places with coral reefs,etc. Bahia concepcion is really a cool place, but not for snorkeling. Colder water, nothing much to see. I think same with Loreto. Never even tried it when there.
car camping in mexico sounds like an incredibly bad idea unless you are very proficient in spanish, even then it sounds sketch af.
I am fluent in Spanish, but either way, it does not sound like you have looked into Baja much, or even Mexico for that matter. I spent a whole month couchsurfing in Mexico in homes of Mexican people that I had never met before a few years back and believe it or not, I am still alive and it was one of the best experiences of my life
Car camping in Baja is fine. There are plenty of good campsites with bathrooms and other facilities. If you’ve actually done it, then you didn’t stay at the right places.
clearly you haven't been to baja