The Best Baja California Road Trip

Taking a Baja California road trip from Los Angeles or San Diego makes for an awesome weekend trip!

Did you know Mexico’s Baja California has a wine country? And is home to the second largest marine geyser in the world? You can explore all this and more just a short drive from Los Angeles! Keep reading for tips to plan the best Baja California road trip.

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Baja California Road Trip Overview

PTO/Vacation Days Needed: 0-1
Nights: 3
Cost: $
Exchange Rate: 1 Peso = $0.047 USD

Baja California Road Trip Itinerary

Day 1: Valle de Guadelupe wine tour
Day 2: La Bufadora
Day 3: Lunch in Puerto Nuevo or Tijuana + drive back

How to Get to the Rosarito area of Baja California, Mexico:

If you are already based in Southern California, it’s only a 3-hour drive from LA, or 1.5 hours from San Diego. If you are not based in SoCal, you can always fly into LA or SD and rent a car!

Where to Stay in Baja California, Mexico

You can’t really go wrong staying anywhere along the coast in Rosarito, Puerto Nuevo, Primo Tapia, and La Mision.

the backyard of the awesome VRBO we stayed in!

There are plenty of awesome and affordable houses for rent in the area. If you are traveling with a big group of friends, I HIGHLY recommend renting this awesome house right on the water, just south of Primo Tapia. It sleeps 22 people, has two hot tubs, fire pits, a pool, and a nice backyard overlooking the ocean. There’s a great surf spot right out there as well. We stayed here with a big group of friends and it was amazing!

If you are visiting the area primarily for the wine country, consider staying at the beautiful Vides de Rio Suites, located in Valle Guadelupe, which features a pool overlooking the vast desert-like landscape and is located nearby quite a few wineries!

Baja California Road Trip Day 1:

Valle de Guadelupe Wine Tour

Instead of paying the premium for wine tasting in Napa, head to Mexico’s Valle de Guadelupe wine country for a fraction of the price! Valle de Guadelupe is about a 45 minute drive from the Primo Tapia area.

I recommend booking a tour beforehand through Baja Luxury Wine Tours. They can accommodate any group size for a private wine tour day (I’ve used them on a trip with 4 people as well as a trip with 22 people). The guides are super nice (and speak English well) and will drive you to about 3-4 different wineries, with a tasting included at at least one of them (depending on which package you choose). You will also stop for lunch at a place of your choosing too.

A few of my favorites wineries in Valle Guadelupe:

Decantos Vinícola– Amazing view from the upstairs balcony, great playlist, good vibes

Casa Frida – I LOVE this spot in Valle Guadelupe. I could spend hours here. They have an awesome outdoor patio that has disco balls and a DJ playing during the weekends. There’s also really interesting art to check out inside.

L.A. Cetto winery- I am no wine connoisseur, but the wine here was really good! They have a nice garden terrace area with outdoor seating and a view.

Sol de Media Noche: very local feel- no view, but they give you cheese and dips/spreads to try with your wine. The chimichurri sauce here was so good we bought some to take home!

Your guide will take you wherever you want to go for lunch. I recommend going to Finca Altozano. We loved this spot- the food was incredible, and the view is amazing! I could have spent hours here. It has open air seating situated on a large property with a mountain backdrop, and patio areas to hang out with your drinks after you finish eating.

After lunch, go to any other wineries you may want to visit (ask your driver for recommendations- there are a lot to choose from!) and then head back to La Misión.

Baja California Road Trip: Day 2

La Bufadora

Get an early start to your day to head on a scenic 1.5-hour drive south to check out La Bufadora- the second largest marine geyser in the world (the 1st is in Hawaii).

This spot was pretty crowded compared to the relaxing, off-the-grid feel of the Friday wine country tour, but it makes for a very fun day! There is a huge market that you walk through before you get to the end and see La Bufadora. Take your time slowly meandering through the market (and remember when buying something- everything is negotiable!) The market is typical to what you would expect to see in Mexico- lots of little trinkets and souvenirs, taco stands, and tequila shots!

They have this awesome $1.50 taco place- to find it, look for the words “$1.50 Tacos” on the left side of the street if you are walking in the direction of La Bufadora, at the beginning of the market. This secret unassuming little street restaurant happens to have the BEST VIEW if you walk out through the back to the small balcony. I definitely recommend getting a few tacos here and walking through to the back balcony with bar stools to eat the cheapest lunch with a view you’ll ever have!

After that, keep walking to La Bufadora- at the end of the street. You’ll know you’re there when you see a crowd of people in one spot looking over the edge of the wall facing the cliffs. The geyser blows about once every few minutes and shoots upwards about 100 ft. above sea level! You can also take a kayak tour and get pretty close to it from the water.

Dinner with a View

There are some great spots for dinner in Baja.

La Fonda

If you are staying near La Misión, go out for dinner/drinks at La Fonda. It can be a bit confusing, because “La Fonda” is the name of the tiny town/street of bars and restaurants but is also the in the name of a few restaurants there. I recommend eating on the outside patio of the Original La Fonda restaurant. Great sunset view!

Villa Ortegas

If you are craving seafood, you HAVE to check out Villa Ortegas in the nearby town of Puerto Nuevo. This restaurant is famous for their lobster, and they also have spectacular views situated right over the water. It reminds me of some of the ocean-front restaurants in Malibu (at a fraction of the cost!) The restaurant is located on a street with lots of other little souvenir shops if you want to go shopping afterwards.

Baja California Road Trip: Day 3

Tijuana

On Sunday, start heading back up north towards California , but make a pit-stop in Tijuana on the way! Tijuana is becoming more and more known for their craft beer scene, however we didn’t stop by any breweries this time (will have to go back!) Instead, we headed to the place of the first ever Caesar Salad. Yep- you read that right. Most people don’t know this, but Tijuana is the place of origin of the Caesar Salad! Head to Caesar’s Restaurant to try the original, served table-side. The Italian food we ordered there was also good!

Be sure to stop by the liquor store across the street from Caesar’s Restaurant to pick up some of your favorite bottles of wine from your wine tour to bring home (or a bottle of tequila!) We picked up a few bottles of wine from L.A. Cetto winery for only $6 each.

After lunch, start your drive home- you need to buffer in extra time for the border crossing. While getting across the border to Mexico on the way is a breeze (you don’t even have to stop!) crossing the border back into the US takes awhile. It took us 2 hours with the Fastpass. If you have Global Entry or Sentri, you are able to get in a shorter line as well.

Other Things to Do on your Baja California Road Trip:

See below for a list of things you can add to your itinerary if you have more than a weekend in Baja California!

Plaza Fiesta- craft beer area in Tijuana
Mercado Hidalgo – market in Tijuana
Ride ATVs on the sand dunes of Primo Tapia
Ensenada (town on the way to La Bufadora). I’ve heard it’s fun, but also a bit touristy as this is a cruise port stop

Enjoy!!

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