Our 9 RV Stops Through Baja - A Summary
We took our 42 ft. fifth wheel down the Baja peninsula for the winter of 2021-2022 and absolutely loved it.
I did a ton of planning and research and picked the brains of RVers who had gone before us in order to prepare. Here is a snapshot of our route during our 3.5 month trip!
Before we crossed the border
We were staying in Palm Springs for several weeks before leaving, getting things in order such as buying Mexican auto insurance, stocking up on groceries, leaving our plants with plant sitters, brushing up on last minute Spanish lessons, etc. We decided to drive to El Centro, CA and stayed in the Walmart parking lot the night before the border crossing. It was the best Walmart we’ve ever stayed at! It was well lit and pretty quiet. We were with our buddies, @haagbrigade, and we were excited to have friends to share the experience with!
Read more about what we did to prepare for Baja →
The border crossing
We recommend the Mexicali East border crossing. There is a large overhang with plenty of clearance for any size vehicle, unlike the shorter one at Mexicali West.
Do not go to Mexicali West! Our friends were directed by the border guards to drive under an overhang that was too short for their RV at Mexicali West and damaged their RV pretty badly. Stick with Mexicali East! We crossed the border on December 28, 2021.
1st Stop: San Felipe
After crossing, our first stop was San Felipe. We enjoyed checking it out for a week, but would probably skip it next time, as we like the more southern areas better. Two great places for a free overnight sleep are San Felipe Brewing and Chateau San Felipe. Contact both before going to make sure there’s space for you and be sure and support the businesses by having drinks and/or dinner there if you stay!
While here, we joined up with another family @new.age.nomads so we became a caravan of 3.
2nd Stop: Guerrero Negro
After a week in San Felipe, we headed south and had a one night stopover in Guerrero Negro. We opted to stay at Mario’s Restaurant, which has a full hookup RV park behind behind the restaurant. It is easy to get a spot there, as most people just use Guerrero Negro as a stopover.
We paid $15 for our full hookup spot and no reservations are needed. This spot is ideal for big RVs due to it’s layout and it’s large number of pull-thru sites. While this was a longer drive for us, it did not take the 6+ hours that Google Maps estimated.
We have stayed here several times and have reaiized that the hookups are unreliable. Some sites have power that works, some have working water, all have sewer. You will want to test out the utilities at each site before choosing one!
Many people stop here and book a whale tour, as this is one of 3 bays where whales migrate to each winter to birth their babies. Unfortunately, we weren’t here in the specific window of time to see this. Plan to be here between mid February and mid March if you want to witness this beautiful event!
3rd Stop: Mulegé
On the way to our next destination, Highway 5 narrowed even more, and giant semi trucks were barreling towards us.
Unfortunately for our friends @new.age.nomads, while driving their Class A on the highway, their side mirror smashed into an oncoming semi truck’s side mirror, creating an explosion of glass, metal, and plastic! Thankfully everyone was ok, and no other damage was done, but it was scary! After this incident, we started slowing down significantly anytime a big truck was coming.
We finally arrived at our next destination- Mulegé! We enjoyed this little oasis town for 3 weeks before a short little drive to our 4th stop.
4th Stop: Playa Santispac
Playa Santispac is part of Bahía Concepción, a beautiful bay on the Gulf of California (and favorite place to paddleboard!).
While in Mulegé, we visited many of the beaches in Bahía Concepción in search for the best boondocking spot for three large RVs.
We chose Santispac due to it’s size and ease of getting to. We LOVED our time here during our weeklong boondocking stay. Beach boondocking is the BEST
5th Stop: Loreto
After a week of boondocking, our next destination was a full hookup park in Loreto called Loreto Shores.
It was a short, beautiful drive that started off hugging the cliffs of Bahía Concepción!
We only stayed here a week before moving on to another beach boondocking near the airport. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to get there using Google Maps, so some scouting and exploring with your tow vehicle would be necessary to find a good route for your RV.
6th Stop: La Paz
After several weeks in Loreto, we moved on to the capital city of La Paz. We loved our time in La Paz! Even after 3 weeks there, we felt like we wanted to stay longer. We couldn’t recommend our campground, Campestre Maranatha, more. It was a great spot to park the RV while we explored La Paz and the surrounding area and catch up with our good friends, @sojourning_smiths.
7th Stop: Playa Tecolote
After 3 weeks in a full hookup park in La Paz, we headed just south of town for more beach boondocking at beautiful Tecolote. It fills up with beach campers on the weekends, but there is a lot of space and is pretty easy to navigate for big RVs. There is an area of deep sand where we saw lots of people get stuck, so be sure and scout out your path to the beach spots and make sure it’s solid!
8th Stop: Los Barriles
After moving on from Tecolote, we headed to Los Barriles for two weeks. It was a charming little town that really grew on us!
From here we were able to visit Cabo Pulmo National Park and check out some kite surfers.
9th Stop: Cerritos Beach
After Los Barriles, we made it to the long awaited Cerritos Beach for even MORE beach boondocking. It was the perfect place to finish up our Baja trip
Summary
By the end of our trip, we had spent more time than anticipated in Baja (check out why), but still didn’t want to come back! We had some family plans and work obligations that brought us back to the US, but we are already mapping out our trek down later this year as we completely fell in love with this part of Mexico!
We will likely make some changes to our route next time, but we couldn’t have been happier with our experience on this trip!
2024 update
After several more treks down the penninsula, we now don’t stay in the Walmart parking lot before crossing. We leave from Palm Springs RV Resort in Palm Desert, CA. One year our next stop was Puertecitos where we enjoyed the hot springs, and another year we boondocked at San Felipe Brewing.
For stop #2, if you want shorter drive days, an option that a lot of friends have stayed at is Rancho Grande in Gonzaga Bay. It’s beach boondocking. Another alternative to stopping in Guerrero Negro (where we stop on night 2) is to go a bit futher and stay in the quaint town of San Ignacio. Two options of places to stay there are Rice and Beans and El Pedrino Campground.
After our stop in that area, our next stop is always Playa Santispac. One year we stayed at Playa Requeson, which was beautiful, but we just personally prefer Santispac. Both are great options though.
Have you RV’d through Baja? What did we miss?? Where should we go next time?
Leave your tips in the comments below!