My wife and I took a first-time driving trip down the length of Baja and enjoyed our travel -- for the most part. We drove a 21 ft. self-contained motor home and stayed in RV parks or campgrounds each night we were traveling. We did not drive at night. This was not a "See Baja" type of trip for us, but more a point to point trip to a specific destination, and then back. Our destination, and where we spent the vast majority of time, was Marina de La Paz, where we stayed with friends on their boat. This web site was extremely helpful in helping us prepare for the trip, especially in planning for refueling stops and trying to avoid the gas pump scams, plus helping us find a place to spend the nights on the road. Here is a summary of what we learned during our road trip.
ROAD: The road is exactly as described elsewhere on this site. Once past Ensenada, it becomes a very narrow 2-lane roadway without shoulders for probably 90 to 95% of its length. There is a major difference between the roads in BC Norte vs. BC Sur in that the roads are in much better condition south of Guerrero Negro. In Baja California Norte, the section of road between El Rosario and about 25 miles north of Guerrero Negro is quite rough, with more or less continuous potholes, no guardrails, missing road markers, and is very narrow in stretches. The narrowness is an issue for RVers since it requires significant driving concentration to avoid going off the road when meeting large vehicles going the opposite direction. While driving between the larger towns there is very little traffic, so it's far easier to drive down the middle of the roadway.
We drove by ourselves, but if you are planning to be part of a multi-vehicle RV caravan, PLEASE drive with large gaps of at least 100+ yards between all vehicles. We observed dangerous passing situations because of frustrated Mexican truck and bus drivers trying to pass long trains of caravans where everyone was bunched up together. It's not necessary to drive bumper to bumper -- be considerate and make this road safer by leaving lots of room for passing.
The road is not built for speed, as is quickly noticed in the curves and turns in the hilly regions, if for no other reason than there is little or no banking of the roadway. If you don't try to speed or drive at night and take care to avoid large animals on the road, it's not too bad -- except for those tight passing situations. Once past Guerrero Negro you will notice that the roadway is wider (although still quite narrow by US standards) and better marked. In many long stretches the roadway is obviously quite new and is a pleasure to drive.
Regarding altitude changes, the road does have periodic passes through semi-mountainous terrain, but I don't think we ever climbed more than about 1500 to 2000 ft. Compared to driving in the Sierra Nevadas, it's pretty well graded and not too steep. The most significant pass to negotiate is a section of road just north of Santa Rosalia. This very steep and curvy section of road is probably less than 5 miles in length, but has serious drop-offs alongside most of the road. There are good guardrails, so go slow and it's no problem at all.
We saw occasional "Green Angels" at opposite ends of the highway, but can't remember seeing any in between. You're largely on your own out there, so prepare and drive accordingly. We saw no medical facilities outside the larger towns.
One other item of learning -- when you see a series of stripes painted across your lane, it means "slow down." The lines are often used to signal a pedestrian or school crossing, but is also sometimes used to warn of a tight or dangerous curve or vado ahead.
In summary, the roads remind me a great deal of the secondary 2-lane desert highways from 50+ years ago. If you remember driving high-desert roads way back then, you'll know how to drive the Transpeninsular Highway.
TOPES (speed bumps): There are significant topes in various places on this road. Here's a list of all that we saw on the main road (Highway 1).
2 topes at Santo Tomas, south of El Maneadero. They are of the "serious" kind.
2 topes within the town of Guerrero Negro, which is adjacent to the main road, but you'll need to get gas here, so be careful.
5 topes at Viscaino
3 topes at Santa Rosalia
3 topes at San Ignacio. These are "serious," stop & go, topes.
3 topes at Mulege, one at each end and one in the middle.
No more topes once past Mulege
VADOS (dips in road where water drains across): All vados were dry except for a couple of them near Cataviña. Both of these had some water crossing the very deep vados -- however the water was shallow. The big problem was animals in and around the roadway drinking and eating the lush, green growth. Fast driving into and out of the deeper vados would be akin to a roller coaster ride, and patently foolish, since a fast-moving car chassis will likely bottom out on the pavement at the low part of the vado.
GAS STATIONS: Gas prices as of 1/14/00 was $4.62/Liter for regular (Magna Sin) and $5.02/Liter for Premium. At 3.78 Liters/Gallon and 9.3 Pesos/Dollar, this amounts to $1.88US and $2.04US per gallon, respectively. I did not see the price of diesel. There was no lack of unleaded fuel during any part of our trip.
We got "bit" by gas station rip-offs twice, but fortunately it was for small amounts. One rip-off was the oft described reset button scam. I was just topping off outside Ensenada, so there was very little damage. The other was in Guerrero Negro, when the attendant stopped filling the tank 5 pesos shy of what I paid him to put in, then walked away without giving me the change. I chose to let it go, but today, being wiser and less timid, I would demand my change.
The best defense against rip-offs is to open your own tank and then stand there and watch the ENTIRE fueling operation. Only after the attendant has put the cap back on the tank and hands you your keys are you safe from rip-off.
What was unexpected was finding a few self-service Pemex stations out there. Just like in Los Angeles, you pay the person behind the window labeled "CAJA," then pump the gas.
We observed Pemex stations at the following locations:
South of Ensenada, many stations, but becoming infrequent after Meaneadero
Santo Tomas
San Telmo de Abajo (about 160 miles south of San Diego), a new self-serve
El Rosario, self-serve at north end of town
Road to LA Bay -- no station, but "entrepreneurs" sell gas out of 55 gal. drums
Guerrero Negro: two stations in town. Outside of town there is a new station under construction immediately north of the military checkpoint and eagle monument. It may be open by summer, 2000.
Viscaino
Santa Rosalia
Mulege, 2 stations. The large station south of town, on the main road, has lots of space and should be used by RVs. The small station in town is suitable for cars and for very small RVs. The roads in town are quite narrow and have tight turns, plus several topes.
Loreto
Cuidad Constitucion, 3 stations. The north station is self-serve.
La Paz and south, there are many stations.
CAMPING: We stopped at the following campgrounds;
La Jolla Beach Camp south of Ensenada. Very basic.
Malarimmo RV Park. Behind the Malarimmo Restaurant (can be noisy). The price was $12US for 2 persons. Hot showers, hookups. Some concrete pads, some dirt.
Loreto Shores RV Park. On the beach. Price for dry camping was $10US per night for 2 persons. Hot showers. Full hookups available. All dirt. Managed by an American woman named "Jan".
El Pabellon RV Park. South of Santa Maria. Price was $5US per night per vehicle for dry camping. Water and Sewage hookups available, but no electricity. Nice place on a beautiful beach. All sand and dirt. Rough road in/out.
INSPECTIONS: We were stopped at several army and PRG (drug police) checkpoints. We were waved through only two of them and were "inspected" at all the rest. The inspections consisted of one or more men asking to be admitted through the side door of our motorhome, then looking/poking around, always with one of us in attendance. We quickly figured out that things went faster if my wife was with the inspector(s). Most times they opened a few of our cabinet doors and drawers and took casual looks inside, almost never rummaging around. Only once did they look in the bathroom and they never did look in the over-cab bed area. They also never looked in any of the several exterior compartments on the RV body. They were always friendly and polite and my impression is that they were mostly curious about our possessions since the search was very far from what I would call "thorough." They always asked questions about pictures of our grown children that we had attached to the refrigerator door, especially our attractive daughter. By all means, do display family photos to help break the ice. We were never asked for nor did we offer any Cokes, candy, etc., as a means of softening the process.
The whole inspection process is mostly a nuisance that seems more like an unnecessary demonstration of power and authority. The only time we felt concern was at two of the inspections when the inspector boarded with a battery powered drill motor affixed with a long 1/4" bit. No holes were drilled or even threatened to be drilled, but I had a few anxious moments as I envisaged them making holes in my motorhome.
The following locations had inspection stations established:
Ensenada Toll Road, army inspection (random vehicle inspections only)
North of Santo Tomas, PRG inspection (with drill motor in hand)
Between LA Bay and Cataviña, army checkpoint (unoccupied at the time we passed through)
South of Cataviña, army checkpoint (unoccupied at the time we passed through)
North of Guerrero Negro, fruit inspection & pesticide spray on chassis (20 pesos)
North of Guerrero Negro, PRG inspection (with drill motor in hand)
North of San Ignacio, army inspection
South of Loreto, army inspection
North of La Paz, army inspection
VISAS: We crossed the border on Sunday and made our first stop past Ensenada, so we could not get visas in Ensenada. The next day we entered Guerrero Negro in the late afternoon after the Migracion guy had gone home for the day (he's located in the same building as the fruit inspection people). We expressed concern about not being able to get our visas, but we were told "No problem, get visas at Santa Rosalia", which is what we did, the next day, at the gray government building immediately north of the green ferry terminal building. Passports were required. We paid our 153 pesos per person fee in La Paz due to the hassle of driving an RV around Santa Rosalia while looking for a bank.
Interestingly, at no time did any official in any location ever ask to see our visas, even though we went through at least a dozen "inspections." Go figure.
SUMMARY: We drove 2500 miles on this, our first, trip from LA to the end of Baja and back. In spite of the negative feelings we have due to the looming military presence, we plan to go again so we can stop and visit some of the many interesting looking places we drove past. We never expected to see a palm filled oasis, but we saw more than one. We never expected to see the huge areas of green fields from extensive agriculture operations, but we did. We did not take a tour of Scammons Lagoon to watch whales, but we will next time. Besides stopping to see the sights, another change I'll make is that I'll bring more spare parts along for the camper (it took me 3 days to find a thermostat for my Dodge engine) and will carry a couple of Jerry cans of gas well above my back bumper. The gas is mostly for those who need some because they didn't realize how far apart Pemex stations can be, but it's also good insurance for me, "just in case."