In Baja (and all of Mexico) distances are measured in kilometers, gas is sold by the liter (and usually pumped by an attendant) and speed bumps ( topes) pop up in some urban areas.

Topoterra is the only company I could find that would rent me a vehicle in San Diego and let me drop it off (for a fee) in Los Cabos. Picking up and dropping off a rental car in different locations is possible in Baja but can double the cost.

Many travelers fly to Los Cabos, La Paz or Loreto, rent a car at the airport, drive a loop and return the car where they began.

The peninsula is so big that most travelers choose to explore selected portions.

Many roads to scenic spots are dirt, not blacktop, and best handled by vehicles with four-wheel drive and high clearance.

We went through about six checkpoints, the conversation never lasting more than one or two minutes. Officers typically ask drivers where they have come from and where they’re going. Police checkpoints are placed every few hundred miles along the peninsula.An additional option: calling Baja California’s bilingual Tourist Assistance Hotline (078, around the clock) from any cellphone with roaming privileges in Baja. Instead, they say, the best response is to ask for a written citation and agree to pay the citation at the police station or by mail (or challenge it). Don’t argue or pay on the spot, many Baja veterans say. Occasionally drivers in Tijuana, Rosarito Beach and Ensenada are pulled over after an alleged infraction and offered a chance to pay a fine at the police station or on the spot.Also, it’s illegal to enter Mexico with a gun without written authorization in advance from Mexican authorities. Two other things: Drunk driving is just as illegal in Baja California and Baja California Sur as it is in California. In addition, drivers should be ready for long, narrow stretches of two-lane blacktop without shoulders or turnouts. Whether you’re taking on the whole highway or targeting one stretch, the landscape is full of revelations.Īll authorities agree that driving at night in rural Baja is dangerous because of the many roaming livestock. For Subscribers 25 restaurants, hotels and hidden wonders along the Baja HighwayĬave paintings.

Idrive safe