A boat is framed by the arching rocks of Land’s End, Cabo San Lucas, on the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
25 restaurants, hotels and hidden wonders along the Baja Highway
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Don’t let all those miles of stark desert fool you. Whether you’re taking on the whole Baja Highway or targeting one stretch (which is more sensible), the landscape is full of revelations, many half-hidden.
In fact, there’s far more along the road than you’ll find on this list, which leaves out Tijuana, Ensenada, Bahía de los Angeles, Todos Santos and most of La Paz and Los Cabos. The spots below, listed from north to south, are places I encountered first-hand and liked — local tours, trails, restaurants, historic churches, cave paintings, beaches and other attractions from the Guadalupe Valley to Cabo San Lucas. Though I only slept in one hotel, I inspected several more and included the best here.
A guide to traveling responsibly in Baja California: what to bring, laws to know, what to do if you’re pulled over, where to find gas stations and other key advice.
To guide me, I hired Nathan Stuart of Legends Overlanding, which specializes in small-group and custom overlanding and camping trips to rugged Baja landscapes. Activities can include whale watching, surfing, fishing, snorkeling and hiking. All-inclusive prices (often including private chefs) typically run $5,000 to $8,000 per couple for a five- to 10-day trip.
Our vehicle came from Topoterra, based in San Diego, which rents trucks, camper vans and camping equipment for off-grid travel in Baja and elsewhere. Daily rates for vehicles run $189 to $285. Though Baja trips make up most of his winter business, Topoterra founder Brandon Thomason told me, most travelers prefer to explore one part of Baja, not rush through the whole thing.
About the phone numbers below: To call a Mexican mobile phone or landline from a U.S. mobile phone, begin with the + key, then hit 52 (Mexico’s country code), then the area code and local phone number (which add up to 10 digits; that’s what is included here). To call Mexico from a U.S. landline, begin with 011 instead of +, then add 52, area code and local number. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has more details.
Showing Places
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Fauna restaurant
Restaurant and lounge
This popular destination in the Guadalupe Valley is led by chef David Castro Hussong, a distant relative of the same Hussong who started the famed cantina in Ensenada. The chef’s tasting menu is about $100, but we had a tremendous lunch for about $45 each. Email: [email protected]
The restaurant is part of the Bruma winery complex. Tastings come with a short tour (cost $30-$35 per person). The Bruma property also has rentable villas and a B&B, Casa 8, with eight units at $440 to $895 per night.
Carretera Federal 3, km #73, 22760 Francisco Zarco (Valle de Guadalupe), B.C., Mexico
The restaurant is part of the Bruma winery complex. Tastings come with a short tour (cost $30-$35 per person). The Bruma property also has rentable villas and a B&B, Casa 8, with eight units at $440 to $895 per night.
Carretera Federal 3, km #73, 22760 Francisco Zarco (Valle de Guadalupe), B.C., Mexico
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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Tacos el Perico, San Quintin
Restaurant and lounge
This stand on the west side of the highway is handy for anyone heading south, and it’s a favorite of locals and travelers alike. Pork tacos are about $1.70 each.
Av. A 537, San Quintín, 22940, San Quintín, B.C., Mexico
Av. A 537, San Quintín, 22940, San Quintín, B.C., Mexico
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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Pemex station, El Rosario
Service
If you’re heading south, this service station is the last proper gasoline source for about 200 miles. When I passed through in early January, the gas was about $4.50 a gallon — more than at many other Baja stations — but restrooms were in good shape. Management also owns the Baja Cactus Motel next door.
22960 El Rosario de Arriba, B.C., Mexico
22960 El Rosario de Arriba, B.C., Mexico
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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Mama Espinoza's, El Rosario
Restaurant and lounge
This casual, historic restaurant dates to the 1930s and includes an informal museum, a Baja 1000 road race reliquary, pool table and hotel next door. The hotel has 18 basic rooms for $35 to $40 a night.
Carretera Transpeninsular Km 56, Poblado del Rosario, 22960 El Rosario de Arriba, B.C., Mexico
Carretera Transpeninsular Km 56, Poblado del Rosario, 22960 El Rosario de Arriba, B.C., Mexico
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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Pinturas Rupestres, Cataviña
Ancient Art
These cave paintings are about 3 kilometers north of Cataviña at Kilometer 176 on Highway 1. Just a 10-minute walk from the parking lot by the highway, the well-marked and signed trail to this cave includes a tall, strangely stunted cactus. Markings include red and black hashmarks and a sun with 13 radiating rays. A neighboring wash includes scenic boulders and may have water in cooler months. Be sure to leave the site as you found it.
Carretera Transpeninsular, Km. 175, Tramo San Quintín — Punta Prieta, Cataviña, Ensenada 22965, B.C., Mexico
Carretera Transpeninsular, Km. 175, Tramo San Quintín — Punta Prieta, Cataviña, Ensenada 22965, B.C., Mexico
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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Cafe La Enramada, Catavina
Restaurant and lounge
It’s officially La Enramada, but the sign just says Cafe and it’s the only one in town. It goes back to 1982. Tin roof, plastic chairs, posts made of cactus skeletons. I had a hearty plate of eggs with machaca. The eatery stands next to a long-closed Pemex station (sometimes gas is sold from drums next door) and in the back you’ll find a sunbaked orange ambulance, donated by Baja 1000 driver Parnelli Jones decades ago. Local guide Nathan Velasco, whose family owns the cafe, is often on hand to give travel advice or book tours.
Carretera Transpeninsular, Km 179 + 800 meters, Catavina, Ensenada Municipality, 22768, B.C., Mexico
Carretera Transpeninsular, Km 179 + 800 meters, Catavina, Ensenada Municipality, 22768, B.C., Mexico
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(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles)
Ruta Rupestre Eco Tours, Catavina
Experience
Native son Nathan Velasco, whose family owns Cafe La Enramada and a ranch outside town, offers local tours from an office next to the cafe. His English skills are developing, his regional expertise great. He can arrange a campsite and show you to cave art locations or a remote oasis. Reachable at +52 (646) 118-0624 via WhatsApp.
Carretera Transpeninsular, Km 179 + 800 meters, Catavina, Ensenada Municipality, 22768, B.C., Mexico.
Carretera Transpeninsular, Km 179 + 800 meters, Catavina, Ensenada Municipality, 22768, B.C., Mexico.
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(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Hotel Mision Santa Maria, Catavina
Hotel
This 42-room hotel, a solid option in an outpost town, was once part of the El Presidente chain that opened with the Baja Highway in 1973. Later it was known as the Desert Inn. It is sister property to another Hotel Mision in San Quintín. The Catavina property has a restaurant, bar and pool in the courtyard. About $87 nightly for a double.
Carretera Transpeninsular Km. 175, Tramo San Quintín — Punta Prieta, Poblado Cataviña, San Quintín, B.C, 22965
Carretera Transpeninsular Km. 175, Tramo San Quintín — Punta Prieta, Poblado Cataviña, San Quintín, B.C, 22965
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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Laguna Chapala
Experience
This dry lake bed was a transportation free-for-all before the highway was completed — travelers looked at the jumble of tracks, chose a pair to follow and hoped for the best. Now the road goes around the lake, but people still love to drive on it.
The Chapala store/loncheria/museum, which has been in this spot since 1974, has a low tin ceiling and its walls are plastered with family photos and stickers from off-roaders (which pop up all over the peninsula). A few steps away is the Restaurante Nueva Chapala, open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Main dishes up to about $8. We got quesadillas for $3. The family also provides campsite for bicyclists.
Carretera Transpeninsular Km 235, Chapala, 22973 Agua León, B.C., Mexico
The Chapala store/loncheria/museum, which has been in this spot since 1974, has a low tin ceiling and its walls are plastered with family photos and stickers from off-roaders (which pop up all over the peninsula). A few steps away is the Restaurante Nueva Chapala, open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Main dishes up to about $8. We got quesadillas for $3. The family also provides campsite for bicyclists.
Carretera Transpeninsular Km 235, Chapala, 22973 Agua León, B.C., Mexico
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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Laguna Ojo de Liebre (Scammon's Lagoon)
Lagoon
This lagoon, surrounded by one of the world’s largest saltworks, attracts hundreds of gray whales each winter. In their wake come thousands of whale watchers. The lagoon, part of UNESCO’s El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve, includes three primary areas for whale watching.
About 20 pangas (boats) have permits to take people out. In February, there can be 100 people per day watching whales. A typical tour would include 10 people on a 23-foot boat for about two hours at $58 each. Tour operators include Malarrimo Eco-tours, Mario’s Tours and TheCalifornias.mx.
Sometimes whales approach boats and allow people to touch them. Sometimes the whales never get that close. Similar whale-watching tours are offered by many companies in San Ignacio Lagoon and Magdalena Bay.
Carretera Transpeninsular, 23940 Guerrero Negro, B.C.S., Mexico
About 20 pangas (boats) have permits to take people out. In February, there can be 100 people per day watching whales. A typical tour would include 10 people on a 23-foot boat for about two hours at $58 each. Tour operators include Malarrimo Eco-tours, Mario’s Tours and TheCalifornias.mx.
Sometimes whales approach boats and allow people to touch them. Sometimes the whales never get that close. Similar whale-watching tours are offered by many companies in San Ignacio Lagoon and Magdalena Bay.
Carretera Transpeninsular, 23940 Guerrero Negro, B.C.S., Mexico
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(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Peninsula, Guerrero Negro
Restaurant and lounge
This seafood restaurant offers great meals in a smallish dining room with sophisticated minimalist decor. Shrimp tacos: about $3.50. Big dish of ceviche: about $10. The owners started in the Guadalupe Valley in 2014, then moved to Guerrero Negro in April 2022.
Blvd. Domingo Carballo, De la República, 23940 Guerrero Negro, B.C.S., Mexico
Blvd. Domingo Carballo, De la República, 23940 Guerrero Negro, B.C.S., Mexico
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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
The Californias Mx tours, Guerrero Negro
Experience
The Californias Mx is a custom tour company based in Guerrero Negro led by Carlos Couttolenc. It offers desert and coastal day trips and overnights, including whale-watching, rock-art hikes, remote beaches and a dip in the saline, magnesium-chloride-rich waters of the Guerrero Negro saltworks. (That’s the location marked here.) The company charges about $35 for a three-hour tour that includes a soak and freshwater shower after.
No street address
No street address
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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Plaza, San Ignacio
Plaza
The oasis town of San Ignacio has a tree-shaded plaza that’s good for a respite anytime. At one end stands an 18th century church, the Misión San Ignacio Kadakaamán. Around the periphery you find El Rancho Grande Restaurante (pleasant patio, basic food, English spoken) and the Neveria Danya, which has a bright pink façade and sells slices of fig pie. (Its interior is a shrine to the Baja 1000.) You’ll also find the offices of Kuyima, a local tour company whose offerings include whale watching, campsites and cabins at the San Ignacio Lagoon.
Plaza, 23930 San Ignacio, B.C.S., Mexico
Plaza, 23930 San Ignacio, B.C.S., Mexico
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(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
La Huerta Hotel
Hotel
This is a solid road-trip hotel, with a restaurant on-site and the town plaza a short walk away. Twenty rooms, $52 to $60 per night.
Profesor Valdivia 34, 23930 San Ignacio, B.C.S., Mexico
Profesor Valdivia 34, 23930 San Ignacio, B.C.S., Mexico
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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Iglesia de Santa Bárbara
Church
This is a metal church (with stained glass) that’s attributed to Gustave Eiffel, he of the Parisian tower. Apparently Eiffel designed it as a prefab project for export to Africa. Instead, a French company mining for copper in Santa Rosalía bought and shipped it here in the late 19th century.
About two blocks west on the main street, Alvaro Obregon, you can grab a snack to go (no tables) at El Boleo bakery, which goes back to 1901. There’s coffee across the street at Tokio Café.
20 Álvaro Obregón, Santa Rosalía, 23920, B.C.S., Mexico
About two blocks west on the main street, Alvaro Obregon, you can grab a snack to go (no tables) at El Boleo bakery, which goes back to 1901. There’s coffee across the street at Tokio Café.
20 Álvaro Obregón, Santa Rosalía, 23920, B.C.S., Mexico
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(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Hotel Frances
Hotel
Built in 1886 with wooden floors, walls and ceilings, this hillside hotel has 16 rooms, priced at $60 nightly. It’s not on the water, but there’s a modest pool in the courtyard — precious in the warmer months, when Santa Rosalía gets very hot.
Jean M. Cousteau 15, Mesa Francia, 23920 Santa Rosalía, B.C.S., Mexico
Jean M. Cousteau 15, Mesa Francia, 23920 Santa Rosalía, B.C.S., Mexico
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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Playa Buenaventura, Concepción Bay
Beach
Playa Buenaventura is a place: a small, pebbly beach at Km 94 on Bahía Concepción, about 25 miles south of Mulegé. It’s also a business that feels like home for a lot of American expats. At the Buenaventura restaurant and Argghh bar, pirates are a recurring theme and campers from any nearby beach can get a hot shower for 50 pesos (about $2.50). Buenaventura also has a boat ramp, Wi-Fi, pool table and plenty of English spoken. You can also pay to camp off-grid there and rent beach gear. Neighboring beaches with camping (and often smoother sand) include Playa Santispac, El Burro and Coyote to the north and the especially scenic Playa el Requeson about a mile southeast.
Overheard at Buenaventura:
“…And we were right in the middle of a tarantula migration. Brown hair everywhere!”
Also: “My daughter used to get paid $50 a goldfish to swallow goldfish.”
Carretera Transpeninsular Km. 94, 42 Km. south of Heroica Mulegé, B.C.S., Mexico
Overheard at Buenaventura:
“…And we were right in the middle of a tarantula migration. Brown hair everywhere!”
Also: “My daughter used to get paid $50 a goldfish to swallow goldfish.”
Carretera Transpeninsular Km. 94, 42 Km. south of Heroica Mulegé, B.C.S., Mexico
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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Loreto Mission
Experience
This was the first Catholic mission in the Californias, founded by Spanish Jesuits in 1697, starting point for the colonization of California. The mission was founded 72 years before the Franciscans started their first Alta California mission in San Diego. The current building was completed in 1744.
In front of the church runs the tree-shaded pedestrian promenade Salvatierra, which is full of restaurants, shops and hotels aimed at visitors. Loreto’s population is about 20,000 and it faces the sheltered waters of the Gulf of California.
And. Juan María de Salvatierra 14, Centro, 23880 Loreto, B.C.S., Mexico
In front of the church runs the tree-shaded pedestrian promenade Salvatierra, which is full of restaurants, shops and hotels aimed at visitors. Loreto’s population is about 20,000 and it faces the sheltered waters of the Gulf of California.
And. Juan María de Salvatierra 14, Centro, 23880 Loreto, B.C.S., Mexico
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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
San Javier Mission and olive tree
Town
The mission and town of San Javier (population: about 40 families) are about 25 miles southeast of Loreto at the end of a paved and well-signed but twisty mountain road.
San Javier, far smaller and slower than Loreto, gets perhaps 60 visitors a day, many arriving in tour vans. Visitors admire the inside of a church that’s younger than the Loreto Mission (this one was built 1744-58) but retains more original architecture. Its formal name: Misión San Francisco Javier de Viggé-Biaundó. A priest comes on Sundays to celebrate Mass in Spanish.
Also, check out the 300-year-old olive tree nearby and notice the crops. The mission at Loreto ultimately closed, in part because water was so scarce there. But the agricultural community of San Javier, one of the first in the Californias, has endured.
If you’re hungry, there are two restaurants across the street from the church. We ordered machaca burritos (about $1.60 each) from Betty’s Kitchen, along with some tasty micheladas.
23893 San Javier, B.C.S., Mexico
San Javier, far smaller and slower than Loreto, gets perhaps 60 visitors a day, many arriving in tour vans. Visitors admire the inside of a church that’s younger than the Loreto Mission (this one was built 1744-58) but retains more original architecture. Its formal name: Misión San Francisco Javier de Viggé-Biaundó. A priest comes on Sundays to celebrate Mass in Spanish.
Also, check out the 300-year-old olive tree nearby and notice the crops. The mission at Loreto ultimately closed, in part because water was so scarce there. But the agricultural community of San Javier, one of the first in the Californias, has endured.
If you’re hungry, there are two restaurants across the street from the church. We ordered machaca burritos (about $1.60 each) from Betty’s Kitchen, along with some tasty micheladas.
23893 San Javier, B.C.S., Mexico
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(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Tatanka
Restaurant and lounge
This upscale seafood-and-steak restaurant is tucked away behind an unimpressive La Paz parking lot on Revolución between Bravo and Ocampo streets. But the dining room and tree-shaded courtyard are elegant and the cuisine has won many prizes. The bone marrow taco is a good bet to liven up your Instagram feed. Opened in 2017. Main dishes $15 to $48.
Revolución s/n between Bravo and Ocampo streets, Col. Central, La Paz 23000, B.C.S., Mexico
Revolución s/n between Bravo and Ocampo streets, Col. Central, La Paz 23000, B.C.S., Mexico
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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Cabo Pulmo Marine National Park
National Park
The East Cape’s unique setting near the end of Baja — with more than 800 species of sea life — can make for brilliant snorkeling and scuba diving at Cabo Pulmo. The area has been protected as a national park since 2005, which means that snorkelers in the protected area are limited to 30 minutes per dive, life jackets required (which means you can’t dive below the surface).
Our panga captain and guide from Cabo Pulmo Adventures took us snorkeling at Los Frailes Bay (inside the protected area) and El Bledito (farther south and outside the protected area). For about $70 each, the company provided a boat, guide, wetsuit, snorkel and mask.
The village of Cabo Pulmo is small and rustic; lodgings have limited electricity.
Camino Cabo Este, 23574 Cabo Pulmo, B.C.S., Mexico
Our panga captain and guide from Cabo Pulmo Adventures took us snorkeling at Los Frailes Bay (inside the protected area) and El Bledito (farther south and outside the protected area). For about $70 each, the company provided a boat, guide, wetsuit, snorkel and mask.
The village of Cabo Pulmo is small and rustic; lodgings have limited electricity.
Camino Cabo Este, 23574 Cabo Pulmo, B.C.S., Mexico
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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Rancho Ecológico Sol de Mayo
Hiking Trail
Zorra Canyon is the highlight of this reserve, which lies near the town of Santiago in the Sierra La Laguna mountains above Los Cabos. The reserve includes a waterfall, natural pool, hiking trail, restaurant, cabins and tours up the canyon beyond the falls. Open daily 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
We paid about $8 each for access to the trail and falls. The six cabins cost about $90 nightly each (via Airbnb).
Domicilio Conocido, 23500 Santiago, B.C.S., Mexico
We paid about $8 each for access to the trail and falls. The six cabins cost about $90 nightly each (via Airbnb).
Domicilio Conocido, 23500 Santiago, B.C.S., Mexico
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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
La Revolución, San Jose del Cabo
Restaurant and lounge
This upscale restaurant is in the heart of San Jose’s 23400 District, which gets lively on weekend nights. Don’t be put off if you hear loud music coming from the nightclub upstairs. Once you’re inside La Revolución, it all calms down and the food is excellent.
Menu includes Mexican favorites and European influences, including abalone soup and lamb and pesto pasta. Most main courses: $17-$30.
Alvaro Obregon #1732, Centro, 23400 San José del Cabo, B.C.S., Mexico
Menu includes Mexican favorites and European influences, including abalone soup and lamb and pesto pasta. Most main courses: $17-$30.
Alvaro Obregon #1732, Centro, 23400 San José del Cabo, B.C.S., Mexico
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(Miguel Octavio Ventura Aguilar / Hyatt Place)
Hyatt Place San Jose del Cabo
Hotel
This is a reliable midlevel hotel, about 600 feet from the beach, at the San Jose end of the 20-mile-long Los Cabos resort corridor. (For a good casual meal outside the hotel, try the chain taqueria Claro Fish Jr. on Paseo Malecón.) Standard rates on weekends in spring begin at about $195.
Paseo Malecón San Jose 128, Zona Hotelera, 23406 San José del Cabo, B.C.S., Mexico
Paseo Malecón San Jose 128, Zona Hotelera, 23406 San José del Cabo, B.C.S., Mexico
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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Land's End, Cabo San Lucas
Experience
These are the rocks that mark the end (or start) of the Baja peninsula, including one in the shape of an arch. Many tour companies and panga captains will take visitors out to the nearby waters. Depending on price, surf and time, some will drop you for a while on nearby Lover’s Beach and some won’t. (Be sure to ask.)
We used Enva Tours, which has an office in the marina at Cabo San Lucas and runs boats out just about every hour at $29 to $39 per person. The boats are made of translucent plexiglass, which gives better views of the fish below and rocks around. (The hostess and captain said they work for tips only.) Don’t expect solitude, especially near sunset, when two dozen or more boats routinely jostle for position.
If you pay more, you can also do this by catamaran or yacht or glass-bottom kayak. However you do it, the sight is remarkable. If nature hadn’t put a dramatic arch at the tip of Baja, the tourism industry would have had to do it.
Cabo San Lucas, B.C.S., 23450, Mexico
We used Enva Tours, which has an office in the marina at Cabo San Lucas and runs boats out just about every hour at $29 to $39 per person. The boats are made of translucent plexiglass, which gives better views of the fish below and rocks around. (The hostess and captain said they work for tips only.) Don’t expect solitude, especially near sunset, when two dozen or more boats routinely jostle for position.
If you pay more, you can also do this by catamaran or yacht or glass-bottom kayak. However you do it, the sight is remarkable. If nature hadn’t put a dramatic arch at the tip of Baja, the tourism industry would have had to do it.
Cabo San Lucas, B.C.S., 23450, Mexico
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