What We Learned in Our First Week of Navigating Baja California, Mexico

Baja California, Mexico! What a place to be. Our first week in Baja was concentrated in the port city of Ensenada, about two hours south of the San Diego/Tijuana border. Since it was our first time driving through, we wanted to spend some time getting acquainted with the area, local resources and navigating our way around town. Well, that and eating all the tacos! ?

We arrived in Ensenada on a Monday afternoon. We didn’t have much of a plan – find a campsite, grab some food, then use the week to get our bearings before The Van Life app meetup on that Friday. We quickly decided to camp at Playa Saldamando based on some positive reviews and the promise epic ocean views. For the full scoop on this campsite, read here.

Before we embarked on this journey, Steven and I knew we wanted to take things slow. I mean, traveling in a foreign country, in our van, is completely new to us. What we discovered during our week in Ensenada is that even doing the basics can feel like an adventure!

If you’re here for recommendations on what to do in Ensenada, this might not be the blog post for you. What I will share is how we acclimated to van life in Mexico during our first week, and some of the resources we found most helpful.

Navigating Baja California

First things first – before we left California, we each made sure to download offline maps via Google Maps. It’s really easy, and can be done for any area where you might be out of service. On your cell phone, open the Google Maps app. Make sure you’re connected to the Internet and signed in to Google Maps. Search for a place, like Baja California. At the bottom, tap the name (or address of the place) and tap More. Select Download offline map, and voilá! You’re good to go. One thing we learned in our first week is that most locals don’t use Google Maps, as it can take you down some bumpy dirt routes. They use Waze. Unfortunately, you can’t download a specific area on Waze, but you can download a route map. Helpful if you know every single place you might be going, however if you’re like us, we prefer to keep things flexible.

When it comes down to deciding where to camp and eat, there are two books we recommend reading before (or during) your Baja stay. The first is the Traveler’s Guide to Camping Mexico’s Baja by Mike and Terri Church. This book provides a wide array of campground information and reviews, as well as tips and tricks on navigating Baja. The second one is Moon Baja: Tijuana to Los Cabos by Jennifer Kramer. This guide centers mostly on things to do and places to eat (tacos!!), as well as places to stay by budget range. Kramer’s book offers a wide range of itineraries, as well as hotel recommendations. There’s also a great Facebook group called Talk Baja where you can find every Q&A imaginable! Finally, we utilized iOverlander for campsites, laundry services and military checkpoints. You can read reviews from previous travelers, which helped us tremendously. You don’t need cell service to utilize iOverlander, but you’ll want a WiFi connection to see user-generated photos.

One thing we weren’t quite prepared for was driving in Baja. Although most of Mexico’s Highways 1, 3 and 5 are now fairly well paved, driving them still requires ultimate attention and can be a fairly taxing activity. We had some sense of this before heading south of the border, but what we weren’t prepared for was driving in town! Driving through Ensenada our first time was a crash course in Baja road conditions, traffic rules, and etiquette.  The first surprise was that stop signs and stoplights well appear in the least expected places. Stop signs alternate on both the right and left hand side of the road, and sometimes in the middle. The size of the signs appear to vary as do the poles they are attached to. Also, don’t expect any lines painted on the road to indicate where and when to stop. You should also never assume any cross traffic is going to stop at an intersection. Many intersections are two-way stops, and locals never seem to make a full stop at intersections. Also, beware alert for gringos like us who found ourselves running no less than four stop signs and one streetlight on our first time in Ensenada. ? It’s also worth mentioning that stoplights in Baja operate differently than in the states. The sequence goes from solid green, flashing green, yellow/orange, red. Treat the flashing green as a yellow light as it will go from flashing green to yellow and then red within 2-3 seconds.

Potholes and speed humps are also regular hazards. The potholes were easy enough to maneuver around, but speed humps often appear out of nowhere and can send you off your seat a few inches if hit without slowing sufficiently. Keep an eye out for these anytime you are entering or leaving town, as this appears to be when they are their most aggressive.

Since we’re on the subject of driving, we might as well talk about parking. There are a lot of horror stories posted online about vehicle break-ins, so we exercised caution with where we parked. Your best bet is to park along the street where it’s easily visible. Trying to park a big ass van like ours in Ensenada proved to be quite challenging, so give yourself a lot of time and patience if you’re in a bigger rig — and don’t expect to be able to park right in front of your destination.

Pesos vs. Dollars

The current exchange rate for 1 Mexican peso to a U.S. dollar is 0.054, so about 18.55 pesos for $1 U.S. There are a few different currency converter apps out there, but we use the Dollar to Mexican Peso app.

We also found that paying in pesos is where it’s at, since you’ll almost always get cash back in pesos and it’s almost always cheaper this way. Whenever possible, pull out cash from bank ATMs vs. the ATMs at the grocery store. You’ll get a better exchange rate by doing so. You might also consider a finding a credit and/or debit card with no foreign transactions fees.

Finally, if you don’t understand Spanish very well, or don’t understand the price you’ve been given, ask the person to write down the amount. It’s good practice to wait on handing over large bills until you see the change counted out. While we haven’t experienced much of this, it’s in your best interest to ensure you’re getting the correct amount of change.

Stocking Up on Groceries & Supplies

While this doesn’t sound like much, stocking up on groceries and supplies in a place you’ve never been requires patience and a playful attitude. We weren’t really sure what to expect in terms of what the grocery stores had available here in Baja, but we were pleasantly surprised!

Our first grocery trip was at Soriana Super. The store was about the size of an Albertsons/Safeway. I was impressed by how much variety was available. Keep in mind we still were fairly close to the border, so you can see a lot of American influence and brands in Ensenada. At this grocery store we picked up some fruit and vegetable spray to clean our produce before eating. Because we go through fresh food every 2-3 days, we often have to head to the grocery store. On this trip, we stockpiled on meats, veggies, fruit and shelf stable snacks. All together, it cost us around $60 in U.S.

The next couple of grocery trips we did at two separate Walmarts in Ensenada. I’ve never been a fan of Walmart in the U.S., but these Mexico stores are legit. Each had a bakery that churns out fresh goods morning, afternoon and evening. We found these delicious rolls that had cream cheese and ham stuffed inside, while the kids enjoyed their yummy donuts. While we’d prefer to invest in local stores, the smaller stores can be pretty limited on what they offer. So if you’ve got any food allergies or intolerances, make sure to plan ahead. (I do, but for the sake of enjoying the total experience, gave up pretty early on! #YOLO)

As far as fueling up goes, one thing that differs here in Baja is that there are gas attendants. You’re not allowed to fill up your own tank. Before pumping the gas, the fuel attendant should point out that the meter has been zeroed out. If they don’t, be sure to request it so you don’t get charged extra. According to our guidebook, this was a common scam years ago, but we didn’t have any issues.  Also be aware that most urban areas now post a gas attendant tip (around $18 pesos, or a $1 U.S.) and this is not optional.

We found that most communities offer purified water stations. We refilled in our first week, getting 20 gallons for $2 U.S. This seems to be close to the standard price everywhere in Baja. On the topic of water, if you’re at a restaurant and ask for water, almost every place will bring you a bottled water, or agua embotellada.

Since we’re limited to about two weeks worth of clothes, laundry is also key if you’re camping through Baja. You’ll want a lavanderia (laundry services or laundry mat).  Most places will wash, dry and fold for you, and you can use your own detergent (i.e. free and clear). Prices vary depending on location, but it should be between $4-8 U.S. per load.

One additional note for campers: Be on the lookout for Truper stores. These are like an Ace hardware store, where you can find butane fuel canisters. As a heads up, don’t expect to browse the aisles. The cashier will show you a catalog of items to identify what you want so they can go get it. You should also be aware that the little green Coleman propane tanks are not easy to find in Baja, so you should stock up or purchase an adapter to allow your stove to run off of a larger propane tank, which is easily refilled in Baja.

Other Helpful Resources

Before leaving the U.S. download the Google Translate app. (You can also access it on your web browser, but service may be spotty. While places like Ensenada have more English speaking locals, rural Baja is a bit different. The app also provides a camera feature where you can take a photo of a sign, menu, etc. for an instant translation.

If you’re not a Spanish speaker, but you want to learn, we found a couple of great resources. The first is Memrise, an app that allows gamifies the learning experience. We like this one because it uses video demonstrations to show body language and movements when people talk, offering a better memory connection. The second is a fun book for families called 52 Weeks of Family Spanish. It’s basically bite-sized weekly lessons designed to get families more familiar with the language. The lessons are super simple, and always provide a tip at the end on how to incorporate Spanish into everyday moments.

Now I’m sure we probably missed a few things, but for our first week in Baja – we learned a TON! Are there any questions that pop up as you consider traveling this beautiful country? Or better yet, how do you acclimate in a foreign country?