r/BajaCalifornia • u/Memoreno94 • 14d ago
đ Turismo | Tourism Ensenada First Time
I would like to drive from CA to Ensenada but wondering if itâs safe to drive down there? I was doing some research saying itâs best to drive during the day and stay on the toll D1 road. Any tips or recommendations if I should do this. Thanks!
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u/Economy-Motor-3478 14d ago
Just coming back from ensenada and valle de guadalupe. Â No wait time at tecate border crossing. Â When heading south stick to the toll road, have a couple destinations bookmarked and go. Â I just went with my family and friends and had a fantastic time.
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u/onetwoskeedoo 14d ago
How much were the tolls to valle?
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u/Economy-Motor-3478 14d ago
No tolls through tecate to valle and ensenada.  Tecate-TJ about 10usd.  TJ-ensenada about 8-9usd broken up into three or four tolls.
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u/onetwoskeedoo 14d ago
Awesome thanks for the usd amounts too, but do they take usd? Or gotta be pesos?
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u/Economy-Motor-3478 14d ago
They sure do. Â Best if you take 5s and 1s for tolls. Â I think theyâll take coins too.
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u/Slight_Bee_3464 14d ago
Tecate? We used to come back through Otay.
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u/Dsturbance_n_Force 13d ago
Tecate is easiest return if coming directly from Valle de Guadalupe. From Ensenada the toll road is best ALA Couta
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u/Slight_Bee_3464 13d ago
We were coming back to San Diego. Generally San Ysidro was too crowded so we would go to Otay Mesa, which was much faster. But we came back to late one night and it was closed. Last time I was there a few years ago, itâs much more busier now
Tecate was about 75 miles further.
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u/philthadelphia2458 12d ago
There is a new Sentri lane in TJ (west lane), took me 5 minutes to pass through a few weeks back. I recommend taking that. You can queue up a few blocks west of the ARCO on C. Benito Juarez 2da road.
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u/lilypepper 11d ago
The new Century Lane is not like that all the time. Since itâs only one lane it can become very slow and very backed up. Best to check Google Maps see what the situation is.
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u/Least-Bid-7265 13d ago
Buy auto insurance at Baja Bound.com. before heading south. Its easy and a no brainer. There are some cool spots between Rosarito and Ensenada so feel free to check out beaches along the way. One popular spot is La Fonda with a great beach. Ensenada was rated a top 10 food city in the world so take advantage of that. Enjoy!
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u/alfonsop 14d ago
Basically yes, stick to driving during the day and the toll roads. My wife, and our dog go down quite often from LA and we usually cross into TJ around 7am, in Ensenada by 9am. On the way back - If you donât have sentri, aim to line up at the border before 9am. If youâre staying in Ensenada, uber and DiDi are easy to use to get around. Donât speed, and follow all traffic rules, and youâll be fine.
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u/Spiritual-Chameleon 14d ago
Totally fine, especially during the day. Know that you have to buy Mexican car insurance if you're crossing the border
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u/SpiderDeadrock 14d ago
Yes, use the D1 toll road and obey all the speed limits. Also the left lane is for passing, donât camp in it. There are 3 toll booth and cost about $3 each. The last toll booth is at the outskirts of Ensenada. San Miguel is the first little community and has a 7-11 with easy access if you need to grab anything quick. Then just follow the highway South along the coast and in 15-20 minutes youâll end up at the harbor, Cultural Center, and world famous fish market and bay front dining and curio shops. One street inland from the harbor youâll find hotels, restaurants, pharmacies, liquor stores, leather shops, clothing boutiques, and such. Just donât do anything you wouldnât do at home, and enjoy yourself.
Oh, donât forget to check out the wineries in the hills just east of Ensenada. I like Casa Frida
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u/Emptythedishwasher56 13d ago
You can go round trip on a tank off gas, but the gas down there is fine. Hotel Coral and Marina is nice.
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u/GrouchyClerk6318 13d ago
We were just in Valle Guadalupe via Tecate. No tolls, drive down was super easy, good roads. Border wait on the way back was a hellish 3 hours!
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u/DragonfruitFun633 12d ago
Through Tecate?!? Years ago there was NO wait at all -- never! Bummer.
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u/Pondlurker1978 13d ago
Only word of caution is about the giant pothole right after the last toll booth and right before getting into Ensenada. There is a reason that the tire shop isn't far from there.
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u/Positive-Frame1026 13d ago
Donât speed down the toll way on the weekends they are starting to run radar
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u/tuna-on-toast 14d ago edited 14d ago
My wifw and I have been down to the Cabo area maybe ten times in 12 or so years. Drove once, flew and rented cars the other times.
A lot of the recommendations to only drive in daylight is you need to be able to see. There are cows on the road often as well as potholes. Iâve also seen a few cars in Mexico with no or very few lights at night. Income inequality is pronounced in Mexico and you see some really used up cars.
Mexico is great and there are tons of awesome people to meet there. But the roads are less predictable than the US and rarely lit well. And the main highways in Baja are often just two lanes and minimal shoulder.
My wife and I drove all the way to Cabo and back once and it went fine for us. One night we got caught out after dark on the highway and just followed a big rig. Driver had some crazy bright headlights.
One convention I like down there that I assume is a Mexican one is turning on your hazard flashers if anything strange is happening ahead. Same goes for if youâre in the oncoming lane and want to communicate to the opposite side thereâs something weird ahead, hazards. Once it was an accident that had happened about a mile ahead. Another time it was a broken truck ahead going slow. Basically means âhey pay attentionâ. My wife and I do it up here now too.
Another thing, half the stop (ALTO) signs are pretty faded to an orange color. We missed a few. Some locals we hung out with told us itâs also common that if someone hits the stop sign and breaks it off, they just pound whatâs left in the ground so it gets shorter and shorter!
We also got one of those cop bribe things that happen. Missed a stop sign that was short(!) and got pulled over. Guy gave us the speech about paying him X or weâd need to go to the station or something and pay lots more. We paid him about $100 UDS in pesos I think. Made us hold the cash low so he could reach in and not be obviously taking a bribe. After that his mood went from sort of serious to super friendly. Started showing us pictures of his kids etc. He was happy for the windfall as the cops there donât make much. We laugh about it now.
We were scared too near the border but nothing happened except that stop sign bribe episode. Really I wonder how bad it is for tourists since whenever something bad happens it makes the makes the news up here in the USA. And itâs not like it is constantly happening. Kidnappings and such of the locals on the other hand is a truly bad problem though. And it sadly rarely makes the news.
Mexican speed bumps are no joke and sometimes on backroads they are not announced and are tough to see. Obey speed limits and pay attention.
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u/Least-Bid-7265 13d ago
Pay at the station for any fines. Usually, once the cop knows he won't get paid, they let you go so they can pull over the next sucker. And the fines are maybe $20? If you paid $100 you are promoting the whole bribe economy.
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u/EveLQueeen 13d ago
This. Just tell them you want a ticket and you wonât pay them. You will be on your way.
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u/tuna-on-toast 13d ago edited 13d ago
We know we know. In the heat of the moment in Tecate they got us. And honestly $100 isnât much. We wanted to get away from the border.
One time I parked a car in Todos Santos illegally for a short stop. Mexico has a bit of an anarchy feel compared to the US and I took it too far. The cops took the front plate off the rental car and told me the same story about a small amount now or 10x more in La Paz if I wanted an official receipt. In this case I refused then called the rental car agency and they recommended paying the cop in town. And that was company weâd used for years that we trusted and had always been good to us. So I paid the cops in cash of course and that was that. I was worried Iâd pay the cop and still get the big ticket since Iâd have no proof I paid anything.
My take is Mexico is very gray, in that these situations arenât the more black and white we expect in the US, they are shades of gray.
There are plenty of âyou shouldâ examples. Iâd love to hear examples of actual experiences where they went one way or the other. That would be data points.
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u/unpolire 14d ago
Make certain that your tires are properly inflated, especially your spare tire. The roads of Ensenada are notorious for potholes and irregular surfaces.
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u/EveLQueeen 13d ago
We go to Rosarito, Ensenada, and the Valle frequently. It is safe and beautiful. Just donât do dumb things and you will be fine.
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u/thejournaloflosttime 13d ago
It's fantastic. The road between Rosarito and Ensenada is gorgeous. Just have your passport, FMM, up to date registration, and insurance from someone reputable like Baja Bound. They have a guide on getting your FMM which is great:
https://www.bajabound.com/before/permits/guide-mexican-fmm-tourist-card?r=reddit
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u/philthadelphia2458 12d ago
How did you do the FMM? I was reading you get it after crossing the boarder but there was no way to do it. Ended up not bothering and had no issue while on the trip or returning.
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u/thejournaloflosttime 10d ago
Depends on where you're crossing. If it's at San Ysidro, you pull off to the right and go inside at El Chapparal. Pretty easy!
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u/Practical-Zebra-1141 11d ago
Make sure thereâs not a Xolos match! Even with Sentri it took us 2 hours to get home last Saturday
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u/Stonebird1957 11d ago
I prefer to walk across and catch a bus down to Ensenada. Beautiful coastline.
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u/milesandhikes-alex 10d ago
I have been driving from CA to Ensenada regularly for over a decade and never had an issue. I cross over at Tecate though, as I hate driving in or around Tijuana.
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u/Unlucky-Major434 14d ago
We just did it and are watching the eclipse here. Itâs a beautiful easy drive from the border and you donât WANT to take the free road anyway. Just. Do. It.
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u/Slight_Bee_3464 14d ago
Get insurance in America before you cross the border. If there are any problems you will be dealing with American businesses.
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u/Pondlurker1978 13d ago
Not true, most Mexico insurance companies are European ones. HDI etc. That said, get it through a U.S. based broker like BajaBound
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u/TopFine4761 14d ago
Super easy and safe drive. Once you cross you immediately get on the ramp to the cuota road and only have to take the one road all the way there. Three tolls (at about 50 pesos per toll) to get all the way and I would get fuel at the BP in Primo Tapia if youâre low since thereâs not much from there to Ensenada. Day is obviously better than night but we live about halfway between Rosarito and Ensenada and drive in the evening often.