my wife and i are planning on taking the motor home to central BC area this upcoming Christmas holiday. probably Guerrero Negro for some whale watching, and south pretty much Mulege and Loreto. we are always low key pretty calm and collected my Spanglish is pretty good, -- never had any problems. my dad and a couple of my friends have questioned my sanity, the topic is current level of safety. please anybody let me know, do we have anything to be worried about? we can make it through TJ and even past Ensenada during the daytime an hook up in the cute little campground just south of the blow hole, then make our way from there. any info would be much appreciated. thanks a bunch from us all scott and family !
Indeed the crime right now is quite intense. Even for us who live in BC. I live in Ensenada and things are not as they used to be but I think the crime is focused at the drug dealers at the moment. As advise I would just go through TJ without stopping and using the toll road. Beyond TJ there is not much to worry about. I live in Ensenada and things are ok. There are secure campgrounds where you can spend the night in Ensenada
We just got back from Eriendira two weeks ago. There were three guys on the surf trip, took a 4x4 Jeep, stayed at coyote cals. We did not have any problems! However, we did talk to a few people there and they said things have been on the sketchy side all year, tourism is down 90%. Most of the problems have been between the cops and the drug lords. However, there have been some attacks on Americans (rape, murder, car jacking, you name it) This was the first time I have been there and not seen one American the whole trip. Ensenada was dead, almost no one on the streets and not one American to be seen. Stopped and surfed Popotla (Rosarito) There was almost no one around on a sunny Sunday afternoon, drove through Rosarito and did not see one American. Our plan was to keep moving no matter what. I would not bring women there right now. While in line to leave Mexico we counted only three (white) Americans (surfers) in the line. We were also going back for Christmas till the news on more murders this last week. It is like the wild west there and anything goes. If you look like a target you will become a victim. Lots of open desert to get ride of someone if you get my point. If you just have to go at least rent a satellite phone off the internet, at least you can call someone and let know you are in trouble. Good luck!
Hi Scott, My parents have a house in punta chivato. The entire family took a road trip down there for Thanksgiving week. We are Mexican/American so didn't think we would have a problem. But on our way back to LA, at Tijuana, right before we entered the border queue we got rammed by a jeep. Just out of nowhere, rammed 3 times. The jeep then took off at normal speed. Almost like they wanted us to follow them. Ofcourse we did not follow, but were pretty shooken up. If you plan on going through Tijuana, plan on returning during the week when the border queue is not so long. Sunday nights are not a good idea. Good luck on your trip.
thank you all for your time. all is much appreciated. i've been to baja many times and never any problems. always careful, always a good time, never felt threatened. i'm just trying to get a feeling for what's going on currently. i've made 4-5 calls down to loreto and sta rosalia and the information i'm getting is things down that way are all pretty much normal. seems just tension at the boarder towns. PLEASE ALL FEEL FREE TO LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS. i'm very interested to hear. thanks again scott.
My Sister in Law lives in Tijuana and commutes back and forth. She is fine with it, but mentioned that part of the danger is because the drug dealers are having wars with the police. I know it is important to be careful down there right now. If you are a frequent traveler, you know whats up and should worry less. However, be especially careful because some bystanders have been effected. She also mentioned that right now Rosarito is more dangerous than TJ because it is smaller and that is where the "battles" have been concentrated lately. If that helps. We were in TJ for Thanksgiving and it was fine. Dont take any unneccesary chances, and try to be inconspicuous and you should be fine.
just i'm thinking.... i don't want to sound freaked out, i'm just curious.
how is the travel on the toll roads? just for example make it from the boarder through TJ and on to the toll roads to Ensenada. is there any problems on the toll roads? then to the road side inspection south of Maneadero ? any trouble there ? how far south do i need to go before really i don't need to be concerned ? i can feel like good old times ?
today there was a lady in my store from Rosarito area. she had just left her house, was traveling up north of me here in Oceanside to stay with her sister for awhile. she was saying things in her neighborhood were just too out of control. this wasn't second hand information, it was coming directly from her. she said something about her next door neighbor had gotten killed yesterday !
I was really counting on spending the Christmas holiday away from home. whale watching and camping on the beach. today i kinda had a change of heart : (
i've been getting the motor home ready too. i'm just not too interested in going to Texas !
i was thinking of driving straight through to the RV park in Santo Thomas for the first night. then again south from there. any coments would be greatly appreciated. again
Well, my family and I have been traveling to baja sur since I was a little girl. The drive into mexico is good. You might not even see anything out of the ordinary. But on your return, the area between Ensenada and the border is what you should be concerned about. You should have no trouble as long as you dont stop for anything. Make sure you are all gassed up before you enter the area so no stops are necessary. I think you should be fine. My family of 11 made it there and back ok. No need to fear, just be a little cautious and ya'll should be fine. God Bless.
does anybody know of a blog site or how to make arrangements for people wanting to caravan south from the boarder into central baja ? would be the 21 of this month. thanks !
