Road trip loop around Baja Norte, visiting the Salton Sea, San Felipe, Valle de Guadalupe, Rosarito, Popotla, and LA
Our first stop was ghost town Bombay Beach, located on the Salton Sea. We arrived at sunrise and explored the art installations located throughout the town.
Getting closer to the border, we stopped at art Installation Salvation Mountain, most of which was sadly closed for renovations.
We crossed the border in Calexico, and from the border it was 2.5 hours to San Felipe. It was a beautiful drive through the desert and along the coast. We stayed at El Sanctuario Baja, a glamping site right on the beach. The tents were roomy and comfortable and the perfect temperature in late November.
From our tent it was a quick trip over to Valle de Los Gigantes for sunrise. We were so in awe of these giants that we came back for an evening sunset tour with a guide who had a 4x4 so we could get further into the desert and learn more.
We drove into San Felipe town but spent most of our time in our beach tent. We enjoyed driving around and exploring the coast and its many beaches.
It was hard to leave, but we were really excited about our next destination, our luxury splurge of the trip. We drove 3.5 hours to Valle de Guadalupe, the “Napa” of Baja. Driving up to our hotel, Encuentro, was so exciting, seeing all of the rooms scattered over the hills.
We had dinner at Deckman’s, a Michelin starred restaurant which had a great ambience. Reservations required!
We lounged at the pool, ate at the restaurant, and enjoyed a small fire outside of our room. Service was incredible and they had a cinnamon roll for breakfast I’ll never forget.
Our next stop was just down the road from Encuentro, we stayed at another hotel in Valle de Guadalupe, Hotel Burbuja, a bubble hotel. I’ve always wanted to stay in a bubble hotel because you can stargaze while laying down cozy in your bed! Our bubble had its own hot tub, a small patio, and a view of the winery on the property.
We ate the rest of our meals in Valle de Guadalupe at our favorite restaurant, La Cocina de Doña Esthela, which had some of the best food we’ve ever had and we often fantasize about driving back to Valle just to eat there.
Our next stop was the west coast of Baja, we drove 1.5 hours to our Airbnb in Rosarito. While on the coast, R surfed, had drinks and churros on the beach, lounged at our beachfront pool at the Airbnb, and unfortunately got sick from some tacos.
We stopped by the fishing village of Popotla, which is mainly made of seafood restaurants, but our stomachs were still to queasy to eat.
Driving back to LA, we sat in a line at the border for 4 hours. Street vendors offered food, water, and trinkets as we waited. The line at the border was our only negative of the trip. We finally made it across and grabbed a room at the Pali Hotel from Hotel Tonight last minute. The next morning, I ended up at Calabra, the rooftop restaurant of the Proper Hotel, in Santa Monica for a very fancy brunch to end the trip.
I highly recommend this roadtrip to anyone interested in exploring Baja Norte. We felt very safe the entire time, the roads were better than San Francisco, and all of our destinations were memorable. A few months later we drove back down to just San Felipe for 36 hours after enjoying it so much our first time around!
It is quite a bit of driving, so be prepared for that. There aren’t many gas stations and stops along the way, so make sure to be stocked with water and snacks.
