“A mind stretched by new experiences can never go back to its old dimensions. Travel. Learn. Grow.”
For the past year and a half, I have been fortunate enough to live in San Diego. This beautiful city is relatively close to some of the most amazing spots in the country and it is also about 30 minutes from Mexico!
I hear so many stories of Mexico trips going wrong especially close to the border in Tijuana, but don’t be fooled: MEXICO IS BEAUTIFUL!
It is absolutely worth the visit for three reasons:
The gorgeous ocean views, amazing wine, and relatively cheap prices.
My coworker is from Mexico and he frequently organizes trips to Baja California for wine tasting but this is the only time I was able to make it.
We met up with 5 other coworkers and their significant others and headed down to the border at around 10:30AM. Driving through Tijuana was definitely not the most scenic route. You could definitely see the poverty of the hundreds of people who make their way there hoping to cross the border but get stuck and have no money to return home. However, the view rapidly transitioned into a very scenic drive. We drove for 30 minutes before reaching our first stop.
11:00AM ~ La Casa del Pescador in Puerto Nuevo. Lunch came with a beautiful view of the ocean and some amazing food. I got a margarita, fish and shrimp ceviche, 4 lobster halves, rice, beans and homemade tortillas for $25 including tip. You can’t beat that price. My favorite was the lobster and fish ceviche. You can definitely taste how fresh the fish is.
Restaurant View
Next, we made our way south and stopped at our first vineyard for the day.
1:15 PM ~ Vinas de Garza was my favorite. We bought 2 bottles, a red and a white and shared it amongst us. It was cheaper than a tasting, costing $52 for premium wine. After spending some time soaking in the beautiful views we made our way to our next stop to get dessert!
2:15 PM ~ Raw Oyster bar in the Valley of Guadalupe. We ordered the cheese platter and CHURROS. The best churros you will ever have in your life. They were so soft and fluffy. I wasn’t really impressed with the cheese platter but the churros with the dulce de leche were to die for. I paid about 10$ since we all split everything. I would definitely recommend this place. It is amazing.
3:45 PM ~ Lomita Vineyard. This vineyard was great. I did the 3 wine tasting, which included a rose and two reds. We also had a very small tour at the end. This is considered the best vineyard in the valley. It is actually owned by an American woman who retired in Mexico, opened a vineyard and has won the most awards for her wine. The 3 tastings cost $12 which I thought was a bit pricey considering the size of the pour. The tour was pretty cool. They showed us where they stored their wine and that was basically it.
5:10 ~ El Cielo in Valle de Guadalupe.
Did someone say dinner??
El Cielo was a great place to eat with amazing service. It was definitely a very fancy place judging by the prices. I had the chicken breast and it was so fresh, that it literally melted in your mouth. I was very impressed with the quality. I paid $20 including tip and I had probably the cheapest thing on the menu. I did not have a drink with my meal since I am always on a budget and I felt like I had enough wine for the day. The outdoors was also extremely beautiful. I got to walk through the vineyard and explore while our food was getting ready.
Also, if you love cheese I would absolutely recommend the melted cheese appetizer. It is incredible, I got to try a little bit of it since one of my coworkers ordered it.
Overall, Baja California is beautiful. People are incredibly friendly and welcoming. Driving around is pretty safe since there is not much traffic anywhere, but some of the dirt roads will definitely be a struggle if you have a small vehicle. I would definitely recommend knowing some Spanish if you plan on going. I have heard cops pull over people who don’t look local and ask for cash. It doesn’t happen as often anymore but I would be cautious. I would also definitely bring cash for tolls. Credit cards are accepted in most restaurants so I would not worry about that.
Overall, Baja California is beautiful. People are incredibly friendly and welcoming. Driving around is pretty safe since there is not much traffic anywhere, but some of the dirt roads will definitely be a struggle if you have a small vehicle. I would definitely recommend knowing some Spanish if you plan on going. I have heard cops pull over people who don’t look local and ask for cash. It doesn’t happen as often anymore but I would be cautious. I would also definitely bring cash for tolls. Credit cards are accepted in most restaurants so I would not worry about that.
WARNING: Border crossing back to the States takes about 2 hours. I would highly suggest investing in a global entry pass to cut the time significantly. The thing is that to be able to use it, everyone in the car must have it and the car has to be registered. You can also walk across. There is a pedestrian bridge you can use.
Finally, there are two different lanes you can use: one for American citizens and one for everyone else. Finally, you have to buy travel insurance to go.
Happy Traveling! Viva Mexico
