While traveling in Baja is not the adventure it once was, it is still not what most people are used to in the states.

Mexicali to San Felipe via Highway 5 -allow 3 hours for the trip.

As a result of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake 19 miles south of Mexicali on 4 April, there has been some road buckling. However, the road between Mexicali and San Felipe is open but drive carefully. Roads in Mexicali are all fixed and you will be hard pressed to find any significant damage remaining within the city.

Roadworks to repair the damaged surface and the change in level caused by the quake are underway around km 40-50 south of the city. This stretch of road is DREADFUL and you will be driving on temporary grading with plenty of pointed stones and small rocks on the surface. DO NOT SPEED - you could severely damage a tire. If a crazy driver overtakes you, pull over to the side and let him get a few hundred meters ahead of you so that you are out of range of the stones thrown up by his tires. Your Mexican insurance will probably not cover any paint and windshield damage to your vehicle. Leave the Mercedes or BMW at home and bring the old Suburban.

Be aware that rock chips kicked up by passing and overtaking vehicles can cause a lot of damage to your paintwork and windshields!!!

Temporary road surface at km 45 south of Mexicali - stones galore.

Around 15 mph is all you should expect to do for this stretch of around 5 miles. There are lots of construction trucks shuttling back and forth and the construction crew appears to be unable to keep the dust damped down. Locals are actually driving on the asphalt surface that work crews are working on to the east to avoid driving on the stones! Once you are past this section of road, the trip to San Felipe is relatively easy.

Don't drive at night - you need to be able to see any faults in the surface that may be ahead.

Update 5 August 2010:

Work is in progress on the next two-lane section of the highway north to Mexicali that runs from the Military checkpoint at the Ensenada Road junction for about 5 miles to the north. There are still some small detours on to washboard desert hardpack but most of the new strip of road is open for traffic - however there are currently no lane or shoulder markings so be careful. Because the new asphalt is so black it is difficult to see where the road edges are on moonless nights.

See our news page for any updates..>>

General conditions of the completed section from San Felipe to the Ensenada Road:

The Mexicali Road Construction March 2009 to September 2009 - the new section opens!

The section of roadway from the Ensenada road south to Cerro El Moreno (the microwave tower hill at the north end of the San Felipe "north beach" strip) is open for traffic and is shown in the picture above. This section, from km 143 south is a beautiful two-lane blacktop highway with many bridges over the arroyos coming down from the mountains that discharge their rainwater into the Sea of Cortez. The bridge construction has been a massive undertaking - almost 7 months - but now we are free of all that diversion onto the desert floor.

The four-lane highway into San Felipe starts three miles north of Cerro El Moreno and has a posted speed limit of 110 km/hour (about 60 mph).

Pre-earthquake advice:

Allow 2.5 hours from the border at Mexicali to the Arches in San Felipe. Speeds of 70-80 mph are possible in some stretches, radar and highway patrol permitting. (Remember the maximum speed limit is 50 mph or 80 kph).

There is a long, straight stretch of road between km 70 and km 90 which marks the causeway over the great Laguna Salada. The road is elevated several feet above the lake bed and there are no shoulders!! Many years ago (in the 1980's) the Laguna was routinely flooded by the waters of the Colorado and was one of the most spectacular stops on the winter flyway for migrating birds. Now we have only the dry lake bed and it can be plagued with dust devils or small tornadoes (tolvaneras) on hot summer afternoons. Be very careful if there are signs of a sandstorm ahead. Visibility can drop to near zero in a few hundred meters and your vehicle can be buffeted by very strong winds. One of the most dangerous features of a sandstorm is that large drifts of sand can pile up on the road. If you hit one of these drifts at any speed over 30 mph you stand the chance of your car overturning or drifting off the road and down the precipice onto the dry lake bed.

There is currently only the 'permanent' military checkpoint at the junction with the Ensenada Road where checks for drugs and guns are always made in both directions. With the new emphasis on security, random military checkpoints are being set up, often just for a few hours at a time, to catch drug smugglers. On busy weekends, the traffic north can be significantly delayed by these checkpoints. Remember there is no gasoline or diesel fuel available in the 130 mile stretch from Mexicali to San Felipe.

The government is planning to upgrade much of this road to a four lane divided highway between 2009 and 2012.

San Felipe to Puertecitos via Highway 5
The road southtoward Puertecitos is in excellent shape and well paved to Puertecitos. Allow 1 hour for the trip. Note that the new Pemex station in Puertecitos still not open. Also note that the restaurant in Puertecitos is opening weekends. A small store at the entrance to the town has beer and potato chips if you get hungry.

Puertecitos to Gonzaga Bay and Mexico Route 1

Everything is wonderful down to El Huerfanito and maybe 3 miles further south.

The road a few miles north of El Huerfanito

For the next 23 miles south to Gonzaga, the road is very rough and a big truck with 4 WD is the best vehicle to make the journey. Not much work appears to be getting done. I suspect that some of the crews have been moved to the road repairs in the Mexicali region as a result of the Easter earthquake. (July 2010)

Algodones to the Mexicali-San Felipe Highway via Highways 2, 3 and 4
Significant maintenance has occurred on this road and it is in generally good condition. Signposting can be a problem, so if you think you are lost you should stop and ask. Consider taking the new toll road between Mexicali and San Luis (see below).

The Ensenada to San Felipe Road via Highway 3
This is the scenic route from the San Diego area to San Felipe! Normal driving time from Ensenada to San Felipe is 3 hours. Repairs and pothole-filling are a constant and on-going activity but the road is in generally good condition.

The 30 kilometers between Ensenada and Ojos Negros consists of spectacular curves with wonderful scenery but no passing lanes. Many heavy goods vehicles use this section of road carrying produce and construction materials between Ensenada and the farming communities in the valley. Settle down and follow these vehicles at a safe distance. There is essentially no safe place to overtake and you might as well relax and enjoy the scenery. A military checkpoint is generally found at Ojos Negros.

Beware of the tire-bursting topes (speed bumps) outside Heroes de Independencia; they warn you to slow down and you should take the warning seriously.

The section of the road between Trinidad Valley and San Felipe is in fairly good condition. You will find workers making major repairs along the section between the Trinidad Valley and Heroes de Independencia.

The Buena Vista cafe, on the south side of the road at Valle de Trinidad, is the only rest facility on the journey. Beware of the small, almost invisible, step at the cafe entrance. Stay overnight in Ensenada and enjoy a relaxing gourmet meal rather than drive this very isolated road in the dark!!!

Mexicali west to Tecate, Tijuana and San Diego; east to San Luis Rio Colorado

San Felipe travelers are now blessed to have the new East-West tollway (officially the "Libramiento") open for travel to Tecate, Tijuana and San Diego without having to pass through Mexicali. The new toll road crosses the Mexicali-San Felipe highway (Mexico Highway 5) about 13 kilometers south of Mexicali. In the eastwards direction it runs to San Luis Rio Colorado, where you may cross the border to Yuma. The westbound direction is only accessible from the southbound lane of the San Felipe highway. This road is of no use to you for reaching the two Mexicali-Calexico border crossing stations.

If you are driving north from San Felipe, go under the highway overpass and make a U-turn - you will now see the sign as in picture above. At present the road is only a single lane in each direction but the traffic is very light and the road surface excellent. Immediately on entering the Libramiento, you will come to the first toll booth (45 pesos) and the road will take you around Mexicali and join with the main toll road up La Rumorosa and on to Tecate and Tijuana. I routinely take this road to go to San Diego and it is an absolute pleasure to return to San Diego via the Tecate border crossing on a Friday afternoon. Note that the Tecate crossing can be very busy on weekends as all the tourists flock over from San Diego to visit the famous brewery. The journey to Tecate will cost you a total of about $11 dollars in tolls and take about 1 hour from highway 5 - or just under 3 hours from San Felipe to the border there. This is also a very good way to travel from the Tijuana/San Diego area to San Felipe and completely bypass the traffic of Mexicali. Note that there is no SENTRI lane at Tecate.

The toll road to Tecate is a beautiful engineering accomplishment and rivals some of the most scenic routes through the Swiss Alps. The road is well maintained and excellently signed (in fact there are almost too many informational signs along the way, with even signs to inform you not to deface the signs). The climb up the mountains to La Rumorosa is spectacular and there are rest areas (no restrooms) where you can pull off the road and look out over the Mexicali and Imperial valleys. You also get a chance to look at the huge pipeline and one of its pumping stations that sends the Colorado water to Tijuana. The trip to Tecate is highly recommended. Cellphone coverage is very spotty on the zig-zag road up the mountains.

To cross to the U.S. at Tecate, leave the toll road at the Tecate exit and proceed on the main city streets past various pharmaceutical plants and maquiladoras. (Map below - follow the yellow line) Just before getting to the town proper, you will see signs on the right-hand side of the road saying "Garita" and pointing to the right (north). A new road has been constructed which leads both passenger and commercial vehicles to the new crossing gates. You will go up and down two very steep hills and be driving right next to the boundary fence on this last mile of the road. Stay in the extreme right-hand lane! Trucks must use the left lane and will turn in through one of two massive iron bar gates to the inspection point. Cars will enter through the second massive gate which is only 30 meters farther on. There are two crossing lanes for cars at this gate but no SENTRI lane.

The town of Tecate itself is also a delight with its Zocalo (extreme left of the picture above) with a bar and cafe and there are two or three internet cafes within a couple of hundred yards of the square. Parking is relatively easy on a weekday. Small fast-food restaurants abound in the vicinity. An excellent liquor store opposite the northwest corner of the square sells a very comprehensive selection of Tequilas. From downtown, the access to the border crossing is now only from the East. You will have to backtrack to the road at the eastern end of the town. (yellow line on map above).

Aug 20 2010 update