Top Reasons to Go

Top Reasons to Go

Driving through starkly beautiful landscapes: Along the Pacific Coast, south of Tijuana, the Carretera Transpeninsular (Highway 1) makes getting to Baja's historic missions and remote beaches half the fun.

Sampling the other California's finest wines: The Valle de Guadalupe, near to Ensenada, is a gorgeous valley filled with vineyards and inns with unpretentious hosts.

Catching the sunset in Cataviña: The sky might never look as perfect as it does out there, at the edge of civilization, amid magnificent boulder fields and one-of-a-kind flora, like the Tim Burton-esque boojum tree.

Making eye contact with a gray whale: These gentle giants swim to Baja California every winter to mate and calve in three lagoons on the peninsula's west coast.

Shopping for reasonably priced Mexican handicrafts: In Tijuana and Ensenada stores are filled not only with fake sunglasses, but with interesting souvenirs that make for authentic bring backs.