Pamo

Would like to take a trip where I go to La Paz, Loretto, and Todos Santos. Question is - do I fly to Cabo, rent a car and then do my driving -- or -- would it be an option to fly to San Diego and then drive through the Baja. Is there any issue with renting a car in CA and driving it in Mexico? I have done a little driving in the Baja and the roads seemed ok. I just had a small car -- so my last question is if I need to get something more rugged. Recommendations would be appreciated.

Bill_H

<b>do I fly to Cabo, rent a car and then do my driving</b>

We've rented in Loreto and in Cabo and driven most of the southern part of Baja.

I would check the air fares and fly to either Cabo or Loreto or La Paz, depending on which is cheaper ... there were limited rental options in Loreto though. Cabo would probably be my choice, but La Paz is more centrally located if you are also going as far north as Loreto.

<b> would it be an option to fly to San Diego and then drive through the Baja. Is there any issue with renting a car in CA and driving it in Mexico?</b>

Few if any of the major US car rental agencies will allow you to drive a rental into Mexico, so that's a big issue You may find some smaller outfit that will let you do this, but not many.

<b> (do) I need to get something more rugged.</b>

All the main roads are paved (mas o menos) so you would only need something more rugged if driving off-road, which you probably don't want to do (in case you get lost or stuck in the sand or get a flat or break down).

Also the rental contracts usually specify that you can't drive off-road. So any basic rental car is fine, I feel. You might want to spring for AC, depending on when you go since it's pretty hot for much of the year.

Bill

Pamo

Thanks for the quick feedback! Based on this -- I think I will go with my first inclination -- fly ti Cabo. I have freq flyer miles on Frontier -- so that will work well. Anyone have any specific car rental companies you recommend in Cabo.

Bill_H

Pamo, we've rented several times from National, both in Cabo and Vallarta, and were happy with the prices and the vehicle. No surprises.

If you are going off-season you can take a chance and just fly down and maybe negotiate a better deal at the airport (maybe) but if going high season or mid-season it's a good idea to book ahead using their web site.

Their idea of 'mid-size' or 'full-size' is smaller than my idea of 'mid-size' or 'full-size' though

Bill

mikemo

We never found a San Diego rental car we could take to Baja, even 'tho we live in Mexico and have MXN auto insurance on two cars here.
Auto rentals in Los Cabos are quite expensive.
M

Bill_H

<b>Auto rentals in Los Cabos are quite expensive.</b>

Certainly seem reasonable to me, competitive with other resort areas ... maybe you're doing something wrong?

I just logged on to the National site and plugged in at random May 8-15 and an economy car from the Los Cabos airport is $24/day or $168 ... tax is 10% and the airport fee is 10% (you can avoid this by picking up outside the airport) for a total of $203.20/week (plus insurance).

A mid-size is $228 for the week base or $276 with tax and airport fee.

$24/day sounds pretty cheap to me.

These are similar prices to what we paid in Vallarta a few weeks ago.

Bill