Baja Peninsula

This 800-mile-long Mexican peninsula poking south from the U.S. state of California is a true adventurer's paradise. From the bawdy border town of Tijuana to the colonial missions, from the searing Vizcaí Desert to the delicious blue waters of the Pacific and Sea of Cortez, Baja encompasses infinite, surreal variety. The finest way to take it all in is to travel the length of the peninsula on Highway 1, the Transpeninsular, which veers from coast to coast, across deserts and through mountain ranges. Baja is a marvel for all kinds of water-based activities — surfing the pacific swells, kayaking and snorkeling with sea lions near La ...

This 800-mile-long Mexican peninsula poking south from the U.S. state of California is a true adventurer's paradise. From the bawdy border town of Tijuana to the colonial missions, from the searing Vizcaí Desert to the delicious blue waters of the Pacific and Sea of Cortez, Baja encompasses infinite, surreal variety. The finest way to take it all in is to travel the length of the peninsula on Highway 1, the Transpeninsular, which veers from coast to coast, across deserts and through mountain ranges. Baja is a marvel for all kinds of water-based activities — surfing the pacific swells, kayaking and snorkeling with sea lions near La Paz, diving in the Bahía de Loreto marine national park, getting up close with giant gray whales at Laguna Ojo de Liebre and other spots on the Pacific coast. It's almost as exciting on land where you can backpack or ride horses in the mountains that form Baja's rugged spine, or explore millennia-old cave paintings in the Sierra de San Francisco. And Baja is not all rugged outdoor stuff — far from it. It has its artist colonies (Todos Santos), its wine tastings (Ensenada), great food and comfortable lodgings (almost everywhere), its charming colonial mission towns (Mulegé) and even one pumped-up, fly-in-fly-out, crazy party town (Cabo San Lucas).

About the Expert

John Noble is a coauthor of Lonely Planet's Spain, Andalucia, and Mexico as well as many other LP titles from Indonesia to Belize to Brazil.