Car Hire in Baja California
Getting to Baja California
Around 30 Mexican cities receive direct flights from the United States and Canada, and there are relatively cheap connections from the Caribbean and the rest of Latin America as well. From Europe, visitors can fly to Mexico City and Cancun.
Aeromexico and Mexicana are the largest Mexican airlines. The main entrance to Baja California by air is the International Airport of Tijuana, which is served by all Mexican airlines from destinations all over the country. Another important port of entrance for Baja California is the Lindbergh Field Airport, in San Diego, located just 30 minutes from Tijuana.
There is only one major highway that goes from north to south with some side roads that are paved. Sections of Highway 1 are divided: one path is from Tijuana to Ensenada in the north; another is the entrance and exit in La Paz; and the last is the road from the Los Cabos airport to Cabo San Lucas.
Travellers can cross into Mexico by road from the US at one of the 40 official crossing points. There are also 10 border crossings between Mexico and Guatemala. Baja California has a fairly good road system that connects the main cities and towns.
If you have the chance to travel by car, don't miss the opportunity to admire the scenic Tijuana-Rosarito-Ensenada road, where you drive for approximately one hour, enjoying a fantastic view of the Pacific Ocean and some very impressive cliffs. The Tijuana-Mexicali route by the Rumorosa offers amazing landscape you will never forget.
Trains run from San Diego to Tijuana, El Paso to Ciudad Juárez and Del Rio to Ciudad Acuña.
Most cross-border bus services travel from California and Texas. There are also 10 border crossings between Mexico and Guatemala, and fairly frequent bus services between border points and Guatemalan towns. Frequent buses also run between Belize City and Chetumal.
The more adventurous might like to travel between the great Mayan ruins at Palenque and Tikal (Guatemala) by the jungle routes, via riverboat and back-country bus. The busiest and easiest route is via a short boat ride on the Río Usumacinta between Frontera Corozal (Chiapas) and Bethel (Guatemala); this route also squeezes in a visit to Yaxachilán and Bonampak.
The other routes link Benemerito de las Americas (Chiapas) and Sayaxche (Guatemala), and La Palma (Tabasco) and El Naranjo (Guatemala). Travellers should check the security situation in Chiapas with their embassy before attempting these crossings.
