Who has been there, what outfitter did you use, and do you have any pros or cons to share about that outfitter?
We’re thinking about a week long trip, kayaking and snorkeling, and “comfortable” camping.
(Thanks ebanista, for your info about Blue Waters Kayaking!)
Baja Expeditions
I went with Baja Expeditions about 8 years ago. At that time, I had only paddled a few times and the week-long trip had mostly new or never-ever paddlers on it. Overall, it was a great trip… good food, decent equipment, good itinerary, plenty of free time, excellent campsites right on the water, etc. Very relaxing. For more experienced paddlers, it might be a bit tame, however. When I go back, I’ll probably look for a somewhat more challenging trip.
It’s a beautiful place to paddle… enjoy!
Several Trips
– Last Updated: Sep-03-04 8:25 PM EST –
I have been to the northern Sea of Cortez without a group, but mostly our trips are to the Pacific Coast. I have been with Aqua Adventures to Todos Santos Island (very highly recommended trip, you should have some ocean paddling experience though)and also with Aqua Adventures on a Pacific Coast Surf Safari, lately we go down by ourselves and surf along the coast in Northern Baja.
here are some pics of some of our trips
http://community.webshots.com/album/82306972DOpwcb
http://community.webshots.com/album/78354059UEbpMv
http://community.webshots.com/album/170538707VjgBxB
And a link to a trip to Sea of Cortez with Aqua-Adventures. Aqua-Adventures is for real kayakers, not for eco-tourist-one timer types, it's a no frills trip, but would be lots of wonderful paddling with great guides.
http://www.aqua-adventures.com/trips/labay.html
Been Down to Cabo San Lucas, But
– Last Updated: Sep-03-04 9:01 PM EST –
I have been down to Cabo San Lucas, but kayaking was limited to renting a Malibu II at the Hacenida for a paddle out to Los Arcos.
I get plenty of ocean kayaking, but no diving up here in NORCAL, so I opted for diving instead. There is a coral reef up north between Cabo San Lucas, and Cabo Del San Jose that is some of the best diving on the west coast. Oceania Reef. Caught a big tour boat out of Cabo San Lucas. It is shallow, less than 30' in most places, so snokeling gear is just fine.
About the same latitude as the Florida Keys. Visibility and water temps comparable to the Florida Keys if you go in fall and there haven't been any hurricanes to mess up the water. Hurricane season is the same as Florida. Mostly late summer. There is one down there now called Howard. High summer is off season that far south, with air temps above 100 on most days.
Cabo San Lucas is NOT a "real" Mexican exprience. It is a tourist town where almost everyone speaks English, and crime is almost non-existent. Down side is that is as expensive as any place in the states, and everyone is selling time shares...
I hear Cabo Del San Jose is getting to be just about as bad. It used to be a fishing town. Probably need to go up to Loreto to get back into the real Mexico. Loreto is the next airport up from Cabo Del San Jose.
Baja alternative…
I know this doesn’t address your question but it may give you an alternative to think about:
I love the Sea of Cortez and always visit the Mexican mainland side at San Carlos in the state of Sonora. It is about 320 miles south of Tucson AZ. The coastline, climate, and water are beautiful there, and, the best time of year to visit is in the fall when the days aren’t so hot and the water is about 82 deg F. Checkout some of the pics I’ve taken there:
http://community.webshots.com/user/rbarnardjr
Fishing, diving, and snorkeling is very popular and you can rent kayaks there if you don’t bring one with you. It is a peaceful place and definitely not a tourist trap. In the late 1960s a movie called Catch-22 was filmed at Algodones beach where you can still find remnants of the movieset.
It is easy to get there too. You can drive - the roads are usually pretty good or you can fly into Guaymas. To make an extended trip, you could take the ferry from Guaymas to Santa Rosalia and tour the Baja Peninsula too.
There are lots of places to stay from motels to the 5 star Plaza Hotel. You can also camp on the beach or stay in a very nice RV park - El Mirador.
Here are a few links for more info:
http://www.sancarlosmexico.com/
http://www.elmar.com/mexico.htm
-Bob
ahhh Bahahahaja
I’ve done 2 trips down at LA Bay and Guerro Negro. We drove a bus down from PDX and picked up clients at San Diego. They flew in. We had all the boats and kit and began our ‘adventure’ at the border. 8+hr drive. GREAT boatin’!
This was back when you could do commercial trips from the US without a whole buttload of regulations. Now it takes a bunch of red tape work to guide down there.
One of my buds up here runs trips down there in winter. Her name is Ginni Callahan.
http://www.columbiariverkayaking.com/
steve
Mar Y Adventuras
I used them on a trip to Espiritu Santo off the coast of La Paz in southern Baja. They are excellent and have good equipment.
Mulege
Drive down to Mulege and stay in a palapa, on the beach, at Coyote Bay. It’s cheap and hard to beat. Mulege is a good town to hang around in.
I went, no outfitter
June and I drove down from San Diego in May 2002. We stayed in San Quintin on the Pacific Side at the Old Mill Hotel for $30 right on Bahia San Quintin. We also spent 4 days in LA Bay at Camp Gecko in a hooch for $15/day. I wish I would have done a trip with Ed Gillet when he ran Southwest Sea Kayaks.
Aqua Adventures in San Diego does some Northern Baja trips.
Pyramid Lake, northeast of Reno is very reminiscent of Baja. A desert landscape, unpredictable winds and pretty good fishing.
Thanks
Thanks all for the info, I appreciate it!
New San Carlos info
I am looking for any new info on SC. We are condsidering moving there and things like gear availability etc come to mind, or do I need to bring extra from stateside?.. I hope to make a trip down in the next couple of months to scout it out.kim