Going to Baja for the first time, I'm stoked...

bulae99 · Since 12 Jul 2006 1691 Posts I give out bad advice.

I've been thinking about going to Baja for years and now I'm going. Any advice on my trip would be greatly appreciated.
I'll be driving from Cabo to La Ventana in a rental car. I'm going for a job interview, lol.
I'll be there March 19th to 26th staying at Captain Kirk's.
My questions are:
1. What size kites?
2. full suit of shorty?
3. Budget for food?
4. flying Alaska with a board and 2kites, what's the best way to pack?
Part of my job interview is going to involve windsurfing, kiting, surfing and sup'n. I'm wondering if I can still windsurf? yikes!
Oh yea, if somebody needs a ride during that time let me know,
Cheers,
Ron

Very Happy

knotwindy · Since 25 Sep 2011 615 Posts Addicted

1 kite size: i live on a 10 and a directional, some 7 days
but most folks have 12, 9, 7

2 suit: full suit for 3 weeks in Dec and Jan otherwise shorty or just shorts

3 food: is all over the place. you can eat like a gringo for a lot or like a
Mexicano para nada, rice, beans and fish are cheap here

disclaimer; i am in Los Barriles so a bit different but not much

it blows Nov thru April but Nov and April are sketch, can be amazing or crap

OG · Since 07 Jun 2011 599 Posts Addicted

good luck on that job, it sounds cool. Hopefully they dont try to sell you a timeshare.

ldhr · Since 21 Jul 2009 1489 Posts Hood River XTreme Poster

1. What size kites? 9 and 12.
2. full suit of shorty? both.
3. Budget for food? cook or eat out? cheap either way.
4. flying Alaska with a board and 2kites, what's the best way to pack?
pack them in a bag that's less than 60 inches long and less than 50 lbs.
pad the board with your wetsuits.

Blazeheliski · Since 30 Mar 2011 659 Posts Mosier Addicted

Since Alaska just charges $25 for any checked baggage, they do not have any extra fees for kiteboard gear. Just as long as it fits the size and weight limits - it is counted as regular check baggage. Just flew to Hawaii on Alaska with 3 kites and one board with no problems.

Anthony · Since 07 Oct 2008 362 Posts Salem Obsessed **CGKA Member**

I have only been here 3 times for a total length of 24 days.

Flying

Los Cabo verse La Paz Airport

Los Cabo Airport is in three terminals. When you flight arrives head right to immigration. About three Alaska flights arrive at the same time. It took me at 30+ minutes to get cleared through. I was told later it you tip the guy herding people in the back with two $5. One for him and one for his buddy checking ID’s he will move you right to the front of the line. Put up luggage, standard luggage at carousal and golf bag on the far end. Next baggage scan, easy. The walk into the white room where all the timeshare people there to greet you. Just keep walking through the opposite door you came. There are no markings in the room. Walk out side to the right for rental car vans. I will let you know how it goings flying out of Los Cabos after my flight this Sunday

La Paz airport is the small terminal. You are typically to the car rental agency with in 30 minutes of arriving. I like flying into La Paz. It has only three issues LAX! The time between planes is only 1:05 coming down. When flying back TSA can be quick or backed up for over an hour! The third thing I do not like is that for a first times LAX is confusing, you have to walk out of the terminal to a domestic terminal and go through the whole TSA thing again! LAX sucks!

Be sure you flights have at least 2+ hours connection time when coming back to USA.

Car Rental

I have rented from Budget, they are the only one that lists the insurance online, which is cheaper than when you arrive and get it . The car rental is cheap, the insurance is not. It will not be cheap. This time for some reason, I got the full coverage. My car was dinged in La Paz while shopping. I am going find out if it works in a few days. If anyone coming up with a good system of renting a car and still being save insurance wise, please post. I also have coverage through American Express, but only to a point.

Driving

This is free range area. Cattle, horses, hog etc will be on the road. Do a web search for driving, once you figure the nuances. It is easy to get around. Do not give the police any reason to pull you over! Drive during the day if possible! I am using an apple app that work ok for gps. The roads are paved and narrow. Stay on the road! At San Antonio do not miss the turn. It will be to the east, NOT west! . See this link for directions. http://www.kiteschool.com/laventana_travel.html The road from San Antonio had some eastbound lane closures due to slope failure from the past Hurricanes. Not a problem, keep a lookout. Do not use Goggle Maps for directions it will take on a dirt coastal roadway in Los Barriles. San Antonio can be tricky, go past the Pemex(gas) then less than a half kilometer you.
will see signs to Baja Joes and other kiteboard shop signs. Turn there. See goggle map for street system of San Antonio.

Money, Atms and Groceries. .

From Los Cabos

You need Peco’s The Los Cabos airport ATM is in a different terminal then were you arrive. I pick up my Pecos in Los Barriles at Bank of Mexico, there are several ATM’s there. Down less that an city block from ATM’s is a fair grocery store. Get moving daylight is running out.

From La Paz

Things are easy here. At the whales tail(you will know, it is three stories high) in there is a (left) Super Walmart for Pecos and Groceries. To the right is a Soriana (like Safeway) for Pecos and Groceries.

Do your homework on maps before you go or have a good GPS with Mexico maps!

I weight 200 lb. I brought a 9, 11 and 14. So far, I only used the 11m. It is an on / off weather. Thou with kite race boards, you can be out on just a breeze. The ultimate light wind machine.

I use a 3/2 mm full suit and am comfortable(beginning kiter). If you are a good kiter you can get way with less!

Food is cheaper than US. I got 3000 Pecos and bought most of my food with credit card. Budget $200. Let the bank know you are traveling to Baja. Only 1 out of 2 atms cards did work and I called!

I used a kite golf bag and keep it under 50 pounds!

Yes, you can windsurf. I would recommend Vela Sports over Baja Joes for the newer equipment. For $50 US you rent all day right from the beach. A great way to try all sorts of equipment.

Locally

The only thing close to Grocery store is in El Sargento. Ask most anybody, they know where it is. They have actually doubled the food area compared to last year!!! There is a fish / shrimp store just north of the soccer(football) field. First or second street to the east about 1 block. Look for blue building. Incredible shrimp and cheap!!!

bulae99 · Since 12 Jul 2006 1691 Posts I give out bad advice.

I'm going to take my 10-12 mtr. RPM and a surfboard. I weight 230lbs and should have access to a big kite 14 and a skim race board at my interview.

I'm thinking I'll just skip driving and ride a bus from Cabo to La Paz then catch a ride from there. I'll be solo so hopefully I'll find somebody going from La Paz to La Ventana. I might just go for the car rental as it will allow me to move around and see things when i want.

What about cell coverage?

Thank you very much,

Ron

Anthony · Since 07 Oct 2008 362 Posts Salem Obsessed **CGKA Member**

Anthony’s Short Guide La Ventana - Please post extra info that would help.

I have only been here 3 times for a total length of 24 days.

Flying

Los Cabo verse La Paz Airport

Los Cabo(SJD) Airport is in three terminals. When your flight arrives head right to immigration. About three Alaska flights arrive at the same time. It took me at 30+ minutes to get cleared through. I was told later it you tip the guy herding people in the back with two $5. One for him and one for his buddy checking ID’s he will move you right to the front of the line. They delivered standard luggage at carousal and golf bag on the far end. Next stop was baggage scan, easy. Then walk into the White Room, where all the timeshare people there to greet you. Just keep walking through the opposite door you came. There are no markings in the room. Walk outside to the right for rental car vans. Departing Los Cabos was easy. My ride drive took me to the Terminal for Alaska. They have two people lifting bag to check for overweight bags. They lifted kite bag 48 lbs and big suit case 39 lbs, no problems, if they thought it was overweight it was take up to be checked. It beats being at the ticket counter and finding you have to move items around. They zip tied my bags right there and they stayed that way through PDX. Nice! It was the easiest leaving an out of country airport I have ever had. I was there about 3 hours before the flight. The Alaska Airline people were great. I used the free Wi-Fi from Carl’s Jr waiting for the plane. San Diego (SAN) is much a better place to come back to than LAX. It took about 30 minutes from departing the airplane to getting though domestic security in the other terminal. SAN like LAX you have to walk outside to go from international to domestic.

La Paz(LAP) airport is the small terminal. You are typically to the car rental agency within 30 minutes of arriving. I like flying into La Paz. It has only three issues LAX! The connection time between planes in LAX is only 1:05 flying to LAP. When flying back TSA can be quick or backed up for over an hour! The third thing I do not like is that for a first times LAX is confusing; you have to walk out of the terminal to a domestic terminal and go through the whole TSA thing again! LAX sucks! When flying back your luggage will be fully pawed through at LAP!

Be sure you flights have at least 2+ hours connection time when coming back to USA.

Car Rental

I have rented from Budget, they are the only one that lists the insurance online, which is cheaper than when you arrive and get it. The car rental is cheap, the insurance is not. This time for some reason, I got the full coverage. My car was dinged in La Paz while shopping or from bicycle pedal. If anyone coming up with a good system of renting a car and still being save insurance wise, please post. I also have coverage through American Express, but only to a point. I had a minor scrape on the back door. I was expecting a $400+ USA cost of repair, but it was only $91. In Baja, the deductable is 10% of the cost of the car. This is from emails with Budget after the accident. In Cozumel, I was 100% covered. Beware in Baja, I really now question the rip off insurance. It $450 in insurance for 10 days does not cover a small repair, why have it as all. I think that the American Express would have covered it, but for $91 repair, it is not worth my time turning in. Next time, I will most likely take a shuttle!

Driving

Baja is free range area. Cattle, horses, hogs etc will be on the road. They go to the road at night to keep warm. Do a web search for driving, once you figure the nuances. It is easy to get around. Do not give the police any reason to pull you over! Drive during the day if possible! The roads are paved and narrow. Stay on the road! At San Antonio do not miss the turn. It will be to the east, NOT west! See this link for directions. http://www.kiteschool.com/laventana_travel.html The road from San Antonio had some eastbound lane closures due to slope failure from the past Hurricanes. Not a problem, keep a lookout. Do not use Goggle Maps for directions it will take on a dirt coastal roadway in Los Barriles. San Antonio can be tricky, go past the Pemex (gas) then less than a half kilometer you will see signs to Baja Joes and other kiteboard shop signs. Turn there. See goggle map for street system of San Antonio. There are several good fruit and vegetable stands in San Antonio.

Money, ATM and Groceries.

From Los Cabos

You will need Peso’s. The Los Cabos airport ATM is in a different terminal then were you arrive. You can exchange Dollars for Pesos at an exchange window on the way out of the airport. ATM’s a much better exchange rate. I pick up my Pesos in Los Barriles at Bank of Mexico, there are several ATM’s there. Easy to see the sign from the highway. Down less that a city block from ATM’s is a fair grocery store. Get moving daylight is running out.

From La Paz

Things are easy here. At the whales tail (you will know, it is three stories high) in there is a (left) Super Wal-Mart for Pesos and Groceries. To the right is a Soriana (like Safeway) for Pesos and Groceries.

Do your homework on maps before you go or have a good GPS with Mexico maps!

I weight 200 lb. I brought a 9, 11 and 14. I used the 11m for 6 out of nine days. 14m once and 9 m once. It is an on / off weather. Thou with kite race boards, you can be out on just a breeze. The ultimate light wind machine.

I use a 3/2 mm full suit and am comfortable (beginning kiter). If you are a good kiter you can get away with less!

Food is cheaper than US. I got 3000 Pesos and bought most of my food with credit card. Budget $200. If buying food in La Ventana increase the Budget to $350 USD. Let the bank know you are traveling to Baja. Only 1 out of 2 ATM cards did work and I called!

I used a kite golf bag and keep it under 50 pounds! Each airline has is own rules check them before going. To reduce one suit case I might over weight the kite golf bag next time.

Yes, you can windsurf. I would recommend Vela Sports over Baja Joes for the newer equipment. For $50 US you rent all day right from the beach. A great way to try all sorts of equipment.

Places to Stay

There are many places to stay, just search the web.

Locally

The only thing close to Grocery store (Oscaritos) is in El Sargento. Ask most anybody, they know where it is. They have actually doubled the food area compared to last year!!! There is a fish / shrimp store just north of the soccer (football) field. First or second street to the east about 1 block. Look for blue building (Pescaderia Perla). Incredible shrimp and cheap!!! I have heard there is an ATM the Los Banditos Bar in La Ventana. The fees are probably mucho!

wylieflyote · Sat Feb 16, 13 6:52 am

If you need to find a ride share from either La Paz or San Jose del Cabo, these can be found by joining the list-serve email group "Ventana View. You can also find shared down-winders from the Hot Springs, event news, garage sales, etc.
You must join to receive the daily newsletter (and for posting rights). Send a request to:
ventana.view@gmail.com