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Condé Nast Traveler picks
 Baja Adventure
Whether you're eating dust or drenched in sea spray, you'll know you're in an adventurer's playground. Baja California Sur, as it's officially called in Mexico, has year-round sunshine, calm seas, great surf, demanding mountains, and 30,000 square miles of desert, enough of it sufficiently technical to keep any adrenaline junkie happy. The best way to get around is to rent an RV from El Monte in San Diego and take to the highway (elmonterv.com). Going off-road is not to be attempted with your basic suburban. The highways are largely two-lanes where high-speed trucks and stray farm animals are the major hazards; the reward is missions, small ranches, desert, and empty beaches on either side of the peninsula where you can camp for the night. Be prepared: You'll find few service stations along the way.
Ensenada Off-road racers—real wild men and a few wild women—tear through a lot of challenging silt beds, boulders, and scree-covered mountainsides on the course of the annual world-famous Baja 1000. The race begins in Ensenada and runs about 1,000 miles, over some of the worst roads imaginable. Contestants drive in the off-road vehicle of their choice in 29 classes—from dirt bikes to pickup trucks. SCORE INTERNATIONAL organizes the race (Nov. 15-18 this year); about a month before the start, the course map as well as a list of local hotels en route is posted (score-international.com). For a taste of what's in store, read Jessica McCreary's full-bodied account of doing the race in 2005 (mccrearyracing.com/Baja1000.html). About 200,000 people gather in villages along the route to cheer the drivers on as the race goes by. A number of outfitters have trips that provide opportunities to learn how to race, such as Baja Off Road and Wide Open Baja. La Paz Off the east coast, the Sea of Cortés is warm and calm, with lots of marine and bird life. La Paz is the biggest port town and harbors charter companies from which you can rent crewed or bare boats. The Moorings, based at Marina Palmira, has Beneteau sailboats and catamarans, which are built for comfort, not for speed (moorings.com; from $465 per day for a 36-foot sailboat). Baja Expeditions has eight-day cruises aboard the 14-passenger Don José (bajaex.com; $1,445-$1,646 per person). Loreto South of town is the nine-room Danzante Resort, where guests can hike and ride through canyons and up red-gold cliffs dotted with huge carton cactuses and then snorkel, dive, and kayak in the Sea of Cortés. You might choose to forgo the hassle of flying into Los Cabos and driving north by instead flying into the airport in Loreto or La Paz. Los Cabos Although more developed and suburban, Los Cabos nonetheless has the Cabo Surf Hotel, where you can roll out of bed and into the waves. Golf enthusiasts will find highly ranked courses and luxe accommodations at the One&Only Palmilla, the Fiesta Americana Grand, and the Westin Resort & Spa. Once you're exhausted from adventuring, treat yourself to the spa at Las Ventanas al Paraíso. San Ignacio Those who like to travel at a slower pace—on foot or horseback—can explore prehistoric cave art in the Vizcaíno Desert. In the other direction out of town is the Laguna San Ignacio, on the Pacific coast, where you can spot gray whales that come here to breed and calve from January through March. Ecoturismo Kuyimá can organize trips to both (52-615-154-0070; kuyima.com; $50-$100 per day). In town, stay at Casa Lereé, a century-old adobe guesthouse. Todos Santos The Pacific Ocean is generally cold and the waves big and strong. The best season for windsurfing is spring. Surfing heats up in summer and winter. To find good breaks, check out bajaquest.com/bajasports/surfing.html. Surfers congregate in Todos Santos, which has a laid-back charm. The Café Santa Fé has outstanding Italian food (4 Calle Centenario; entrées, $16-$35). Two wonderful local hotels are the Hotel California and the Posada La Poza. Truth in Travel is the guiding principle for all content published in Condé Nast Traveler. Other travel publications often accept free travel and accommodations. Condé Nast Traveler does not. It is independent of the travel industry. The magazine always pays its way, and, as far as possible, its correspondents travel anonymously. By doing so, they experience the world—both the good and the bad—as other travelers do, and their reports and recommendations are fair, impartial, and authoritative.
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