Baja: Scenic luxury road trip itinerary.

Road trip through Mexico: Los Cabos, Todos Santos & Playa Balandra. 

There is just something about taking a road trip that is so much more special than just hopping on a flight, it's the unknown of what you will see along the way that keeps it so much more special and interesting. 

Before I get into our road trip itinerary I think it is important to share the struggles in renting the car. 

RED FLAGS OF A RENTAL CAR

I have rented a car quite few times before in different countries, usually renting them from large companies..well not this time. We were supposed to have a car the minute we landed, however the auto dealer had different plans. Even though everything was prepaid they asked us to put over $5000 on our credit card for liability insurance ( INSANE, because the total for insurance + car for few days should never exceed $100 in Mexico).  However, that was not the only red flag, the company itself also did not exist, we were told that the company we were dropped off at by airport shuttle has supposedly bought that company (also no sign of this anywhere online..sketchy? yes!). Last but not least when we did not agree to any of these insane amounts we got an uber from the auto dealer to Los Cabos hoping we'd have a better luck renting a car somewhere Downtown. Moral of the story: if you rent cars online make sure to ALWAYS rent from large companies such as AVIS, SIXTH etc. it may be a bit more pricey but the companies across the globe of that size have to follow the main rules and cannot make sh*t up as they go. Long story short we walked into a few random rental places in Downtown Los Cabos and rented an ever larger size car than we originally wanted for 3 days which totaled to $80 including liability insurance (mandatory when in MX and not covered by your insurance). 

*In case you're a rookie with rentals, make sure to always take a video before you leave the rental place of the entire exterior + interior to show scratches etc on the car that way you are not liable for them and you have proof that it was there when you first picked up the vehicle. 

ROAD TRIP ITINERARY 

Even though our road trip was supposed to start from the minute we landed due to car rental issues mentioned above we decided to only rent it for 3 days instead of 5 so this itinerary is based on a 3 day road trip!

Los Cabos ->  Downtown La Paz -> Playa Balandra -> Todos Santos -> Los Cabos 

This route took us 2 full days to complete. 

Downtown La Paz: A very local town, we did not run into any tourists. If you're looking for some good street tacos, local shopping this town is it! We spent a few hours there walking around through random neighborhoods.

Playa Balandra: This was supposed to be a highlight of the trip but unfortunately a random yacht that set on fire a few days before on that beach had different plans for us as there was a huge oil spill and beach was closed. Thankfully there is a more local beach just down the road that offers just as turquoise water as Playa Balandra. There is also a restaurant located there as well as plenty water activities, tours to a little island nearby etc. if you want to spend an entire day there. 

Todos Santos: A very unique little town that in a way reminded me of what Playa Del Carmen used to be like 10 years ago before it became too touristy and over priced. Town offers plenty of restaurants, unique local shops and authentic buildings to see. 

WHERE TO STAY

A while back I came across a beautiful property in Todos Santos called "Paradero hotels", there was just a few posts on it online so I wasn't sure if it even existed or what it actually looked like. As I was researching the area it is located in which is Todos Santos "Amazon" did an event there which brought a lot of social media attention to it which gave me a better idea of what property is like & that is when I knew I HAD  to go see it in person as the look of it was extremely unique. 

Paradero hotel is just a short 10 minute drive from Todos Santos Downtown / over an hour away from Los Cabos and about an hour and a half from Playa Balandra which pretty much puts it in the middle of the road trip between Cabo & the beach which makes it a perfect spot to stay a night during the trip! 

What to expect:

• Design of the hotel is concrete & wood. Extremely minimal, unique & extremely photogenic!
• Eco friendly 
• Surrounded by gardens and farms of fruit etc. with nothing in sight as far as you can see
• No phones in the rooms. You use whatsapp to make any requests or to reach concierge
• Bathrooms are outside the room. 
• Bring a bug spray! 
• Farm to to table food. 

ROAD TRIP TAKEAWAYS 

As much as I enjoyed driving through Mexico I wish I did even more research and made more stops along the way. Driving for few hours at a time may not seem that bad but I think instead of just getting into the car with a very specific destination in mind it would be better to pick out a few other stops to make. Because I was so focused on visiting Playa Balandra for the past half year since we started planning this trip I was extremely disappointed that it was closed due to oil spill and we had to go to a beach down the road. Thankfully we had a drone and were able to fly over the mountain to see the Balandra beach but if I only had picked out other spots to check out I would've been less disappointed in the moment. 

P.s. Oil spill clean up lasts a few months so if you're headed that way make sure to check "news" section on google to see if the beach has reopened for you to visit. 

FYI

• After researching places you want to visit during your road trip make sure to click on "news" on google just to make sure there was no oil spill at the beach you want to visit, building you want to see didn't close down etc. I always go look at geotags of the places I want to go to as that is another great way to see if the place still exists and what it actually looks like!
• You will need a mask almost everywhere you go. Whether it's a gas station, pharmacy or a local grocery store. No mask = no entry.
• As long as your credit card works you will not need cash as most deserted places along the way all took credit cards. 
• Don't bring nice stuff on the road trip. There should be no reason to ever travel Internationally with all your nice things, whether i's a designer bag or a big rock on your finger. Don't want to get robbed? Don't bring anything valuable. Blending in is always the best way to go.
• Bring a drone. I can't say this enough but the most beautiful photos and places to see can only be captured and seen from way above so drone will always come in handy especially when traveling to remote locations.
• Don't be scared to get lost. Even though google maps & waze works perfectly you might make a wrong turn or go take a short cut through dirt roads -- just go along with it (to a certain extent lol) and enjoy the ride, that is the best part of the road trip because you never know what else you may see along the way! 

xx, Sky Naite