Baja & Other 2009 Surf Destinations

[purple pyramids]

there are a good waves all along baja. starting just south of san diego. but baja gets nicer the further south you go.
you can just drive all the way, but rental cars from l.a or san diego aren't insured for past half way down the peninsula. might be better to fly into cabo san lucas at the bottom and drive north. or fly to half way down. fly into la (or check if you can fly from san francisco to baja, s.f is more fun than la)
i don't think you'd need a surf camp. there are plenty of waves for the picking and there are plenty of people with boats to give you rides. and it's not a particularly dangerous place.

[Kunji]

Ill be over there in september. Should hook up if you are going then.

[PeepeelaPew]

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[Kunji]

Ill be over there in september. Should hook up if you are going then.

Sounds good, Coops. Do you have any details yet?

Just heading over to puerto escondido for a month or a couple of weeks depending on how many people are keen to go to the philippines. Dont like to plan too much, just rock up and take it as it comes. Plenty of options around those parts and further south.

[lessormore]

8

Hows this then-

[bohdidontsurf]

Its very rare, no actually it hasnt happened ......yet! I have never been jealous of anyone from the Realsurf forums. Losing my shirt to Opes Prime (Buff Brad), having a half mil mansion that I will have paid off in 5 years (Ringmaster), no those milestones dont turn me even a shade of green, but all this talk of Mexico and in particular Peurto Escondido is starting to get to me. I always thought it was a no go area regarding the bandidos and corrupt police ????

[Kunji]

Def more into mainland Me'ico. Heaps more breaks and a sick party atmosphere. Its also more consistant. Easy to get further south for more secluded beaches.

We might be going to the Philippines first for a couple of weeks then to Mexico. Depends on my unreliable mates. At the very least, we will be going to Mexico only. September is the good season for both.

p.s. [You may embed only 3 quotes within each other.]
^^Another flaw in the new Realsurf.

[mr vic]

if you want to want to go to Baja, i think that Northern Baja border is only a few hours from LA. Lots of drug crime problems going on in Northern Mex at the moment tho

Went to mainland Mexico in oct/nov 2007. Puerto is cool. few different waves there and a backpacker scene. other good waves in the area, but access becomes difficult for many of them. Dont really think that a surf camp is necessary in Mexico. you can get to plenty of places by buses that allow you to get accomadation on the beach, and as long as you lock up your stuff, and be careful at night, its not as dangerous as you think.

Other alternatives for central america is Costa rica. costs are about the same as mex, pretty safe. If you are going the surf camp route, maybe consider Nicuragua... bit dodgy, but very cheap, and access is hard so a surf camp is good for those reasons, but all day offshores and consistent swell sound quite appealing! (never been to Nicuragua, but just saying what ive heard)

[petulance]

Hey Salty, just giving you a heads up on an article about Puerto Rico in The Australian

could be worth checking out.

[bonusbeats]

southern baja is nicer, and you'll get more waves than on the mainland, which is more crowded and developed. but it's not like you have to choose one or the other, you can easily surf both.
it's been 15 years since i was last there, so things might have changed a bit.

[borneonose]

Hey,

The best bet is mainland mexico starting at a beach called pascuales and then there is a bus which runs down the whole coast and there are about a million places to surf all the way down the coast.

i did a trip in 2007 starting in LA and drove all the way down to barra (rip curl contest site which is about 2 hours south of porto) for about 2 month. Did not score the Baja at all and would steer clear of it. mostly jsut a big desert with one road right down the middle so access to surf requires a 4WD and some dodgy roads and no petrol stations for miles.

You can fly close to pascuales and then hire a car there and drive the whole coast.

Cheap accomidation we paid US25 a night for a cabana right on the beach about 10m from the water at rio nexpa with a kitchen and 4 double beds and decent shower and bathroom and perfect view of the 200m long left point there. You can camp at some places for US3 a night.

we got this book (http://www.amazon.com/Surfers-Guide-Mai ... 643&sr=8-2) in LA and it was the best 20 bucks we spent it had a directions to every surf spot in the states of Michoacan and Colima.

As far as i am concered mexico is no different to traveling in other country in regards to crime etc... just be smart. Most of the places you will stay are not on the typical tourist path anyway so it is not really a problem people are really nice as you would expect.

PM me if you want to ask any specifics

also i will be more than happy to be your tour guide

Cheers nosey!

[bonusbeats]

$1000 to fly from LA to Mexico. ....

from LAX, on delta:
Culiacan, Mexico (CUL)—$149
Guadalajara, Mexico (GDL)—$129
La Paz, Mexico (LAP)—$179
Leon, Mexico (BJX)—$209
Loreto, Mexico (LTO)—$159
Los Mochis, Mexico (LMM)—$149
Torreon, Mexico (TRC)—$249
Zacatecas, Mexico (ZCL)—$239

and $331 return for the bottom of baja.

[Wingnut]

Some good advice from someone on another website that seemed reasonable.

"I'm by no meanings trying to talk people into coming down to Baja..I enjoy surfing uncrowded waves everyday...I've been here for two months...Heres what I know: Drive a beater car, don't camp out in the open, there's plenty of places to camp for 5.00 a night...Know where you are staying....The average person here makes 8.00 a day, so don't flash jewelry or cash around...The Pemex gas stations have the exchange rate posted so the attendant can't rip you off, take a calculator...Don't drive at night..know which beer bottles require a deposit and which ones don't...Steer clear of Tijuana and the current drug war...Don't jockey into position in a line up like your all pissed and surfing in Southern California with 50 other brohams...You will never feel as safe as you feel in the United States in any third world...Be smart and be safe."

[PeepeelaPew]

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[PeepeelaPew]

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[LONGINUS]

Nah, its definetly worth it. The best guide around IMO is The Surfers guide to Baja by Mike Parise, great maps and travel info. I got mine on amazon - tricky to find otherwise. I went and verified most of this on a trip and its very accurate. The swell window here is basically year around, hard to score it flat.

If you are heading Northern hemisphere I would go back to the Marshall Islands, starts getting inconsistent after April though. Despite what you read, there are a lot more waves than just P-Pass to ride off Pohnpei as well. Ah Pohnpei, I spent a month there one night