Things to do in Baja California

Baja California is the top half of the peninsula. The state ends at the twenty-eighth parallel, where Baja California Sur takes over. Mexicali is the capital, and Tijuana is much the biggest city.

Two coasts and a border

The peninsula is narrow here. The Pacific side is cold, foggy and built for surf, while the Gulf of California side is desert with warm water. Crossing between them takes half a day.

• Tijuana. On the border, beside one of the busiest land crossings anywhere, and a serious eating city.
• Rosarito and the coast road. Beach towns strung along the toll highway running south from the border.
• Ensenada. The working port, the cruise pier and the wine valleys immediately behind it.
• Tecate. A quiet border town in the hills, known for its brewery and the back road into the vineyards.
• San Felipe and Mexicali. The far side: desert heat, the Gulf of California and shrimp tacos.

What the state is bought for

Wine is the main draw. The valleys behind Ensenada grow most of the country's grapes, and the tasting rooms are small and modern. The rest of the state is coast, desert and the road between them.

• Wine and cheese routes. Guadalupe for the wine, Ojos Negros for the ranch cheese, both worked from Ensenada.
• The coast. Surf breaks, fish camps and La Bufadora, the sea cave out on Punta Banda.
• Grey whales. They pass down this coast from about December to April, bound for calving lagoons further south.
• Border food. Tijuana invented the Caesar salad in the 1920s and has been arguing about tacos ever since.

Practical

• Not beach weather. The Pacific coast is cool and often fogged in summer, while the inland valleys are hot and dry.
• Clocks. The state runs on Pacific time and still changes twice a year, in step with California.
• The border. Waits to re-enter the United States are the day's main unknown. Check them before setting out.
• Roads. Highway 1D is the toll road and worth the money. The free road is slower, rougher and prettier.
• Distances. Tijuana to Ensenada is ninety minutes. San Felipe, on the Gulf side, is about five hours from the border.
• Money. Dollars circulate near the border. Pesos go further everywhere else.
• Whales. Boats run December to April and are called off in swell.
• Tipping. Ten to fifteen per cent in restaurants, and separately for a driver on a tasting day.