How to Get Around Baja California Peninsula

A hire car is close to essential. The peninsula is enormous and its attractions are scattered along a single highway; without a car you are dependent on infrequent buses.

Highway 1 runs the full 1,700 kilometres from Tijuana to the southern cape. It is paved but narrow, often without shoulders, and shared with trucks. Do not drive it at night — free-ranging cattle, unlit vehicles and no lighting make it genuinely dangerous. Fuel stations can be far apart in the central desert; fill up when you can.

Mexican car insurance is mandatory and a US or Canadian policy does not count. Buy it at the border or online before travelling.

Flying: Los Cabos, the southern state capital, Loreto and Tijuana have airports, and flying between the ends of the peninsula saves a two-day drive.

Ferries cross the Gulf from Santa Rosalia and the south to the mainland at Guaymas, Topolobampo and Mazatlan.

Buses run the length of the highway and are comfortable if slow.