Ensenada Baja California Mexico

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The 65 mile drive to Ensenada takes you along a scenic coast reminiscent in part of California's cliff side stretch around Big Sur. From Tijuana, follow the signs for "Ensenada Cuota" (a toll road with a small charge for autos, slightly more for trailers and motor homes). You'll pass by Rosarito Beach, once the site of a famous gambling casino and now noted for its extensive Sunday market onwheels, where you can buy goods from food and clothing to curios; Halfway House, where surfers search for the perfect wave; and Cantamar, where Southern California's hang gliders gather on cliffs that beetlebrow the beaches.

You can follow the old road from Tijuana (Ensenada Libre) past farms and dairies in the La Joya valley, reaching the coast north of Rosarito Beach. The road is slow, narrow, and curving; most travelers prefer the highway.

Ensenada differs widely from Tijuana, partly because of its setting on lovely Bahia de Todos Santos. A busy seaport and commercial hub, Ensenada also attracts tourists. You'll find a wide choice of many charming small hotels and restaurants; rates are pretty much in line with what you would pay on the U.S. side of the border.

Getting around town is easy. Shops, hotels, restaurants, and sport fishing boat rental offices line the main street Lopez Mateos which becomes the highway leading south to the airport (at the edge of town), Estero Beach (6 miles, resort and shops), and La Bufadora, the famed blowhole on the coast at Punta Banda (20 miles). Seaward of Lopez Mateos, the new waterfront esplanade with its small park provides access to horse rentals on the beach, an opcil air fish market, and some sport fish boat landings.

Shopping is attractive for imports as well as for Mexican goods, since Ensenada, like Tijuana, is a free port. To do some comparison pricing for Mexican handcrafts, stop first at the governmentowned Centro Artesanal de Ensenada, also home for the tourism office.

whale in Mexico
beach Fishing is big mostly for yellowtail, barracuda, albacore, white sea bass, bonita, and halibut especially from April to November. Bring your own boat or rent one of the many available. Check established catch limits, closed seasons, and license requirements. You'll find places to have your fish cleaned, filleted, iced, packed, smoked, or stored.From december to march sport fishing piers,arranges offshore whale watching cruises.

Other attractions include visits to the Santo Tomas Winery, Hussong's Cantina (a turn of the century landmark), and any of the hot springs in the mountains behind town. Todos Santos Island, just opposite the shores of Ensenada, is open to adventurous visitors for hiking, fishing, and swimming.

Ensenada celebrates an annual Mardi Gras (the 4 days preceding Ash Wednesday) and Cinco de Mayo, a holiday commemorating the Battle of Puebla in 1863 when Mexico defeated the French on May 5 also the day of completion of the annual Newport Ensenada International Yacht Race.