baja bliss

Ryan and I wanted to plan a beach vacation during the summer, but making sure it was affordable was our top priority.  We ended up purchasing a deal on QuarterOff for a beach resort on Cerritos Beach on the Baja Peninsula.  The Cerritos Beach Surf Colony came highly recommended by friends, so we felt comfortable grabbing the deal.  

There are a few things to know about this deal and about the Surf Colony:

  

1.  Some of the pictures on the QuarterOff site are not actually of the Surf Colony.

2.  Summer is the off season, so they run special summer prices.  While it's $289/night for a studio in the winter, during the summer it's only $95.  To make the most of the deal, it's best to book during peak season.  Although there will be more people, the surfing will be better.  This hardly mattered to us, but for people that actually know what they are doing in the water, it just might.  

Deal Cost for six nights:  $489

Winter price for six nights: $1734

Winter savings: $1245

Summer price for six nights: $570

Summer savings: $81

3.  They offer this deal frequently and through multiple sites, including Groupon.

4.  DON'T TAKE THE TOUR OF THE HACIENDA!  There are several employees of The Gold Crown Resort trolling the grounds.  They want to take you on a tour and then give you the hard sell to join their little club.  Don't be duped.  Plus, you can go up there on your own to scope things out.

5.  Sometimes the electricity goes out and the water stops working, but you're in Baja, so who cares?

All that said, we ended up having a great time and loving our trip to the Surf Colony.  Our palapa, which featured a kitchenette, was right on the beach.  

The view from our palapa

Cerritos Beach and the Surf Colony

Surf Colony pool complete with swim-up bar

Once we had affordable lodging locked down, we wanted to make sure the remainder of our trip was also cost effective.  As I mentioned, our palapa had a kitchenette.  We were able to make breakfast and lunch in our room, which meant we only needed to go out for dinner.  

Although Mexico is affordable, there were several places in the area that offered mediocre meals at American prices.  We did, however, find a few places that offered cheap meals that were far superior to their more expensive counterparts.  

1.  La Esquina

Located in the town of Todos Santos, La Esquina has delicious breakfast and lunch.  The smoothies are so good that Ryan actually had a second helping.  I left full without empty pockets.  They also have beautiful gardens, plenty of outdoor seating, live music, and a Wednesday farmer's market.  

2.  Pizza Napoli

This rustic little pizzaria is in the town of Pescadero.  Blink, and you will miss it for sure.  I've never seen so many smiling happy faces on both employees and customers.  Plus, the pizza maker had the world's cutest puppy, Pancho, who happily sat on patrons' laps.  Ryan and I had a pizza, an order of pasta, and drinks and we only spent $22.  

3.  Art & Beer

Ginormous margaritas

Fresh blueberry margarita

Pineapple margarita

Margaritas, art and a sunset.  Is there anything better?

This place is great for drinks, but terrible for food.  Also, to avoid surliness, make sure the staff know you are there to partake of the drinking and not just the art.  

Side note: I got pretty sloppy after that margarita the size of my forearm.  

4.  Baja Beans

Need a coffee fix?  Baja Beans is the place.  Located in between Pescadero and Todos Santos, the cafe is set in a serene garden.  Ryan and I chatted in the garden, sipping an iced late for an hour as roosters, lizards, and hummingbirds meandered past.  

With food and drink out of the way, it's time to focus on what to do.  The answer:  Surf.

The Surf Shack on Cerritos Beach offers board rental for $10/hour or $30/day and surf lessons for $60. If you take lessons, you get to keep the board for the rest of the day.  The guys that man the shop, were helpful and patient with my novice abilities.  By the end of the trip, we were both doing the surfing.  

A word to the wise, summer is stingray season.  The stingrays arrived our last day of surfing and are reported to linger for about two months.  I saw several on our last day, July 12th, which seriously hindered my ability to be in the ocean. 

Our big splurge for the trip was a snorkel and kayak trip in La Paz with Mar Y Aventuras.  The 95 dollars per person was well worth the full day on the boat.  We set off about 8:30am and returned around 5:00pm with a lovely lunch included in the cost.  We boated to Los Islotes to snorkel with sea lions  and kayaked in the aqua water off Isla Espiritu Santo.  As an added bonus, we saw a school of dolphin doing their thing in the middle of the Sea of Cortez.  Incredible day. 

Mom and baby dolphin doing tricks

Snorkel dork

Doing the kayaking

It is possible to be dropped off on the island and camp for the night.  A few people on our tour did this. I was mighty jealous when we left them, beer in hand, on a white sand beach with three kayaks, tents, and dinner.  Next time.

Our last night in Baja was spent in Cabo.  I can safely say that I don't ever need to return to Cabo.  It was a complete shit show.  I much prefer the mellow, laid back, vibe of Cerritos Beach and Todos Santos.  

It was hard to leave, but I will be back.