Camping in Baja California, Mexico

What makes Baja California so popular amongst RV community? It has some of the best tacos and beach camping in North America. We saw it all over. Instagram, blogs and YouTube (etc.) and got so excited for it but didn’t know if it was only for 4×4 vehicles and overlanding vehicles. We are a B+ and pretty heavy but then we started see A classes out on the beaches and so we thought why not! Even with it’s popularity, Baja has stayed beautiful, raw and affordable. And when the weather in the north gets a little too frigid, the 70+ degrees and sunny skies seem very attractive.

There is information everywhere on camping but for some reason when we started researching it looked so incredibly busy and how would you ever find a spot. Rest assured though, you will. With no real time limit, it may seem a bit daunting because there are the long term stayers. But most people are on a road trip and may only stay for a few days to a week at most. Throughout Baja, there are the same options as the US. You can either stay in a campground, from dry to FHU (Full Hook Ups), paid dry beach camping or free boondocking.

Below is a list of our camping experiences in Baja California! We only went as far south as Loreto.

Free Boondocking in Baja California, Mexico

San Felipe

San Felipe is the first stop for a lot of RVers that make their way down. It is a great town to get yourself in order for your journey. There is no need to rush. Plus if you get a late start to the day, you will not want to drive in the dark past San Felipe if it is your first time. Narrow roads, pot holes and roaming animals. San Felipe has great beaches, amazing tacos and a really good grocery store. We found one area that has some great free boondocking and with no real time limits, but still respect it and the area. There was very little trash, which was surprising so we were happy to see people taking care of it. If it is your first time down and feel more comfortable in a campground there are many but they are expensive. See below.

Pulling off the side of the Road

As you drive Hwy 1 and Hwy 5 there are many places that you can pull off the road and find a quiet and secluded place for a night. Nothing that you would want to spend too much time but if you just need a night, there are beautiful spots surrounded by sand dunes or cacti. Right at the 1 and 5 there is a “truck stop” if you need a place to pull off. It will be loud and busy but there are people around if that is comforting.

Boondocking or Dry Camping on the beach for a small fee in Baja, Mexico

This is what most people come to Baja for. To find that amazing beach spot that you can stay at for as long as you can. The most popular area was Bahia Concepcion. Bahia Concepcion is located just south of Mulege along the Gulf of California. With over 50 miles of beaches, you will definitely find one that suits you or that has a spot. The water was beautiful and the beaches stunning. Some beaches even had restaurants and they all have vendors come by to sell food, drinks and rugs. **TIP: be careful if you buy scallops. Some people will stamp rays and sell them as scallops. We stuck to the halibut, medium cleaned shrimp and fresh squeezed orange juice! Now only if they had produce…

Every beach that we camped at was 250 pesos a night. Some beaches will make you pay before you find a spot and others will have someone come to your rig. Make sure to get a receipt if they come to your rig.

Playa Coyote

Playa Coyote was our first beach camping experience. It was awesome. The vendors did come throughout our stay, along with people renting kayaks and bringing fresh water to add to your tanks if you needed it. In November this area is busy but not that bad, but as the first of the year comes around it is packed. This beach also allows day use and so you may find a spot in the evening when they leave. There is no time limit but your tanks will tell you when you need to go. Please DO NOT run off your grey tanks. There are some porta potties but some are just a pit. Some of the spots even have palapas but some of them were facing the wrong way. Still good for some outdoor storage while you are there.

The only real con to this area was that the highway was right above you and so it was loud throughout the day and night from all the semis and traffic that go by.

Playa Burro

This may be my favorite beach, even with its oddity. Along this beach there are homes, which are all leased. Camping spots are in between each home. When no one is home, then it is a pretty cool place to stay and if one of them has an outside palapa, you can use it. It can get really busy when everyone is home though, so just be aware that you will have close neighbors. My FAVORITE thing about this beach is that Nomadico is just a short walk down the beach in the day use area. This cute coffee shop/restaurant is so incredibly good! I could eat there every day. Breakfast on the weekend and sashimi during the week. Order a coffee, smoothie and naranajada to drink! Prices are reasonable and they are the nicest family with a few pups running around. Then across the highway is a taco stand that their specialty is al pastor!

There are also a few hiking trails across the highway if you feel the need to get the heart pumping and find incredible views. See the next beach!

Playa Coco

Playa Coco was beautiful but there were not as many “amenities” as others. Busy but quieter, you can usually find a spot.

Playa Requeson

This is probably the most popular and sought after beach to even just experience for a night on your trip down Baja! Playa Requeson has the whitest sand, the most beautiful water and all the vendors come here to see if you need some seafood. I can’t say enough about this beach but after the holidays, be aware that you will feel like you are in a parking lot.

I will say that there are a few areas within Bahia Concepcion that has free boondocking. Definitely for the smaller and more capable rig to get to. If you have a larger rig, I would definitely scout the area first. Most established beaches do have someone around to request payment.

RV Campgrounds in Baja California, Mexico

20 years ago there were no campgrounds, now you can find ones right in town or along the beach.

San Felipe

San Felipe has many campgrounds along the beach. Starting in the far north, going all the way south of town. A few south of town are along the beach that you can walk right into town. The others are a bit remote but they are all expensive. The cheapest we saw for FHUs was $45 and the most was about $55. Pro tip: make sure if you have a big rig that it will be able to fit into the campground, turn around in the campground or even get into their available spaces in the campground. We are 22′ and had some tight squeezes at a few of them.

San Ignacio

San Ignacio is a cute little town that you have to go through when driving south. When the highway takes you inland it is desert all around you and then you take a little detour off the highway and end up here, in a little oasis with palm trees, GRASS (!) and the cutest little town. From the campground it is about a 5 minute walk to the town square. There isn’t shopping, but there are about a half dozen restaurants to check out. When we were there it was $35 USD/night. There was only 12 volt and you could get water but it wasn’t set up to be hooked up to it while you were camping. There was clean bathrooms and showers here though!

Mulege

Mulege is another little oasis right as you get along the ocean. There is one campground close to town. You couldn’t walk to town but there is a fun walk along the beach and along the river. The RV park is really just about 8 spots in a parking lot. There are also a few full time residents, but it is mainly a hotel. The nice thing about that is you can use the pool, the very small gym and it has a decent restaurant and bar! I will tell you that local dogs run around and so there is a bit of poo everywhere.

Loreto

I love Loreto. I came here for the first time over 20 years ago. When it was not nearly this size, built up or overrun with expats and tourists. This community has welcomed the change as it has helped the locals. One of the newest things in town are the RV parks. Baja Azul was our favorite because the sites were decently sized, it was $25 USD/ 500 Pesos a night for FHUs (with 12 volt or 50am only) and they didn’t squish you in (there was a set number of RVs allowed). Laundry for 100 Pesos (wash and dry), shower and bathroom. The best part? It is a 5 minute walk to the town center where a lot of good food is and 3 minute walk to the Malecon. It is a little more expensive being in this town but some of the best shrimp tacos you will ever have are here. A must try is El General. Get the El General Carnitas Taco and thank me later.

Valle De Guadalupe

Did you know that Baja has its own wine region? Just outside of Ensenada in the upper west side of Baja lies this cute little wine town with beautiful vineyards, tasty food trucks and some really good rosé! There is an RV park close to town but not walkable. It was a good option and for partial hook ups, it was $25/night. You could walk to Bruma and make sure to do this because they had the best Birria Neapolitan Pizza EVER! Plus it was a cute resort and had a few restaurants to choose from.

Moochdocking

I give this advice to all. Find RV friends who have bought property in cool places and then make sure to get an invite to hang out. Slowing down for a minute in Baja is always nice and having a fenced in area for Anza to safely run around was awesome.