Baja Camping - A Great Book for Finding Campsites in Baja

This is Another Helpful Book to Have in Your Baja Travel Information Tool Box

To my knowledge there is not a single Baja book that provides all of the information you need for a great Baja trip. Instead, there is a group of 4-5 Baja books that work together in tandem. Each book has its specialized niche. This Baja Camping book's niche is finding you a decent campsite every night in areas of Baja you may not be familiar with. For this reason, I recommend adding this book to your Baja information toolbox.

Although this book could use some updating (the last version was printed in 2003), it is still a great resource if you are planning to stay in RV or tent campgrounds during your trip through Baja. It is especially helpful if you do not have a set schedule, and you are not sure where you will be staying each night.

Personally, I do not like to schedule my Baja trips too rigidly, so I usually do not start thinking seriously about finding my sleep location until mid afternoon. That is when I pop open the Baja Camping book and start flipping through my campsite options for the night.

How the Book Works

You simply flip to the region of Baja you will be traveling in, and the book first shows you a map of the area with all of the possible campsites listed on the map. The map covers areas of about 50-100 miles. The campsites are numbered on the map and are ordered chronologically from north to south (Example: the farthest north campsite would be 1, and the farthest south campsite would be 15). From the map you can then hone in on the cluster of campsites that will be in your specific travel area, then flip to the book's pages which provide detailed information about each campsite.

The written information for each campsite includes:

General Description of the Campsite

Good/bad conditions, activities, and other helpful information - and whether the authors enjoyed staying there.

Campsites, facilities

Describes whether the site supports RVs or just tent camping, number of campsites, hookups, toilet and shower access, security situation, and more

Reservations, fees

Lists the fees and whether reservations are needed. NOTE: Some of the fees are out of date by a few dollars, and as of 2010, don't worry about reservations. Due to slumping tourist travel in Baja, most parks have more vacancies than tenants.

Directions

This section is extremely helpful! The directions help you drive directly to the campsite without the need for asking around and getting lost and frustrated.

Contact

Lists the contact information for the park. Some of the parks now have websites, so you can check them out online before you go.

Even though some of the information is out of date, and some of the campsites listed were closed or had different names, this book was an essential tool for quickly finding my campsite each night. It also helped me avoid staying the night in certain towns which did not have any campsites or did not cater to tourists.

NOTE: The book mostly lists official campsites, meaning RV and campgrounds that have some sort of facilities and may or may not collect fees. This book does NOT list many of the beaches and open spaces where tourists set up camp for free. If you are looking for free campsites where tourists are tolerated or encouraged to stay, then you may want to refer to The Surfer's Guide to Baja. Many surf spots are on beautiful remote beaches, and half the campers may not even surf. They just enjoy staying for free in a beautiful remote area. Or just ask other travelers while on the road.