Standard Cars, Minivans, and Vans Make Excellent Baja Vehicles

Minivans, SUVs, and Standard Autos Make Perfect Baja Adventure Vehicles

You do not need a giant 4X4 off-road truck to experience the majority of Baja's treasures. Sure, there are some wonderful secret spots that are only accessible by 4 wheel drive vehicle, but for the majority of Baja travelers, a standard auto can get you just about everywhere you need to go. (A standard automobile will also keep you from getting into trouble. It is usually the off-roaders who end up getting stuck in the mud in the middle of nowhere!)

I just returned from a 3 week Baja road adventure in my 2009 Honda Odyssey minivan. The only destinations that the Odyssey could not make were the trek out to "The Wall', a famous remote surf spot, and Scorpion Bay. I tried to get to "The Wall", but the rocks sticking up out of the road were just a little too high for my 6' clearance minivan. I didn't try Scorpion Bay just because it is a long dirt road, and it had rained recently - so not even worth trying in my minivan. But no problem, I could still reach many other remote surf spots that have mostly paved roads or well graded dirt roads.

Nearly every camp site along Highway 1 is easily accessed by car. Most campsites do have dirt roads, but they are graded and can be handled by even the smallest compact car.

I also easily drove the dirt road from Cabo Pulmo to San Jose Del Cabo in the Honda minivan. This is about a 2-3 hour trek that is entirely dirt, but there was never a point where the minivan could not handle the road conditions.

So do not postpone your Baja adventure because you do not currently have a 4 wheel drive vehicle - You don't need one!

Personally, I really enjoyed the minivan as a Baja vehicle. It gets decent gas mileage of about 22 mpg highway, and it handles all of the curvy hair raising Baja highway turns very well. For sleeping, I popped out all of the back seats before I left on the trip (all seats pop out in a matter of minutes), then laid a futon type mattress in the back. This allowed myself and my travel friend to sleep comfortably without annoying each other. I am 6 feet tall, and I could stretch my legs out all of the way. During the winter months in northern Baja, sleeping in the van is much warmer than tent camping, and it is easier than setting up a tent every night if you are lazy (no bugs too).

For cargo storage and surfboard transport, I installed a Yakima roof rack system consisting of a Rocket Box cargo carrier and a Strap Thang surfboard strap. This was nice keeping most of the cargo out of the vehicle so we did not need to rearrange everything when we were ready to jump in bed.

Smaller cars and SUVs may not allow you to sleep inside comfortably, but that is what tents are for!

Make sure to get your Mexican auto insurance from our website before you leave on your road trip to Baja or other parts of Mexico.