Surfing Baja

A Baja Surf trip is many surfers’ dream. Luckily, it is a reasonably easy dream to make true. Before your trip, you should come up with a plan. Therefore, we put one together below the best Baja surf trips. As you follow along with this guide, please take a look at this Baja surf map designed specifically for this page.

Salsipuedes Surf Baja

Start your surfing tour by heading south through the San Diego/Tijuana border. Make sure that you have your passport, driver’s license, Mexican car insurance, and tourist card (if necessary). The border crossing can be busy at times, so try and get an early start.

Baja Surf Map

Surf Baja: Playas Tijuana

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Many surfers tend to skip by Tijuana, eager as they are to get to the well-known reef breaks a bit farther south. However, a quick stop at the Playas de Tijuana can be a great way to kick off a Baja surf trip. The waves are a good size, the waters aren’t too busy, and you can actually see San Diego from the beach. The Playas de Tijuana will amp you up for more.

Surf Baja

While you’ll need to make lodging reservations on your own, it should be noted that Tijuana is one of the most dangerous places in Baja Mexico at night. If you are planning on staying for a night in the city, then make sure that it is at a well-secured hostel, motel, or resort – don’t try camping in the area.

Surfing Baja: Rosarito

The next region that you will come to if you continue heading south along the coast of the Baja Peninsula is the Rosarito area. There are several top-quality surfing spots in this area. The most popular is Baja Malibu and, as its name implies, it is reminiscent of Malibu, California. Though it can be crowded, it is a spot that you don’t want to miss. The waves roll in smooth and glassy from the Pacific, and if you wait your turn, you’ll have the ride of your life.

Surf Baja California

Rosarito Beach is another well-known surfing spot in the Rosarito area. It is worth adding to your Baja road trip itinerary. Rosarito Beach offers multiple miles of surf breaks to pick and choose from. The surf is good but not nearly as good as Baja Malibu to the north and not anywhere near as good as the surf farther to the south. However, it’s worth a stop, especially if you feel like socializing for a bit. Rosarito Beach is famous for its friendly atmosphere and numerous restaurants, bars, and clubs.

Surf Baja: Mushrooms

The next stop to consider surfing the Calafia area which is just a few miles south of Rosarito. The best break in Calafia is Mushrooms. The break at Mushrooms regularly produces good-sized waves. They commonly reach between head high (five feet) and double overhead high (ten feet). Another benefit of Mushrooms is that it is rarely busy.

Surfing Baja: K-38

Drive south a little farther along the road in Baja and you will come to a spot named K-38 after the kilometer marker on its turnoff from the highway. K-38 is a surf spot that is for beginners to experts. It consists of four beach breaks that each offer a different type of wave.

La Fonda

After you hit up K-38, the next reasonably well-known surf spot that you will pass is La Fonda. The spot is located at kilometer 58 on the main highway. In addition to having terrific waves, La Fonda has a very safe and pleasant campground. It is one of the best midway points to plan an overnight stop at. Better yet, the camping area is located on the top of a bluff which offers great views of the sunset over the Pacific Ocean.

(It is worth mentioning here that there are a ton of great surfing spots all along the coast. In fact, there are too many to count. Many of them don’t even have names. This sample Baja surfing itinerary is only listing the main spots, the popular spots that you should base your road trip around.)

Surf Baja: Isla Todos Santos

A good night of resting up at La Fonda is in order before pushing down the road to the Islas de Todos Santos – one of the gnarliest surfing spots in all of Baja. Professional surfers consider the waves at Todos Santos to rival the biggest in Hawaii. If that doesn’t tell you that they are huge, then nothing will. Even if your skills aren’t up for the big waves at Todos, it is worth taking the ferry out to the island (the break is on an island a few miles out from Ensenada) just to see them. It really is an unbelievable experience.

Baja Mexico is an area that is famous for its beaches and its surfing. Though the spots listed here definitely don’t make up the whole of the region, they do offer a good basic itinerary for a surfing road trip in Baja California – the northern part of the peninsula.