Four Wheel Campers Baja Expeditions

BAJA CALIFORNIA AND FOUR WHEEL CAMPERS

Since the dawn of time, Four Wheel Campers have been (in my opinion) one of the better camper platforms to explore and immerse yourself within the dramatic landscapes of the Baja California peninsula. My aim on these Four Wheel Campers group expeditions is to share with guests the cultural, geographic, ecologic, and historical heritage of this incredibly diverse desert peninsula, all while building community. These trips are centered around outdoor activity using our 4x4 campers as the medium to reach remote campsites, ranches, and desolate beaches, meaning we’ll be doing lots of walking, hiking, and exploring, amongst other activities like riding mules, snorkeling, photography, surfing, and shore fishing. If you enjoy learning about natural history- wildlife, history, culture, and marine/terrestrial ecosystems, these trips are for you. If you are looking for more of a margaritaville booze cruise combined with rock crawling, my trips probably aren’t your best option (although I do make an excellent mezcal paloma) . My trips are designed to tell the story of the Baja California peninsula through our physical journey through the landscape, learning with our minds and bodies as each day within the itinerary builds upon the other to create a foundation of knowledge which hopefully leaves guests with a deeper understanding of truly “knowing” the Baja California peninsula. I work closely with local Baja California guides and outfitters on these itineraries so you will be spending lots of time learning from the true local experts of the peninsula, not just about the local flora and fauna but the cultural richness of these regions as well.

These guided caravans are 10 day excursions. Guests are responsible for their gas, mexican insurance, tourist visa, food/snacks/drinks. I cover all the guide fees, national park/archaeological site fees, ecolodge and ranch stay fees, and boat trip fees. See my “Gear List” tab for info on what kind of gear you should have for this trip, it is the clients responsibility to make sure their vehicle is in 100% solid mechanical order for these Baja trips as our vehicles are our lifeline for the duration of the journey. YOU DO NOT NEED A MODIFIED TRUCK WITH HUGE TIRES ,THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF SUSPENSION AND UPGRADES TO TRAVEL IN BAJA. There I said it. Remember, despite what you see on social media, the Baja peninsula is in fact inhabited even in its extremely remote regions, and most of these ranchers and artisanal fishers drive old Toyota Corollas or Ford Rangers, however they know how to drive respective to their local conditions. The vast majority of Baja is travelled on paved roads in 2WD and that’s just the reality. A 4x4 truck with AT tires is an absolute requirement, but other than that your vehicle can be 100% stock and you will be able to explore the entirety of the Baja peninsula. If you don’t have much experience airing up and down, you will get lots of practice on these trips. I don’t spend hours going into the science of using recovery gear on these trips, however I do provide some hands on demonstration depending on the experience of the group. Remember, we’re not driving into the heart of Baja to stand around and look at our trucks, we’re there to explore the world around us.

Our southernmost destination for the 10 day trip will be Loreto, Baja California Sur and for the 14 day trip our destination will be the very tip of the peninsula near Los Cabos. I keep drive times to a maximum of 4 hours a day so we capitalize on exploring outside of our vehicles, however day 1 will be a 6.5 hour drive as crossing the border always takes some time. These trips are very active, meaning we will be doing moderate hiking several miles pretty much everyday. It’s not a requirement , however I’m very hands on with my approach to guiding so we’ll be looking for wildlife, along with nerding out on the local geology, history, and traditional uses of desert plants, amongst other things. That being said, you don’t need to be an ironman athlete to participate in these trips, I just want to make it clear that our bodies will be moving.

My 14 day expedition is extremely comprehensive and we do a heck of a lot more compared to the 10 day expedition. Here we make our way to the cape region at the very tip of the peninsula, where we’re able to explore more of the proper sub tropical latitudes of the Baja California peninsula. There we encounter freshwater oases and dry tropical forests, along with the northernmost coral reef complex in the eastern pacific, ecosystems not found anywhere else in Baja and truly a world apart. Here we explore some of the best hiking trails in the Baja California peninsula. After these 14 day expeditions my clients truly have a sense of “knowing” the Baja peninsula as we cover the majority of its major eco-regions and three of its primary marine ecosystems, while spending time at mountain ranches, biosphere reserves, unesco heritage sites, and majestic coastlines, we truly see it all.

A brief summary of our 10 day itinerary

Day 1- Cross into Mexicali and arrive at Pacific coast beach 6.5 hrs

Day 2- Pacific coast beach to Gray Whale Campground on San Ignacio Lagoon (2.45 hrs drive)

Day 3- Gray Whales boat trip, then to ranch Ecolodge (1.5 hrs drive)

Day 4- Ranch AM hike to Loreto beach camp (3hrs drive)

Day 5- Loreto beach camp to Coastal ranch (1.5hrs drive)

Day 6-Coastal Ranch to Bahia Concepcion Campsite (2.5 hrs drive)

Day 7- Bahia Concepcion Campsite to mountain ranch and cave art site (3 hrs)

Day 8- Ranch to Pacific Coast (4 hrs)

Day 9- Pacific coast to Gonzaga Bay (3 hours)

Day 10- Gonzaga Bay to Calexico USA port of entry (4 hours)

14 Day Itinerary

Day 1- Border to Pacific coast (6.5 hrs)

Day 2- Ecolodge (3 hrs)

Day 3- Loreto beach camp (3 hrs)

Day 4- Magdalena Bay Marine Safari mangroves island sand dune traverse hike (1.5 hrs)

Day 5- Sierra de la Laguna UNESCO World Heritage Site (4 hrs)

Day 6- Sierra de la Laguna UNESCO World Heritage Site & Sea of Cortez marine wildlife safari

Day 7- Tropic of Cancer Secret Beach (1.5 hr)

Day 8- Tropic of Cancer secret beach

Day 9- Loreto Coastal Ranch (5 hrs)

Day 10- San Ignacio Mission (3 hrs)

Day 11- High mountain ranch and cave art Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve (1.5 hrs)

Day 12- Pacific Ocean Secret Beach (2 hrs)

Day 13- Bahia Gonzaga (2.5 hrs)

Day 14- Return to USA (4 hrs)

2024 Pricing

14 Day round trip to Cabo San L:ucas (4 vehicles maximum per trip)

$4800

10 Day round trip to Loreto (4 vehicles maximum per trip)

$3500

Payment

I process all payments through our business Chase bank account, Venmo, and Zelle. The majority of past clients have used Venmo or Zelle, however several have mailed checks to our base in San Diego which I accept as well. I require a 50% deposit to secure each vehicle space. For cancellation these are fully refundable up until 30 days prior to trip departure. Any cancellation within the 30 day window and I hold 50% of the deposit.

Upon confirmation of your reservation request I email payment details.

2024 Dates

10 Day Expeditions

February 15th- 24th

March 17th-26th

14 Day Expeditions

April 17th-April 30th

October 31st-Nov 13th