Baja Beach RV Snowbird Paradise – Bahía Concepción

2019 Adventure Dan and Lisa Goy October 2019 RV Travel

By Dan and Lisa Goy on the October 2019 Edition

For many Snowbird RVers, Bahía Concepción (Bay of Conception) is the ultimate destination, a true RV paradise. Across the Sea of Cortez from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, the grip of winter is a distant memory. Hundreds of RVers spend some time on the beach here every winter at a latitude shared with Brownsville, Texas and Miami, Florida.

Every Baja snowbird camps here, often only a few days, some the entire winter, only meters from the beach. In 9 years and 50-plus tours, we have never had a complaint about this destination. I expect we should have stayed longer. Sunrises are stunning as is the scenery.

This is dry camping; so those planning to stay for longer periods of time have plenty of solar power (generators are frowned on), blue boys and wheels to get around. Vendors arrive every morning, with everything you can imagine, to each beach with campers. This includes fresh produce grown in the Mulegé valley,seafood caught locally, homemade baked goods and the best tamales ever!

Often, on Fridays, at dinner time, the local Mulegé pizza entrepreneur arrives with a choice of Hawaiian or pepperoni by the box. You can also arrange to top up the water in your RV or get everything washed. Of course, we cannot forget the blanket, shirt and jewelry vendors. How many? What colour? Almost free! Aldofo and Peleo are regulars from town you will see daily, without exception. They are always very polite, friendly and ready to make a deal!

You have lots of options for beach camping on Bahía Concepción. Although there are 12 accessible waterfront locations, only 5 beaches are generally populated by every type of RV. Generally, you will pay $200 – $250 pesos ($13-$15 CAD) per night for this wonderful experience.

This is, by far, the most popular RV beach on the Bay of Conception. Set within Bahía Concepción, in Bahía Coyote, this is very sheltered. It has a great beach, with an easy, short en-trance and exit. This is also the closet campground to the Vil-lage of Mulegé, approximately 20 minutes away.

You cannot miss the Santispac as it is in plain site from Hwy 1. Every Baja RV Caravan stops here, including Baja Amigos, and we have seen almost 90 RVs on this beach at one time. With 2 restaurants, and with campers, this place can get busy, as is Hwy 1 at night with semi-trucks.

Playa El Coyote
Also, very popular; the entrance can be tricky, as can the drive to the main beach, for larger RVs, although every size of RV can be found here. This has many trees which can be handy for shade and a very protected part of the bay. You will not hear so much road traffic, however you lose the sun faster in the afternoon with the mountain directly behind the campground.

Playa Los Cocos
Only a few minutes from Playa Santispac, this beach is usually packed with regulars, although that is in some transition of late. Historically, this campground has lots of rules posted and the snowbirds are planted for the season. With room for about 20 RVs, each site has a palapa and folks are only ever 10 meters or so from high tide. It has easy entry to the beach heading south, not so much heading north.

El Requesón
This is one the most picturesque beaches on Bahía Concepción, located on a sandspit. With water on both sides, including great beaches, you can always get waterfront. We have stayed here many times, with and with out caravans. A few years ago, the entrance and exit from Hwy 1 was significantly rebuilt from both directions, making access easy and safe from either direction. The only downside about camping here is your distance from Mulegé, a good 40-minute drive.

Playa La Perla
This beach is next door to El Requesón, so best to take the same entrance. We have also stayed at this campground, which is more sheltered, with better bigger palapas, fewer spaces and the beach is rocky. The benefit for those staying at La Perla is privacy and little traffic of any kind.

What to see and do?
Kayaking, fishing and ecotours are the staple activities of this region. In recent years, whale sharks have appeared in abun-dance in the shallow waters off many of the beaches. Hiking is extremely popular. Our friends, Bruce and Marian, have hiked most of the peninsula on the east side of the bay.

Mulegé is an interesting village, with many amenities, including a couple of good grocery stores, a few restaurants, and an ATM. Santa Rosalia is also a draw for tourists, given it unique history, wood construction and famous prefabricated metal church built by Alexander Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame).

In 1889, the church and the Eiffel Tower were put on display at the Paris World’s Exposition. This town is much larger than Mulegé, with many more amenities, including ferry access to mainland Mexico and Guaymas/San Carlos.
Whether you cross at Tijuana, Tecate or Mexicali, the drive to Bahía Concepción should take no more than 3 days, even at 6 hours a day on the road.

Take your time, enjoy the scenery, stay safe and we guarantee fond memories will be made on the beach!

 

The full edition or view it online




Leave a Reply