We're Michael and Halef and we've
been traveling full-time since 2019. Currently we are doing vanlife all
across North America and in this video we are preparing our annual return to Baja
California in Mexico and some of the uh important things you absolutely must
have before you're going to do that. Hi everyone, before we hit the open road for our
Baja adventure this year, let's have a little chat about the importance of the preparation. Think of
it as a gearing up for an Epic Quest and a
fter 3 years of wintering in Baja, I think we start to
get this preparation as a routine. So we have a list of a few things that we like to prepare and
we would like to share it with you so hopefully this list will help you in preparing for your
own trip to Baja Mexico. Hop in - Baja round two. Okay so let's let's start with the preparation.
First thing first, make your own list of what you think you need, covering everything from oil
change to paperwork and passport, route planning, and st
ocking up of some essentials. Personally
this year, we upgraded our van with the lift kit from the Agile Off-road, which essentially gives
an extra 2 inches of clearance under our van. Probably doesn't sound much, but it is a really
good thing to have in Baja. And of of course, we make sure that our van is fully covered by
Insurance in Mexico, which in our case we ask our car insurance policy to get an extension for
our trip here to Mexico. If not, you can purchase a Mexican car insurance s
uch as from the Baja
Bound, to cover your policy in Mexico. When it comes to picking up our camping spots, we've got
a few tricks up our sleeve. We use iOverlander and Wanderpins, our go-to apps for finding hidden gems
in Baja. And this year, we got a few sweet Caravan of friends joining us for the ride. If you haven't
checked out the pros and cons of Caravan here in Baja, check out this video, which has a lot of
great information about a few essential tips of caravanning versus solo trip a
nd setting up those
expectation early is the key for a smooth ride. Now, let's talk about stocking up those essentials
Stateside, before we hop into Mexico. Believe me there's a method to this madness. We developed
our checklist to pack with all must-haves from grocery stores, outdoor shops, and specialty
stores and we're talking about IPA craft beer, organic treats, a few hard-to find ingredients
such as tofu or tempe, kombucha and personally for us, we love to have have some Asian cooking
ingredients so we stuck up a few Lao Gan Ma sauce and other ingredients, as well as some
fancy flavored bubbly Waters like Waterloo, even though you can find Topo Chico everywhere
in Mexico. Bubbly Waters that is flavored is hard to come by and you'll thank me later. And for pet
parents, make sure that you stack up your favorite dog treats and foods, especially when your pets
are pretty picky eater like Kana, and also double check that all their vaccination and medications
is up to date.
Oh and speaking of food, we always have to throw in some of the ready to eat meals
for those moments when we are craving a taste of home we personally like Mountain House meals -
Let's be real, while Mexican food is absolutely delicious, sometimes you just need a little
comfort food to taste. All right buckle up Amigos, because now now we are diving into the nitty
greedy journey of traveling from the United States into Baja. Welcome to Mexico! it's like navigating
a maze of adventure with a
little adrenaline for a good measure. (Whine) We got to do immigration -
No, you stay here - Good girl! And we're talking about when you cross into Mexico and you have to
get the Mexican tourist card FMM, which something that you have to be proactively seek for. While
driving in Baja, is it's a completely different adventure altogether - make sure that you are well
prepared for anything that could come up on the road such as a military checkpoints - open the
back. Animals on the road, and
also speed bumps. Oh and one Golden Rule do not drive in Baja at
night, try to avoid it. Trust me, those narrow lanes and surprise critters are best tackled in
the light of day. There's a bunch of asses on the road right ahead of you too. Now it's time to
talk about the adventure in Baja itself - we're talking about the essentials that make your
van life journey in Baja feels like a five-star vacation. Gas and Diesel are easy to come by,
and they are working ATMs that will give you pesos as
needed. And this is probably a good tip for you
- bring a few US dollars in your pocket that's not going to hurt. Assuming you're going to be doing
a lot of water sports here in Baja, make sure you don't forget your water sports gear - snorkeling
equipment, paddle boards, surf boards, kite surfing kits, you name it - Baja is a playground
for all sort of water sport adventures. All right, let's talk a little bit deeper about your van
setup. We're talking about the solar and batteries that ma
ke your life easier in Baja. Make sure that
everything is well installed, and if you do need a spare, do bring them including Starling cables and
thankfully we have a spare because we already ruin our Starling cable so just make sure that you have
a spare to stay connected. I don't think we have to cover a lot of things about clothing, obviously
you have personal preferences of what to bring. Ladies, I know you have your own preferences of
your cosmetics and personal hygiene - even though M
exico have some basic ones, they may not have the
ones that you use. And guys, this is what we have Michael and I have size 12 shoes therefore we make
sure that we have some spare for our flip-flops and running shoes, especially since we're
active, we always go through our footwear quite often. Bring some spare from home bigger shoes and
footwear is harder to come by here in Mexico. Last but not least, let's talk about what's waiting
for you here in Baja - All right, bye miss Mr Mrs cows. O
f course you can expect a picture diverse
landscapes, rich cultural heritage, and more of the adventure that you can always find everywhere
in Baja you start to develop the taste of what traveling in Mexico is, such as is water safe to
drink in Mexico? The answer is yes and no as water is not safe to drink from the tap water we got our
drinking water from places all over Baja called purificada. This is how you get water in Mexico we
are currently in a place called purificada. Empty jug ther
e they're rinsing it inside and you pay
for it they fill it up and you got the water out from here the toilet paper goes in the trash not
down the toilet e and make sure you put it upside down so it is slightly more appealing for others
and this is my personal experience walking around or running around in any Mexican neighborhoods
there will be dogs everywhere they both either stray dogs or own dogs and a lot of them will bark
try to protect their territories your safety your dog safety co
mes first so you have to protect
yourself and in order to hush them away I find that picking up a rock either you throw it in
front of them or just to pretend you're throwing is usually a deterrent for the dog to move forward
and you can just move on with your adventure as a last resort you can bring a stick again your
safety comes first okay so far that's what we have if you have any questions regarding your trip
planning to go to Baja or Mexico in general please leave some comments down b
elow and we will be able
to answer it and now we are ready to hit the road to Baja this is it today's the day we are Crossing
into Baja again for the winter in a qu mile use the right two lanes to turn right to stay on
California we don't need this Lane for any reason no can you unlock the door let's go out here INSP inspection see registration okay let me get kind of stay here Michael oh s
where's where where driving to San Felipe and that's a wrap for our journey
preparation for Baja we h
ope this Baja preparation tips is helpful for you if you
do please give a thumbs up and if you like to follow along with our journey here in Mexico
hit that subscribe button and thank you guys for watching I don't know where Kana is but
I'm going to make a test test test test I think this is not in focus is this better I
think so all right let's try again still don't really like the setting but uh the lighting was
really awful in the last one I don't think this is better either this may be
good um that's
why we're doing a test I think this should be good right lighting perfect angle face
I think so so there you go [Music] cheers [Music] n
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