SeaBaja - Norte

Northern Baja is known more for its nightlife and cultural spirit than for sheer natural beauty. While La Bufodora offers spectacular water shows of the Pacific coast, the majority of northern Baja is dry open desert. Several cities within the region are especially worth noting. Tijuana is known as a destination for southern Californians interested in expanding their repertoire of potential debauchery, an image that many within Tijuana are eager to shed. Tijuana has been working hard to expand its cultural activities and now possesses more fine-dining establishments than Cabo San Lucas. However, many problems typical of border towns remain, and Tijuana's stigma as a party town will not be lost easily.

Further south, the city of Ensenada is also a weekend destination for Americans but it possesses well-established infrastructure and is an affluent aberrant among many of the poverty-stricken regions of the North. The region of San Felipe was originally formed as a fishing village, but with problems of over-fishing and poor resource management, industry has given way somewhat to tourism. San Felipe lacks much of the popularity of Ensenada and El Rosario but is an enjoyable destination and the calm seas of the northern Gulf provide endless opportunities for sailing. Two additional cities are notable within this region, Mexicali and Tecate. Many tourists enjoy going on a tasting tour of Northern Baja, which include the breweries in the town of Tecate and the numerous vineyards that are found within the region.

While scuba diving and snorkeling are not common activities within the Northern Gulf, owing to the large tidal fluctuations and generally sandy bottoms, sailing, kayaking and tide pooling are all enjoyable diversions. Tide pooling is especially enjoyable given to the huge vertical movement of water. This area possesses the second highest tidal fluctuation in the world after the Bay of Fundy in Canada. With a vertical tidal variation of over ten meters, tremendous amounts of land may be exposed and covered in the Sea of Cortez in a given day. El Golfo de Santa Clara also is visited each year by rare daytime spawnings of Gulf grunion along the expansive beaches.