The Pacific Surf Run

The van-sized classic: surf points, street food, and cliff camps down the old free road from the border to San Quintín.
Trip vitals
Distance
195miles
Duration
4–6 days
Route shape
Out and back
Vehicle
Any 2WD
Season
Year-round
NW winter swell for the points, south summer swell for the beach breaks; June fog is real and burns off by noon.
Surface mix
90% paved10% graded dirt0% 4×4
Longest fuel gap
50miles

Fill the tank before you leave the border. Top off any time you’re at half.

Start & end
San Ysidro (Tijuana) crossing → San Quintín

MEX-5 the whole way. Return on the same highway.

Updated: Jul 27, 2026
Before you go
This trip requires Mexican auto insurance — U.S. policies don’t count south of the border.

This is the trip that turned half the club’s vanlifers into members: a week of Pacific coastline where the surf gets better and the crowds get thinner with every mile south, and the van never has to work hard to earn its keep.

Members read the full route guide

The complete story, trip vitals verified by members who drove it, and the GPS file to take with you — every route in the library. $40 a year.

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195 mi · Out and back
Members only

The member map for this route

What's in the file
Track (San Ysidro → San Quintín, free road + Highway 1) + 10 marked points: 4 camps, 2 fuel, 1 checkpoint, border FMM stop, and the stops worth making

Members get this for every route in the library — a growing library of Baja trips — plus the camping, fuel, and checkpoint notes that go with them. The file loads straight into Gaia GPS, OnX Offroad, or a Garmin. $40 a year.

Already a member? Log in.
10 points
Camps · Fuel · Checkpoints

Before you go — read this

Baja changes. Roads wash out, camps close, a Pemex that was there in March can be dry in November. Everything on this page came from members who actually drove it, on the date stamped at the top — but conditions on the ground are yours to verify.

The GPX track is a planning aid, not a navigation authority. Don’t follow a line on a screen into terrain you can’t see. Carry paper backup, tell someone your plan, and turn around when the road tells you to.

Mexican auto insurance is required by law and your U.S. policy doesn’t cover you. If something goes wrong without it, the situation gets much worse very fast. Get a quote before you cross.

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