The Benefits and Features of the Baja Ha-Ha and Mexico — Part 1

While chatting with our sailing neighbors last night, the topic of the Baja Ha-Ha came up. Tim Prouty and Wren Herring took off with the Ha-Ha fleet in 2021 aboard their Ron Holland 43 Wren. They then spent the next four years cruising Baja and the Sea of Cortez. Apart from enjoying the beauty and inexpensive living in the beautiful southern locations, they found that being among the fleet came with organized conveniences, such as easy, and inexpensive, immigration into Mexico .

This is just one of the many benefits of cruising south with the Baja Ha-Ha. Over the coming weeks we’ll be outlining the various factors and features of the Baja Ha-Ha Cruisers Rally and Mexico as a cruising destination. We’ll start at the beginning with snippets from Latitude 38’s First Timer’s Guide to Mexico.

With more than 3,500 miles of coastline, the Pacific Coast of Mexico is one of the longest cruising areas of the world — more than four times as long as the rest of Central America and Panama combined. The cruising grounds of Mexico include everything from the unique desert-by-the-sea environment of the Sea of Cortez, to the never-ending jungle coastline of mainland Mexico, to the offshore islands and those in the Sea of Cortez.

There is also tremendous variety in the types of cruising available. There are countless remote anchorages that you can have all to yourself. But you can also enjoy the more cosmopolitan atmosphere of cities such as Los Cabos, La Paz, Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta, Zihuatanejo, and Acapulco. And when you get off your boat, as all cruisers should from time to time, it’s easy to catch an inexpensive luxury bus to interesting inland destinations such as Guadalajara, Mexico City, Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, Oaxaca and the Copper Canyon

The greatest amount of sailing in Mexico is done in light to moderate conditions. Indeed, the most common complaint is not enough wind rather than too much wind. There are exceptions, of course. Sometimes it can be pretty breezy — 25 knots or more — for a day or so when sailing down the coast of Baja. Fortunately, the wind will almost always be from astern and there are plenty of anchorages in which to take shelter.

Mexico is one of the world’s least expensive places to cruise. The Temporary Import Permit (TIP) for your boat costs about $60 for five years. The immigration fee, good for up to 180 days, is only about $55. Like all prices in Mexico, it varies slightly with the exchange rate.

Medical and dental care are also very reasonable, often at a fraction of the cost in the States. Many US insurance plans will reimburse emergency care in Mexico, but verify your coverage before departure. Based on conversations with cruiser/patients who have had everything from heart problems to cancer surgery to giving birth, the care is excellent — and more personal than in the States. But you have to choose the right hospital. If you go to the top hospitals, you’ll be stunned at how clean they are and what modern medical equipment they have.

Transportation, by both local chicken bus and luxury long-distance bus, offers big bang for the buck. And you rarely have to wait long for a bus. Rideshare apps in Mexico work much like those in the US and Canada. Depending on the location, the most common services are DiDi, Uber, and inDrive. Domestic flights in Mexico can be incredibly inexpensive, like under 500 pesos ($30 USD) on Volaris and Viva Aerobus.

Food is inexpensive at both markets and in restaurants that don’t cater to well-heeled tourists. As long as you avoid the Drunken Shrimp Tourist Trap and similar restaurants, you’ll find countless places with deals. Fellow cruisers will be happy to clue you in. Be careful, though, as some restaurants include all the tequila you can drink with $12 fresh fish dinners. Tacos on the street are a cruiser favorite, and it’s common for groups of cruisers to head to favorite spots en masse. Beer is cheap in Mexico. You can have a couple of store-bought beers every night for a month for not much more than a single bottle of vodka would run you in French Polynesia.

There are, however, three budget busters for cruisers:

Tourist bars and restaurants: When you eat with the locals, the food is less expensive — and the experience is usually more fun.

Marinas. These offer lots of comfort and convenience, but most are more expensive than in the US, if available at all. Fortunately, there are free anchorages in the vicinity of most marinas in Mexico.

Paying for others to do your boat work. If you’re on a tight budget, you should be prepared to clean your own bottom, maintain the teak, wax the hull, and fix mechanical problems. That said, boatyard work is often less — and sometimes much less — expensive in Mexico than in California. The other good news is that many cruisers are happy to help those who are just discovering the mechanical mysteries of their boats.

While there is no limit to how much a month you can spend cruising in Mexico, if a couple avoids marinas, they can pretty much cruise like kings and queens on $3,500 a month. Frugal couples can have a great time on as little as $1,500 a month.

Naturally, it’s easier to get by on less money in the Sea of Cortez, where there are fewer places to spend money than around big cities with lots of attractions, such as Puerto Vallarta.

Stay tuned for the next installment of snippets from the First Timer’s Guide to Mexico.

Note: If you want to join the Ha-Ha but don’t have a boat, check out Latitude 38’s Crew List for opportunities. Then come to the Fall Baja Ha-Ha Crew List Party on September 10, at Spaulding Marine Center in Sausalito, and meet other cruisers heading south.