Driving around Baja Sur is a great way to become familiar with the real
Baja California.
Beginning in Cabo San Lucas you could do a full day whirlwind tour (we recommend a longer timeframe) of the Cape region, which runs north along the Pacific side to the quaint artsy town of Todos Santos. You then will continue on north and to the east through the dessert to eventually arrive in capitol city of La Paz.
La Paz is the largest, most populous city in the loop. The seat of government for Baja Sur it has a solid industrial backbone, good tourist facilities and is a favorite port of Sea of Cortez cruisers.
Leaving
La Paz you will to drive south again but at the "Y" (located about 25 km from La Paz) go east and pass through the mountains and the pueblos of, San Antonio, the old mining town of
El Triunfo and the lush canyon town of San Bartolo before once again arriving at the Sea of Cortez and the rapidly growing area of Los
Barriles.
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Just after leaving the Sea there will be a turn off to the left to La Ribera and Cabo Pulmo, eventually Los Frailes. This road does continue on to San José del Cabo but it is not paved south of Cabo Pulmo and is one of the worst
"washboard" roads of the Baja. This is the area where some of the most famous and not so famous summer surfing (south swells) sites are found.
Continuing on the pavement south to San Jose del Cabo you will pass a few other detours to towns like Santiago and Miraflores.
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Los Barriles was named for the hidden barrels of gold supposedly buried by the pirates of centuries ago. This area has become very popular with windsurfers and kite boarders in the winter and the sport-fishing enthusiast in the hotter summer months.
The Gordo bank and other popular fishing areas are accessed though many sportsman's resorts along East Cape. From the very economical to the posh you can find your sport fishing dream holiday.
Driving south on Highway 1D out of Los Barriles you will continue along the Sea through Buena Vista where the highway re-enters the desert, heading south to the Los Cabos area.
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Just north of San Jose del Cabo is the major airport that serves the Los Cabos region. It is definitely one of the nicest towns in all of the Baja from its great restaurants to galleries of crafts and fine art. From here it is about 14 miles back to Cabo through
the area known as the corridor. This area, which only a few years ago was just desert and beaches, is now populated with many exclusive resorts spas, golf courses and hotels. There are also smaller resorts of equal importance are located in clusters long the highway.
 This was only a quick description of the" loop" and there are many detours and areas that can take days, weeks, even years to see and do it all! So do yourself a favor, if you only have a day or two to make the trip you are better off enjoying where you are, just plan to comeback for more of the life in the Baja.
Be sure look to further issues of Los Cabos Insider for much more on these areas and many other great side trips off the well-beaten path.
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