Often referred to as the Napa Valley of Mexico, Valle de Guadalupe is a place that has been gaining a lot of steam in recent years. Located about an hour and a half south of Tijuana and just under two hours from San Diego, it is very easy to get to and very worth the trip. We’ve tasted some of the top wines from around the world, and we were pleasantly surprised by just how fantastic the wines in this region were! Read on for our top tips and advice for Valle de Guadalupe, including a lot that we wish we knew before we went, like the odd Valle de Guadalupe weather. This guide will break down everything to know logistically for your Valle de Guadalupe trip. If you’re looking for more specific vineyard recommendations, check out our post on our top Valle de Guadalupe vineyards.
This guide will break down everything to know logistically for your Valle de Guadalupe trip.
Things To Do in Valle de Guadalupe
I swear this isn’t a cop-out. There really is just nothing to put here other than the two obvious choices – eat good food and drink great wine! Valle de Guadalupe is stuffed with incredible vineyards and restaurants, but outside of that there isn’t too much to do, which is the beauty of it! If you’re interested in learning about the top wine varieties in Valle de Guadalupe, you can check out this post on Wines in Valle de Guadalupe.
Come drink wine with us and Tour our Wine Cabin in our Valle de Guadalupe Vlog!
Where to Stay in Valle de Guadalupe
If you’re visiting Valle de Guadalupe for more than a day, you have two main options of places to stay: Ensenada and Valle de Guadalupe itself. Some people opt to stay in Ensenada, and that is certainly a fine option. By staying in Ensenada you have more choices of standard hotels, and there is a great restaurant scene there, so you’ll definitely have a great time. However, we’d recommend staying in the Valle itself, because it saves so much time going back and forth, and there are some incredible accommodation options.
The experience of lodging on a vineyard is incredible.
Honestly, if you’re going to Valle de Guadalupe, there is no better option than staying directly on a Vineyard. Not only is the experience of staying on a vineyard awesome; you’re also located just minutes away from countless other vineyards and don’t lose a ton of time traveling! We stayed at Don Tomas Viñedo, and our experience was absolutely incredible!
If you’re interested in staying on a great vineyard for a very good price, check out our review of the cabins at Don Tomas. We highly recommend them! Also, you could try looking for an Airbnb in Valle de Guadalupe, but the Valle de Guadalupe Airbnbs that we found weren’t very great.
How to Get to Valle de Guadalupe
Valle de Guadalupe isn’t very close to a major airport. In fact, the closest major Airport is an hour and a half away in Tijuana. Unless you’re driving in from the United States, you’ll need to fly into the Tijuana airport and head south to the Valley. Since the only way to Valle de Guadalupe is through Tijuana, this section will focus specifically on how to get from Tijuana to Valle de Guadalupe. If you have the time, we definitely recommend spending a couple of days in Tijuana as well, because it is a really awesome city! You can check out our updated Tijuana travel guide here.
If you’re driving from somewhere else in Baja California or in the United States, getting to Valley de Guadalupe is pretty self-explanatory – just be sure to have all the necessary documentation to cross the border if that applies to you, and have either dollars or pesos on hand to pay the tolls on the road from Tijuana to Valle de Guadalupe. There are several toll booths and each one charges around $2USD/$40MXN. If you’re driving in your own car or you rent a car from the airport, be sure to check out our post with tips on driving in Mexico.
Since the only way to Valle de Guadalupe is through Tijuana, this section will focus specifically on how to get from Tijuana to Valle de Guadalupe.
How to Get Around Tijuana
CAR | UBER
This is probably the most important advice we can give you about Valle de Guadalupe: you really should have a car. I read mixed things online about the availability of taxis and Ubers in the Valle, so I will clarify it for you here: 99% of the time you will not find a taxi or Uber in the Valle.
99% of the time you will not find a taxi or Uber in the Valle.
Being stranded is very inconvenient. Trust me on that. We took an Uber from Ensenada to the vineyard we stayed at in the Valle, and then we asked him to wait and drive us (for a pre-arranged extra amount) to our first vineyard of the day. We figured we’d just call an Uber to go back to our accommodation; this blind hope was painfully wrong. We walked 3.5 miles back to our accommodation because we literally had no means of transportation, and this happened at one of the most popular vineyards in the entire region – Vena Cava. If you can’t get an Uber there, you can’t get one anywhere.
We got stranded and had to walk 3.5 miles back to our accommodation because we literally had no means of transportation.
I bring all of this up to give a little context when I tell you that you have three options for transportation within the Valle; you either need a car, need to arrange having a driver for the duration of your stay, or need to join a tour group.
Our Valle de Guadalupe Tips
That’s all we have for you! Hopefully this guide helps you plan the perfect Valle de Guadalupe getaway. If you’re planning a trip to Valle de Guadalupe, let us know! We’d love to chat ahead of time and answer any questions you have. Otherwise, have a wonderful day and stay present!
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