Auto Club’s Newly Revised Baja Book Now Available
text by connie ellig

Whether you are planning a trip to the Baja California peninsula or are merely an armchair traveler, “Baja California, The U.S. Border to Cabo San Lucas” is an indispensable addition to your Baja bookshelf. It is available through Auto Club offices for $18.95dlls. ($13.95dlls. members) or through retail outlets like Barnes & Noble or Borders. 

Written by the Auto Club’s Baja California travel expert David Brackney, the newly revised book offers plenty of travel adventures and an opportunity to discover Baja’s people and culture. The 540-page book, published by the Auto Club since the 1920s, provides comprehensive information for both families and off-road adventurers.

“This guidebook is the only book about Baja California with hundreds of color photographs, seventy maps, and an author who has traveled throughout Mexico for nearly 25 years,” said Auto Club Editorial Director, John Austerman. “This is the authoritative guide that offers hundreds of things to see and do, driving logs, campgrounds, hotels, shopping and more.”

Brackney, 45, and a Whittier, Calif. resident, offers tips to aim travelers to spots seasoned Baja travelers love to visit. He also offers an insider’s guide to dining and nightlife. Brackney made his first trek to Mexico after college, worked as a journalist in Mexico City for six years and has traveled to Baja California for the Auto Club for the past eight years.

“My first trip to Mexico completely changed my life direction,” said Brackney. “After that summer visit, I knew I had to figure out a way to satisfy my spirit of adventure and love of Mexico and earn a living at the same time.”

The guide features popular tourist destinations of Tijuana, Ensenada, Rosarito, Loreto, La Paz, Cabo San Lucas, Tecate, Mexicali and San Felipe. For tourists planning a visit to any of the peninsula’s regions, Brackney presents descriptive information about Baja’s communities and leisure activities ranging from shopping to roadside shrines, and local ancient cave paintings.

The guidebook highlights the region’s distinctive rugged desert and mountain landscapes, recreation on the Pacific and the Gulf of California, unspoiled beaches and Spanish missions. Key chapters feature wide-ranging options for recreation that include boating, golfing, hunting, sailboarding, scuba, snorkeling, sportfishing, surfing and whale watching.

The book is built around travel on major highways. Auto Club expert cartographers illustrated the book with 70 detailed maps. And travelogues are one way to closely see the region. The logs explain the landmarks and junctions seen while on the road. The book also contains side routes that describe roadside and local points of interest. Detailed descriptions for backcountry treks, trips that require high clearance vehicles or four-wheel drives are included again in this edition. 

Numerous restaurants ranging from casual to romantic are described, along with the best parks, interesting local missions, fishing villages, beaches, lodging and campgrounds, special events and holidays.

The book’s size makes it convenient to pack, carry and use. The guidebook contains information about required Mexican auto insurance, traffic signs, gasoline, emergency road service and road repairs and even where to locate Internet Cafes.

The book retails for $18.95 and Auto Club and AAA members may purchase it for  $13.95. The book is also available at Barnes & Noble or Borders retail outlets.

The Automobile Club of Southern California, the largest AAA affiliate, has served members since 1900. Today, Auto Club members benefit by the organization’s roadside assistance, financial products, travel agency and trip planning services, highway and transportation safety programs, insurance products and services and automotive pricing, buying and financing programs. Information about these products and services is available at the AAA web site.
 

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