Three years ago, we spent about 6 months driving our van down to Central America, spending one month in Nicaragua, three months in Costa Rica, and one month in Panama - before returning to the States. Our van is a 2000 Astro van, custom built interior with a bed for sleeping the two of us, and shelving all around to handle our stuff. Bob puts his surfboards underneath our bed and/or windsurfing equipment on the roof rack above. In 2014 and now 2015, we went to Baja. We've been here with the same set up this year since Jan and last year, from Feb to mid-June. I thought it would be interesting to compare the two places in a variety of areas.
Places to Camp: We found that in CA, it was difficult to camp. There are few, if any, designated camp spots. Some that were noted on the internet were no longer in existence, having been sold to developers for more productive uses. One time, we ended staying at a hostel, parking in their lot, able to use their facilities for a fee. Another time, we stayed in Santa Rosa Park in the north of Costa Rica. The humidity was another factor that caused us to seek other shelter rather than our van. We traveled the same time of year (left end of Feb 2013 to CA and Feb 2014 to Baja), but trying to sleep in our van in March/April in CA was extrememly difficult, due to the heat and humidity. My body would break out in heat blisters. We ended up getting a room with at least a fan about 90% of the time. Rooms were fairly cheap - averaging around $25/night and it made more sense than a lousy night's sleep with a mosquito net surrounding you and a wet washcloth wiping down your sweat before being able to drift off. Baja - has free or low pay camping everywhere. Baja is really set up for RVs and camping, with campgrounds or free areas throughout, and beaches along the Sea of Cortez and Pacific coast available. Many have palapas for shade; and trash cans available. (Too bad they don't have trash service tho because most of the time they are full and unusable.) We found many an uncrowded beach that you can just pull in and camp for the night (or longer) and others with hot showers, bathrooms and some with laundry service, that you pay $8-15/night for. Score one for Baja.
In conjunction with this, would be Ease of Traveling in a Van. Food in the car: geez, in CA, you best have everything in baggies, especially anything with a touch of sugar in it. Dried cereal, raisins, honey, Tang, etc. Put it in baggies or expect to toss it in short order. Trash needed to be dumped quickly or it would be crawling with bugs. You got "used to" seeing small ants? streaming along the bottom of the van heading towards the front of the van and another stream heading towards the back. (Where are they going? Noone knows...) In Baja - no such thing. I can leave cereal in the original bag. No worries about bugs with your food. Score another one for Baja.
Hotel rooms: When we travel, we don't get the cheapest place, but we don't get the El Presidente either. We are more of a Super 8 traveler. In CA, the rooms we found were ALWAYS non-standard for some reason or other. How about discovering as you move in that your window has no glass? or the sink is so close to the toilet and entry door that you can't open the door when you are on the pot? Or the shower rod is actually a curtain rod? The solitary 40watt light bulb located above your doorway? An 11" TV that has three Spanish channels? And the standard of the non-standard room - no shower head; pipe only. In Baja, you find rooms that are more comparable to USA standards. Not 100% - like you might find a light present with no bulb or outdated furniture; but generally speaking, the rooms have excellent beds and pillows, clean tile floors, tile showers with both hot and cold water, sinks, some with refrigerators, flat-screen TVs and ample storage space. $40 in downtown Cabo San Lucas on a weekend night yet. Score one for Baja.
Restaurants: We had both good and bad in CA. One excellent place we found in Nicaragua had a garlic chicken dish that was heavenly. But then we had a fish special dinner at a restaurant right on the beach that arrived half cooked. The main trouble with eating in CA was the acceptance of dogs lurking around the tables begging for scraps and the lack of choice in food. You could have fried fish, or deep fried fish, or grilled fish (pan-fried in lard) with fried beans and fried white rice. Many restaurants were outside or part of someone's home. No vegetables (except canned corn, peas or peas and corn mixed); and the salad was generally cole slaw. In Baja, we have had the most delicious fish dinners served with a variety of sides. Fish can be fried, but there are numerous other choices as well. Fish is cooked to perfection. Score one for Baja.
Availability of Supplies: In CA, we found that Toyotas ruled the car world. Everyone drove Toyotas. We had trouble finding anything we needed for our van - a Chevy. There weren't any there. A can of motor oil ran $10. When we'd go shopping for food (which was a trip in itself trying to find a grocery store that was larger than a walk-in closet), sometimes we'd walk in, walk the aisles and come out spending around $40. There just was nothing for us to buy that we could eat on the road. For example, beans are sold as dried beans, meat is all fresh or frozen, vegetables were limited to either canned or strange..... (like we didn't know what it was, how to cook it, what it would taste like). Simple things like finding the right razor blade or a tube of sunscreen was difficult. When we crossed the border into Panama, immediately there is super sized store sort of like a mega-super Walmart. We were like kids in a candy shop walking around going, Wow! Look! They have......... Now, in Baja, there are Walmarts in the major cities, Burger Kings, Subways, Office Depot, car part stores, etc. Just about anything can be found here (except chili and stew). Score another one for Baja.
The People: Well, this one is a tie. Both the areas have the most friendly people. We could spend hours (and did) talking in our broken Spanish and their broken English about things. Whenever you had a question, the Latin people were more than happy to help you. It's almost a sin not to say Buenos Dias / Tardes / Noches when you are walking down the street and meet someone coming from the other way. Help? Whenever we needed help, we got bucketloads. Bucketloads. Guys that would crawl under your vehicle, get filthy helping you out of mud or sand, do what they can - and expect nothing in return. Rarely do you get the "you are a Rich American" look that I expected; tho you will get asked for spare change or small tasks that you'd normally do yourself (like unloading your groceries into your vehicle), there is someone there who made it his job to do this for you, if you want. You can't beat the people in all of these countries. A smile goes a long way. Cooperation is admirable in the Latin culture. Tolerance, patience, cooperation, friendliness - USA could learn a thing or two from south of the border.
Security: Both areas have police stops / check points. Generally speaking, both were equal on the hassle radar. Nine out of ten times, you pass right through after being asked where you came from, where you are going, saying the magic word "Vacation" - and you get waved on. Every so often, probably because of a recent drug bust or something, you get a more thorough search. In CA, we had to produce our passports often. In Baja, we haven't at all. We were stopped and threatened with tickets in both places - and both times, were let off without paying any fines. For the most part, we felt very secure in both areas. We are, though, careful with locking our vehicle, keeping control of where our money is at all times, and not displaying wealth in a great degree.
It's a tie here.
Cost: Baja is generally cheaper than most countries in CA, altho Nicaragua is cheapest for everything overall. The peso continues to fall, being around 15:1 now, so things are even cheaper than last year when we came. Expect to pay $8-$12 for a delicious fish dinner in Baja; about the same for fried fish and white rice in CA. Nicaragua, we could get a full b'fast of 2 eggs, beans, cheese, tortillas for $2; while in Baja you'd pay $3-4 for the same. Quality is better however. Costa Rica, you'd pay more like $5-6 for a similar meal of inferior quality. Gas? Two years ago, it cost maybe $6/gallon in Costa Rica; Baja this year and last runs about $3.10/gallon, while it has fallen below $3 in the States. Score one for Baja.
Well, it looks like Baja is running away with the lead. There is one category that I haven't commented on yet tho - and that is Beauty. This is a real hard one because Baja has it's own special beauty, especially on the Sea of Cortez. With unspoiled beaches, mostly uninhabited areas, desert flowers and plants, islands off the coast of Loreto (which makes you think you are in St. Thomas, not Baja), coral reefs to explore - it is one beautiful place. That being said, Baja terrain is ---- similar ---- throughout. The desert and mountains, tho they change in cacti and shape from area to area, are similar for the whole peninsula. CA - especially Costa Rica - well, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama - are GORGEOUS. With multitudes of birds and butterflies, huge varieties of flowers, plants and trees, lush green fields and mountains, volcanoes, beaches ----- there just aren't enough words to describe the beauty. I felt like Alice in Wonderland discovering new plants, trees, butterflies, birds and animals which I'd never seen before; so every day was a wonderland. On this one point, I have to give a HUGE advantage to CA.
So, there you have it. There might be other areas to compare, but it boils down to what kind of vacation you want and what you are looking for. Overall, the Baja is a great place to come, and many, many people DO for months at a time. But you will also meet many, many American down in CA that have permanently left the States for a life in Costa Rica or Panama and absolutely love it. I can see why.
