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LOCATION
Rosarito is located approximately 20 miles from the U.S.
border (Tijuana) and only a 45 minute drive from downtown
San Diego. Located on the Pacific Coast of Baja
California, Rosarito has been a favorite to California &
Mexico natives and celebrities, who come to relax and
enjoy this piece of paradise. |
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THE MAIN
ATTRACTION
is the miles of sandy beaches, spectacular sunsets and the
warm climate. New homes and condos are being built along
the coastline, which allow residents to relax and enjoy
the peaceful life. |
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BAJA STYLE LOBSTER
should be tried by all visitors and the
world-famous lobster village of Puerto
Nuevo is just ten miles down the road.
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NIGHT LIFE
Rosarito has become popular with the younger crowd (and
those who are young at heart) because of it's open-air
cantinas on the beach. Many of these include sand floors
with a volleyball court, mechanical bulls, tequila
shooters, and popular music played by DJs. For those of
you who desire a different pace, you will find traditional
music bars, jazz clubs and even karaoke bars. |
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Spring
break has become popular here. |
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SHOPPING
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...is
big in Rosarito and you'll find everything here
including duty-free gifts to take home, handcrafted
furniture & other items for the home, pottery,
jewelry, local art work, toys, and more |
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ACTIVITIES
range from
horseback riding on the beach, swimming, golf and tennis.
Surfing is also good here and you will find some famous
surf breaks to the south of town along the free road.
Rosarito also has a few European-style spas. |
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TITANIC: Baja Style
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"Titanic" the
movie was filmed here in 1996 and Fox Studios has opened a
museum at their studios a few miles south of downtown.
Tours are available.
The town has a
small museum called
Wa-Kuatay located next to the Rosarito Beach Hotel where
you can learn about Rosarito's history. |
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EVENTS
Many weekends are busier than others since U.S. holidays
such as Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends (and don't
forget Spring Break) are popular here.
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Beach
Volleyball |
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Rosarito
also has many annual events and festivals such as
the Rosarito to Ensenada Bike Ride, the Rosarito
Fair, Mainly Mozart Festival, a wine and lobster
fest, volleyball tourneys, motorcycle events, and
much more. |
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The "
Ensenada to Rosarito Bike Ride " is an annual event where
thousands of cyclists fill the streets all up and down
the coastline. |
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Rosarito
Taking it easy
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ENJOY THE
UNIQUE CULTURE OF MEXICO
For residents and tourists alike, Rosarito is probably
the most user-friendly city in Baja. It offers great
shopping, international cuisine, wonderful seafood, good
night life and a casual attitude that lets you go
anywhere and do anything in sandals and shorts.
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Almost everything
of interest is in walking distance. Visitors ride horses
through the surf here, while real vaqueros (Mexican cowboys)
ride them down the main street.
Marachis can be found strolling the streets, in restaurants or
in open spaces. Surfboards are everywhere, hand-holding seems
to be contagious, and the sunsets over the Coronado Islands
are postcard quality. |
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During your visit you can stay at a
famous hotel that has hosted gangsters and glamorous Hollywood
stars (The Rosarito Beach Hotel, 800-343-8582), get a massage
at an elegant spa in a historic mansion (La Playa Spa,
011-52-661-612-2687) or enjoy rocking, open-air night life
with sand and water volleyball under the stars (Rock and Roll
Taco, 011-52-661-612-2950, or Papas and Beer,
011-52-661-20244) or bungee jump and foam dance at Club Iggy's,
011-52-661-612-0537. And don't forget about
spa treatments.
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Bargains of all
kinds abound. Browse in a mercado on the main street for arts
and crafts, leathers and silver, or roam among an interesting
mix of roadside shops just south of town for pottery,
Guadalajara-cement statues, fountains, curios, rugs and
blankets.
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Rosarito's main
street is, by far, the best place in Baja California to buy
hand-crafted Mexican furniture. Southwestern, pigskin,
wrought-iron, hacienda-style, willow, hand-carved and
hand-painted furniture, plus custom pieces, are all made
locally and can be shipped. |
Use
these prices as a benchmark: A 36-inch clay patio furnace, which can
also be used as barbecue or hibachi, runs about $30 after
bargaining. Wooden bar stools with carved designs in the back go for
about $90 and Pigskin bar stools with rosewood frames run about $95,
if they have full pigskin backs.
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Puerto
Nuevo-style lobster was invented here, and the little fishing
village that first made the uniquely prepared, crispy
crustacean famous almost 50 years ago has now grown into a
town of its own. It fries up almost a million lobsters a year.
The best time to go is October through March, when the lobster
is fresh. |
Rosarito is home to the border area's best beach action for an hour
or for the day. You can hike a mountain, fish in the surf -- or off
the Rosarito Beach Hotel's 1460-foot-long pier -- or just put your
feet up under a palm-fronded palapa and wind down with a frothy pina
colada in hand.
Accommodations
There's a range of options, from $10-a-night campsites to
$240-a-night suites in full-service, beachside resorts, with
numerous choices in between. Winter specials at quality hotels can
run as little as $60 per night, midweek.
Restaurants
Again, there are loads of choices, from inexpensive taco and fresh
seafood stands scattered all along the main street to almost 30
specialty restaurants in the famous Puerto Nuevo lobster village.
Standouts for authentic Mexican food are La Cazuela de Mole
(011-52-661-612-2910) and El Patio in the Festival Plaza Resort
(011-52-661-22950), both at the south end of the main street, and
Chipotle, on the main street at the north end of town -- a great
little hole-in-the-wall, famous with locals for its chipotle- and
cilantro-flavored flour tortillas.
Special Attraction
Make time for a tour of Foxploration (866-FOX-BAJA), 20th Century
Fox's working movie studio, just five minutes south of town on the
Old Road. "Titanic" was filmed here, and a tour of the "Titanic"
prop-and-memorabilia museum is a must for movie buffs. Besides some
famous set pieces, like the streets of old New York, the cars from
"Romeo and Juliet" and the fountain from "Hello Dolly," Foxploration
also includes Cinemagico, where wannabe directors and stars can try
their hands at interactive film making and special effects. The
facilty includes a food court and shops, as well as Rosarito's only
Starbucks, so while you're sipping that latte, you might even catch
a glimpse of a big-name star on location in Rosarito. Open Monday,
Thursday and Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Saturday and
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Admission is $12 adults; $9 seniors and
kids younger than 12. Children younger than two are free. Baja
residents get a discount: adults $10; $6 younger than 12.
Don't miss
An ice cream cone or frozen fruit bar at La Michoacana (midtown on
the west side of the main street at the central traffic light). This
popular little shop makes the best frozen treats in Baja. Winners
include fresh coconut, burnt-sugar and mango ice creams, and
watermelon, cantaloupe, guava and hibiscus fruit bars.
- Paula
McDonald and Heather Gonzalez for
SignOnSanDiego |
