We recommend the Mexicali East border crossing. It has excellent room for you to cross with a vehicle or an RV of any size. When approaching simply stay to the right which is the declaration lane if crossing with a trailer or RV’ if you require an FMM or if you have anything to declare. The first building you will pull up to is the building you get your FMM or tourist visa from, yes there are many that say you don’t need one, that is completely untrue! You must also have a valid passport, no exceptions! WITHOUT AN FMM YOU ARE AN ILLEGAL AND IF YOU GET CAUGHT YOU COULD IMMEDIATELY BE DEPORTED AND NOT LET BACK IN!!! I have been through where they didn’t even ask for passports or anything else. Whatever they chose to do that day ensure you park and walk back the 300′ or so and purchase your FMM for just under $700.00 Pesos! DO NOT PRE BUY IT, YOU HAVE TO GET IT STAMPED ANYWAY FOR IT TO BE VALID AND THERE ARE SCAM PLACES TO BUY THEM ONLINE THAT SIMPLY TAKE YOUR MONEY! There is also the possibility you cannot get the FMM to print.

After that you are on a 4 lane highway through town. There are 2 very well marked left turns identified by the red boxes on our maps. We usually always fuel up before entering Mexico as fuel is currently a little cheaper in the US. The 4 lane highway goes for a long ways even after Mexicali. It then turns into a 2 lane in excellent condition with wide shoulders and pullouts the rest of the way. You will see mainly foreign plated vehicles the rest of the trip….if you have a flat tire or something goes wrong people will actually stop to help, it’s the Baja and it’s what we all do here! There are NO BANDIDOS on this route, that notion is complete nonsense. About 20 minutes before you get to the El Dorado Ranch you will see the overpass for HWY 3 to Ensenada and right after it will go through a standard military checkpoint. Simply say no Espanol and El Dorado Ranch, they usually just wave you through at that point. You will also be on 4 lane highway shortly after that again. There are KM markers all the way along the highway and cell service pretty much all the way as well. Just after 178 you will see a massive green crocodile on the right hand side. The next road to the right just before the OXXO/Arco gas station is the main gate of the Ranch. Just past the gas station on the left you will see Playa De oro which is where our office is. You certainly can’t miss it, our signage is fantastic.