Getting To and Around Baja California

When I told Ben Davison I was going to fly to La Paz via Tijuana, he groused, "Our readers aren't going to fly from Tijuana." I reminded him that he lives near a major international hub. For the rest of us, who have to wait and change flights, which takes hours or days, at possibly a much higher cost, the Cross Border Xpress (CBX) is a good way to go. The CBX is a 390-foot-long airport skywalk bridge that connects San Diego directly to Tijuana's Rodriguez airport. It opened three years ago, but apparently, it's still a well-kept secret.

I flew Southwest from Tucson to San Diego, an hour-long flight. While there are shuttles, buses and light rail from San Diego International to Tijuana, I found an easier way that avoided me schlepping my luggage -- an Uber took me to CBX in 20 minutes for $34, dropping me off in front of a Starbucks and food court. Entering the building, I showed my CBX ticket and boarding pass, filled out a Mexico immigration form, then showed security my passport and airline ticket, and with my luggage loaded on a cart, headed across the covered skywalk into Tijuana.

I had purchased my round-trip ticket to La Paz from Califia Airlines for $114.38, and $5 for one suitcase. Buying my CBX ticket from Califia was $16.40, rather than the $30 price advertised at San Diego's airport. My total trip cost came to $203.78. Califia Airlines' Embraer nonstop flight, which required busing from the terminal rather than using a jet way, took about an hour and forty minutes. The in-flight food service, including water, cost pesos.

Still, Cabo San Lucas, with its multiple airline flights, also offers good transportation options from its airport for the two-hour trip to La Paz. Car rentals are inexpensive -- price quotes for a mid-size car booked for seven days in mid-February ranged between $8 and $15 a day, which comes to $100 or less for the week. If you want someone else to do the driving, Ecobaja Tours has shuttle vans that leave San Jose del Cabo Airport for La Paz's beachfront Malecon five to six times a day, at a round-trip price of $52 (www.ecobajatours.com). If you're in a dive group and want a private shuttle, Cabo Shuttle Services offers them from San Jose del Cabo to La Paz hotels -- a 10-person van is $505 round-trip (www.caboshuttleservices.com).