Complete Travel Guide to Valle de Guadalupe
Just an hour and half south of San Diego nestled in the mountains of Ensenada, Baja California Norte, is Valle de Guadalupe. This under-the-radar destination is Mexico’s largest region producing around 80% to 90% of all Mexico wines and has quickly put Mexico on the map as a world class wine producer.
Commonly called the Napa of Mexico, Valle de Guadalupe is a foodie and wine lover’s paradise home to over 120 vineyards and dozens of incredible dining experiences.
Whether you’re planning a day trip or a week-long getaway to Mexico wine country, this travel guide will tell you everything you need to know about visiting Valle de Guadalupe including the best hotels, wineries, restaurants, and activities.
About Mexico’s largest wine country
Although wine arrived in Baja California in the 1500s along with Spanish colonization, it took roughly 200 years before grape vines were cultivated in this valley. It wasn’t until the 1970s until Valle de Guadalupe finally began to attract international attention as vinicolas (wineries) began to receive awards.
In the early 2000s the wine region started expanding. In 2010 it absolutely exploded and is now home to more than 120 wineries and growing.
Most vinicolas in the valley produce conventional wines that can easily compete with any other well known region in the world. You’ll find grapes like Tempranillo, Cabernet, Nebiolo, Chardonnay, and Syrah. But the region is also very experimental.
Many take a natural approach to winemaking. Valle’s natural wines are very experimental with a focus on minimal intervention. Meaning they do as little as possible during the winemaking process to allow the elemental flavor of the tierra (the land) to shine through.
Using organically grown grapes, no additives like sulfites or clarifiers, little to no filtration and natural fermentation with wild yeast from the vines themselves.
The art of natural winemaking produces only 1% of all wines in the world. These wines will be funky and remind us a bit of kombucha, but are an absolute must-try if you are visiting.
The best time to visit Valle de Guadalupe
Weather in Valle de Guadalupe swings from extremes. Summer is the busiest season in Valle de Guadalupe. While the days (and nights) are hot, it’s one of the best times to see the vines ripe with grapes. August is when most vinicolas harvest their crops for the year.
Winter is considered off-season. The vines are bare, winds are stronger, and nights are cold. We visited in winter and enjoyed having less crowds with us as we dined and sipped. The days were nice although we definitely needed layers to stay warm as soon as the sun went down.
Spring and fall are likely the best time to visit Valle de Guadalupe due to the temperate weather. Each October the region hosts a food and wine festival. It’s a fantastic event to attend but buy your tickets early as they sell out quickly. Just be aware the region has a wet season from fall to early winter. Since the area is so dry this can cause flash flooding. We visited after a rainstorm and many of the roads were impassable due to small rivers and pools of water remaining.
Vineyards and restaurants close around 7 or 8 pm with most places opening around 10 to 11. Tuesdays are the “off-day” in Valle de Guadalupe, so plan to explore closer to the weekends.
Is it safe to travel to valle de guadalupe, Mexico?
The city of Valle de Guadalupe like most other tourist destinations in Baja California , is very safe to visit.
As with traveling anywhere in Mexico, follow general travel safety advice like not wandering around alone late at night, watching your alcohol consumption and staying aware of yourself and surroundings.
Aside from road challenges the only reasonable fear you should have when visiting Valle de Guadalupe is that you might never want to leave.
Where to stay in Valle de Guadalupe Baja California
There are so many amazing unique, luxury, and budget accommodations to choose from in the Valle. Since Valle de Guadalupe is still very much up and coming a lot of accommodations are privately operated, more like a bed and breakfast or boutique hotel.
Valle de Guadalupe best hotels
There aren’t huge hotel chains, which I personally like. One of the best Valle de Guadalupe hotels is Ojo Azul (which means the Blue Eye). They have gorgeous grounds, beautiful rooms, pool, a fantastic restaurant, wine cellar, and a spa on site.
There are also loads of unique stays, including sleeping in a geodome with this Airbnb stay, sleeping in a treehouse with Boskenvid, sleeping in a wine barrel at Finca el Mirador, or sleeping in a bubble house at Campera Hotel.
Most hotel rooms will start around $150 in off season to $250+ per night in peak season. If you’re looking for a more luxury or unique accommodation, expect to spend $250 – $400 per night and up.
RV camping in Valle de Guadalupe
We personally are traveling the Baja California peninsula in our own class C RV so we wanted to share some options for RV camping in Valle de Guadalupe.
The most central location is El Valle RV Park. It’s about a 10 – 15 minute drive from many of the most popular restaurants and vineyards and only a 5 minute walk from one Doña Esthelas (more on that later). It offered electricity at most sites with a few sites having full-hookups (non potable water and 15 amp electricity). They also offer hot showers and toilets in addition to more budget accommodations including the opportunity to sleep in a custom-built wine barrel or wine bottle. This is where we stayed and it cost us $35 USD per night.
The other RV camping option in Valle de Guadalupe is Guadalupe RV Park. Camping is more affordable for full-service sites around $20 per night but the location is much further from most of the major destinations. One nice thing to note is all proceeds from your stay are donated to a deaf school across the street.
What to know about visiting Valle de Guadalupe
Getting around Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico is best done with a car or motorcycle. The main road is a paved road that loops the entire city. The side roads in the area that connect the main highway are unpaved and can vary in condition.
We found the road quality to be one of the worst we’ve experienced in all of Mexico and definitely recommend a high clearance vehicle due to rocks and ruts (however it’s not needed to get around).
Reservations are highly recommended if you’re coming on the weekend or anytime other than the off-season. We had no issues getting into tastings or restaurants during our trip in early February but we did see massive crowds on the weekends. Almost everyone in Valle de Guadalupe speaks English, so feel free to call or visit their website to reserve.
Prices in Valle de Guadalupe are similar to the United States. Tastings started around $15 to $20 and could go all the way up to $50 depending on the types of wines you were trying. Most restaurants ran around $50 – $100 per person depending on the amount of food or drinks you were enjoying. Its proximity to California means prices aren’t cheap.
Top Valle de Guadalupe wineries to visit
It’s estimated there are between 120 to 140 wineries to visit in Guadalupe at the time of this writing. Most are small family owned or privately owned vineyards that you can only taste or purchase bottles of here in Valle de Guadalupe.
There are a few large scale wineries that produce at mass scale and distribute to other areas of Mexico and other countries, however there’s far more smaller vineyards than large ones. We personally visited the smaller scale wineries because it was our one shot at trying them, although many of the larger operators are just as worthy of visiting.
Below were our personal favorites from our wine tastings along with a few other recommendations of the best Valle de Guadalupe wineries to visit by locals.
These are in order from most to least recommended. However, if they are on this list you can’t go wrong. A star indicates its organic.
- Piojan*
- Vena Cava
- Torres Alegre
- Las Nubes
- Finca Carrodilla*
- Hilo Negro
- Shedeh*
- Decantos
- Viñas de Garza
- Bodega Magoni
- L.A. Cetto
- El Cielo
Best restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe
Wine isn’t the only reason to come to Valle de Guadalupe. Its culinary scene is just as worthy as its wine. You can find everything from traditional indigenous cooking, home style Mexican food, and fine dining here. Fine dining seems to be the more popular option, but there are plenty of more economic and relaxed options to choose from as well.
Below were some of the best valle de guadalupe restaurants along with a few other recommendations by locals.These are in order from most to least recommended. However, if they are on this list you can’t go wrong. A star indicates it uses organic produce or is farm to table.
These are in order from most to least recommended. However, if they are on this list you can’t go wrong. A star indicates the restaurant focuses on organic ingredients or is farm to table.
-
La Cocina de Doña Estela (breakfast)
- Wa Kumiai Tabita (breakfast)
-
Deckman’s*
-
Finca Altozano*
-
Animalon*
-
Fauna
-
Laja*
-
Troika*
-
Quercus
-
Sal & pimienta Restaurante
-
Baja Omakase*
- Tre’ Galline*
- Frida
- Emat
-
Las Güeritas (lunch Saturdays and Sundays only)
Other things to do in Valle de Guadalupe Baja California
Drinking and eating aren’t the only things to do in Valle de Guadalupe (although that’s what most people spend their time doing). Below are a few of the other nearby activities that are worthy of a mention, especially if you’re spending extended time in the area.
get a massage
Most hotels offer spa treatments making it a perfect place to relax and get a massage. You can typically book a massage at a hotel even if you are not staying as a guest. Prices will range from spot to spot, so call around to secure the best pricing.
Soak in the hot spring
About a 40 minute drive from the heart of the wine region is Guadalupe hot spring. It’s a relatively easy hike that’s around 4 miles round trip. Hiking is a great way to work off all that food and wine you’ve been drinking and the reward at the end is soaking in natural hot springs!
This place can get packed on the weekends, so much so that it now requires reservations. Note you also pass through private property, and they require $50 pesos per person for entry.
Visit the wine museum near Ensenada
On your way to Valle de Guadalupe from Ensenada you’ll pass by the Wine Museum. This museum is fairly new and highlights the history of not just wine making in Valle de Guadalupe or Mexico (which has a super unique story) but of all time.
It also shares how wine is made (such a unique process). A visit here will definitely give you a better appreciation of your time at wineries.
Visit a cheese cave
Wine isn’t the only thing you can taste in Valle de Guadalupe, you can go on a special cheese tasting in a wine cave, too! About an hour and 15 minutes from the heart of Valle de Guadalupe is Cava de Marcelo at Rancho La Campana.
This family owned cheese producer makes over 400 kilos of cheese each year in these caves, a tradition that has been passed down for over 100 years in his family. The cheese cave is only open for tastings Thursday through Sunday so plan accordingly. This is a great stop if you’re headed south toward San Felipe, but is worthy of a detour even if you’re only visiting Valle de Guadalupe.
Valle de Guadalupe is truly a hidden gem. While the area is quickly growing in popularity it still has a long way to go. For those looking for a fun, relaxing, or luxurious getaway, this Mexico wine country has it all.
Liz & Dennis
ESRV Team
We’re two travel-loving, real estate investing, foodies exploring North America as full-time RV’ers. This blog is where we share our lessons learned, tips and tricks, and favorite places to eat, see, and RV across North America! We hope it helps you find your wanderlust, plan and prepare for RV life, and get out on the road!
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