Baja this summer?

Sounds good.  My wife worries about crime and corruption, is armed robbery and police shenanigans common down there?  Has anyone had problems with that?  I figure I'd just do my usual thing and 'go ghetto' so I don't look like a juicy target. 

every american that has never been worries about that and then you go and never worry about it
again.

It is like all those other overblown worries, like say, GWS,  .

common sense is good and going low profile/ghetto won't hurt of course. 

I took my wife, my 3 year old, and my 6 year old for that 6 months down there. did have a doberman,
but never had any problem whatsoever.

p-spark, given all that you do with fishing, diving etc, you will be fine and have a lot of fun I'm sure.

J

the tijuana crossing is always the scariest part for me!

 

I freakin love TJ. Don't ever pay the asking price for anything and don't cut anybody off or let too many people go in front of you at the border crossing lest you want you're side mirrors ripped off.   

PSpark, how long you planning on being there?

Probably a standard 9 day trip, possibly less depending on the WAF.

Sounds good.  My wife worries about crime and corruption, is armed robbery and police shenanigans common down there?  Has anyone had problems with that?  I figure I'd just do my usual thing and 'go ghetto' so I don't look like a juicy target. 

The corrupt members of the Tijuana police force will occasionally angle for a little bribe if you get pulled over, but they recently got in trouble after somebody videotaped a bribe request. Personally, I have never been pulled over by a cop down there, and I have been there three times over the years. While in Tijuana or Ensenada, pay close attention to the speed limit and you won't give them an excuse to pull you over. Also, slow down to the speed limit (usually 25 mph) whenever you approach a town. They usually have gigantic speed bumps (topes), so you'll need to slow down anyway. At the military checkpoints, be polite and you'll soon be on your way. They hassle the locals more than the gringos, and they are looking for guns or drugs, not bribes. They usually wave you through after checking a few places in your car. Don't bring a gun or even bullets, don't smuggle drugs, buy Mexican car insurance, and you'll never have the pleasure of getting in trouble with the law down there.

Armed robbery? The only time that would be a possibility is if you try to score drugs in Tijuana. Otherwise, Baja is safer than any large U.S. city. The people are routinely polite and friendly. I just spent nearly two weeks down there alone, and I didn't have a single bad experience the entire time. I got hassled more in a single block in downtown Santa Cruz when I returned home from Baja.

I drove down in october for mostly a surf trip and found the scary stories to be way overblown.  We had a great time.  I caught and lost the biggest fish I've ever dealt with on hook, near Los Freiles. Not a clue what it was, but it towed me out into the gulf at dusk.

I would be up for joining a caravan at that time.  John's right, the seven sisters area is very cool for both surf and fishing.  I'd like to check out Bahia de Los Angeles and the Muleje area for diving and K-fishing.