San Felipe is a friendly community of about 15,000. Mexico Highway 5 ends at Avenida Mar de Cortez, which parallels the shore and forms the main street of the town. There you can find a wide variety of facilities such as; numerous hotels, trailer parks, markets, bakeries, restaurants, bars, launch ramps, banks, clinics, auto mechanics and two Pemex stations. The curio shops sell a variety of goods including; blankets, shawls, shoes, beach wear, shirts, and pottery.You can use U.S. dollars almost anywhere. Bargaining is expected at most of the shops and by all the street vendors.

November through April is the ideal time to visit San Felipe. Days are usually warm and sunny, and nights are refreshingly cool. Summers, however, can be extremely hot, with daytime temperatures sometimes exceeding 115 Fahrenheit. Rainfall is less than two inches per year.

Nuevo Mazatlan is the nicest campground south of San Felipe. The campsites are equipped with decent restrooms, showers, running water from faucets, and a beautiful beach. Bring firewood, le~na (lenya) is available in town but it is hard to find and expensive. Also, bring your own toilet paper. Ice is available in town.Trinket vendors are always around to sell you hammocks, silver jewelry, etc.

Farther south on Mar De Cortez is "El Nido." offerings delicious steaks, seafood, and Mexican specialties, great Margaritas. We go to El Nido at least once every trip to Baja. Next door to El Nido is "George's." It is great for breakfast, but be prepared for relaxed service. During the day and to a limited extent at night there are many fish taco stands on the waterfront. There is nothing like a fish taco at a stand in Baja.

There are many and varied bars, most cater to the young college crowd from Arizona and S. Cal, but all are welcome and the people watching is outstanding. Rockadile is the most famous.