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Originally Posted by Bajahowodd

My first thought was that this could be marketed as a vacation rental, but then I realized that, much to my personal chagrin, Ensenada is not a very desireable vacation destination these days.

And why is that?????

Originally Posted by Teniente

And why is that?????

Huh? Perhaps you might wish to compare statistics on Ensenada tourism between now and, say five years ago.

I'm with you on the whole idea that it's a great place to both live and visit. But, the long standing drug violence, as well as the passport requirement has produced a huge reduction in tourism. Just ask the hoteliers and the merchants and restauranteurs along Lopez Mateos, for instance.

There is a lot more to Ensenada than just the downtown area. Wine tasting in Guadalupe Vally / Santo Tomas, golf at Baja Country Club / Bajamar and lots of areas to go explore up in the hills around that make great day trips.

Originally Posted by Bajahowodd

Huh? Perhaps you might wish to compare statistics on Ensenada tourism between now and, say five years ago.

I'm with you on the whole idea that it's a great place to both live and visit. But, the long standing drug violence, as well as the passport requirement has produced a huge reduction in tourism. Just ask the hoteliers and the merchants and restauranteurs along Lopez Mateos, for instance.

Just as a comment!
I hear how tourism has dropped because of many reasons.
Not one however mentions that a passport is required for gringos. A lot of people do not want to take the effort to get one.

Ensenada was a day destination, or weekend also. Also look at Puerto Nuevo, people went down for lunch What are those statistics?

We've got about as much chance at getting an accurate read on that as we do honest inflation numbers. There is little doubt in my mind the passport requirement has hurt the casual day trip business.

Don't panic, but this would be a good spot to split this topic off into it's own thread(to keep bajabil3's ad somewhat on topic.)

Originally Posted by Marty Cortez

We've got about as much chance at getting an accurate read on that as we do honest inflation numbers. There is little doubt in my mind the passport requirement has hurt the casual day trip business.

Don't panic, but this would be a good spot to split this topic off into it's own thread(to keep bajabil3's ad somewhat on topic.)

I agree and apoligize for getting off track. Felt he was getting a bum rap about Ensenada>
A new thread would be appropriate.

When I first started coming to this part of the world I couldnt have agreed more It was not a Destination, just a anoyance to pass through My destination was Mulje and points south But after serious investigation I decided the south area is Beautiful. As beautiful as it is it would not meet my needs. So in 2005 we decided to ckeck out Ensenada We arrived here Dec 24 2004 and have never left.We owned a 36ft diesel M.H. at the time which I traded as partial payment for my Home.Living in Ensenada has been a continueing learning experience. Today I firmly belive Ensenada offers as much or more than any city of compareable size in the U.S.And I still have all the rest of Baja as my back yard to savor and to enjoy at my leasiure.

Originally Posted by bob r

Just as a comment!
I hear how tourism has dropped because of many reasons.
Not one however mentions that a passport is required for gringos. A lot of people do not want to take the effort to get one.

Ensenada was a day destination, or weekend also. Also look at Puerto Nuevo, people went down for lunch What are those statistics?

I think I may have actually reported on my Puerto Nuevo experience of last October. Pulling in around 8pm on a Friday and finding the place deserted. Eating at a well-established restaurant as the only customers.

For the record, I have been a long-standing fan of Ensenada. No one needs to educate me about what's in town and nearby. Just saying that unfortunately, Ensenada has been caught up in the "near the border" phobia.

And, I've also been on record many times about the passport thing. In fact, Puerto Nuevo is probably a greater victim of this requirement than is Ensenada.

Don't see the passport thing going away. Fact is that not only does the US, in general, have a woefully low percentage of passport holders, but again thinking obout Puerto Nuevo, it seems to me that they were the beneficiary of daytrips of conventioneers from San Diego. Those folks would hardly think about carrying their passport for a domestic flight to San Diego.

But, if something can be done about the perception of drug cartel related violence near the border, it will certainly help Ensenada.

I still love going down to Ensenada... and great weekend getaway from San Diego. There are just so many great places to eat down there!!

Plus, kicking back, having a couple beers, and looking at the ocean at the place where we stay in Cibola del Mar!! Love it.

Originally Posted by Bob H

I still love going down to Ensenada... and great weekend getaway from San Diego. There are just so many great places to eat down there!!

Plus, kicking back, having a couple beers, and looking at the ocean at the place where we stay in Cibola del Mar!! Love it.

Bob........come on down...we will have a couple of Pacifico's!!!!!

The things that have most affected our short excursions into Mexico are these:
#1 by far is that line to cross back into the US. Hands down.
Also, a lot of stuff that we consume on short trips isn't that great of a deal anymore.
Well, and the economy sucks.....that's a big one.
Did I say that line is the worst? Oh, right, so bad I even think about it while we are heading down.
That's it in a nutshell!

Hey, Frank..............either get the SENTRI or use the new fast-pass lanes.........following is from the Punta Banda Board....

".........On Monday I crossed the border at Otay Mesa at 10am in record time. I used the new RFID only lanes. The crossing took only 6 min......You access it by staying in the far left lane. As you near the gates the lane opens up into three gates..................

Originally Posted by Teniente

Bob........come on down...we will have a couple of Pacifico's!!!!!

You're ON! Where are you located in Ensenada? Would like to get down there and eat some great Mexican food!!

Bob h

Originally Posted by Bob H

You're ON! Where are you located in Ensenada? Would like to get down there and eat some great Mexican food!!

Bob h

We are located in the Baja Country Club, just south of town. Will be down the last week in July and all of August for the Ensenada Wine Festival. Plenty of outstanding places to eat!!!

Just bought new passports for the whole family....on our return I will explore sentri and possibly purchasing the passport cards since those are what is needed for the RFID lanes.

I suppose that if we just look at numbers of tourists coming as a gauge, it would appear that Ensenada has lost its charm. But to make that assumption based solely on numbers would probably be very misleading, as so many tourist destinations are seeing low numbers of visitors, north and south of the border. It has more to do with economics in my opinion.

Anybody seen what Vegas looks like lately?

Dee's son lives in Vegas ,IT looks like a GHOST TOWN,

A good friend worked in Vegas for a couple of decades and made a very good living. He finally left a year or so ago when his income had dropped to less than a quarter of what he was making before. Talked to him recently and he told me that he went back to attend the funeral of an old neighbor and that things actually look even much worse than when he left.

You have to wonder what developers in LV are thinking.

Vegas has far and away the highest foreclosure rate in the US, more underwater mortgages than any other city and yet, there are new housing developments under construction. The builders are betting on the fact that new home buyers don't want to live in neighborhoods that have a lot of foreclosures.

Last year's hot neighborhoods turning into next years slums.

Originally Posted by J.P.

When I first started coming to this part of the world I couldnt have agreed more It was not a Destination, just a anoyance to pass through My destination was Mulje and points south But after serious investigation I decided the south area is Beautiful. As beautiful as it is it would not meet my needs. So in 2005 we decided to ckeck out Ensenada We arrived here Dec 24 2004 and have never left.We owned a 36ft diesel M.H. at the time which I traded as partial payment for my Home.Living in Ensenada has been a continueing learning experience. Today I firmly belive Ensenada offers as much or more than any city of compareable size in the U.S.And I still have all the rest of Baja as my back yard to savor and to enjoy at my leasiure.

That's a great point, I will go and check Baja out all the way to San Quintin in September, before my passport expires. I do not like the heat! But love the ocean.