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Sandpiper Beach Rentals
Three beach cabins on the Pacific side of Baja California, rented by the week |
| The Cabins | Rates & Reservations | Fall 1999 Availability | What to Bring | Getting Here | Fishing & Tide Pools | Contact Us |
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Welcome! We are Ernesto and Lupe, and Sandpiper Beach Rentals is our family's three cabins on a quiet stretch
of beach about a two-hour drive south of the border on the Pacific side. Ernesto's father built the first
cabin in 1971 as a fishing camp, and we have been renting all three to families from both sides of the border
since 1988.
This is not a resort. There is no phone, no television, no restaurant, and at night the only sounds are the waves and the generator until we shut it off at ten. What there is: a long, nearly empty beach, good surf fishing, tide pools full of life at low tide, sunsets you will talk about for years, and three clean, simple cabins that our guests come back to season after season. Most of our summer weeks are booked by families who have been coming for ten years or more. Fall and winter are our quiet months and a wonderful time to visit: the weather is mild, the fishing is good and the beach is yours. |
The Cabins
All three cabins: electric lights and one outlet, run off our generator from about 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. each evening (bring a flashlight and a book for after that). Propane is included. Linens, blankets and pillows are provided; bring your own beach towels. Each cabin has a cooler, a broom and a first-aid kit. The cabins are cleaned between guests; we ask that you sweep the sand out and wash your dishes before you go. No phone at the beach. The nearest telephone is in the village about 15 minutes north. In an emergency, Ernesto's brother lives on the property year-round and has a truck and a CB radio. |
Rates & Reservations
Rentals are by the week, Saturday to Saturday, in U.S. dollars. We do not rent by the night. The same rates apply all year; 1999 rates are good through December 31, 1999, and we expect a small increase for 2000. How to reserve: E-mail us at [email protected] with the week and cabin you would like and how many people are in your party. We will confirm the week is open and send you our mailing address in California (Lupe's sister collects our mail on that side). Mail the deposit by check or money order within ten days to hold the week. The balance is due in cash when you arrive. We are sorry, but we cannot take credit cards; there is no phone line at the beach and no bank in the village. Cancellations: the deposit is refunded in full if you cancel 30 days or more ahead, or if we can re-rent the week. Inside 30 days, we keep the deposit unless the week is re-rented. Pets: well-behaved dogs are welcome for a $25 cleaning fee. Keep them off the beds and on a leash near the tide pools. Children are always welcome and always have been. |
Availability, Fall 1999
Updated September 20, 1999. Weeks run Saturday to Saturday. "Taken" means a deposit has been received. Please e-mail to confirm before mailing a deposit; this list can be a few days behind.
New Year's week has been taken by the same three families since 1992, so please don't be disappointed. The cabins are closed for repairs the last two weeks of January. Spring and summer 2000 reservations open November 1; e-mail us and we will put you on the list. |
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What to Bring
Drinking water. The cistern water is fine for washing and we boil it for coffee, but please bring your own drinking water: about a gallon per person per day. The five-gallon jugs from the grocery store are what most guests bring. You can buy purified water in the village too, but don't count on it being open. Mexican auto insurance. Your U.S. policy is not valid in Mexico. You can buy a policy for the week from any of the insurance offices on the U.S. side of the border; it takes about ten minutes. Do not drive down without it. Your papers. Proof of citizenship for everyone in the car (a birth certificate or passport) and your vehicle registration. Ask at the crossing whether you need a tourist card for the length of your stay; the rules change and it is better to ask than to guess. Food. Bring most of it. The village has a small store with the basics (eggs, tortillas, beer, canned goods, ice on a good day) and fresh fish from the pangas most mornings, but if you want it, bring it. Coolers with ice will keep three days if you keep them in the shade. Also: flashlights and batteries, beach towels, sunscreen, hats, a windbreaker for the evenings (it gets cool on the water even in summer), fishing gear, a tide table, sturdy shoes for the tide pools, bug spray for the occasional evening, cash in small bills, and a spare tire you have actually checked. Leave at home: anything you would be sorry to have sand in. Firearms are illegal in Mexico; do not bring one. |
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Getting Here
We send a detailed sheet of directions, with the kilometer markers and a hand-drawn map, with every confirmation. In general terms: cross the border, take the toll highway south along the coast (worth every peso; the free road is slower and rougher), continue past the last big town, and then it is about 40 minutes more of paved two-lane road and a well-graded dirt road for the last few miles down to the beach. Any car can make it in dry weather; go slow on the dirt. Total time from the border is about two hours if you don't stop, and you will stop. Please plan to arrive in daylight, both because the turnoff is easy to miss and because we do not recommend driving the highway at night (cattle on the road). Check-in is after 2 p.m. Saturday; check-out is by 11 a.m. the following Saturday. If you will be late, there is no way to call us, so just come; Ernesto's brother will let you in. Gas up in the last big town. There is no gas station between there and here. |
Fishing & Tide Pools
Surf fishing from the beach is the main event here. Surfperch and corbina in the surf line most of the year, halibut on the sandy flats at the south end, and in the fall the occasional yellowtail for the lucky. Sand crabs dug from the wet sand are the bait of choice and they are free; a light surf rod, a couple of ounces of weight and a small hook are all you need. The rocks at the north point hold calico bass and sheephead for people who don't mind losing some tackle. Local fishermen launch pangas from the village and will sometimes take guests out for a fee; ask Ernesto's brother and he can arrange it. You will need a Mexican fishing license for everyone in the boat; the pangueros can tell you where to get one. Tide pools: the rocky reef at the north point is exposed at low tide and it is the best thing on the property for children. Sea anemones, hermit crabs, sea stars, small octopus if you are patient, and mussels on every rock. The best pooling is on the lowest tides, the few days around the new moon and full moon; bring a tide table (the bait shops on the U.S. side give them away) and get there an hour before the low. Rules: look, touch gently, put everything back where you found it, and keep an eye on the ocean. Sneaker waves are real. Wear shoes; the rocks are sharp. Whales: gray whales pass close to shore going south in December and January and back north in March. From the bluff by Gaviota you can watch them with the naked eye on a calm morning. |
Contact Us
[email protected]
E-mail is the best way to reach us. Lupe checks it every few days when she is in the village or across the border, so please allow up to a week for an answer, especially in the summer. Because there is no telephone at the beach, we do not take reservations by phone. We look forward to having your family stay with ours. — Ernesto and Lupe |
