Mexico
Ensenada
Ensenada: Fish Tacos, La Bufadora and Wine Country
- Port traffic
- QuietNext 30 days
Ships dock at the Ensenada cruise pier on the waterfront. La Bufadora is 25 km south by taxi. The fish market (Mercado Negro de Mariscos) on the waterfront is the best meal of a port day.
Good to know
What to Expect
Ships tie up at the cruise terminal in the center of the Port of Ensenada, beside the marina on the Bahía de Todos Santos. Most of downtown's sights can be reached on foot, and radio taxis are available for anyone who would rather ride.
- The Malecón, the waterfront walk also called the Ventana al Mar, runs about a kilometer from the Mercado Negro fish market, past a very large Mexican flag.
- Avenida López Mateos, known as La Primera, is the street of souvenir shops, restaurants and bars, one block back from the waterfront.
- Spanish is the language of the city, but English is spoken to a degree in the tourist areas and downtown.
- The city lies about 67 miles south of the US border, on the same clock as California all year.
Ensenada on Your Own
An independent day in Ensenada can stay entirely on foot: the fish market and the Malecón in the morning, fish tacos for lunch, and an afternoon on La Primera. La Bufadora and the wine valley are the two trips that need a vehicle.
- The waterfront: Start at the Mercado Negro, where open-air stalls sell the catch from boats docked nearby, then follow the Malecón along the harbor.
- Downtown: Visit the old Hotel Riviera del Pacífico, a 1930 casino hotel that is now the city's civic and cultural center, with gardens and a regional history museum. Hussong's Cantina, open since 1892, is on Avenida Ruiz near La Primera.
- One longer trip: La Bufadora, the sea blowhole on the Punta Banda peninsula south of the city, is reached by tour, by taxi or, if you are comfortable with Spanish, by local bus.
- Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own, so allow for traffic if you go to La Bufadora or the wine valley.
- Taxis: Use licensed taxis from an official rank, or ones called by radio, rather than unmarked cars.
Getting Around
Downtown Ensenada is walkable, and radio taxis go anywhere beyond it. Route taxis and city buses are very cheap but mostly serve the suburbs, so they are of limited use on a short visit.
- Use licensed taxis from an authorized rank.
- La Bufadora is on the Punta Banda peninsula south of the city, and the wineries of the Valle de Guadalupe are about 20 kilometers north; tours run to both.
- If you visit wineries, note that some ask you to book a tasting in advance.
- Highway 1 south of the city leads to La Bufadora, and Highway 3 runs north-east into the wine valley.
What to Eat
Ensenada is the place to eat a fish taco: the city is said to be where it was born, and the classic version is battered and fried white fish on a corn tortilla with shredded cabbage, a creamy dressing, salsa and a squeeze of lime. Seafood of every kind comes straight off the city's large fishing fleet.
- The Mercado Negro has sold fish and shellfish since the late 1950s, and a row of taco stands near the pier cooks the catch.
- Ceviche and shrimp tacos are as common as fish tacos, usually served with avocado and salsa.
- Ensenada belongs to UNESCO's Creative Cities Network for gastronomy, and its kitchens use local seafood, vegetables, olive oil and wine from the nearby valleys.
- The term Baja Med describes the region's mix of Mexican cooking with Mediterranean and Asian ingredients.
Tipping and Currency
Tipping in Mexican restaurants works much as it does in the United States, usually 10 to 15 percent of the bill for table service. Small, inexpensive eateries usually do not expect a tip, and taxi drivers do not either unless they are guiding a tour.
- The currency is the Mexican peso. US dollars are sometimes accepted in border towns and tourist areas, but may be accepted at a lower exchange rate than you would get in pesos.
- A restaurant may not add a service charge without your agreement; that is against Mexican consumer law.
- Small tips of a few pesos are usual for supermarket baggers and gas-station attendants.
Wine Country and Culture
Most of Mexico's wine is made just north of Ensenada, in the Valle de Guadalupe and the neighboring Calafia valley. The city mixes Mexican, Spanish, Russian and American influences, and it is also a center for marine science and astronomy research.
- The Valle de Guadalupe had 150 wineries by 2023, and many offer tours and tastings.
- Russian Molokans, religious dissenters fleeing persecution, settled the valley from 1905 and helped start its wine-making, and Russian museums there recall them.
- The wine harvest is celebrated each August with the Fiestas de la Vendimia, two weeks of events in the valley and the city.
- The Ensenada Carnaval runs for six days and nights and is one of the largest in Mexico.
- The Baja 1000 off-road race is held every November, with Ensenada a traditional start or finish point, and the Newport to Ensenada yacht race finishes here.
History
Ensenada grew from a Kumeyaay village on a sheltered bay into a mining-boom capital, a Prohibition-era resort for Americans and today's busy port. The name comes from the Spanish for an inlet or cove.
- First peoples: The Kumeyaay had a village called Pa-tai where the city now stands, and Kiliwa and Paipai communities still live in the region.
- Spanish explorers, 1542 and 1602: Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo reached the bay in 1542, and the place was called San Mateo. Sebastián Vizcaíno, mapping the coast for safe harbors for the Manila galleons, renamed it Ensenada de Todos Santos in 1602.
- The missions: Dominican missionaries took over the region's missions after the Jesuits were expelled in 1768, and founded new ones among the Kumeyaay, such as San Miguel Arcángel de la Frontera in 1787.
- William Walker, 1853 to 1854: The American adventurer William Walker briefly seized the town and declared a republic of his own before local ranchers drove him back to the border.
- Mines and a capital, 1882: Ensenada became the capital of the northern part of the Baja California territory in 1882 and grew with the mines in the surrounding mountains. The Mexican Revolution set it back, and the capital moved to Mexicali in 1915.
- Hussong's, 1892: John Hussong, a German immigrant, opened his bar in a former stagecoach stop in 1892, and it still operates in the same building.
- Prohibition and the casino hotel, 1930: US Prohibition sent Americans south for drink and entertainment, and the Playa Ensenada Hotel and Casino opened on October 31, 1930. Renamed the Riviera del Pacífico, it closed in 1964 and reopened as the city's cultural center in 1978.
- The modern port: Ensenada had about 5,000 people in 1930 and 20,000 in the early 1950s. It is now the third-largest city in Baja California, with the state's only deep-water port.
- To learn more ashore: The Museo Histórico Regional on Avenida Gastélum downtown traces Baja California from its earliest peoples through the missions and the settlers who followed. It closes on Mondays; check before you go.
Traveling with Family
Ensenada suits families who like the sea: an easy waterfront walk for younger children, a science museum with a planetarium for school-age children, and the roar of La Bufadora for teenagers. Pick one longer outing and keep the rest of the day near the port.
- Younger children: Walk the Malecón from the fish market and look at the stalls and the fishing boats; the waterfront is flat and close to the port.
- School age: The Caracol Museo de Ciencias, a science museum with wide ocean views, has galleries on space, the earth and the sea, and a large planetarium. It opens from Thursday to Sunday; check before you go.
- Whales: From December to March, and again in April and May, gray whales pass along the coast on their migration, and boat trips leave from the Malecón to look for them and for sea lions.
- Teenagers: At La Bufadora, waves force air out of a sea cave and throw water up to 100 feet high, at fairly regular intervals of around 13 to 17 seconds. The street to the viewpoint is lined with stalls selling crafts and snacks such as churros.
- Food stops: Fish tacos and churros suit most young eaters, and the fish market stalls are a quick lunch.
Shopping in Ensenada
La Primera, Avenida López Mateos, is the city's souvenir street, one block in from the waterfront and lined with curio shops, restaurants and hotels. The other big shopping stop is the market street leading to La Bufadora, where haggling over prices is expected.
- Mexican crafts are sold all along the road to the La Bufadora viewpoint, alongside seafood stands and snack stalls.
- Valle de Guadalupe wine and local olive oil make good things to take home, within your cruise line's rules for bringing drinks aboard.
- Pay in pesos where you can, because prices in dollars may use a less favorable rate.
Beaches
Ensenada itself sits on its harbor, so the beaches are a drive north or south of the city rather than a walk from the ship. The public beaches are free, and some hotel beaches farther out have their own facilities.
- San Miguel Beach, north of the city near the toll road, is a public beach and a well-known surf spot.
- Several surf breaks line the coast north of the city, and Todos Santos Island, about two hours offshore by boat, is known for very big waves.
- Estero Beach is a private resort beach with its own facilities.
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