Ferry to Baja

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This page describes our attempt to take the ferry across the Sea of Cortez from Guaymas to Santa Rosalia. While this content does not relate to Kokopelli Technologies, I wished I could have found this information somewhere and so am posting it here as a service to other Mexico travelers.

We intended to take the ferry from Guaymas to Santa Rosalia. This page is provided to help others interested in crossing the Sea of Cortez on the new ferry. In recent years the old ferry service run by SEMATUR was discontinued. A new company started a ferry service from Guaymas to Santa Rosalia. (Their web site only works in Internet Explorer). The web site gives information on ferry schedules and rates and promises reservations.

I am posting this page to give others the information I wished I had had before we left. I have wanted to make this crossing for many years and was hopeful that the new ferry service was more dependable than the old.

I have traveled extensively in Mexico and realize that, often, the best way to get things done is to show up in person and figure it out. After trying, and failing, to make reservations before we left I gave up with the hope that we could show up at the ferry terminal in Guaymas and buy tickets, or at least make reservations. In the end we did not make the journey across the Sea of Cortez and instead spent a pleasant vacation in the San Carlos area.

First, do not believe the schedules posted on their web site. The web site said the ferry from Guaymas to Santa Rosalia departs at 8:00 PM. We showed up at the Ferry Terminal at 11:00 AM thinking we might be able to buy tickets for the evening crossing. It turns out the the ferry was scheduled to leave at 11:30 AM.

After waiting around for about 15 minutes a fellow showed up who seemed to be in charge. He said it was unlikely that we would fit on the ferry that day. (It is small and only takes a few cars or trucks to fill it.) He asked that we wait until he got this ferry loaded to sell us tickets for the next scheduled trip in two days. We set up the camper, had lunch, wandered around, and waited.

As I was wandering around I met Durrell. Durrell had taken the ferry last year. His insights were welcome. He said last year he showed up at the Santa Rosalia side without reservations. He said he made a reservation for the next ferry run in three days. That ferry did not make the trip due to bad weather. He waited another three days for the next ferry. This time he got on. The ferry was scheduled to depart at 7:00 PM. It did not leave until 7:00 AM due to bad weather. He was grateful that he had a cabin. He said many of the people in the salon were sea sick and it smelled awful in there. He also said the cabins were not luxurious. He said he slept on a hard board with no mattress.

This information gave us pause. We waited around until 2:30 PM hoping to make a reservation for the next scheduled trip. At 2:30 PM the ferry was no where near loaded and we still could not talk to anyone about making reservations. At this point we decided to spend our vacation on the mainland in the San Carlos area. We have jobs. We could not afford to wait six days to return if things went poorly.

If you would like to try to make reservations don't pay much attention to the information on their web site. I tried to call the company in Nogales, Arizona. The first time I called they said they could only make reservations ten days before departure so they would know what the schedules were. When I called back, ten days before I wanted to take the ferry, they said they no longer book reservations. Then I tried all the other numbers listed and did not manage to connect with anyone. It seems that Guaymas number at 01 (622) 222-0204 is your best bet. When I called it I got a message that said, "Santa Rosalia Ferry." I left a message but no one returned my call. I would suggest you keep trying at this number. I also sent an email through the on-line reservations on the web site. No one ever replied to that email.

I had really hoped to see Baja again. I have not been to that part of Mexico since I hitch hiked south from Santa Rosalia in 1972 before the road was through. It seems to me that the ferry is best suited to folks who can spend some time and do not have a schedule they need to meet.

Good luck, I would love to hear how your trip goes. If you have more information about the ferry please send it to me. I would be happy to post it here.

Ken Mullen