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ROSARITO |
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If you want to escape the pace and noise of Tijuana, head for
ROSARITO , about 45-minutes' bus ride on the old road to Ensenada. Since
beaches in Tijuana are invariably crowded and dirty, Rosarito, is the
better alternative as, while scarcely less popular, the town has a far
longer, sandier strand and a much more restful atmosphere. It's not
particularly attractive - the beach is grey, windswept, and none too
clean, lined with condo developments and hotels - but it does make for a
worthwhile afternoon. You could even stay out here; the motels lining
the road are better value than those in town. Since 1997, the town has
become an attraction for movie aficianados and even more southern
Californians who have come to see Fox Studios Baja , just south of the
town at km 32.8 on the free highway to Ensenada. This bit of Hollywood-in-Mexico,
originally created for the filming of Titanic , is now a massive
full-time production facility that utilizes its seventeen-million-gallon
oceanfront tank for water-based films (including Pearl Harbor and Deep
Blue Sea ). Tours are available on Sunday (US$5) and some Saturdays (provided
they are not shooting). The Titanic model, created at 95 per cent scale,
has been disassembled, but much of the set is viewable there in storage.
To get to Rosarito from Tijuana, take one of the colectivo taxis that
leave from Madero between 4th and 5th, or head for the old bus station
at Madero and 1st, from where buses leave every hour or so; to get back
, just flag down a bus or colectivo on Juarez, Rosarito's main street.
Rosarito's tourist office (daily 9am-7pm; tel 6/612-3887) is
inconveniently situated a twenty-minute walk to the north on the road to
Tijuana, and is not really worth the effort. There are few budget hotels
, among them the Motel Sonia (tel 6/612-1260; US$10-15) at Juarez and
Plama, but a better option is the Hotel California (tel 6/612-2550;
US$15-25). Right on the beach with ocean views is the Hotel Los
Pelicanos (tel 6/612-5545; US$40-60), by the large terracotta-coloured
hotel block. The style and charm that made the upscale Rosarito Beach
Hotel (tel 6/612-0144; US$60-80) a Hollywood favourite during the
Prohibition years has now largely been obliterated by modern
refurbishment, but the older rooms still have some character. Along the
single street behind the beach is a row of restaurants, cafés and bars,
some of them pretty good, in particular the fish restaurants and a
couple of cafés that serve decent cappuccino and cakes. The party-time
focus is Papas and Beer , where beach volleyball and knocking back as
much Corona as possible is the order of the day.
If you're continuing south to Ensenada and beyond, you can pick up long-distance
buses (at least hourly) at the autopista toll booth 1km south of the
tourist office, past the Rosarito Beach Hotel . The coast road down
through Rosarito - now supplanted by the motorway to Ensenada - is an
attractive drive, lined with seaside villas and condos.
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