Why OnTheRoadIn.Com Is An Indispensible Resource For Planning a Road Trip Through Baja California

This post originally appeared on the PlanitWide blog in June ‘14.

Summary:
OnTheRoadIn’s Road Log is the most comprehensive guide I’ve found on mapping a road trip through Baja California, Mexico.
It contains:
a) Distance Charts
b) Information on immigration and non-immigration documentation
c) Pictures & a listing of highway signs, all translated into English, and
d) The most detailed road log that includes mile markers, landmarks etc to ensure you never lose your bearings

Not only will you not find detailed information like this anywhere else, the $12.99 you invest in it will save you hours you’d have otherwise spent trying to:
i) (unsuccessfully) find such information, and
ii) put together a realistic plan for every day of your road trip

Applies to: All travelers

Planning a road trip takes significantly more effort that most other trips. This is simply because you are now directly responsible for getting from Point A to Point B. In that situation, a host of variables need consideration that otherwise wouldn't, like the kind of vehicle you’re going to drive, fuel efficiency etc. I think it’s safe to say that that you can add a few more variables in the mix when planning a road trip through Baja California, like it not being advisable to drive at night, for example, or there not being cell phone signal for long stretches of road. Fortunately, OnTheRoadIn exists to make mapping this road trip a breeze.

If you don’t know what a Road Log is, it’s simply an extremely detailed record of any stretch of road. This record could be text or an annotated map but the depth of information in it ensures that you never lose your bearings.

But before I talk about the Baja California Road Log, a quick word on the website itself. It looks like it was designed in the 90s, but the content is anything but stale. The site contains a lot of preliminary information that you’d look for before you got into the nitty gritty of the road trip itself.

The Road Log incorporates some key driving information from the website & then builds on that with it’s extremely granular map that makes planning your road trip a breeze. It contains information like:
i) Number of highway lanes
ii) Landmarks (including food, accommodations, gas stations & hospitals)
iii) Border Crossings
iv) Mile/Kilometer Markers
v) Traffic lights & Highway sign locations
vi) Police/Military checkpoints…and so on.

Even Google Maps doesn't give you this level of detail

See below for a representative screenshot that shows all this granular detail:

Additionally, each page of the log has a high level geographic map to show you what stretch of the highway you are on, along with helpful tips that you will appreciate all the more when you’re on your trip.

I can’t even imagine the work and patience it must have taken to carefully detail the 1000+ miles of this highway. The site owners, Bill & Dorothy Bell deserve some serious respect and good vibes for what is clearly a labor of love.

These then, are the reasons this Road Log is not free. It costs $12.99 but I can tell you that it’ll be one of the best investments you can make for this trip. I spent days looking for the kind of information that’s in this Road Log before I chanced onto it. What they've consolidated in here is simply not available anywhere else that I've seen. The Road Log is also downloadable onto & readable on mobile devices so you don’t have to struggle with printouts. Additionally any updates on road travel in Mexico are shared on their Facebook group.

So what do you think? Would you invest in this guide for a road trip down the Baja Highway? If not, why not? What else would you need to know to convince you that this guide is worth it? Or do you know of a better resource for planning this road trip than the one in this post?
Leave a comment here and let me know.

Epilogue:
To have the best trip possible, you need to rely on more than popular resources or preconceived notions of utility. At PlanitWide, our goal is to serve up the best resources like OnTheRoadIn to help you make your itinerary as awesome as it can be.

If you found this post valuable, join our mailing list for more analyses like this & become the most well informed traveler on the planet.

About the Author

Anuj is the co-founder of PlanitWide. He was once very close to going off the cliff on one part of the Baja Highway.
Feel free to say hi to him on Twitter @AnujAdhiya