Arrive To: The Courtyard Marriott. Program orientation and presentation of fellow travelers at 5:00 PM in one of the hotel's private rooms, followed by a welcome dinner. Room number posted on the daily events board.

Dinner: Welcome dinner at the hotel.

Evening: Join a lecture on photography imparted by Bob Blackwell, an expert photographer and specialist leading the program.

Lodging: Courtyard Marriott-

Meals Included: Dinner

Note: PHOTO OPS: Exotic vegetation/ Churrigueresque, Victorian and colonial Spanish architecture/ Colorful murals/ Immense beach/ Skyline reflected on bay at sunset.

Breakfast: Buffet at the hotel in San Diego.

Morning: The historical journey of San Diego begins with a visit to Balboa Park and its exotic vegetation, churrigueresque, Victorian and colonial Spanish architecture, housing 15 museums and a famous zoo (not visited). Continue to Presidio Hill and Old Town, where the first Spanish colonists settled in the early 1800’s. Visit some of the more than 30 sites classified within this State Historic Park. To further witness the Mexican heritage in San Diego, have a guided walk through Chicano Park with an explanation of its colorful murals.

Lunch: A picnic lunch is served at Presidio, on the hill overlooking Old-town.

Afternoon: Drive over the bridge to Coronado peninsula to stroll through the epic Hotel Del. Cross back to the Gaslamp Quarter by ferry to view from the bay the new down town of San Diego. Discover the dynamic side of the city. Its ideal location, almost perfect weather, and casual lifestyle constantly attract new residents and businesses, especially over the past 30 years.

Dinner: Dinner is at a well known waterfront restaurant with a beautiful view of the San Diego bay.

Evening: Evening lecture on Baja California imparted by Graham Mackintosh, travel writer who walked the entire coastline of the peninsula.

Lodging: Courtyard Marriott-

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: WATER AND ICE: In Mexico, purified water and ice will be served throughout the trip, on the bus and in restaurants and hotels. PHOTO OPS: Market and border fence/ coastline: breaking surf, sea landscapes/ Ensenada. Sites: harbor, boats, fish market, seafood and taco stands, colorful meal.

Breakfast: Buffet at the hotel in San Diego.

Morning: Begin the journey South. Northern Baja exemplifies the strong cultural and economic ties that exist between the U.S. and Mexico. Cross the border and enter the architecturally attractive cultural center CECUT for a guided tour of its modern visual Museo de las Californias. The scenic road to Ensenada along the Pacific Ocean offers breathtaking viewpoints. Begin to delight your taste buds with a traditional meal. One of Mexico’s most important culinary gifts to the world is chocolate.

Lunch: Savor a lunch consisting of mole, chocolate and vanilla based desserts, and traditional Mexican hot chocolate.The thick, multi-ingredient sauce, mole, is one of Mexico's representative dishes.

Afternoon: Learn about the uses of cacao and participate in a cooking event to prepare chocolate-based recipes such as mole and chocolate patties. Settle in the hotel in Ensenada. The rest of the day is free to relax, stroll through the main avenue, explore the night life of Ensenada or enjoy the hotel's SPA.

Dinner: Dinner is at the hotel in Ensenada (with voucher).

Lodging: Hotel Corona

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: PHOTO OPS: Early morning harbor and boardwalk/ Wine country: wineries and vineyards.

Breakfast: At the hotel in Ensenada. Meal options: a variety of Mexican and light dishes.

Morning: Driving through town, learn about the history of this pleasant city located in the attractive Todos Santos Bay, popular land and cruise ship tourist destination and important fishing, canning, and agricultural center. At the end of the 1800’s, the English brought prefabricated wooden homes, which are still standing today. Walk through the Riviera del Pacifico ex–casino, a glamorous resort during the US prohibition years. Head out to the wine country to visit a winery with wine tasting and lunch.

Lunch: Enjoy a finger food meal served with wine at one of Ensenada's wineries.

Afternoon: Eighty percent of Mexico's wine is produced in the beautiful surroundings of Ensenada. Travel to Valle de Guadalupe, located amidst gigantic granite boulders to visit a well- known winery. Learn the process of wine making on a winery tour followed by tasting. Get to know about the Russian Community which settle in this valley at the beginning of the 1900s.

Dinner: Dinner is in one of Ensenada’s fine restaurants.

Evening: Photo review. Enjoy a lecture on Mexican Staples as an introduction to Mexico's elaborate cuisine.

Lodging: Hotel Corona

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Dramatic coastline with powerful blowhole/ Welcome to the heart of Baja California's exotic central desert.

Note: PHOTO OPS: Bufadora: cliffs, rocky coastline, geyser-like water explosion, souvenir stands/ San Vicente: mission ruins, museum/ Highway: agricultural fields and workers (Native Indians from Oaxaca), coastal scrub and exotic central desert vegetation (boojum, cardon, cholla, barrel, elephant tree), vast landscapes

Breakfast: At the hotel in Ensenada. Meal options: a variety of Mexican and light dishes.

Morning: Continue the journey South. Detour to scenic Punta Banda where the famous Bufadora, a natural sea spout, probably the highest in the world, is located. Take advantage of informal shopping. Further South, visit a small Community Museum in San Vicente and taste the local specialties at a lunch in San Quintin.

Lunch: In a "fonda" (small restaurant) of San Quintin. Meal options: a variety of Mexican and local specialties. Taste a healthy salad prepared with the leaf of the national plant of Mexico: the prickley pear cactus.

Afternoon: Drive through San Quintín, the vegetable garden of Baja California. After lunch, plunge into the desert, a world of fantasy in the midst of unique vegetation. Enter “Reserva de los Cirios” named in honor of the tall, graceful Boojum tree, Baja’s signature plant, get to know its attractive unique vegetation.

Dinner: Participate in a small Mexican Fiesta with a finger food dinner. Meal options, taquitos, quesadillas, guacamole, and more.

Lodging: Misión Cataviña

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: To visit the small cave with simple rock art in Catavina, a short steep hike on grated terrain is required. Participants who can't join, may stay at the base of the hill and enjoy the wonderful surrounding scenery. PHOTO OPS: Catavina: Nature: desert garden at sunrise/ Highway. Nature: variety and denseness of vegetation followed by vast empty spaces/ Guerrero Negro: Salt marsh, birds and abandoned pier at sunset.

Breakfast: At the hotel in Cataviña. Meal options: a variety of Mexican and light dishes.

Morning: Located in the Central Desert, a combination of sun, sand, gigantic granite boulders, and amusing combinations of Boojums, Cardons and Elephant trees make Cataviña a superb desert garden. Spend the morning investigating the flora in this attractive setting. Nature walks include a visit to a small cave with simple rock art.

Lunch: At the hotel in Cataviña.

Afternoon: After lunch, drive to Guerrero Negro, home of the largest salt plant in the world and one of the gray whale sanctuaries.

Dinner: At the hotel in Guerrero Negro. Meal option: choice of beef, chicken or fish.

Evening: Before dinner, a presentation is given on the Vizcaino World Biosphere, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to whales, migrant birds, endemic vegetation, gigantic rock art caves and the salt plant.

Lodging: Halfway Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Salt, white as snow: the largest salt plant in the world/ Bird marsh/ Quaint Spanish mission oasis.

Note: PHOTO OPS: Guerrero Negro: Salt plant and dock, salt marsh, birds and abandoned pier with morning light/ San Ignacio. Nature: oasis, water hole and river, date palm trees and orchards, birds. Sites: mission, colorful colonial buildings (variety of doors), zocalo People: vendors and children playing in zocalo.

Breakfast: At the hotel in Guerrero Negro. Meal options: a variety of Mexican and light dishes.

Morning: Morning visit to the salt marsh and tour the La Exportadora de Sal, the largest salt plants in the world and learn about its activities.

Lunch: At a local restaurant in Guerrero Negro.

Afternoon: Continue to San Ignacio, a charming town that developed around its famous 18th century mission in the midst of a lush, tranquil palm oasis. Photo review. In the late afternoon, visit the small colonial town and its well preserved Mission.

Dinner: Savor a tostada dinner at the hotel in San Ignacio.

Lodging: Desert Inn, San Ignacio

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

The peninsula's eclectic history/ An old French mining town/ A palm-tree lined river and oasis/ The relaxing crystal blue waters of the Sea of Cortes contrasting the desert vegetation.

Note: PHOTO OPS: Tres Virgenes Volcano/ Nature: intriguing formations of red lava rock dotted with desert vegetation/ Santa Rosalia/ Sites: Copper-mining artifacts (metal structures, tunnels), old French quarters, Eiffel's church, wooden homes of today's town/ Mulege/ Nature: riverbed lined with palms, birds (frigate birds!), bugambilias. Sites: mission, colonial town, old prison/ Bahia de Concepcion/ Nature: volcanic peaks, gigantic cardons against blue water, islands, panorama.

Breakfast: At the hotel in San Ignacio. Meal options: a variety of Mexican and light dishes.

Morning: The variety of scenery makes this part of the road probably the most interesting. Follow the “Tres Virgenes” volcanoes, cones of red lava rock dotted with gracious white elephant trees, before reaching one of the steepest grades in the peninsula leading to the blue waters of the Sea of Cortes. On the way to Loreto, stop in Santa Rosalia, where the French established this old copper mining town and brought over the prefabricated iron church designed by Eiffel. Visit the church along with the old French quarters and the Boleo mine museum. Continue to Mulege, an ancient mission settlement on a riverbed in the midst of a palm oasis.

Lunch: Enjoy a Mexican buffet in a colorful hotel of Mulege

Afternoon: South of Mulege, drive along the crystal clear blue waters of Bahia de Concepcion with a stop at one of its unspoiled beaches. Giant cardons dominate the landscape to reach Loreto, the oldest mission and permanent settlement of the Californias. Loreto also served as the capital of the territory for over 100 years. The mission is still standing today.

Dinner: At the hotel in Loreto.

Evening: Hotel is on the beach allowing pleasant walks.

Lodging: Desert Inn, Loreto

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

The Jewel of Baja California's missions in the impressive jagged peaks of the surrounding mountains/ Hands-on tortilla-making in a goat ranch.

Note: To join this excursion, a 1.5 hour van drive each way, part of it on a graded road, is required.PHOTO OPS: Sierra de la Giganta. Nature: majestic views of the jagged red rock and steep canyons of the sierra, blend of desert and tropical vegetation (organ pipe, palo blanco trees, ficus), 300 years old olive trees. Sites: imposing mission, thatched roofed village, ranches especially goat ranch, cheese making. People: ranchers, vaqueros/ Loreto: Sites: attractive colonial center of town, mission.

Breakfast: At the hotel in Loreto. Meal options: a variety of Mexican and light dishes.

Morning: Loreto is surrounded by the impressively rugged peaks of the Sierra de la Giganta providing the scenery for one of the peninsula's most beautiful side excursions: a visit to San Javier Mission. Known as "the jewel of the missions", it is one of the best preserved, proud of its original orchard planted by the missionaries.

Lunch: A typical "machaca" (shreded beef) lunch is served in a small restaurant next to San Javier Mission.

Afternoon: Near San Javier, stop at a goat ranch to learn about life in a ranch and the process to make goat cheese. Practice hands-on tortilla making for your cheese with beans snack. Return to Loreto. Photo review.

Dinner: Free to explore local fair. Choose your favorite Loreto restaurant for dinner.

Evening: Back in Loreto, time is at leisure.

Lodging: Desert Inn, Loreto

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breathtaking mountain coastline/ Quaint La Paz with pleasant boardwalk/ Sunset dinner at the beach.

Note: PHOTO OPS: Highway. Nature: Panoramic views of bays south of Loreto, picturesque roadside chapels/ La Paz. Sites: malecon (boardwalk) with statues, coastline, plaza, church La Paz shores: Nature: White beaches, crystal clear water, mangroves, birds, sunset. People: fishermen

Breakfast: At the hotel in Loreto. Meal options: a variety of Mexican and light dishes.

Morning: Depart in the morning to continue driving along scenic sea-shores, through Sierra de la Giganta mountains and across an important agricultural area to reach La Paz.

Lunch: Try the famous Mexican tacos in a "taqueria" in La Paz.

Afternoon: Although La Paz is the most important city of the southern part of the peninsula, its tree-lined streets and calm clear beaches inspire tranquility. A walk along the “malecon” (boardwalk) is a treat. Visit the zocalo and the Cathedral. Then head out to the beaches to enjoy the romantic coast, and view the sunset while having a shrimp dinner in a beach "palapa" restaurant.

Dinner: Relax in the romantic coast, viewing the sunset while savoring a fish and sea food dinner in a beach "palapa" (palm-thatched roof) restaurant.

Lodging: La Concha

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

A day in paradise: Crystal Waters/ White Sand/ Sea Life/ Unique Geology.

Note: To join this activity, boarding a small boat from the beach and changing from one boat to another in calm waters, is required. PHOTO OPS: Island Nature: coastline and fantastic rock formations, birds, sea lions, crystalline waters.

Breakfast: Buffet at the hotel in La Paz.

Morning: Accompany breakfast with a lecture on the geology of the peninsula and the Golfo de California (commonly known as Sea of Cortes) Marine Park. The Sea of Cortes has been defined as one of the most biologically diverse marine areas in the world. Within the Sea of Cortes Marine Park Reserve, the protected island of Espiritu Santo, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, offers a variety of attractions: fascinating geology, snorkeling with sea lions and tropical fish in crystal clear water, pristine beaches, hidden coves and isolation. Take a boat out to the island for a day full of activities.

Lunch: A flavorful fish lunch is served in a pristine beach of the island with a breath-taking view of the private bay.

Afternoon: The second half of the afternoon is at leisure to enjoy the pleasant life of La Paz. Photo Review. before dinner.

Dinner: At the hotel in La Paz, accompanied by a colorful folk dancing show just for participants

Lodging: La Concha

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Colonial village of El Triunfo with chimney designed by Mr. Eiffel/ Life in Todos Santos with fine arts galleries/ Famous Lands End rock Arch in Los Cabos/ Farewell dinner

Note: To join the boat ride to the rock arch, getting on and off a panga (small fishing boat) giving a step of approximately knee height from the dock, is required. PHOTO OPS: El Triunfo. Sites: mining artifacts, tall chimney, colonial buildings. Nature: semi tropical vegetation/ Todos Santos Sites: colonial town. Nature: palm oasis/ Cabo San Lucas. Sites: bustling center, harbor. Nature: rock formations, arch/ San Jose del Cabo. Sites: central plaza, mission. Nature: estuary, birds, wide open beach.

Breakfast: Buffet at the hotel in La Paz.

Morning: On the way to San Jose del Cabo, have a walking tour through the recently restored XIX century gold and silver mining town of El Triunfo and visit the only Music Museum of Latin America while enjoying a live piano concert. Continue to the fertile oasis of Todos Santos, now home to many artists and art galleries, to stroll and have lunch.

Lunch: A light lunch is served in a pleasant tree shaded restaurant of Todos Santos.

Afternoon: In Cabo San Lucas have a short boat excursion to reach the famous arch which marks the spot where “land ends and heaven begins”. The Los Cabos Corridor, a stretch of beautiful beaches dotted with conspicuous hotels, connects the busy resort of Cabo San Lucas to San Jose del Cabo, a rather quaint town of narrow streets and Spanish style buildings at the mouth of a palm-lined river. The cozy colonial hotel is off a restaurant and shopping street, one block from the main square with its restored mission church.

Dinner: The farewell dinner is a savory Mexican combination served in the well-known restaurant of the hotel in San Jose del Cabo.

Lodging: Tropicana Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: PHOTO OPS: Birds, riverbed, marsh like estuary, immense beach.

Breakfast: Continental breakfast at the hotel in San Jose del Cabo.

Morning: Early morning final photo review. Time permitting, morning walk following the riverbed to its estuary spotting birds among the reeds. Relax before transferring to the airport for the return flight to San Diego.

Lunch: Light or picnic lunch.

Afternoon: Flight from Los Cabos. Return to San Diego. Independent Departures. Please DO NOT book flights from San Diego before 7:00 PM

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch