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A person holds a glass of red wine over an open palm at a vineyard in the Guadalupe Valley, Mexico.
Mexico

The Bounty of Baja: Wine, Food & Local Life in the Guadalupe Valley

Program No. 22338RJ
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Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. Read More.
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
6 days
5 nights
What's Included
14 meals ( 5B, 4L, 5D )
4 expert-led lectures
10 expert-led field trips
1 hands-on experience
An experienced Group Leader
5 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
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Activity Note
Hotel check-in from 3:00 p.m. Remember to bring your nametag (sent previously)
Afternoon:
After receiving your room assignment, please check the hotel noticeboard for the location of the private Road Scholar meeting room where the Orientation session will take place. Orientation: 5:00 p.m. During orientation, we will review the up-to-date program schedule, answer questions, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, and emergency procedures. As an introduction to the journey ahead, the Group Leader will present a brief lecture on the winemaking and culinary industries of Baja California. Our knowledgeable Group Leader will also serve as Study Leader for most field trips and provide educational commentary unless otherwise noted. Transportation throughout the program will be by private motor coach and Sprinter van. For meals offering a choice of dishes, we will circulate a form in advance to collect preferences and save time ordering. Meals in wine country are typically leisurely; restaurants generally open for lunch at 1:30 p.m., and meals can extend to two hours. Throughout the program in Mexico, purified drinking water will always be available on the motorcoach, at hotels, and in restaurants. Periods designated as “Free Time” or “At Leisure” provide opportunities to explore independently and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. Your Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Please note that program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should changes occur, we will inform you as promptly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Dinner:
In a private room. Please note the culinary experience will begin in Mexico.
Evening:
At leisure. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead. Prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning. Note: Both a valid passport and a personal permit are required for entry into Mexico. The permit will be issued by Mexican Immigration upon entering Mexico. The Group Leader will be on hand to assist as needed. You must carry all your belongings including luggage and carry-ons across the border when entering Mexico and again when re-entering the United States. As a general rule, customs regulations prohibit bringing fruits, vegetables, cheese, meats, or plants across the border in either direction. In addition, the State of California allows each adult age 21 and older to bring back up to one liter of alcoholic beverages.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 90 miles, approximately 2 hours riding time. Walking 0.5 mi on smooth pavement. Standing during field trips, up to 1 hour per activity. Climbing 1 flight of stairs. Individuals must carry all belongings including luggage and carry-ons across the border, approximately 200 feet. No fruit, vegetables, cheese, meat, or plants permitted.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will check out of the hotel, board our motorcoach, and begin the journey south through the most crossed border in the world, separating the United States and Mexico at San Ysidro. We will get off the motorcoach and walk across the border, carrying our belongings as we proceed through Mexican immigration and customs. Each participant will need to present a passport and complete a form on site to receive the required personal permit. The Group Leader will be on hand to assist as needed. Reboarding our motorcoach on the Mexican side, we will continue to our first stop in Mexico: a gallery displaying works of art representative of the emerging “borderless art” movement. The owner will welcome us with a presentation and discuss the artwork as we explore the gallery together.
Lunch:
At Caesar’s Restaurant in Tijuana, featuring the renowned Caesar Salad. The story goes that the original salad recipe was concocted in the 1920s with what was on hand for a group of pilots from Rockwell Field outside San Diego. The dish, originally dubbed Aviator Salad, became popular and was soon called Caesar Salad for the restaurant. Part of the appeal was and is having it prepared tableside.
Afternoon:
The drive to Ensenada offers magnificent vistas of the Pacific Ocean. Upon arrival, we will check in to our oceanfront hotel, where every room has a balcony with a view, and have some time to freshen up and relax. We’ll then head to a local garden restaurant. There, in the wine bar, we will participate in a themed wine-tasting experience with a local expert to help develop our senses, identify aromas and flavors, and appreciate the wine experience. We’ll also learn about Baja wines, their development, and production.
Dinner:
At the restaurant.
Evening:
Returning to the hotel, the remainder of the evening is at leisure to relax and enjoy the peaceful oceanfront location.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a Sprinter; driving about 40 miles, approximately 1 hour riding time. Walking 0.5 mile on gravel paths, slight uphills and steps without handrails. Standing up to 1 hour during field trips.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
Today will be dedicated to exploring and becoming acquainted with the Guadalupe Valley, the heart of Baja California’s wine country. Set among rolling hills and granite boulders, the region is home to wineries ranging from simple family-run operations to sophisticated state-of-the-art facilities, many featuring striking contemporary architecture. Scattered throughout the valley are ranches, orchards, vineyards, artists’ studios, and gourmet restaurants. Mexico’s wine region now includes approximately 100 wineries, from large commercial producers to small boutique and makeshift operations. At our first winery, set amid the countryside, staff will guide us through the winemaking process, concluding with a tasting of their wines in a pleasant outdoor setting. We’ll then continue to a nearby winery overlooking the valley to sample additional wines and compare flavors while enjoying the view.
Lunch:
At the winery. Due to the early dinner event, lunch will consist of select snacks while tasting wines.
Afternoon:
The valley was once home to people of diverse backgrounds, including Indigenous communities, Spanish missionaries, and a colony of Molokan Russians. We’ll make a brief stop at a small museum to learn about this unique history before continuing to the final winery visit of the day. Clos de Tres Cantos is unusual. Founded in 2014, it is based on sustainability and recycling with distinctive architecture, a passion for winemaking, and a philosophy of living the good life with respect for Pachamama — a Quechua word for Mother Earth. The owner will lead our exploration as we experience all these elements that together have created true works of art in both wine and architecture.
Dinner:
We will dine at one of the wine country’s renown restaurants where acclaimed chefs promote the highly praised Baja-Mediterranean farm-and-sea-to-table cuisine.
Evening:
Returning to the hotel, the remainder of the evening is at leisure. You might like to relax at the bar or wander along the peaceful oceanfront and step into the jacuzzi overlooking the restless Pacific Ocean.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a Sprinter; driving about 40 miles, approximately 1 hour riding time. Walking 0.5 mile; uneven terrain, some steps. Standing up to 1 hour per activity.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will ride to the home-based studio of the internationally recognized De La Torre artists in the Guadalupe Valley. Classifying their artistic creations is a challenge. Their arts and craft work—glass representations, paintings, metal structures, and ceramics—have been described as a hybrid blend of high and low culture, sacred and profane, esoteric and pop, and even Baroque. Their works have been collected by museums and galleries around the world and featured in a PBS documentary. We will see work being produced and hear from a member of the family, Beliz Iristay De La Torre. Beliz is a Turkish-American-Mexican artist. Her ceramics critically examine the traditions in the cultures she has experienced. Her work has been recently exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and other well-known museums and art fairs in the United States. We’ll then continue our exploration of the Guadalupe Valley with a visit to Tres Mujeres, a charming artisan winery set within a lush garden and organic orchard. Operated by three women—one of them a ceramist—the establishment reflects a creative and sustainable approach to winemaking. In addition to learning about their small-scale production methods, we’ll discover their organic practices for soil fertilization and water conservation. We’ll also step into their intimate cellar to appreciate both the wines and the display of handmade ceramics.
Lunch:
At the winery
Afternoon:
Back at the hotel, we’ll have time on our own to relax and enjoy the hotel and its facilities. In the late afternoon, we’ll head into the center of Ensenada, where there will be free time to join locals strolling along a lively pedestrian street lined with cafés, ice cream parlors, music, and families enjoying the evening atmosphere. Dinner tonight features Ensenada’s iconic fish tacos. Created in the 1950s at the city’s Mercado Negro fish market, these famous tacos combine traditional corn tortillas and fresh fish with a battering technique introduced by Japanese fishermen. We’ll regroup and walk to a local restaurant to enjoy this beloved street food in a comfortable restaurant setting.
Dinner:
At a local restaurant
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a Sprinter; driving about 70 miles, approximately 2 hours riding time. Walking up to 1 mile, standing up to 1 hour; generally flat terrain, partly graveled, slightly uphill, high step to get on/off a wagon.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
Today we will explore shores and valleys south of Ensenada. Boarding the Sprinter, we will get to know Ensenada, a city established by the English at the end of the 19th century as a port to serve the booming inland mines. It remains an important harbor for cargo, fishing, and cruise ships. We’ll drive past historic wooden homes built by the English, walk through the lively fresh fish and seafood market where local musicians often perform, and visit the iconic Riviera del Pacifico—a former casino and social center—while our Group Leader shares stories of its glamorous past. Returning to the Sprinter, we’ll continue to the Santo Tomás Valley. Baja California’s winemaking tradition traces its origins to the Mission of Santo Tomás, founded in the 1770s, which later became an established winery in 1888. Today, it is both one of Mexico’s oldest and largest. We’ll see the modern facilities before climbing aboard a wagon for a ride through the vineyards. Along the way, we’ll learn about viticulture and stop to sample different wine varieties. We’ll then continue a short distance for lunch.
Lunch:
At a local country restaurant.
Afternoon:
We’ll return to the hotel for some free time to freshen up. Later, we’ll continue with our sprinter to a restaurant kitchen for a cooking class and join in preparing our dinner. Led by a chef, we will discover delicious aspects of the recently defined Baja Californian cuisine. After a brief introduction to the proposed menu, we’ll take part in preparing our delicious farewell meal, one to remember. Artisan beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages will accompany the cooking process as well as dinner itself.
Dinner:
At the restaurant, we’ll enjoy the meal we helped to prepare. Dinner concludes with a farewell toast to our new travel companions.
Evening:
The remainder of the evening is at leisure. Prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 90 miles, approximately 2 hours riding time. Note: Passports required for border crossing. Individuals will carry all belongings including luggage across the border, approximately 300 feet. No fruit, vegetables, cheese, meat, or plants permitted. The State of California permits each adult age 21 and older to bring back up to one liter of alcoholic beverages.
Breakfast:
At the hotel
Morning:
We will depart Ensenada by motorcoach at 8:00 a.m. and ride to the Mexico-U.S. border. Crossing back into San Diego, we will ride to San Diego Airport with arrival expected at approximately 12:00 Noon. The motorcoach will then move on to the Courtyard Marriott Hotel. This concludes our program. If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
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