Registration is now open for the long-awaited Cruising Fleet trip to the beautiful Valle de Guadalupe in Baja California!
We have a great trip planned, with plenty of wonderful food and wine.
This overland “cruise” will start and finish at the SDYC parking lot where 20 Cruising Fleet members will board vans at 9 a.m. on Friday, April 29th, returning to SDYC on Sunday afternoon, May 1.
Our journey will start with a tour of the sprawling Rancho La Puerta organic gardens in Tecate, where we’ll enjoy an al fresco buffet lunch at El Cafecito, which is part of the Ranch’s acclaimed Cocina Que Canta. Lunch will include local wine and dessert. After lunch, we’ll visit one of the oldest wineries in the Valle — LA Cetto, where we’ll have a hosted tour and wine tasting.
We’ll head for the Hotel Coral for check-in and getting situated before our opening evening reception with Mexican hors d’oeuvres and cocktails from a no-host bar.
After Saturday breakfast at the hotel, we’ll visit one of the newest and quirkiest boutique wineries in the Valle, Vena Cava, whose location is tucked away among the backroads of the Valle and whose buildings are topped by upside-down boat hulls!
From there we’ll head to a no-host lunch at the trendy restaurant at El Cielo: Latitud 32, which features a Baja - Yucatan fusion menu. El Cielo also produces excellent wines, and our lunch will be followed by another hosted tasting, with time also to relax and browse at the winery’s large gift shop.
On our way back to Ensenada, we’ll stop at the little ice cream shop at the site of Finca Altozano and Animalon restaurants, where there are sweeping views of the Valle from cocktail towers and grounds to wander. Time permitting, we’ll also drop by the nearby Vine and Wine Museum for a brief visit on the way.
Dinner that evening will be at everybody’s favorite restaurant from our last Baja trip — La Hoguera — where we’ll enjoy a delicious array of assorted meats and seafood right off the grill. The setting is a charming outdoor Mexican-style courtyard in the heart of Ensenada. (No-host cocktails, beer and wine with dinner will be available.)
After enjoying the Coral’s Sunday brunch, we’ll head back up the Valle for our last wine tasting stop plus lunch at Vina de Frannes, which is set at the foot of a magnificent little valley full of beautiful, classic views of vineyards.
The trip cost will be approximately $600 per person double occupancy, including discounted accommodations at the Hotel Coral and all transportation (round-trip from San Diego plus all venues in the Valle). Everything mentioned earlier is also included (such as the four wine-tastings and meals mentioned) except lunch at Latitud 32, alcoholic beverages at the opening evening reception and breakfast Saturday morning.
Your Cruise Captains — Larry Shushan, Maggie Acosta, and Cathy and Joe Cibit — have personally scouted all the locations, and we can assure that you won’t be disappointed.
Here are additional trip details:
— No non-member guests for this trip because we’re strictly limited to 20 people based on the capacity of our two vans. Also, we cannot accommodate people driving on their own. Our group size limit is based on logistics at the restaurants and wineries.
— A lottery will be held March 15 to choose those going on the trip from among those who have registered before that date. Those not chosen (assuming we have more interest than open spots) will automatically be wait-listed in case of cancellations. The registration process will allow people to identify themselves as a couple or as two people wanting to go on the trip together, and names will be drawn accordingly. Those selected on March 15 will need to contact the Coral Hotel immediately to reserve one of the blocked-out rooms using your own credit card and the promo code “San Diego Yacht Club 2022”. (While you’ll be paying for the hotel directly, this amount is counted in our estimate mentioned earlier of $600 per person for the whole trip.)
— Proof of COVID vaccination will be required to board the vans because that’s required at some of the restaurants and wineries in the Valle.
— Masks fully covering mouth and nose will be required whenever we’re in the vans. If you prefer to not wear a mask, cannot wear one, or are just uncomfortable with the requirement, please do not register for this cruise. The requirements are based on Mexico’s pandemic rules.
— The same mask requirement applies to the hotel, restaurants and wineries unless we’re eating or drinking.
— Mexico’s entry requirements for boats since the beginning of the pandemic has made bringing a boat on a trip like this too complicated and time-consuming, so we won’t be able to accommodate boats this time.
Finally: You MUST have a valid passport (or current Global Entry or SENTRI card) to travel to and from Mexico for this cruise. No exceptions are made by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Questions? Please e-mail or call Larry Shushan.
