Ensenada (pop. 413,000) sees far more visitors than any other nonborder town on the peninsula. Every summer an estimated four million people—most of them Americans—pass through. Yet as a busy trade center for northern peninsula fishing and agriculture, the city retains a bajacaliforniano identity in spite of the tourists.

Baja California’s third-largest city is also the peninsula’s largest seaport due to its position on the wide Bahía de Todos Santos. Olives and grapes are the principal crops produced in the Ensenada area; the huge Oliveres Mexicanos plantation (48 km northeast of Ensenada, near Guadalupe) is the world’s largest single olive producer, with over 120,000 trees under cultivation.

A portion of the grape harvest is used by a half dozen wineries based in Ensenada to produce wines for both domestic and international markets. Yellowtail and halibut are the top fish harvests, followed by various bottom fishes, lobster and other shellfish, and anchovies. Light manufacturing has also taken root in a warehouse area in the southern part of the city, where Fender Musical Instruments has a small plant.

During recent years Ensenada has expanded efforts to attract visitors. Cruise ships from Los Angeles and San Diego bring large groups of day-trippers who are gone at night. The revenue generated from cruise ship and yacht tourism has been used to beautify the waterfront. A malecón, or waterfront promenade, has been added, along with Ensenada Cruiseport Village, a cruise-ship facility of retail shops, restaurants, and small businesses offering sportfishing, diving, and sightseeing tours. A long section of Avenida López Mateos, a traditional focus of tourist shopping and dining, has received a face-lift.

Although some old Baja hands buzz right past Ensenada in a rush to get to the “real Baja” farther south, for many repeat visitors a Baja trip simply doesn’t get off to a good start without a ritual cerveza at Hussong’s or a couple of tacos de pescado from the harbor fish market.

Is Ensenada Americanized? Though it’s undeniably a hybrid culture, Mexican tourists prefer the town to San Felipe or Cabo San Lucas; once you escape the waterfront area, you’ll find neighborhood panaderías, quiet residential streets, and few tourists of any nationality.

Getting There

Aeropuerto El Ciprés (tel. 646/177-4503), just south of town off Mexico 1, is an official Mexican airport of entry with a paved airstrip suitable for small-plane arrivals and departures. Though, currently, no regularly scheduled flights serve Ensenada.

Intercity bus services to and from Ensenada are operated by Autotransportes de Baja California (ABC). Most air-conditioned buses use the Central de Autobuses terminal at Avenida Riveroll and Calle 11 (tel. 646/178-6680), while non-air-conditioned departures use a smaller terminal at Avenida Riveroll and Calle 8 (tel. 646/177-0909). The Central de Autobuses has a snack bar and a telephone office.

Ensenada is the southern terminus of Mexico 1-D, the four-lane toll road from Tijuana. Beyond Ensenada, Mexico 1 is, for the most part, a two-lane highway with road conditions varying from kilometer to kilometer.

Mexico 3 from Tecate also terminates in Ensenada, then reappears east of town winding across the Sierra Juárez to join Mexico 5 for San Felipe.