Baja California has several international airports with direct connections to cities in the western United States. By far the busiest of these is the Los Cabos International Airport (SJD), with flights originating in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Oakland, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose. You can also get to Los Cabos via connections on the mainland.

La Paz (LAP) and Loreto (LOR) offer limited direct connections to the United States but also have flights to and from the mainland. Alaska Airlines is the only U.S. carrier that has offered direct service consistently from the United States to these airports in recent years. American, United, and Delta have offered on-again, off-again connections. Virgin America introduced direct service from San Francisco to SJD at competitive prices in 2010.

Flying out of Tijuana International Airport (TIJ) is an economical way to get to Southern Baja. A new discount carrier called Volaris offers luxury bus service from downtown San Diego to the Tijuana airport and competitively priced flights on new planes to La Paz. Volaris and Southwest have announced a partnership to coordinate service to popular destinations in Mexico, but they have yet to provide a date for extending the partnership to Baja.

Aereo Servicio Guerrero (tel. 615/157-0137, toll-free Mex. tel. 800/823-3153, www.aereoserviciosguerrero.com.mx) operates flights to and from Isla Cedros four times a week (Mon., Wed., Thurs., Fri.). The flight time is about 30 minutes, and a one-way ticket runs US$65; the airline office, next to the police station on Boulevard Zapata, is open 9 A.M.–4 P.M. Monday–Saturday. The company also does charters upon request and flies to other destinations within Mexico.

Guerrero Negro’s airfield is located north of town near the state line. Look for the turnoff between Km. 125 and 126.

General Aviation

Pilots can fly their own aircraft over the border to remote destinations all over the peninsula. The majority of landing fields in Baja are unattended dirt strips. The process for crossing the border is straightforward and well documented, but allow a few weeks for the paperwork from the Federal Communications Commission and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to arrive in the mail after you submit your applications and fees.

Contact Bush Pilots International (formerly Baja Bush Pilots) (U.S. tel. 480/730-3250, www.bajabushpilots.com) and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (toll-free U.S. tel. 800/872-2672, www.aopa.org) for up-to-date information about destinations, entry requirements, insurance policies, airport fees, runway conditions, and fuel availability.