The tiny seaside town of Puerto Nuevo, 19 kilometers (12 mi) south of Rosarito via Mexico 1, is known as Baja’s lobster capital. Although the actual lobster harvest in the area isn’t what it once was—the lobster served in Puerto Nuevo is mostly harvested in areas off the coast of Baja California Sur and distributed through San Diego—lobster restaurants are more plentiful than ever. The village offers nearly 30 side-by-side seafood restaurants, some quite modern. It’s an entire village devoted to eating.

The Festival del Vino y la Langosta (Festival of Wine and Lobster) occurs in Puerto Nuevo’s restaurant zone in mid-October. For around US$25 per person, participants are welcome to sample all the Baja lobster and wine they can consume.

Getting There

Red-and-white route taxis operate between Rosarito and Puerto Nuevo for US$2 per person. In Rosarito, they leave from in front of the Hotel Festival Plaza. In Puerto Nuevo, you must stand at the side of the highway opposite the village entrance and flag one down; these taxis actually ply a Rosarito–La Misión route.

For evening excursions, it’s safer to hire a taxi de ruta to Puerto Nuevo from Rosarito than to drive it yourself—these drivers know the road very well.