“Rosarito would be a great place to stay if I was 19 or 20 again and wanted to let loose for a wild weekend. It would also be great as an inexpensive beach home away from home if I was a resident of San Diego. In that Bill and I are neither, we usually just grab a meal, some pesos from the ATM and keep heading south.
If it is your first time here, check it out. It may just be your cup of tea.”
Dorothy Bell
Rosarito, Baja California
Location: 35 kms south of Tijuana on Highway 1.
Population: 65,500
Climate: Semi-arid – similar to a Mediterranean Climate with 261 mm (10 in) of annual precipitation falling mostly between November and March. Rosarito experiences warm summers with average highs of 21°C (70 °F) and cool winters 14 °C (57 °F)
History
Originally called Wa-cuatay by the Kumeraay “Big Houses”
Paleo-Indians occupied the Rosarito region as early as 2,000 BC. Ancestors of the Yuman’s, the Kumernay, occupied the area at the time the Spanish arrival in 1542.
The Californias were divided by the clergy in 1773 separating Alta California from Baja California – what we know as the US California State. The boundary was then redrawn in 1788 making Rosarito part of Baja California. In 1817 a Dominican mission was established 22Kms south of Rosarito called Mission San Miguel La Nueva. The first cattle ranch in the area was given as a land grant in 1827.
Rosarito was converted to an independent city from being a suburb of Tijuana in 1995. It has a small central core and large geographic reach, extending from Tijuana to Ensenada. The core city experienced considerable growth in tourism and construction in the 1950’s and 60’s. Now skyscraper condos, shopping centers, golf courses, beachfront gated communities, and Fox Studio “Titanic” all draw local and International tourists.
Tourist Attractions
Rosarito is a tourist resort area with beautiful beaches, golf courses, shopping centers to the north and south and over 900. It draws the young from the US lured by cheap booze, legal drinking at 18, disc and night clubs. Fox Studio’s Titanic movie set draws tourists annually. (it is also the set for “Tomorrow Never Dies”, “Deep Blue Sea”, “Pearl Harbor”, “The Fast and the Furious”, “Kung Pow”, “Master and Commander-The Far Side of the World” and “Tremors the TV series.)
The Popotla area in the south features rustic furniture manufacturing and folk art. Puerto Nuevo has developed a culinary reputation offering lobster and seafood at great prices.
Real Estate catering to tourists has skyrocketed. Even Donald Trump built a huge condo-scraper as have others. With publicity of violence and drug gangs and the financial recession the market has softened substantially and is now making a slow recovery.
Industry
Farming, while much less important than tourism, still provides an economic base for the area. Vineyards are spreading north and wine tourism is making inroads.
Getting There: From San Diego drive south on the Interstate I-5 directly to the border to Tijuana. Take Highway 1D towards Rosarito.
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