One of our close friends was getting married in Valle de Guadalupe, and so we decided to make it a road trip to the wedding. We flew into San Diego, spent a couple of days exploring, and then drove across the Tijuana border (about 30 minutes from SD). From Tijuana, the drive to Valle de Guadalupe was about 90 minutes.
The best way to describe this majestic place? Endless vineyards, beautiful mountains, desert vibes, excellent wine, and yummy food. Voted as a top wine travel destination, it is considered to be the Napa of Mexico. Valle de Guadalupe is pretty isolated, and you definitely won’t be seeing tons of tourists. Here are some of the gems we experienced:
Where we stayed:
Hotel Boutique Valle de Guadalupe
We stayed at Hotel Boutique, which is located in the heart of Valle de Guadalupe. The hotel has bikes that you can use to ride through the vineyards, has a restaurant with great food (and live music on weekends!), and the views from our room were breathtaking.
The first stop we made was at Troika, a food truck located near the Vena Cava winery. Let’s just say it was quite an adventure finding this place. It’s literally a taco truck in the middle of nowhere- not even google maps came to the rescue for this one. Once we finally found it, we had tasty tacos, grilled vegetables, and local wine.
The following day, we had lunch at La Cocina de Dona Esthela, which is a simple and traditional Mexican restaurant. We felt like we were eating in someone’s kitchen. Tortillas are made fresh on the spot, and we enjoyed them with eggs, nopal (cactus eaten as a vegetable), refried beans, fresh cheese, and salsa.
The wedding was at Finca Altozano, a beautiful farm that has a restaurant on site, great trails for exploring, and an array of artisanal beers and wines.
The following day, we went wine tasting at Chateau Camou. We enjoyed beautiful views, while tasting locally-sourced wine.
We had such an amazing time at Valle de Guadalupe, and can’t wait to plan our return visit. There are so many hidden treasures to be experienced!
