Puerto Nuevo is a city in Baja California, which is described as the "Lobster Capital of Baja". Many restaurants serve the large pan-fried crustaceans.

Understand

Puerto Nuevo

In the 1950s and early 1960s, Puerto Nuevo was a little fishing village where Americans would meet local guides at the billboard off the road. That billboard was for Newport Cigaretts - Puerto Nuevo is Newport in Spanish. This is the likely derivation of the name. One day the wife of a fisherman starting cooking the fish her husband and his clients caught, and the restaurant business was born. The original restaurant is known as #2 (this has to do with the lot numbering system); #1 was the second restaurant in town. Also, there are 8 restaurants in town with the name Ortegas. They are related and the competition is not all that friendly. Puerto Nuevo is a fun stop - the lobster is good - and you have plenty of choices for food, shopping and people watching!

Climate

It has cool winters with an average temperature of 18 °C and hot summers with an average temperature of 24 °C. In autumn the extremely dry winds of Santa Ana are common.

Get in

You can get to Puerto Nuevo by traveling the Toll Rd south from the USA border, travel time about 45 minutes. Exit Puerto Nuevo, take a left onto the free road and see the village on the right ride of the road. There is the free road that runs parallel and can save you US$5 on the toll road, it will take about 15 minutes more on this road. The free road is slow going and a bit tougher on your vehicle, but it's free! Exit at any of the Rosarito ramps, take a left and continue along the coast. You can't miss the Puerto Nuevo arches. Visit the 39 restaurants and numerous shops.

It is 15 km from Rosarito, 30 km from Tijuana and 65 km from Ensenada.

Do

• California Motorsport Adventours Off-road adventure tours for people of all riding abilities. Full-day excursions or longer tours available also. Ride in the dunes and then enjoy a guided adventure into the surrounding mountain trails. Contact the office for reservations.

Buy

Because Puerto Nuevo is further off the beaten path than Rosarito, Tijuana, or Ensenada, farmacias are much more liberal in selling prescription medications over the counter. Not all will, but many farmacias will sell prescription pain killers such as Vicodin and Percocet, Human Growth Hormone and other anabolic steroids such as D-Bol and Sustanon, and anti-anxiety and sleep medications such as Xanax, Valium, or Ambien. Although most of these will be the generic forms of the medication, the prices are very cheap and you will not be hassled if you purchase them here.

Eat

There are 35 restaurants all specializing lobster, with the price ranging between US$10 and $35 depending on the size of the lobster you choose. The typical dish in which lobster is served in the Puerto Nuevo style is accompanied by refried beans and flour tortillas, usually accompanied by a wine from the Valle de Guadalupe region.

Every year in October Puerto Nuevo celebrates the Lobster Festival, where it is used to surround the marine delicacy with a gastronomic atmosphere enriched by styles from various countries and the region.

• Villa Ortegas is the largest restaurant in the town, with a seating capacity of over 500 people. Villa Ortegas is on the ocean. The lobsters tend to be more expensive than other places, but if you are nervous about eating in Mexico, then this place offers the American dining experience in Baja.

Sleep

• 1 Puerto Nuevo Baja Hotel & Villas, Carretera Libre Tijuana-Ensenada Km. 44.5, ☏ +52 661 614 1488. (updated Aug 2016)

Go next

• Valle de Guadalupe
• Ensenada
• Playas de Rosarito

Routes through Puerto Nuevo

Tijuana ← Playas de Rosarito ←

N  S

→ Ensenada → Guerrero Negro