Announcements
Happy Holidays
San Felipe remains closed to international tourism. Residents of Mexicali and its agricultural valley may visit with restrictions. It is hoped that the Malecon will soon be reopened to pedestrians (but not vehicles, please!).
Update 15 August: The prohibition on crossing the US-Mexico border for non-essential purposes (including tourism and recreation) will continue until at least 21 September. U.S citizens should read the notices on the U.S. Embassy and Consulates website and scroll down to the section on Baja California.
The President of The United States is now considering a ban on re-entry of US citizens and permanent residents who have been in a Covid-active area and may be carrying the infection.
The State of Baja California website shows the current state of the Corona Virus traffic light shown below. (Red).
The Governor of Baja California and the Mayor of Mexicali visited San Felipe last Saturday, 8 August 2020, and the press release of their visit may be found here
The Mayor of Mexicali is in discussions with the health authorities to activate a plan to gradually open San Felipe to tourists. However, it is critical to observe the experiences of other locations and realize that there will likely be a new surge in Covid-19 cases as people congregate at bars and restaurants and on the streets without wearing effective face masks. A particular problem for tourists is providing safe, sanitary toilet facilities with good ventilation, social distancing and cleaning after each use.
The Secretary of Sustainable Economy and Tourism (SEST) in Baja California, Mario Escobedo Carignan was interviewed by the press on 6 August about the pressures to open the manufacturing and tourism sectors of the State. The hope is that everything will be approaching normal by the end of September (2020).
San Felipe is in a particularly difficult position because of its total dependence on fishing and tourism for its economic base. Fishing has been badly hurt by the vaquita/totoaba problem and a resulting embargo on fish products from the Northern Gulf by several countries. Tourism was devastated by international travel bans, the cancellation of Semana Santa and the various desert off-road races. Investment in development of retirement/leisure communities has also been put on hold.
Around town much needed repairs are being made to the roads. Currently, the condition of the “Airport Road” from town south to the San Felipe Marina Resort is in the worst condition we have seen in many years.
The huge trucks, many carrying 20 crushed cars and scrap steel, coming from Baja California Sur through San Felipe to the border region, cause immense damage. Maybe the new 2 inch layer of asphalt will hold up until the rains come next month. (For the technically-minded, road damage goes up as the fourth power of the vehicle weight – a single 18-wheeler can cause damage equivalent to that caused by 9,600 cars.). It is critical to stop potholes forming – which means that a weekly survey and repair crew needs to be activated. Presently, we have an elderly gentleman who tries to fill the potholes with sand when the sun goes down. Please stop and give him a few dollars if you see him.
Scheduling tourism events is still difficult. It must be borne in mind that last minute cancellations may be needed, causing significant losses of time and effort already spent. The Baja 500, based in San Felipe, is still planned for 22-27 September 2020.
The Norra Yokohama Mexican 1000 Desert Race has been postponed until 23-30 April 2021
The San Felipe Shrimp Festival is not yet scheduled, but is generally held in early November.
Because of the great hardship that San Felipe is going through at this time, we have decided to halt all billing for our advertisers on this website until the pandemic abates and business starts to return to normal.
San Felipe begins the gradual re-opening process for local residents.
Update 15 July 2020
The Mexicali Municipio, which includes San Felipe, continues to be in the “Red traffic light” zone for economic and social activity.
To prepare for ending the lockdown, the Mayor of Mexicali is going to allow some local restaurants to open at 30% capacity for the local residents of Mexicali and San Felipe. The concept is to allow restaurants that have complied with the state “Safe Table” guidelines to serve food, but not alcohol, and verify that all the protocols are working and no surge in virus infections occurs.
As verification proceeds, occupancy limits will be slowly raised and additional services (such as providing alcoholic beverages) allowed. This cautious process is a welcome approach to avoid the huge surge in covid infections that has occurred in California and other areas of the USA that opened too rapidly.
The authorities remind us:
1. San Felipe and its beautiful beaches will remain closed to tourists until further notice.
2. Bars, gyms and indoor entertainment activities are still forbidden.
3. The border between Mexico and the Unites States will remain closed to all non-essential travel for an additional four weeks, until approximately August 21st.
Upcoming Tourism Events
The Baja 500 race has been moved from Ensenada to San Felipe and replaces the Baja 250. The race will be held 22-27 September.
Because of the continued uncertainty on how the coronavirus may affect planning for the rest of this year, please check the Score-International website for the latest information on the race schedules.
The NORRA classic 1000 race (Ensenada to San Jose del Cabo) is deferred till October 3-8, passing through San Felipe 5-6 October.
The Corona Virus continues to spread throughout Mexico. Baja California is still on the highest alert (Red) zone – lockdown of San Felipe continues
The following restrictions will be enforced on southbound traffic entering Mexicali at the ports of entry:
Mexican officials are screening for the following requirements:
1. Use of face masks (or face covering) is mandatory
2. Travelers will be tested for COVID-19 related symptoms (temperature screening)
3. No more than two persons per vehicle.
4. Essential travel only — visits to the Municipality of Mexicali (which includes San Felipe) must be essential under the terms of the sanitary measures.
5. No alcoholic beverages in the vehicle unless they are accredited or permitted to be transported.
Mexican authorities will verify that those individuals stopped at the checkpoints provide proof of their Mexican address or Mexican nationality. Travelers may be required to quarantine themselves at their homes. Penalties for violations may be imposed ranging from $3,475 to $17,376 MXN or up to 36 hours arrest in event of resistance.
These new regulations are being enforced rigorously on weekends (Friday- Sunday) and randomly at other times of the week. Traffic jams have extended miles to the north of Calexico at times, with waits to cross the border into Mexico taking up to 7 hours.
Because of the shutdown of breweries in Mexico, any beer found in a travelers vehicle that is in excess of the standard “allowance” (about 2 six packs) will be confiscated by the authorities.
See this article in the Calexico Chronicle. https://calexicochronicle.com/2020/06/calexico-local-news/seven-hour-border-backup-opens-up-a-can-of-covid-worms-chief-says/
Future Tourist events in the San Felipe region.
Score-International has announced (25 June 2020) that the SCORE Baja 500 has been rescheduled 4-9th August 2020 in Ensenada. As of now, the other two desert races in 2020 are still on the schedule: the SCORE San Felipe 250 (September 22-27) and the previously announced season-ending SCORE Baja 1000 (November 17-22) starting and finishing in Ensenada. It is important to watch for any further announcements from SCORE International which may cause last-minute changes to these schedules.
The NORRA classic 1000 race (Ensenada to San Jose del Cabo) is deferred till October 3-8, passing through San Felipe 5-6 October.
Useful links to get additional information:
U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico see here
State of BajaCalifornia website here
Committee on Tourism (Mexicali, San Felipe) Phone +52 (686) 551-9800
Because of the great hardship that San Felipe is going through at this time, we have decided to halt all billing for our advertisers on this website until the pandemic abates and business starts to return to normal.