Why You Should Visit Puerto Nuevo: Mexico’s Lobster Village

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Never heard of Puerto Nuevo? Before we visited we hadn’t either. But it quickly became one of our favorite Baja, Mexico destinations. We road tripped down the West coast of Mexico in search of the best beachy coastal towns and stumbled upon a lobster lover’s haven–Puerto Nuevo.

When you think of traditional Mexican food most Americans envision piles of rice and beans paired with tacos, enchiladas, tamales, and maybe some Carne Asada. But this little Mexican town is famous for frying up some delicious seafood.

Don’t like lobster? Too bad, that’s what’s for dinner. (Okay they have other things too, I guess).

But you have to try the Puerto Nuevo lobster…fried or fresh. You should also get to know this little town for more than just its tasty ocean bottom dwellers.

Getting There

The town is small. Blink and you might miss it. The big red arches over the highway exit will signal your arrival. It’s located just off the scenic Tijuana-Ensenada Highway around 40 minutes North of Ensenada. It’s the perfect dinner stop between Ensenada and Rosarito!

You will need Mexican auto insurance if you plan on doing any driving on the Baja Peninsula (or anywhere else in Mexico). The cheapest and most customizable plans can be found on

Make it a multi-day road trip and check out all my favorite stops in the Baja Peninsula. The Popotla Fish Market cannot be missed.

Highlights of Puerto Nuevo

Lobster Dinner.

$18 for two in our case. This got us a beachfront view of the sunset with 3 lobster halves, tortilla soup, rice, beans, handmade tortillas, and a margarita at La Casa Pescador.

Local Artists.

Sure there was the typical tourist garb and multi-colored blankets everywhere BUT I also browsed an awesome little gallery that had some of the coolest spray paint artwork.

Crickets & Candy.

I’m sure this can be found a million places in Mexico but the two boys tending the shop were handing out crickets to sample left and right here. Covered in Tajin, they aren’t half bad. You can find them at most candy vendors along the coast.

Micheladas & Margaritas.

Drinks are cheap in Mexico. & here they are much cheaper than neighboring Rosarito and Ensenada.

Mexico is the perfect country for a road trip. There are so many small towns you would miss without a vehicle of your own. We converted a camper van & stealth camped for free all over the United States and can’t wait to take our rig to Mexico.

Puerto Nuevo is a very small town. You probably won’t need more than a day to fully experience this little community.

Friendly Locals.

When it comes to travel, people play a large role in determining whether or not I love a town.

And the locals here were the sweetest. They gave us directions, they watched over my car, they showed us the neatest art galleries, and they fed us loads of free candy (& crickets). It’s a town not yet jaded by an influx of tourists.

So if you’re looking to take home some typical Mexico trinkets be sure to buy from local vendors. Support the town’s economy and it’s a great way to meet some of the locals!

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