Visitor Information

The Mexico Hot Line (tel. 800/44-MEXICO) is an excellent source for general information; you can request brochures on the country and get answers to the most common questions from the exceptionally well-trained, knowledgeable staff.

More information (15,000 pages' worth) about Mexico is available on the official site of Mexico's Tourism Promotion Board, www.visitmexico.com. The U.S. Department of State (tel. 202/647-5225; http://travel.state.gov) offers a Consular Information Sheet on Mexico, with safety, medical, driving, and general travel information gleaned from reports by its offices in Mexico, and consistently updated. You can also request the Consular Information Sheet by fax (tel. 202/647-3000). The same website also provides other consular information sheets and warnings. Another source is the Department of State's background notes series. Visit the Department of State home page (www.state.gov) for information.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Hot Line (tel. 800/311-3435 or 404/639-3534; www.cdc.gov) is a source of medical information for travelers to Mexico and elsewhere. For travelers to Mexico and Central America, the number with recorded messages is tel. 877/FYI-TRIP. The toll-free fax number for requesting information is tel. 888/232-3299. Information is also available at www.cdc.gov/travel. The U.S. Department of State offers medical information for Americans traveling abroad and a list of air-ambulance services at http://travel.state.gov.

Mexican Government Tourist Board -- The board has offices in major North American cities, in addition to the main office in Mexico City (tel. 555/203-1103).

United States: Chicago (tel. 312/228-0517), Houston (tel. 713/772-2581, ext. 105, or 713/772-3819), Los Angeles (tel. 310/282-9112), Miami (tel. 786/621-2909), and New York (tel. 212/308-2110). The Mexican Embassy is at 1911 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20005 (tel. 202/728-1600).

Canada: Montreal (tel. 514/871-1103), Toronto (tel. 416/925-0704), and Vancouver (tel. 604/669-2845). The Embassy office is at 1500-45 O'Connor St., Ottawa (tel. 613/233-8988; fax 613/235-9123).

Baja's two states each have their own tourism bureaus with information for travelers. Visit www.discoverbajacalifornia.com for info on the state of Baja California in English, and visit the Spanish-language site, www.bcs.gob.mx, and click the "turismo" link for information on Baja California Sur.

Telephones

Mexico's telephone system is slowly but surely catching up with modern times. All telephone numbers have 10 digits. Every city and town that has telephone access has a two-digit (Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara) or three-digit (everywhere else) area code. In Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara, local numbers have eight digits; elsewhere, local numbers have seven digits. To place a local call, you do not need to dial the area code.

To call long distance within Mexico, the cheapest way is by using the "Ladatel" phone booths, into which you insert pre-paid cards -- available at most pharmacies and convenience stores. Steer clear of calling home from your hotel room, which can cost as much as $10 per minute. Instead, insert a Ladatel card (available in increments of $5, $10, $20, and $50 -- the $10 card is plenty for two 10-minute calls home) and dial the national long-distance code 01 before dialing the area code and then the number. Mexico's area codes (claves) are listed in the front of telephone directories. Area codes are listed before all phone numbers in this book. For long-distance dialing, you will often see the term "LADA," which is the automatic long-distance service offered by Telmex, Mexico's former telephone monopoly and its largest phone company. To make a person-to-person or collect call inside Mexico, dial tel. 020. You can also call 020 to request the correct area codes for the number and place you are calling.

Many fax numbers are also regular telephone numbers; ask whoever answers for the fax tone ("me da tono de fax, por favor?"). Cellular phones are very popular for small businesses in resort areas and smaller communities. To call a cellular number inside the same area code, dial 044 and then the number. To dial the cellular phone from anywhere else in Mexico, first dial 01, then the three-digit area code and the seven-digit number. To dial it from the U.S., dial 011-52, plus the three-digit area code and the seven-digit number.

To call the Baja Peninsula:

1. Dial the international access code: 011 from the U.S.; 00 from the U.K., Ireland, or New Zealand; or 0011 from Australia.

2. Dial the country code 52.

3. Dial the two- or three-digit city code and then the seven-digit number.

To make international calls: To make international calls from Baja, first dial 00 and then the country code (U.S. or Canada 1, U.K. 44, Ireland 353, Australia 61, New Zealand 64). Next you dial the area code and number. For example, if you wanted to call the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., you would dial 00-1-202-588-7800.

For directory assistance: Dial 040 if you're looking for a number inside Mexico, and dial 090 for numbers to all other countries.

For operator assistance: If you need operator assistance in making a call, dial 090 if you're trying to make an international call and 020 if you want to call a number in Mexico.

Toll-free numbers: Numbers beginning with 01-800 within Mexico are toll-free, but calling a 1-800 number in the States from Mexico is not toll-free. In fact, it costs the same as an overseas call.

Cellular phone calls: To call a cell number inside the same area code, dial 044 and then the full 10-digit number, including the city code. To dial a cellphone from anywhere else in Mexico, first dial 01, then the three-digit area code and the seven-digit number. To dial a cellphone from the U.S., dial 011-52-1, plus the three-digit area code and the seven-digit number.

Cellphones

The three letters that define much of the world's wireless capabilities are GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), a big, seamless network that makes for easy cross-border cellphone use throughout Europe and dozens of other countries worldwide. In the U.S., T-Mobile, AT&T Wireless, and Cingular use this quasi-universal system; in Canada, Microcell and some Rogers customers are GSM, and all Europeans and most Australians use GSM. GSM phones function with a removable plastic SIM card, encoded with your phone number and account information. If your cellphone is on a GSM system, and you have a world-capable multiband phone such as many Sony Ericsson, Motorola, or Samsung models, you can make and receive calls across civilized areas around much of the globe. Just call your wireless operator and ask for "international roaming" to be activated on your account. Unfortunately, per-minute charges can be high -- usually $1 to $2 in Baja.

Chances are, your cell will get service in all the major tourist zones in Baja, but if you will be traveling for an extended period of time and want to have a more economic mobile option, renting a phone is a good idea. While you can rent a phone from any number of overseas sites, including kiosks at airports and at car-rental agencies, we suggest renting the phone before you leave home.

Los Cabos travelers may rent phones ahead of time through Cabo Cell (tel. 624/143-5950; www.cabocell.com.mx). The phone will be waiting at your hotel when you check in and service includes a 24/7 local personal assistant, translator, and emergency assistance. Otherwise, you may visit the office at Boulevard Lazaro Cardenas s/n, Edificio Pioneros, Local 2 in downtown Cabo San Lucas.

North Americans can rent one before leaving home from InTouch USA (tel. 800/872-7626; www.intouchglobal.com) or RoadPost (tel. 888/290-1606 or 905/272-5665; www.roadpost.com). InTouch will also, for free, advise you on whether your existing phone will work overseas; simply call tel. 703/222-7161 between 9am and 4pm EST, or go to http://intouchglobal.com/travel.htm.

Buying a phone can be economically attractive, as Mexico has cheap prepaid cellphones available. Once you arrive at your destination, stop by a local Telcel shop and get the cheapest package; you'll probably pay less than $100 for a phone and a starter calling card. Local calls may be as low as 10¢ per minute, and incoming calls are free.

Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP)

If you have Web access while traveling, you might consider a broadband-based telephone service (in technical terms, Voice over Internet protocol, or VoIP) such as Skype (www.skype.com) or Vonage (www.vonage.com), which allows you to make free international calls if you use their services from your laptop or in a cybercafe. The people you're calling must also use the service for it to work; check the sites for details.

Internet/E-Mail

Without your Computer -- To find cybercafes in your destination, check www.cybercaptive.com and www.cybercafe.com. The downtown and/or tourist areas in most of Baja's primary destinations have Internet centers and cafes sprinkled every block or so. Also, most large resort and hotel chains offer access to an onsite business center. Although more expensive than most cybercafes, hotel business centers are usually quite efficient.

Most major airports have Internet kiosks that provide basic Web access for a per-minute fee that's usually higher than cybercafe prices. However, Baja's airports may not always be up to international standards. Check out copy shops such as Kinko's (FedEx Kinko's), which offers computer stations with fully loaded software (as well as Wi-Fi).

With your own Computer -- More and more hotels, resorts, airports, cafes, and retailers are going Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity), becoming "hotspots" that offer free high-speed Wi-Fi access or charge a small fee for usage. Most laptops sold today have built-in wireless capability. To find public Wi-Fi hotspots at your destination, go to www.jiwire.com; its Hotspot Finder holds the world's largest directory of public wireless hotspots.

For dial-up access, most business-class hotels throughout the world offer dataports for laptop modems.

Wherever you go, bring a connection kit of the right power and phone adapters, a spare phone cord, and a spare Ethernet network cable -- or find out whether your hotel supplies them to guests. Luckily, all of Mexico is on the same voltage as the United States, so just take your regular power cords.