The Wayro route from Venice Beach to San Felipe is 364 miles (586 km), about 7 h 17 min of driving without stops. The U.S.–Mexico border is at about mile 242 on this route, near the Calexico West port of entry.
What the State Department tells travelers on this route:
- Baja California: “Travelers should remain on main highways and avoid remote locations.”
| Distance | 364 mi (586 km) |
|---|---|
| Driving time, no stops | 7 h 17 min |
| Main roads, in order | I-10 → I-10 EXPR → CA-86 → US-99 Hist → CA-78 → CA-111 → MEX-5 |
| Border crossing | about mile 242 of this route, California → Baja California (near the Calexico West, CA port of entry) |
| Mexican states on the route | Baja California (Level 3) |
| Fuel estimate (car at 25 mpg) | about 14.6 gal; actual use varies by vehicle and traffic |
| Stops listed below | 9 |
Crossing into Mexico: what you need for San Felipe
| Passport | Passport book or passport card to enter Mexico by land |
|---|---|
| FMM entry permit | Required for this trip: San Felipe is well beyond the 12-mile (20 km) border zone where the permit is not needed |
| Temporary vehicle import permit (TIP) | Not needed: Baja California is in Mexico's hassle-free zone for U.S. vehicles |
| Mexican auto insurance | Required for all vehicles: buy a Mexican policy before you cross |
Sources: U.S. State Department, Mexico travel information (updated August 11, 2026); permits are issued by Banjercito.
Crossing at Calexico West
Calexico West sits in downtown Calexico, directly across from Mexicali, and GSA describes it as the main border crossing linking the Imperial Valley to Baja California. It handles passenger vehicles and pedestrians and is in the middle of a multi-phase federal modernization.
Sources: [1]
What the drive from Venice Beach to San Felipe is like
I-10 (128 mi) and MEX-5 (124 mi) carry about 69% of the 364 miles. The U.S. part of the drive runs through California for about 242 miles; after the border at Calexico West you have about 122 miles left in Mexico. None of the 9 stops below is right on the road, so plan each as a short side trip.
The route from Venice Beach to San Felipe, road by road
| Road | Route miles (from–to) | Length, mi | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| local roads | 0–7 | 7 | California |
| I-10 | 7–48 | 41 | California |
| I-10 EXPR | 48–58 | 10 | California |
| I-10 | 58–145 | 87 | California |
| CA-86 | 145–178 | 33 | California |
| US-99 Hist | 178–211 | 33 | California |
| CA-78 | 211–217 | 6 | California |
| CA-111 | 217–237 | 20 | California |
| connecting roads | 237–240 | 3 | California |
| MEX-5 | 240–364 | 124 | California, Baja California |
- Mile 242 of this route: California → Baja California (international border)
Stops between Venice Beach and San Felipe
- Nature and outdoors: Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument (mile 111)
- Museums and history: Museum of Tolerance (mile 7), La Brea Tar Pits (mile 9), Hollyhock House (mile 12), The Broad (mile 14), Little Tokyo, Los Angeles (mile 17), Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (mile 18), Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument (mile 111), Sand to Snow National Monument (mile 112)
Museum of Tolerance
Run by the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, this museum confronts prejudice through a narrated Holocaust exhibit tracing events from the 1920s to 1945, an immersive exhibit on Anne Frank and the interactive Peltz Social Lab.
La Brea Tar Pits
Natural asphalt still bubbles up in Hancock Park, where Ice Age fossils of mammoths, mastodons and dire wolves have been pulled from the tar. Visitors can walk the grounds and see active excavation sites in the heart of Los Angeles.
Hollyhock House
Frank Lloyd Wright designed this house for the heiress Aline Barnsdall. Now a house museum in Barnsdall Art Park in East Hollywood, it's a National Historic Landmark and one of eight Wright buildings in the UNESCO World Heritage listing The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright.
The Broad
Founded by Eli and Edythe Broad and opened in 2015, this Grand Avenue museum shows postwar and contemporary art by artists such as Basquiat, Warhol, Koons, and Kusama inside a veil-and-vault building by Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Gensler.
Little Tokyo, Los Angeles
Settled by Japanese immigrants from 1885, this downtown Los Angeles National Historic Landmark district includes the 1925 Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple and 1923 Japanese Union Church, and the Japanese American National Museum opened here in 1992.
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
Designed by Rafael Moneo, the mother church of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles glows through alabaster windows and displays John Nava's tapestries. Guided tours cover the cathedral, its plaza gardens, and the mausoleum.
Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument
Rising from the Coachella Valley toward alpine peaks, this monument holds fan palm oases, bighorn sheep habitat, wilderness areas, and part of the Pacific Crest Trail. Its visitor center sits on Highway 74 in Palm Desert.
Sand to Snow National Monument
Established in 2016, this monument climbs from the Sonoran Desert floor to San Gorgonio Mountain, the highest peak in California south of the Sierra Nevada, and carries 30 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.
Cerro Prieto
About 22 miles (35 km) south of Mexicali, this small rhyodacite lava dome rises above the desert floor and marks the surface of the Cerro Prieto Geothermal Field, one of Mexico's major geothermal resources.
When you get to San Felipe
Where the Baja desert runs straight into the warm Gulf of California, San Felipe is a fishing town about two hours south of Mexicali. It is known for sport fishing, dramatic low tides that pull the water far from shore, and seafood, especially the shrimp it celebrates with an annual festival.
- Valle de los Gigantes: South of town on the road to Puertecitos, this cactus reserve on Punta Estrella Ranch protects towering cardón cacti up to about 17 meters tall. source
- Sport fishing: Charters head into the Gulf of California from San Felipe, a town long known for sport fishing thanks to the abundance of marine species offshore. source
- Gulf beaches: The town's beaches are made for kayaking, paddleboarding and walking the wide flats exposed at low tide. source
More drives to San Felipe
- Safford, AZ to San Felipe
- Rancho Mirage, CA to San Felipe
- Coronado, CA to San Felipe
- Mesa, AZ to San Felipe
- Bisbee, AZ to San Felipe
- Casa Grande, AZ to San Felipe
From Venice Beach to other places in Mexico
- Venice Beach, CA to Sonoyta
- Venice Beach, CA to Ensenada
- Venice Beach, CA to Tecate
- Venice Beach, CA to Rosarito
- Venice Beach, CA to San Luis Río Colorado
- Venice Beach, CA to Puerto Peñasco
All routes to San Felipe, border crossings and permits in one place: Driving to San Felipe, Mexico from the U.S.
Continue Your Adventure
Frequently asked questions
How long is the drive from Venice Beach to San Felipe?
About 7 h 17 min of driving without stops, over 364 miles.
How far is San Felipe from Venice Beach by car?
About 364 miles (586 km) on the Wayro route. Other map services may show a few miles more or less, depending on where they start and end in each city.
Where does the Venice Beach to San Felipe drive cross into Mexico?
At about mile 242 of this route, from California into Baja California, near the Calexico West port of entry.
Do I need a permit to drive my car from Venice Beach to San Felipe?
No vehicle permit is needed. Baja California is in Mexico's hassle-free zone for U.S. vehicles. You also need Mexican auto insurance and a passport book or card. An FMM entry permit is required too.
Is it safe to drive from Venice Beach to San Felipe?
The U.S. State Department rates Baja California Level 3: Reconsider Travel (advisory issued May 29, 2026). Read the full advisory before you go.
What roads does the drive from Venice Beach to San Felipe use?
In order: I-10, I-10 EXPR, CA-86, US-99 Hist, CA-78, CA-111 and MEX-5. The road-by-road table above shows the route miles and states for each one.
What are good stops between Venice Beach and San Felipe?
Closest to the road: Museum of Tolerance (museum, mile 7, 2 mi from the route); The Broad (art museum, mile 14, 2 mi from the route); Little Tokyo, Los Angeles (historic district, mile 17, 1 mi from the route). All stops are described above.
How we put this guide together
Wayro calculates the route from OpenStreetMap road data; mile numbers are positions along this route, not highway mile markers, and "from the route" distances are straight-line, so the real detour depends on access roads. Stops are chosen from parks, natural sites, museums, historic sites and attractions close to the route (roughly 2 to 7 miles depending on the type, farther for World Heritage sites): at least one strong stop for each stretch of the drive, then the best-known places nearest the road, with no more than five of one type, up to nine in all. Places that are closed, private or not open to visitors are removed. Place and city descriptions are written by the Wayro team from official park, museum, tourism and government websites and other published sources. Safety levels and entry rules were checked against the U.S. Department of State on September 29, 2026. Conditions change, so check the linked sources before you travel.
Route data © OpenStreetMap contributors.