Your challenge: you have one day and night in Mexico's emerging Valle de Guadalupe, located two hours south of San Diego—known for its wine, boutique hotels, and farm-to-table Baja Med cuisine. Here's how to hit the chicest and most delicious spots and tour the Valle the way it was meant to be experienced–all in 24 hours...while eating and drinking the whole time. Ready, set, jet.

8:00 a.m. Passport in hand, you'll be crossing the border by either car or foot. If you're walking, make sure your passport is accessible as you'll have to go through immigration. If you're driving, you'll have just passed through San Diego, so follow all signs for Mexico and Tijuana. It's pretty hard to miss.  Mexico doesn't stop cars on the way in, so just keep going and stay to the right, towards the signs leading you to Rosarito and Ensenada.

8:45 a.m. - About an hour and a half later, you'll be cruising along Mexico's Route 1, which hugs the coast and looks like a slightly more barren Southern California. If you look up to your left at around kilometer 36 you'll see a giant, full-color statue of Jesus hovering over the landscape, a small (albeit towering) reminder that you've landed in Latin America. Just down the road at kilometer 38 is the best street taco spot on the coast, Taco Surf K38, as well as a world-famous surf spot. If you're an experienced surfer, feel free to jump in and sample the waves.

9:30 a.m. If you're seeing landscape that reminds you of Big Sur, you're probably at Salsipuedes, another famous surf spot in Baja California Norte that's plays host to a big tuna farm (which means a ton of sharks!). This is the last of the coastline you'll see for the rest of the day, so spend a few minutes taking it in, because the views are simply breathtaking and you might just see a few whales coming up for air.

10:00 a.m. After hanging a left just north of the city of Ensenada and heading 15 miles inland from the ocean, you'll enter the Valle de Guadalupe. Eventually, you'll end up driving down dusty, rocky roads with La Cocina de Doña Esthela as your destination. Doña Esthela is the grandma-turned-local-celeb who serves the best breakfast in the Valle, and her machaca and huevos rancheros are must-haves. Make sure you have pesos on hand and dig into the homemade tortilla chips, salsa, and queso fresco to start.

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Courtesy of Hacienda La Lomita
Hacienda La Lomita
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Courtesy of Hacienda La Lomita

12:00 p.m. Walk right across the dirt road to Hacienda La Lomita, which is a winery that regularly features local artist installations and often has visiting artists design their wine labels. They've got great views of the mountains just beyond all the vineyards and interesting blends to sample.

1:00 p.m. You should probably check into your hotel, so make your way over to the stunning and unique Encuentro Guadalupe, which is a relatively new addition to the Valle. They offer you a complimentary glass of wine at check in, which you can enjoy on their sprawling deck that opens up to the valley below. Afterwards, you'll take the hotel's shuttle to the hills and rocks above the main lobby building, where the individual eco pods sit nestled into the hills. Make sure you spot the infinity pool, which is tucked into a small rock formation–that's also where you can grab breakfast after sleeping in. Each pod comes equipped with a small outdoor deck that has a personal fireplace and loveseat and offers unparalleled views of the surrounding vineyards and mountains.

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2:30 p.m. Head over to Finca Altozano, which is the multi-faceted restaurant-cum-tasting room from local celebrity chef Javier Plascencia, who is pioneering the Baja-Med cuisine that's become the hallmark of the Valle de Guadalupe. Think local, fresh seafood, vegetables and meat in the Mediterranean style with a Mexican twist and plenty of good wine to pair with it. You can grab a snack in their outdoor dining room if you're in the mood, but you have a huge dinner coming up– stay strong if you can to preserve your appetite. You should get a few bottles of wine at their recommendation and head into the fields, to either the fire pit or the giant wine barrel with seating on top. As with everywhere else, the views there are incredible.

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5:00 p.m. Go to Vena Cava winery, one of the best in the area, whose tastings are held inside the hull of an old boat. Afterwards, grab a taco at Troika, the gourmet taco truck on site that puts a spin on traditional street tacos by using Baja-Med ingredients.  The rubber, webbed pergola shades a ton of outdoor seating and the adjacent bar offers not only Vena Cava wine but a rotating cast of local craft beers.

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6:15 p.m. Take a short ride around a swath of vines and up another dirt road to Corazon de Tierra, a restaurant that's on the same property as Troika and Vena Cava. For the last few years, Corazon de Tierra has been on the San Pellegrino Best of Latin America list and it's considered to be at the forefront of the Baja-Med renaissance. The tasting menu, set daily by head chef Diego Hernandez Baquedano, is a bargain for the quality and has the option of local wine pairings. The rustic dining room has a disarmingly chic yet comfortable design, with a tasteful mix of metal, wood and glass elements. The floor-to-ceiling windows open up to the garden, where most of the restaurant's dishes are sourced along with local seafood and meats. A meal here is a drawn-out, European-style and unforgettable experience.

9:00 p.m. .

1:00 p.m. After sleeping in, a leisurely breakfast and laying by the pool, check out and make your way down Route 3 to Mogor-Badan winery, which is one of the older players in the Valle. After a quick tasting, walk over to their on-site restaurant, Deckman's en el Mogor. Drew Deckman is the American head chef who has trained in three Michelin-star restaurants and even has one of his own under his belt. The theme here is the same as other restaurants in the area: local, sustainable and fresh. You'll sit outdoors under trees and string lights as well as amongst hay bales and Deckman's open-air grill, all while looking over the Mogor-Badan vines. The menu showcases the chef's expertise in grilling, and you can't go wrong with ordering a la carte or opting for the tasting menu.

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Jackie Bryant
Deckman's en el Mogor

3:00 p.m. Say adios to this magical valley and head back up the coast towards Tijuana, the border, and the United States. Make sure you have your passport and remember that you can't bring more than two bottles of wine back per person–but you can return any time you find yourself back in Southern California.

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Jackie Bryant
Jackie Bryant is a San Diego-based freelance cannabis, food, travel, spirits, wine, design, and sex writer.