New Horizons: Baja California, Mexico

Expanding the world of travel

Splash out: Baja California is one of the world's finest whale-watching locations (AFP/Getty Images)

A new route from Los Angeles's second airport to a small town in Mexico doesn't sound like much, but this week's AirTran launch of a link from Orange County to Los Cabos, at the southern tip of Baja California, is rich in possibility.

A one-way fare, typically about $150 (£100), will transport you to one of the world's finest whale-watching locations.

Then take the Baja Ferries boat from nearby La Paz to Topolobampo on the Mexican mainland, and hop on a bus for 20 minutes to Los Mochis.

This is one end of the finest day-long train ride in the Americas – the Chihuahua al Pacífico or Copper Canyon Railway – which climbs to 8,000ft as it snakes through spectacular terrain en route to Chihuahua – not a place, sadly, to linger these days because of drug-related violence (airtran.com).