Is it safe to tow a boat on a trailer all the way down Baja California, Mexico?

It's a long drive down Mexico's western peninsula - 810 miles from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas - but experts on Baja California travel say it's doable if you follow some simple precautions and rules of the road.

Longtime Baja residents James A. Glover and Tomas Zyber publish and edit the Baja Insider, an online magazine (www.bajainsider.com) that runs tourism information, road reports and daily weather updates. Both are veterans of the Mexico road system; Glover himself has driven the Baja peninsula more than 100 times.

Their cardinal rules: Do not drive at night. (It's the cows you need to worry about.) And you must get Mexican auto insurance. Your U.S. insurer can help you buy a short-term policy.

"Only a Mexican-based insurance policy is accepted by Mexican authorities as evidence of financial responsibility," California State Automobile Association spokesman Matt Skryja says. All of the towed vehicles must be insured, including the boat.

Here is more important advice from the Baja Insider:

-Take your time. Figure two or three days from San Diego. Zyber suggests you carry at least one extra tire for each vehicle and extra gasoline. And make sure to gas up in El Rosario; the next full stop is 200 kilometers (125 miles) away.

-Check the road and weather reports on BajaInsider.com for news of washouts and other obstacles.

-You must get a tourist visa after entering Mexico or from the consulate beforehand. If you are towing a boat or trailer, Glover recommends you bypass Tijuana and wait until you arrive in Ensenada to do that. (It's easier to park a truck or trailer at the Ensenada immigration office.)

-Mexican drivers use their flashers frequently to warn other drivers of obstacles or cows on the road - or, Glover says, simply to identify the left side of their vehicle when the road is narrow and they are hugging the middle.

-"Don't be ostentatious," Zyber says. Make sure to cover valuables like kayaks, new outboard motors, etc. And although you should not carry all of your money in one place, it's wise to keep a "believable" amount of cash in your wallet.

-Guns are illegal in Mexico. Don't try to secure your safety with one.

-"If you need roadside assistance, the Green Angels are there to help," Zyber says. "These are federally paid, well-equipped and clearly marked trucks that roam Highway 1. Most will refuse a tip for their assistance; there is an esprit de corps that somehow seems to keep these guys squeaky clean."