We've been going to Baja every February - April for the last 22 years but, until a couple months ago, had never visited in the Fall. We wanted to experience the warmer water, seasonal flora and lack of tourists in the off season and it was fantastic. We entered Baja at Calexico East on Oct 1st and spent all our time on the East side within a few hours both North and South of Loreto. We knew it would still be hot - and it was - mid 90's days and 80's at night. Our attitude was "embrace the heat". The water was clearer than we had ever seen it and, at 84 deg, swimming was fantastic.
Our camping style in Baja is to set up in one location for a week or more at a time - driving a couple hrs into town every 7-10 days for supplies. This requires some extra gear on top of the two sea kayaks and two inflatable SUPs we pack. Having the extended van with the back 20" left open for gear allows us to get that done without filling up the living area.
For us, in Baja, it's all about bringing enough shade. We set up a ramada on the beach to hang out under while enjoying any breeze there might be and an awning and extra shade netting for our living area and kitchen tent... pretty darn comfy. My USB fan was critical to staying comfortable sleeping at night.
The paddling and swimming was spectacular, the mountains and desert greener than we had ever experienced and there were very few other campers on any of the beaches we were on or passed on the way down. The mosquitoes got pretty bad in the South at the end of our trip but really a small price to pay for the solitude and extravagant beauty.
We came home by way of Joshua tree, Mojave, Bishop and up the western edge of Nevada. All spectacular this time of year.