Caravans

Thank you Tequila.

We're from Toronto and considering going the west coast of Mexico.

We'd like to join a caravan, as it is our first Mexican RV adventure.

Very confusing to pick the right one...

Denis

I am currently leading one. A long, 3 month one. Well that is not exactly correct, I have turned it over for 28 days to Kevin & Ruth Read(www.travelwithkevinandruth.com), extremely experienced Mexican RV'ers, while I have a vacation with my wife who is on chemo and has flown down to join me.

It does depend a lot on who the wagon master is. IMO, I am a good one, but there are ones out there who are not. It also depends on who else in on the caravan. An awkward customer on a small one can poison the group (Both myself & Dan Goy who runs Baja Amigos have had that experience). On a larger caravan (10+) rigs they tend to get outvoted, so to speak. The particular caravan I am leading currently, at one time was 18 rigs, and is down to 11 (some took a shorter option and were taken back to the border by a tour guide & Green Angels). It happens to be the best one I have ever led. Not a single awkward individual among the lot of them and they are all having a lot of fun. Caravans are not for everyone, and those people usually know who they are, and should avoid them. They can seem pricey but really are not when you add up all the RV park fees, tours & meals that are included. Prices can vary widely from company to company and you have to look close at what is included. A company that says 40 tours in 30 days, is obviously counting every stop on a single day as a separate tour. Do they give quality meals or a soggy sandwich & a coke?

There are 3 reputable companies doing caravans in Mainland Mexico IMO, and they are:

1) Caravanas de Mexico/Vagabundos del Mar (http://www.mexicocaravan.com). I am a wagon master for this one myself, they are a Mexican based company and provide services to other caravan companies as well. They are tied to the California based Vagabundos del Mar RV Club.

2) Adventure Caravans (http://www.adventurecaravans.com). They are based in Texas and do caravans worldwide, not just Mexico. I believe they are the largest.

3) Fantasy (http://www.fanatsyrvtours.com. They are based in California. Also very reputable.

For Baja California there are also 3:

1) Baja Amigos (http://www.bajaamigos.net). They are based in Vancouver, Canada and specialize in small grouso of 6 rigs.

2) Baja Winters (http://www.bajawinters.com), are based in California.

3) Vagabundos del Mar (http://vagabundos.com) based in California they run cheaper Baja trips with less tours. They are a non profit club. Their partnership with Caravanas de mexico does not extend to Baja.

There are several French Canadian caravan companies. One of them, Amigos Rodantes, does run biligual trips (www.amigosrodantes.com

One thing a caravn will do is give you experiences you cannot do on your own. Attractions in Mexico are not RV friendly for the most part and if you do not take a tour of many locations, you will miss out. They also will show you the ropes on getting an RV into Mexico and hopefully help you discover where you wnat to go back to. To be quite honest I do what I do to encourage more people to RV in Mexico rather than make money of it (which I don't, other than expenses). Caravans are saving many RV parks down here. The one I am in right now (Laguna del Tule in Melaque) used have a waiting list to get into, now it's 3/4 empty. If parks close, then I don't have a place to camp either. That is why I do what I do. I love introducing new people to how wonderful RVing down here is. I give seminars on it at RV shows. Once you've experienced it, Az seems dull.

I went on one that was organized by member Tequila. He did a good job and had an excellent wagon master. Lots of different personalities, some fit, some didn't, but all got along good and we had a great time over 60+ days. Still have some permanent acquaintances that keep in touch from that trip.
Their goal is to be in the new campsite by 2pm. . .that way it allows for an unexpected event to be settled along the way - very well thought out from my perspective. 10 or 12 rigs is a good group and very manageable.
We had Green Angel escorts. . .they stopped traffic for the group and provided breakdown support if needed. We had Class A's, 5'vers, C's and truck campers. It was money well spent.

I am not a big fan of caravans especially in Mexico with their small parks that have a hard time dealing with a large group of campers arriving on their doorstep late in the afternoon...... Remember one important thing you can only travel as fast as slowest member of your group. Save your money and try and hook up with someone on this site.

AL

No simple answer.

Some people want everything planned for them. Others enjoy "free style".

Neither is right or wrong.

And, yes, there are differences in Caravan companies (itineraries,what is included, prices, etc).

And then the "roll of the dice" with many Caravan companies as to who is the Rally Master. That has a lot to do with the dynamics of the Caravan.