Interesting article on RV park vacancy rate in Mazatlan.

moisheh wrote:
J & A: Surely you jest: "running out of money". Are you not going to work this summer?? Paying too much income tax?? Silver: RVing may cost more than flying but there are things that do not have a price tag. Hoteling in some parts of Mexico sucks. In an RV you get to sleep in your own bed and eat your own food. In an RV there is camaradiere that you wont find in a hotel. And for some of us ( as John mentioned) pets are important and very few hotels in Mexico take pets. I could never understand how you can bring 20 people into one hotel room and leave it looking like Atilla the Hun had a party but one little dog or cat is not allowed!

Moisheh

Not working this summer Marv. We have about 4 months of travel planned and we are on a budget. Should be fun though. Re South America in 2015. How long will 4 grand last once we hit the grand in Ecuador?. :). Hopefully we won't miss our prepaid plane ride home or we will have to get creative down there. :) I can still sing a little. Angela can dance a bit. :) We have always had a pre planned budget and are pretty good at stickin to it. Its all good.

You said it perfectly! Something about having your own home and "family" you makes all the difference in the world.
Some of us prefer family members with 4 legs!

J & A: Surely you jest: "running out of money". Are you not going to work this summer?? Paying too much income tax?? Silver: RVing may cost more than flying but there are things that do not have a price tag. Hoteling in some parts of Mexico sucks. In an RV you get to sleep in your own bed and eat your own food. In an RV there is camaradiere that you wont find in a hotel. And for some of us ( as John mentioned) pets are important and very few hotels in Mexico take pets. I could never understand how you can bring 20 people into one hotel room and leave it looking like Atilla the Hun had a party but one little dog or cat is not allowed!

Moisheh

Northern Mexico is no longer "inexpensive". I can travel to San Cristobal de Las Casas and live in a hotel for fewer pesos.

Yah I guess your right Silver. All about keeping an open mind I guess. I would love to hear some of your back packing stories. I guess in a way we are the same. We are flying to Amsterdam this summer and spending a couple of months travelling around europe and a little down into North Africa (Morroco) The following winter (2015) we hope to fly to Ecuador and try to cover the main attractions of Ecuador, Chile and Peru for about 6 weeks, or until the money runs out, whichever comes first. :)

silversand wrote:

However, if you are a viajero (traveller) nothing beats an RV.

J & A:

....I consider myself a "viajero", and travel without "an RV" many a time. ie. I would jump on a jet, fly to Panama, and trek through the Darien with my backpack for 60 days, staying at remote villages-- never more than 2 days in one place...there are all kinds of viajeros out there (genres of). I wouldn't say that I'm more a viajero than someone with an RV driving through Mexico, me jetting to Latin America and doing extreme expeditioning for a month or six. However, I and a Catracho friend did, at one time, wonder what in the he$$ those RVers were doing and thinking traveling to extreme eastern Honduras with a tow-trailer, stuck up to their axles in mud, once :B

However, if you are a viajero (traveller) nothing beats an RV.

J & A:

....I consider myself a "viajero", and travel without "an RV" many a time. ie. I would jump on a jet, fly to Panama, and trek through the Darien with my backpack for 60 days, staying at remote villages-- never more than 2 days in one place...there are all kinds of viajeros out there (genres of). I wouldn't say that I'm more a viajero than someone with an RV driving through Mexico, me jetting to Latin America and doing extreme expeditioning for a month or six. However, I and a Catracho friend did, at one time, wonder what in the he$$ those RVers were doing and thinking traveling to extreme eastern Honduras with a tow-trailer, stuck up to their axles in mud, once :B

For the sit in one place snowbird I agree that flying and renting is cheaper. However, if you are a viajero (traveller) nothing beats an RV. We usually don't in one place for more than 7 or 8 days and then move on to another location. Nice to have your own bed with you. Also great if you have a pet.

...know lot of folks that do not travel down in there rigs because of Costs. and now rent apts and homes here.

...I think you nailed it (at least for us). The cost of hauling an big honking RV from northern North America all the way down to central Mexico (and, back!) is brutal. There are many costs that most RVers, who aren't CPAs, don't figure properly or at all into the cost (but they mysteriously see it at the end of the year in their financial situation): buying, insuring, maintaining, depreciation and feeding "the beast".

Those US citizens that live near the Mexican "frontera" would still take a full hit on all the above costs, but less so on food (metaphor for diesel/gasoline). Think about it. We went through the same exercise, and came to the conclusion that RVing in Florida (we're on the east coast: south/Central Florida is the closest guaranteed warm spot; The RGV is, well, too cold: weather-fickle) at a 3 month "Snowbird Special Price" of $510 a month + electricity @ fairly low kilowatt cost, and a good long 2 day drive, is WAAAAY less expensive (mileage/wear & tear/time-to-destination, etc) than the huge "Overland" needed to get to a decent beach-- mostly on Mexico's west coast; The Yucatan Riviera Maya is just far too long-haul for us with an RV.

Safety isn't even a concern for us in Mexico (we're both old hats at living/working in Latin America, and speak the language perfectamente bien). So, we decided when we "want Mexico, or Costa Rica, or Panama", we'll fly there (from Plattsburgh Air Force base-turned-civilian airport: an hour's drive for us) for a few hundred bucks return, and rent a nice cheap condo with an ocean view, for peanuts$.

Anyhow, this is just one voice of the many hundreds of thousands who carefully considered "RVing in Mexico" as a snowbird, or alternative. I don't claim to speak for more than myself, nor do I claim to represent the voice of thousands of Snowbirds contemplating said locales...

Silver-

The cerretos park primary leases sites. It took the place of the old Los Canoas Park that closed years ago.. I drive by Mar Rosa all the time , pretty empty most of the time... with the land prices going up and folks coming down from the Durango and Centro Mexico on the new road it just a matter of time before the owners sell out for $$$ Mazatlan had close 700 RV sites at one time those days are long gone. Condo towers going up everywhere.

Wonder how the rest of Mexico RV parks are doing ?

We did a pitstop at Cerritos and it seemed almost full but many are permanent so don't know how many are currently occupied. We went to Lo de Marcos from there and they were almost full. Lots of nice people everywhere we have been.