RV Tourism in Mexico

JeffersonCampervan wrote:


I'm dismayed at the undercurrent tone on Mexico forums, which I just started re-frequenting this autumn. Prior to my last stint, pre-2006, the negative posts were from people who had never been to Mexico and we always dismissed them - and our own experience of Mexico & the warm Mexican people did not correspond to any of the fear-based comments we read. We were usually the ones who dispelled the pervasive-violence-&-corruption myths about Mexico. But now I see Mexico-partial names I recognize from 8 years ago expressing unease.
We are reconsidering Mexico as a destination this Christmas - & not due to cost.

I believe that it is not so much an undercurrent but an information current of some of us with repeated experience of traveling in Mexico attempting to provide more informed views of present day Mexico. It is not the Mexico of even a few years ago. Much has changed and not for the good. Even with that said; if the weather in the Southwest turns cold this winter we will be headed SOB. But it will cost more & be more of a hassle to enjoy what we enjoyed years past.

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

JeffersonCampervan wrote:

John & Angela wrote:


I can relate to this post although we are doing it backwards. Started with Mexico and went to other Latin countries and Europe from there. There is good and bad anywhere and an open mind is important. Europe in general is considerably more expensive and makes Canada look down right cheap. Gas is Canada right now is around 3.60 US to 4.00 US per gallon. In Europe it is well over 7 with maybe the exception of Spain. The one big thing we noticed every where in Europe was the massive amount of graffiti EVERYWHERE. Wether it was the canals of Venice or Downtown paris. The lawns along the main tourist areas in Paris probably haven't been cut in years and the garbage is everywhere. Germany is fairly clean and Spain isn't bad but really all over Europe its a problem. It would not stop us from going back as there is a lot to see and do AND LEARN. Mexico in general is cleaner, better preserved and better presented than many areas we saw in Europe. The "pueblos magicos" of Mexico are amazing and I recommend them over any beach location we went to in Mexico. We have had friends in the US tell us they wouldn't go to Mexico because of the check points and soldiers with automatic weapons. We advise them never to go to europe as this kind of thing is common there. There are 7000 pick pocket incidents PER DAY in Paris and Madrid. Meh, keep thirty bucks in your front pocket and a dummy wallet in your back pocket and somebody will cop a little feel of your hiney. :) As far as checkpoints in Mexico we have overnighted at a couple with the invitation of the commandante. As far as bad cops in Mexico I'm sure there are some, we just never ran across one in our 4 years of RV travel and we rarely sat in one place for more than a few weeks. I don't want to minimize Mexicos problems but it is what it is. I don't recommend un informed travel in Mexico (or anywhere else) as there are real security risks that need to be mitigated or reduced.
All just my humble opinion. What do I know about culture. I like padre kino wine. :)

I can't let this caricature pass without comment - you were in a different Europe than I was.

We've shipped 3 campers to Europe and left them there for years, beginning in 1992. We just brought our Rialta back to Canada after 8 years in Europe. We also have travelled a dozen times to Mexico, the last several trips in that same Rialta from 2004 to 2006, which was our last trip to Mexico. Some trip pages at our site: Our Travel Pages

If you know how to do it, using a combination of campgrounds, stellplatze, aires, France Passion and freecamping, Europe is much cheaper than over here or Mexico. Gas/Petrol is more per litre, but much less per day of travel - you seldom do long distances. I saw no graffiti epidemic & I guess we always hit Paris just after they cut the grass.:-)The checkpoint statement is remarkable - we have never encountered one. A dummy pickpocket wallet is a good idea anywhere - I always have that setup in place - the only place I've availed myself of it, though, was Patzcuaro.

Mexico we love as well - and had planned for our first RV trip back in North America to be a revisit. I still have my 2005 10 year import sticker on the Rialta windshield, next to stickers for German umwelt zones, France Passion & toll stickers for Czech Republic, Austria and Turkey.

I'm dismayed at the undercurrent tone on Mexico forums, which I just started re-frequenting this autumn. Prior to my last stint, pre-2006, the negative posts were from people who had never been to Mexico and we always dismissed them - and our own experience of Mexico & the warm Mexican people did not correspond to any of the fear-based comments we read. We were usually the ones who dispelled the pervasive-violence-&-corruption myths about Mexico. But now I see Mexico-partial names I recognize from 8 years ago expressing unease.
We are reconsidering Mexico as a destination this Christmas - & not due to cost.

Well, I would definetly defer to your experience over ours as you are definetly a well travelled fellow and much more so than us. As opposed to checkpoints I would call them control points, we noticed them at high speed rail stations in both France and Spain as well as a couple in Italy. Really wasn't a big deal. Security points don't bother us at all.

Re the grafiti though, maybe its just something you get used to. We couldn't help but notice it pretty much everywhere we went, even in high tourist areas. It shows up in a lot of our pictures. Our whole group noticed it and it was a topic of conversation more than once. Again, no big deal. Looking forward to going back. Maybe they will have cut the grass in Paris along the river this time. :) Maybe they even emptied the overflowing garbage cans. Or maybe there was a strike on and we didn't know it. Just reporting what we saw. Not trying to bash it. We enjoyed our time there. I"m sure its normally much better kept.

We do intend to go back to RV through europe after I have finished work in a few years. Right now we take winters off and work in the summer. Good to know that it can be done on a budget. There are so many areas we flagged for returning to especially in Germany, Spain and France. We will be back in Italy (the south this time) for a few weeks next year (2016) or at least thats the plan. (which seems to change daily). I would be interested in hearing if you found a way around the 90 day Schengen zone limit or do you just leave at the 90 day point. I took a quick look at your site and it looks awesome. Looking forward to exploring it in more depth. Thanks for posting.

John & Angela wrote:


I can relate to this post although we are doing it backwards. Started with Mexico and went to other Latin countries and Europe from there. There is good and bad anywhere and an open mind is important. Europe in general is considerably more expensive and makes Canada look down right cheap. Gas is Canada right now is around 3.60 US to 4.00 US per gallon. In Europe it is well over 7 with maybe the exception of Spain. The one big thing we noticed every where in Europe was the massive amount of graffiti EVERYWHERE. Wether it was the canals of Venice or Downtown paris. The lawns along the main tourist areas in Paris probably haven't been cut in years and the garbage is everywhere. Germany is fairly clean and Spain isn't bad but really all over Europe its a problem. It would not stop us from going back as there is a lot to see and do AND LEARN. Mexico in general is cleaner, better preserved and better presenteted than many areas we saw in Europe. The "pueblos magicos" of Mexico are amazing and I recommend them over any beach location we went to in Mexico. We have had friends in the US tell us they wouldn't go to Mexico because of the check points and soldiers with automatic weapons. We advise them never to go to europe as this kind of thing is common there. There are 7000 pick pocket incidents PER DAY in Paris and Madrid. Meh, keep thirty bucks in your front pocket and a dummy wallet in your back pocket and somebody will cop a little feel of your hiney. :) As far as checkpoints in Mexico we have overnighted at a couple with the invitation of the commandante. As far as bad cops in Mexico I'm sure there are some, we just never ran across one in our 4 years of RV travel and we rarely sat in one place for more than a few weeks. I don't want to minimize Mexicos problems but it is what it is. I don't recommend un informed travel in Mexico (or anywhere else) as there are real security risks that need to be mitigated or reduced.
All just my humble opinion. What do I know about culture. I like padre kino wine. :)

I can't let this caricature pass without comment - you were in a different Europe than I was.

We've shipped 3 campers to Europe and left them there for years, beginning in 1992. We just brought our Rialta back to Canada after 8 years in Europe. We also have travelled a dozen times to Mexico, the last several trips in that same Rialta from 2004 to 2006, which was our last trip to Mexico. Some trip pages at our site: Our Travel Pages

If you know how to do it, using a combination of campgrounds, stellplatze, aires, France Passion and freecamping, Europe is much cheaper than over here or Mexico. Gas/Petrol is more per litre, but much less per day of travel - you seldom do long distances. I saw no graffiti epidemic & I guess we always hit Paris just after they cut the grass.:-)The checkpoint statement is remarkable - we have never encountered one. A dummy pickpocket wallet is a good idea anywhere - I always have that setup in place - the only place I've availed myself of it, though, was Patzcuaro.

Mexico we love as well - and had planned for our first RV trip back in North America to be a revisit. I still have my 2005 10 year import sticker on the Rialta windshield, next to stickers for German umwelt zones, France Passion & toll stickers for Czech Republic, Austria and Turkey.

I'm dismayed at the undercurrent tone on Mexico forums, which I just started re-frequenting this autumn. Prior to my last stint, pre-2006, the negative posts were from people who had never been to Mexico and we always dismissed them - and our own experience of Mexico & the warm Mexican people did not correspond to any of the fear-based comments we read. We were usually the ones who dispelled the pervasive-violence-&-corruption myths about Mexico. But now I see Mexico-partial names I recognize from 8 years ago expressing unease.
We are reconsidering Mexico as a destination this Christmas - & not due to cost.

I buy my chorizo de rancho from the lady with the cart in front of the pelucaria (barbershop). A short drive to a rancho that sells the best cheese. My next door neighbor makes the tastiest empanadas on the planet and most visitors haven't a clue stuff like this is going on while they dart between Louie's Steak & Lobster and a chaise lounge by a pool. Enrique sells outstanding moonshine mescal in gallon milk jugs, and perhaps the best bar-be-cue butane lighters in the world (Tokai) sit unnoticed on store shelves. Strange brand name, but made in Mexico and they have no peer north of the border.

Mexicans sadly note that most Americans come, pass their vacation and miss 99% of what Mexico could offer them if only they knew. When I gaze upon RV'ers passing through, there they sit in their RV's, allowing countless unseen wonders pass by like Mexico was a gigantic never ending diorama passing by their window. How sad.

If you don't like what I say

Don't care what you say - find it hilarious - so totally misinformed about so many things - fall on the floor laughing.

briansue wrote:

CKNSLS wrote:
You do support The American economy by shopping at Walmart. Think about it. Its the same thing about buying a Mexican made auto or truck. Again-think about it so I don't have to post the obvious.

I'm guessing you flunked economics.

If you don't like what I say do us both a favor and use the "block" feature they so kindly provide here on this forum.

CKNSLS wrote:
You do support The American economy by shopping at Walmart. Think about it. Its the same thing about buying a Mexican made auto or truck. Again-think about it so I don't have to post the obvious.

I'm guessing you flunked economics.

Tequila wrote:

CKNSLS wrote:
You do support The American economy by shopping at Walmart. Think about it. Its the same thing about buying a Mexican made auto or truck. Again-think about it so I don't have to post the obvious.

I have trouble finding anything in Wal mart not made in China. Many of their employees are on income assistance as they cannot afford to live on the meagre salary they pay. Over 6 billion dollars of your tax dollars (LINK)If you want to support the US, avoid WalMart.

This has been talked about so much I am not even going to respond. End of discussion. Don't buy any vehicle made in Mexico then.

Clicky

Lots of stuff made in Mexico and Asia are sold in US and Canada, and also lots of Mexican working in the US and Canada. Buying home made/produced/packed/grown/ product?

There are so many confusions and misleading info on where stuff comes from. There are a lot of stuff that are "bottled" in us, sometimes just the label is put on the bottle in the US which makes it "Made in USA" you really have to read the label. Like "Olive Oil" bottled in Italy, you would thing the oil comes from Italy, check twice, they do not say the oil comes from Italy, it is bottled in Italy.

I do like anybody running a business, they buy the cheapest for their own pocket, they do not care where it is made, how and by who, as long as their banker is happy, but they will tell you BUY LOCAL.

Tequila wrote:

Kidoo wrote:
Mexicoruss, do you have any recommendation on RV Caravans? I am thinking at going with one, but not too far and not for too long for the first time anyway.

Kidoo, there are many options out there. Caravans are coming back in Mexico. Fantasy, Adventure, Baja Amigos, and French speaking Quebec caravans are all operating down here along with the company I currently wagon master for ( I am leading one right now), Caravanas de Mexico de S.A de C.V. We also organize the tours for many of the other caravan companies, as we are legally licensed to operate tours in Mexico and have the government connections to organize escorts with the green Angels. We still have vacancies for Spring but ours is 82 days long and you indicate you are looking fro a shorter one, I am pretty sure Baja Amigos is full, I am not sure about Fantasy & Adventure, but i have linked their websites below. They tend to run shorter ones than we do.

You need to compare all of them, the per day cost, length and where they go. The longer the caravan the lower the per day cost in general. Most include RV parks, some do not include all of them, and make sure when they say 20 tours, they mean 20 full day tours not 5 tours with 4 stops on each one. You also need to look at how much windshield time there is in comparison to time to chill out. If you are retired you do not want a caravan that is on the road every day.

A caravan is a good way to get your feet wet, learn the paperwork and where you can safely take your RV. They also usually have tours to places that are tough to get to on your own, especially if you have never taken an RV to Mexico before. We use Green Angel escorts and we also are the agency for arranging them for Fantasy.

Here are the websites of a few

www.fantasyrvtours.com (fantasy)
www.bajaamigos.net (Baja Amigos)
www.mexicorvbuddies.com (caravanas de mexico)
www.adventurecaravans.com (adventure)
www.vrcamping.com/caravanes-soleil (caravanes soliel - French

At least 2 people who took our caravan last year are returning on their own this year and I am betting its a similar story with the other companies.

Thanks for the great info. I am taking a small brake on long trip this year, but I will certainly go one day or the other.

I think there is also RV Parks that bring their customer from the border to their RV park?