Forum Discussion

moisheh's avatar
moisheh
Explorer
Oct 05, 2013

San Bartolo

I just had a message from one of our Forum members: Cross Country. I met him a number of years ago @ San Bartolo in Mazatlan. Apparently they are building homes on that site. Park is still ( or was still) open. What a shame. Great location and an OK park.

News Article on Hotel Tourism It appears that although RV tourism in Mexico is dying hotel tourism is flourishing. At first it was due to the economy and maybe violence. But now some of the RV parks are closing. Maz. has always been a number one destination for RV'rs. I remember when Mar Rosa and the park that is where they built the Mega store were booked up constantly. Although it is nice to be able to get into almost any park this only means that more will close. Many of the larger parks are worth far more as real estate than as a business and the owners are elderly. Time for them to cash out. I know that a few new parks have opened in some areas but they are usually very small and do not take anything larger than vans or campers. I understand that Celestino was almost deserted last year. And to think that when we first went to Celestino there were 2 parks and both were very full. Then one or two more parks opened. I really thought that area could be developed. I guess I should never start a new career as a property developer! There are so many areas with no RV parks. San Cristobal has one small park. Oaxaca has one old park and the very small one that opened. Both were among our favorite spots.

Moisheh
  • MM49's avatar
    MM49
    Explorer
    Oct 05, 2013
    I work in Mexico 10 - 12 times a year and the hotels have been really stepping it up The Bouyee in Navajoa is a very nice hotel with a French design.
    MM49
  • Tequila's avatar
    Tequila
    Explorer
    Oct 06, 2013
    There are also quite a few new RV parks that have opened. The RV industry is booming again in the US, hopefully we will see more going down that will help convince many to stay open. Caravans are starting to come back as well. I heard the big ones out of Quebec are all booked up full this year and starting to invade lo de Marcos, and Adventure, Caravanas de Mexico & Fantasy are running ones down the west coast. Laguna del Tule in Melaque is adding 20 more spaces. I saw the churches at an RV show last week, they are planning on doing an new version of their book maybe next year.
  • moisheh's avatar
    moisheh
    Explorer
    Oct 06, 2013
    Tequila: Please tell me about the new parks that can take class a units and are not rented to semi permanents. Haven't ben south for 2 years and need to be updated.

    Moisheh
  • Tequila's avatar
    Tequila
    Explorer
    Oct 06, 2013
    Most are listed on the Church's site. The is a new one in Lo de Marcos, la Parrota for example.
  • Usk_Coastie's avatar
    Usk_Coastie
    Explorer
    Oct 07, 2013
    Next to La Parrota in Lo De Marcos is Cruz Maria. Both are excellent. The owner of Cruz Maria is the brother of the owner of La Parrota. We spent a month there before heading to Perula. In Perula there were two parks off the beach which had few rigs in them. The three on the beach were not full the two months we were there.
  • Almot's avatar
    Almot
    Explorer III
    Oct 07, 2013
    RV is dying out. Land is getting expensive everywhere, in Mexico and US. In the US there are national and state parks that will - hopefully - remain open, but in Mexico all land is private, and their population is growing faster too, many children in families.

    Yes, good places are usually taken by permanent residents, baby boomers numbers will be growing for another 5-10 years, then it will subside, but by then there will be no RV parks. Besides, it's easier for a park owner to deal with permanent residents than transients.

    It is interesting though, that there are fewer RV tourists in Mexico, I noticed this too. Don't know why. Probably recession is to blame. So there is more pressure on the park owner to sell. On waterfront in Baja, everybody that I asked, were approached at some point by some super-mega resort developer, but the owners are old, this is their home, so they are reluctant to go.
  • moisheh's avatar
    moisheh
    Explorer
    Oct 08, 2013
    Almot: Perhaps the reason there is less RV tourism is that a new generation has retired and they have high expectations. Most of the regulars here have stayed in parks with almost zero water pressure and bad electricity. But I think we are so used to this it is no big deal. Electricity is bad: Unplug your unit. H2O pressure is low: Just hook up small water pump to the faucet. We carry a pump for this purpose. I don't think the newbies will feel the same. They want something that is similar to the better snowbird parks in the USA. Very few in Mexico will meet their expectations. Add to that some other small inconveniences :the hassles at the border, buying extra insurance and language barriers. And the fear of the unknown.

    Moisheh

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