Traveling with caravan or not

[Kidoo]

I am thinking to take my first trip to Mexico in a year or so. I intend to go from either Laredo or Reynosa to Puerto Valarta and south a bit more.

What do you think of going with a caravan compare to going alone? I have traveled quite a bit all over USA and Canada and I went to Ensenada in the BAja a few years ago.

I have a few friends that went alone without problem a few years ago. Do you have to stay on pay highway, are camping easy to find, do you have to speak Spanish, are police officer still corrupt and how is it with crime once you pass the frontier town.

Do you have any area to avoid?

Thanks.

[Turtle-Toad]

Almost any Pemex will let you boondock overnight if there is room for you to park. Some want 5 or 10 peso's, others don't, but if they don't, offer anyway, they will keep an eye on your rig for you. Some have large truck stops behind the station with a security gate and night guard. These are always pay stops. Most also have a restaurants, a small store, and showers available. We've always found the crew and other drivers very friendly and helpful; although language can be a problem. We figured out that if we handed them a lined tablet and pencil and asked them to write it out. We could figure out what they were saying. They just speak too darn fast and don't seem to know how to slow down. The pronunciation was also a problem. Not like anything we had practiced 🙂

Oh, and if it's also a cross-country bus stop, it might even have a dump station. These almost always have a crew that will wash your rig while you're there. They are there to wash the buses, but also wash other rigs too.

[briansue]

I like to boondock too, I never tought of boondocking in Mexico.

We boondock in Mexico but mostly when there is no campground close enough for us to get to or the nearest campground has deteriorated to the point it is no longer inhabitable. Most of our boondocking is at Pemex stations (gas stations) that are large enough to fit into - often similar to US truck stops. We have even seen a Quebec caravan boondocking in a Pemex - 20 rigs. There are other places where it is possible to boondock but a lot of it is inside information. Botanical Gardens parking lot. Butterfly preserve. Walmart/Sam's club. Some of the same rules apply for us that we follow in the US - not everyone follows the same rules or has the same requirements. We do not go to isolated places where we are the only occupants. We make sure there are people around and that they know who we are and what we are doing. We park where there is plenty of light. We met some people in a truck camper from Chile who had been on the road for 8 months and had not yet paid to park - their secret was a lot of fire stations. But we also have the idea that we stay in RV parks when we can because we do not want them to go out of business - there are times we need an RV park - we want to be able to find one when needed - support local business. That's a very basic idea of boondocking in Mexico - lots of people do it.

[Tequila]

almcc wrote:
I think the answer also depends on how you like to travel with your RV. We watched a caravan come into Playa Amour in Aticama a few years ago, the parking exercise took about an hour to settle all the RVs into their slots (a great opportunity for the other campers to sit, watch and comment with some liquid refreshments in-hand!), there was a bit of a break then everyone got together to review the next day's travel schedule. Seemed to me to be too regimented for our style of RVing, we do what we want when we want on our own schedule. For us, it's kinda like queuing up on a cruise ship to come and go. Not for us, but others may have a different opinion!

I watched the same process in Zacatecas with the French Caravanes Soleil in Spring. I ended up as the only non caravan RV in there. Mind you all the Quebec Caravans seen to be 90% large Class A's. Apart from the nervousness factor, there are people who like to caravan and those who do not, otherwise the ones to Alaska would nto be as popular as they are.

[Tequila]

almcc wrote:
I think the answer also depends on how you like to travel with your RV. We watched a caravan come into Playa Amour in Aticama a few years ago, the parking exercise took about an hour to settle all the RVs into their slots (a great opportunity for the other campers to sit, watch and comment with some liquid refreshments in-hand!), there was a bit of a break then everyone got together to review the next day's travel schedule. Seemed to me to be too regimented for our style of RVing, we do what we want when we want on our own schedule. For us, it's kinda like queuing up on a cruise ship to come and go. Not for us, but others may have a different opinion!

I watched the same process in Zacatecas with the French Caravanes Soleil in Spring. I ended up as the only non caravan RV in there. Mind you all the Quebec Caravans seen to be 90% large Class A's. Apart from the nervousness factor, there are people who like to caravan and those who do not, otherwise the ones to Alaska would nto be as popular as they are.

[Turtle-Toad]

The Bells website is http://www.ontheroadin.com/. Bill and Dorothy Bell have been traveling for over 25 years and their road logs are fantastic! They have moved their "build your own caravan" travel buddy's page to their Facebook page. There is a link to it on their website. The travel buddy's are listed under 'files'.

[dieharder]

almcc wrote:
Dieharder, that caravan is probably a bit different than the other ones, it's a relatively short run from Nogales to La Penita (probably a few days at most). I would suggest that between now and your retirement you grab an all-inclusive in Maz or PV and take some of that time to check out La Penita, that way you can decide whether it's a place you want to spend a month at. You wouldn't want to be anchored to a place that doesn't suit.

It's a short run is pretty much what I want. I don't want to be anchored to route plans for multiple weeks at a time. Get me there in a few days and spend some time there to see if I like it. Sure, things will probably change in the next 12 years and my thinking about this caravan now could be futile, but I always wanted to see PV and Mazatlan enough to last a winter there, for sure. The option of going there to check it out first isn't available because I don't fly. Well, I could, but it certainly wouldn't be a pretty sight.

[Kidoo]

Turtle-Toad wrote:
You might want to check out the travel club Vagabundos del Mar website for tours. Their tours are run by club members, consequently the price is pretty cheap. They have simple 'down and back' tours to Cabo where you can drop out or rejoin any time, to 60 day tours of mainland Mexico. They also have a tour to Central America.

Then there is the travel club Discover Baja. Here again they offer tours led by experienced members. Their 'Tour' page doesn't seem to be working right now (probably because it's not tour season). But they do offer short trips (day/2 day), to Guadalupe Valley Wine Country and Ensenada during the year. There is a winery day trip (non-RV) leaving on May 10.



Both of these sites are also good for insurance. You can get on-line quotes, buy your insurance, and print out your policies; all from your laptop.

The Tour Season for these clubs is the winter months and are mostly over by April.

Another option would be to join up with someone that has been to Mexico before. The ontheroad website mentioned in a previous post also has a 'buddy' page where you can find a buddy to team up with.

Finally, there are places (WalMart parking lots, etc) near almost all of the border crossings where people stop when looking for a buddy.

Hope this helps

These could be options, short caravan, so you do not get too compressed to a schedule, I will check those out. Meeting with a group is also a good idea, you get there then you disolve the group.

What is the Ontheroad website?

[Kidoo]

From what I read, I think the caravan is not for me. I am the kind of do it myself too, I do not like to be told where and when to go. Me and my wife are NOT early bird, this is it. I do not like to go to ALL the gathering and meetings, many times I like to be me with the sweet one alone for supper. I like to boondock too, I never tought of boondocking in Mexico.

When I travel, I very rarely make reservations except in Florida when I stay for long periods, and long term for me is a week!

What would be the best route to go from Reynosa to Puerto Valarta, or to the closest Gulf of California beaches / camping?

[Turtle-Toad]

You might want to check out the travel club Vagabundos del Mar website for tours. Their tours are run by club members, consequently the price is pretty cheap. They have simple 'down and back' tours to Cabo where you can drop out or rejoin any time, to 60 day tours of mainland Mexico. They also have a tour to Central America.

Then there is the travel club Discover Baja. Here again they offer tours led by experienced members. Their 'Tour' page doesn't seem to be working right now (probably because it's not tour season). But they do offer short trips (day/2 day), to Guadalupe Valley Wine Country and Ensenada during the year. There is a winery day trip (non-RV) leaving on May 10.

Both of these sites are also good for insurance. You can get on-line quotes, buy your insurance, and print out your policies; all from your laptop.

The Tour Season for these clubs is the winter months and are mostly over by April.

Another option would be to join up with someone that has been to Mexico before. The ontheroad website mentioned in a previous post also has a 'buddy' page where you can find a buddy to team up with.

Finally, there are places (WalMart parking lots, etc) near almost all of the border crossings where people stop when looking for a buddy.

Hope this helps

[tony_lee]

RV parks aren't easy to find in some areas in the highlands but we boondocked about a third of the time during our three months in Mexico so lack of RV parks was never a problem anyway.

[almcc]

Dieharder, that caravan is probably a bit different than the other ones, it's a relatively short run from Nogales to La Penita (probably a few days at most). I would suggest that between now and your retirement you grab an all-inclusive in Maz or PV and take some of that time to check out La Penita, that way you can decide whether it's a place you want to spend a month at. You wouldn't want to be anchored to a place that doesn't suit.

[dieharder]

Pretty sure that my first exposure to Mexico will be the caravan offered by La Penita RV Park, if they still offer it once I retire in 12 years. For the price, which is one month of staying in the park, it's essentially free and would bring me to the area I'd really like to visit on the way there (Mazatlan). Stay in their park for at least a month, visit Puerto Vaillarta, head to Mazatlan and check it out longer than a stop over and then tag along if they offer a caravan back.

Show me the ropes once and I'll be able to handle it on my own from there.

[briansue]

I forgot - Church book website....

http://www.rollinghomes.com/

Page by page updates....

http://www.rollinghomes.com/madds3.htm

[almcc]

I think the answer also depends on how you like to travel with your RV. We watched a caravan come into Playa Amour in Aticama a few years ago, the parking exercise took about an hour to settle all the RVs into their slots (a great opportunity for the other campers to sit, watch and comment with some liquid refreshments in-hand!), there was a bit of a break then everyone got together to review the next day's travel schedule. Seemed to me to be too regimented for our style of RVing, we do what we want when we want on our own schedule. For us, it's kinda like queuing up on a cruise ship to come and go. Not for us, but others may have a different opinion!