Camping in Mexico

[Bobby Kirk]

Anyone have any experience or advice regarding camping in Mexico?
The caravan idea looks good but a little expensive although they do provide excursions ,some meals etc. as well as a planned route.
Are there any permits required other than vehicle insurance?
There have been some horror stories about health care should that arise during the stay. Any advice is appreciated , we have been to Mexico several times but always as a fly in and stay a couple of weeks type vacation. We want to explore more of the country . We wonder how available are campsites and how primitive are they? We do not need full service sites by any means but would like to feel safe enough to get a good nights sleep.
Bobby

[Daniel E]

I have no personal experience in Mexico, but Mexico Mike has alot of info from RVing there: RV's Can Drive Mexico Safely

[Bob Miller]

Quote: "We do not need full service sites by any means but would like to feel safe enough to get a good nights sleep."


I don't see Mexico as a country suitable for "Exploring" beyond the tourist zones if safety is a concern.


Although others will disagree, I no longer go into Mexico due both to the danger from local Bandits & the Drug Cartels, to the abysmal healthcare system outside all but the very largest of cities.


As least as late as last summer, the U.S. Department of State recommends against independent travel in Mexico in general and to never travel after dark. How's that for feeing comfortable.


A friend of mine in BC used to take his motorhome into Mexico every winter, then he started just driving down and staying in hotels, now he flies in for the winter and only stays in Tourist areas which are generally safer. And he knows his way around Mexico and is fluent in Spanish.


I's have to have a very good reason for going there again, and it's only 100 miles from me.


And yes, I expect that there will be a lot of replies contrary to mine.


Best Wishes.

[LSChilders]

We used to go to Mexico frequently. No More. It's too dangerous now. You can easily be robbed, your rig taken, and you left on the side of the road,.... dead or alive, depending on the bandits.
Far too many horror stories for us to risk another trip into that mess.

[Casita Greg]

Very unfortunate that things down south have deteriorated to the point they are now at. Wife and I used to vacation in Puerto Vallarta every winter for 3~4 weeks over Xmas/New Year. We used to love it, and have made many friends down there which we miss. Several years ago we had witnessed one of those scary episodes of street/drug violence while we were there. Some local Narconistas were being chased by the Policia through old town in PV. There were 4 of them in a pickup truck. two in the cab and two in the bed of the truck. The ones in the back were lobbing military fragmentation grenades out on the street as they were attempting to flee from the cops. A woman and her child were hit with schrapnel, the woman died. Needless to say, that was the last time we went to Mexico. This wasn't some isolated drug enclave. This was right in downtown PV. Sadly, we miss our trips, but I feel it has become way to dangerous and lawless to return. Hopefully someday (wishful thinking) they'll get the drug cartel problems under control, but I'm not holding my breath waiting for that to happen. Travel at your own risk.

[emers382]

With all the horror stories we hear about the country we are hesitant even to visit. I certainly would not travel around. We are in an RV park only 20 minutes from Mexico now and everyone here says Nuevo Progresso is safe so we may do as many here do park on US side, walk over the Rio Grande and check out the main street just to say we visited Mexico.

Adrian


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[Carol H]

I visit Mexico and often stay outside the main attraction areas and personally have never felt in any big danger. Actually find the large tourist destinations scarier than some of the smaller less touristy spots. I think the big thing is regardless of where you travel you need to be aware of your surroundings and act accordingly.

For example for my work I spent a week every month staying at the Hyatt in Long Beach Calf. and the staff there recommended not venturing off more than two blocks from the hotel at night if walking. All relevant. ;-) Having disregarded that advise once I fully understand their concern. I should add the disclaimer that I have traveled a fair bit in the world so my perspective of what a scary place to visit is vs what another believes to be scare my be some what slanted. Funny enough the scariest situation I ever had while travel on my own took place in the lobby of a Hyatt Hotel in downtown Antwerp - I was mugged at 8AM in the lobby of the hotel while the hotel staff and lots of other business people stood back and watched.

I currently have a few friends spending their winters in Mexico with their RV's and they have been doing it for years. None have reported any big issues - but I do know that they have had "issues" and/or theft of their property while staying at some pretty highly rated RV parks while staying in the US on their way down to Mexico.

If one wants to dig up horror stories about something that happened at such and such a place its not hard to do, can be done for pretty well anywhere in the world you plan to visit.

San Carlos and La Penita by the photos and travel logs my friends post are two spots the they all seem more than happy staying at and I hope in the not to distant future to have the time to experience it myself with my trailer.

[Bob Miller]

Required Reading for Individual Travel/Camping in Mexico.
Mexico Travel Warning


While "Millions Visit" (and few are killed or kidnapped?) most are flying in and flying out, once you get past the first paragraph the real meat is exposed.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Carol H

If one wants to dig up horror stories about something that happened at such and such a place its not hard to do, can be done for pretty well anywhere in the world you plan to visit.

We are planning a trip to California to visit my wife's Aunt . She lives in the Oakland area. If you look up the crime statistics for California ,Oakland has the honor of topping the list . Their crime rate is ten times higher ,when compared to most Midwestern communities . Mexico may be unsafe but so is a lot of the US
If I wanted to travel to a relatively safe country ,I would visit Canada .

[Bob Miller]

Yep, and I wouldn't walk around in parts of Oakland, Washington, DC, or even Riverside, CA at night either. There are lots of "lists" and I don't know which one you are referring to.

But in a "List" of the 50 deadliest cities in the world released just last week IN MEXICO, 7 are in Mexico, 3 are in the US, and Oakland isn't one of them. And at least in Oakland you; a) speak the language, b) have working cellphone service if you need help or get lost, c) can travel the highways and streets at night and d) don't have to worry about whose side the local police are on.


Here's that "List":
http://www.businessinsider.com/most-...-world-2012-10


But I agree, Canada is a much safer destination for tourists, and for several good reasons, most of which cannot be discussed on this site!

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

Yep, and I wouldn't walk around in parts of Oakland, Washington, DC, or even Riverside, CA at night either. There are lots of "lists" and I don't know which one you are referring to.

But in a "List" of the 50 deadliest cities in the western hemisphere released just last week IN MEXICO, 7 are in Mexico, 3 are in the US, and Oakland isn't one of them. And at least in Oakland you; a) speak the language, b) have working cellphone service if you need help or get lost, c) can travel the highways and streets at night and d) don't have to worry about whose side the local police are on.

But I agree, Canada is a much safer destination for tourists, and for several good reasons, most of which cannot be discussed on this site!

I was not attempting to single out Oakland or any other city/ area but if you look up Oakland's crime rate, it is not something to be proud of . Neither is the crime rate of most major US city including Wahington DC . The US crime rate may look good when compared to Mexico's but it certainly doesn't give us bragging rights.
My point was that you need to be vigilant where ever you travel. Maybe America and Mexico could learn something from the Canadians

[Bobby Kirk]

Yes, Canada is safe alright but 7 months of the year it is too cold to camp.Then when you discount black fly season it only leaves about 12 to 15 weeks!
The camping season is so short and there are so many campers that the parks are full. That is no fun either. In some cases the Ontario parks are booked in February for camping in August!!
Since we need to travel south for warm weather and the CDN/US dollar exchange rate is at a 10 year low I thought Mexico may be a good choice.
Maybe not.
Bobby

[Bob Miller]

Come on down to California...
It was in the 70'5 last week and about the same for next week in SoCal almost anywhere below about 3000 feet altitude. We have a few small parks you can enjoy here in the winter, such as Death Valley NP and Joshua Tree N.P. for safe boon docking for reasonable fees. And there is always ocean camping (during the week, the weekends are booked for years in advance) but a bit pricier. There a number of reasonable "Regional Parks" in all of the southern counties as well, including San Diego county that are also inexpensive for camping.


On the +++ side, gas is bumping $2/gallon (that's about $.47CDN/Liter).


If you really want that taste of south of the border, there are parts of L.A. that will fool you in every respect (LOL). You can also get lost in China, Brazil, Argentina, Viet Nam & Korea, depending on which way you turn.


And, if you want to stop by in Riverside, CA I offer free bookdocking parking and even a cold bottle of good (not Corona!) Mondello Negra Mexican beer to share.....


If you get homesick you can visit Ontario, CA where, those that don't speak Spanish, are fuent in Canadian or take an hours drive up to Big Bear and go skiing or boarding.....LOL

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Bobby Kirk

Yes, Canada is safe alright but 7 months of the year it is too cold to camp.Then when you discount black fly season it only leaves about 12 to 15 weeks!

LOL Bobby you need to come west.... you would have enjoyed days with temps into the 17-18C the last few weeks. You would be digging out your sunglass and not snow. Flowers are blooming. Don't have the Black fly issues you have, here on the coast coast either.

[Roger C H]

We have been to Mexico 5 times. Once to Juarez and 4 times to Puerto Vallarta. We no longer go to Mexico. I am writing this in Yuma only a few miles from Mexico. I was tempted to visit Los Algodones, but decided not to.

[Bobby Kirk]

Carol,
Sounds good> Too bad it is 4,000 km.away
Bobby

[BatDude]

My $.02 worth.

Having lived and worked in Central America for nearly 26 years (based in Belize) I would NEVER- EVER camp in Mexico.

Been back in the U.S. since mid 2012.

Gringos are prime targets for robbery and potential hostages for ransom.

One reason we left our beautiful jungle base in Belize (south of Mexico and east of Guatemala) WAS THE GROWING DRUG TRADE AND RELATED VIOLENCE.

Yes as conservation biologists we miss living there on a daily basis, but health care and increasing lack of security anywhere dictated we return to the U.S.

Is is safe to visit Mexico and Cent. America. Absolutely with tour groups etc. but I think it would be sheer folly to try with a trailer.

We did know one person who would come down every Xmas season with a VW camper and had a HUGE, yes very big chain he would link to his camper door with a OMG large metal bowl with some scraps of old meats and blood in it.

He actually did not have a dog, but those passing would assume he did and it was on big Cujo that would snap the cojones off any who dared trespass.


He would drive down through Mexico to Belize and work with us on the Xmas bird count surveys then drive back to Mexico, like Playa Del Carmen and meet his wife who would fly in and stay a week (hotels) then fly home and he would drive back north.

Good luck, but first and foremost be safe.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

Yup use to have to go to Oakland every month for work as well. Once got off the BART at the wrong station ... called a couple of cab companies but no one showed up to pick me up. Finally after calling one of companies a third time the dispatcher explained that I was not at a safe location and the drivers do not like to go near that station and that it would be better if got back on the BART and got off at another station. Sad but true.

[Uplander]

If news reports are to be believed Mexico is a dangerous place. Police officials all seem to be corrupt and involved with the drug trade. Why not vacation in Iraq, Libya or the DR Congo if you want to cash in your life insurance policy.

[Bob Miller]

The link in my earlier post to the Department of State Travel Warning Site is much more detailed about the danger of individual travel in Mexico than any of the news reports.


And, as far as towing to those other dream vacations sites, the bridge tolls are a Bi%%h.