Hi,
Im from Finland and now in RTW trip with my wife. Now been on the road about 3 month ( Europe-Canada-Usa ) , now in California near Mexico border. We would like to use tent as much as possible in Mexico , but its hard to find any information about them..is there any application or map where to find them?
Is there any " motorcycle friendly hotels" in Mexico- central america where we chould visit on the way?

If you are in California now, you probably want to go down the Baja. Get your Tourist card at the border cross at San Ysidro. Stop after the Aduana check lanes, park and enter the large white building on your right. There may not be another chance to get this document further South.
Try the La Huerta hotel in San Ignacio. This is the place to decide if you want to head down the Pacific coast. There are a lot of off road routes thru the Sierra once you get past the salt flats at Datil. All of this is better after hurricane season. In the first part of Baja, you might be able to make El Rosario de Ariba on the first night and stay in a motel on the South side of town called the Turista motel. The rest of the way down, camping should be fine. Do not try to camp in the San Quintin valley. If you have questions, message me for my Telcel number.

Have you not tried ioverlander???

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Tony
Click here for Travel Photos & Travel Map

You can pretty much camp anywhere in mexico. Been doing it for years. I ride till I want to stop for the day, pull off the road and pitch my tent.

We are going to do border crossing at Mexicali, then heading to Golfo de santa clara. Thanks for advices, iOverlander was great find..

IMO, you should follow the advice of "Huesos" in post above. Mexicali crossing is OK but Tijuana is better and close to the cooler coastal area just South of Tijuana.

Take the TOLL ROAD to Ensenada. Nice, beautiful and COOL ride along the coast.

Once you are South of Ensenada, you can find Wild Camping and some towns in Baja have RV parks where you may be able to camp.

Mexicali and the Golfo Santa Clara area will be VERY HOT until late October or November. HOT HOT HOT. NO breeze there.

My advice (after 30 trips into Mexico) is to cross at Tijuana, quickly head South on Toll road.

Temps will be 20C cooler along the coast. Go South to Ensenada before finding a Motel. Hotels before that are fancy and expensive. But once in Ensenada you may find something cheaper. Ask Taxi driver to find good one.

Be careful camping in Mexico. Some places you can have people everywhere,
not all are honest, wonderful people. (but MOST are great!) If you have done a lot of Wild Camping before then you will know how to find a safe place (hidden is best)

As noted above, be sure to get your Tourist Visa at the border. You can also get your TVIP (for the bike) there as well ... or ... if you ride down Baja, you can also get TVIP at Ferry Terminal South of La Paz.

BUT ... you must get your Visa at the border, you cannot get it once further South!!

Molly,
You mentioned that it is possible to get the TVIP at the border crossing at Tijuana. Have you done this? I am going to look into doing this or at the consulate in San Diego which is known for being overcrowded and overworked so the border entry would be preferable.

Excellent points made by Mollydog about getting the Tourist Permit ( FMM ) at the border. You MUST get it there when entering Mexico and you will not be permitted on the ferry to the mainland without it. The TVIP ( temp . Vehicle import permit) can be gotten at Banjercito at the ferry docks in Pichilingue - which is actually NORTH and east of La Paz , so don't ride out of town southward looking for it
Remember too that when getting the TVIP you will need to put down a deposit of up to $400 USD , depending on age of the bike . You GET THAT MONEY BACK when you cancel the TVIP before leaving Mexico within its 180 day valid period.

Re: camping in mainland Mexico - Baldman does oversimplify grossly , I wager he has to look around and search for a good spot that is safe and secure or he is asking permission from property owners .
Simply putting up a tent in sight of the road is just asking for attention from the wrong sorts of people . Stealth camping requires obscurity- no lights , no campfires.
Remember that in Mexico and all the tropics you will be dealing with a constant cycle of nearly equal 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of dark , no long lingering late sunsets and early dawns as in summer in Finland and Canada that give you 15 hours of light and an hour of fading or more.
Are you prepared to sit around a dark tent for 12 hours every day?
Yes , you can find secure camping spots and actual organized camping places , but do consider that there will be plenty of small inexpensive hotels available in many of the towns and backcountry villages even . Do not force yourself to camp in areas where you question your security.
Learn to recognize such cheap hotels from the signs that most put up , signs that
say " Hospedaje " or Hostal or " Casa de Huespedes" or " Cuartos " " or Se rentan cuartos" or Motel or Hotel =).
iOverLander is a good resource but with practice you can hone your own skills for finding places like these , don't just give up and settle for the first expensive hotel that gets suggested by folks you might ask .

And most assuredly , the customs offices at the entry to Tijuana will have the service for getting the PERSONAL FMM but I suggest that you do not bother trying to get the TVIP there . The TVIP is totally NOT needed in Baja and you are making pointless work and time for yourself at an inconvenient place.
I guarantee you that the TVIP will be available and very easy to get once you are at the ferry docks early well before the hour of departure of your elected ferry boarding. Believe me , I have done that numerous times.
And for your own health and sanity cancel any thought of going to a Mexican consulate in San Diego . The BORDER TERMINAL is your only service point , that is why it is there . The consulate is there mainly for businesses and for Mexicans having problems i n the USA.Nowadays it has lots and lots of work helping that latter group .

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http://advrider.com/index.php?thread....207964/page-5 then scroll down to post #93

As Sjoerd mentioned, NO point trying to get Visa (FMM) at Mexican Consulate on the USA side of border. Not sure they would even issue it and for sure not the TVIP. TVIP is Aduana and is handled only by Bancjercito.
Consulate is all about helping Mexicans doing business in USA ... they don't deal with tourists at all and it's a nightmare of Mexicans waiting HOURS and DAYS for help.

I got TVIP twice at Tijuana border. No problem now with the all new modern buildings and everything located in one building. Before you had to run around a bit. When I was there last I was the ONLY person there. (late afternoon)

I also got a TVIP at the Ferry Port on another trip. The staff at the Port weren't as knowledgable as the staff in Tijuana, took longer, but in the end either location is fine for getting your TVIP.

You need a credit card for the bike deposit. (was $400 for my '06 DR650). They do give it back but you have to stop at (or near) the border at Bancjercito to get it canceled. Keep you receipt. My credit card showed a $400 credit the next day! Not bad for Mexico.

Sjoerd Bakker is right. Hotels are cheap and plentiful and very motorcycle friendly. They will almost always have secure parking available for your bike in a garage or the courtyard or the dining room after dinner is finished.

We made border crossing at Mexicali, and drove east to Sonoyta. Yes baja route would of been first choice, but there is tropical storm..4 already dead.
I know heat is bad in this area, but we will hit the road early, and after 5-6hrs will take AC hotel somewhere. I've been hot areas last month in states ( grand canyon, bad lands, las vegas, area 51) but this area has been hottest so far..max 48C daytime, and tenting has been "quite" warm when its 29 even at nights
When weather will cool again in south, I will use tent again as much as possible..its much better than hotels.
I've done this long time, so I know how to avoid risks..
I wrote two year ago travel story about trip to Russia/Kazkstan/Mongolia, and there is some info about tenting too..and my worst experiences when not check nearby are :

JUST ANOTHER TRIP TO MONGOLIA

If you come to Mexico City I can lead you in and put you up and show you around for free. We found lots of useful camping info at life remotely
Life Remotely: Redefine Travel. Live and Work Anywhere. Become location independent or a digital nomad. - Life Remotely
You can contact me at garryhostel.com @ gmail.com (just put it together)