from Mexico to Panama? Best way
 

Ho guys,
I'm willing to run the way down from Mexico (Mexico city) to Panama.
Trip to be done ideally in December or January.
The shortest way would be 3200 km, but I'm asking you which is the best way in order not to lose the best things/roads/places to be seen, making deviations if it worths (i.e. Belize? etc)
Thans for your help
roberto

Hola Roberto .
Is it a one way trip or are you riding back also? That would make a difference in logically setting up some points to visit in a neat sequence
Consider these ideas as part of your route to Panama

South in high country through OAXACA, and all the way through on the Pan Americana , the usual sights in Chiapas san Cristobal and the mountains of Guatemala- Lago de Atitlan, Panajachel, Solola, Chichicastenango , Antigua
Then into Honduras to Copan ,
Into Costa Rica many possible routes but recommend at least the ride around Lago Arenal and volcano views , other volcanos to ride up around Central Valley and the road south to San Isidro over the mountain tops

If you have a round trip planned maybe go to Palenque , then over to the coast at Chetumal and do a bit of Belize then, enter Guatemala for the closest entry to visit Tikal , Fom there either go south via Coban or Rio Dulce
and into Honduras via Corinto to San Pedro Sula and from there it would need to be back southeast through Tegucigalpa and to Nicaragua

Panama could be entered at the north coast at Sixaola CR or at the south side of the country both every interesting .
The point is that there are so many possible ways to go and it is only a case of deciding. Have fun is the main goal and you will find plenty to keep you interested as to discover stuff along the way without planning

one way
 

Hi Sjoerd and first of all, many thanks for your message,
It's a one way trip Mexico to Panama, shipping the bike from europe to mexico (veracruz port) and back from Panama to Europe.
Could you summarize your indications accordingly?
It's very kind of you, my friend!
roberto

Ah , so it is not a Mexican Roberto we are dealing with, hence the request.
At the moment I too am travelling around on a vacation ride in western Canada and my internet access is sporadic.
But I will provide some more ideas later, you have plenty of time

of course,
enjoy your trip and thanks
roberto
(Milan, Italy)

a few ideas
 

Roberto,

First, there are so many good things to see in Mexico DF, you really have to spend time there. There are several fine art museums and the new archeological museum is not to missed. The art museum built by the billionaire Carlos Slim is amazing and entrance is free. Keep your eyes open as you head south from Mexico DF for the smoking volcano.

Oaxaca rocks, a must stop. Good food, catch some music at a club, visit the churches. Afterwards, take 175 through the mountains to the Pacific ocean. Its a full day ride, about 5-6 hours, slow going due to the twists and turns in the mountains. When you arrive at Porto Angel go up the coast ~20 minutes to Zipolite, a sleepy surfer town. Posada Kiki is a cheap place to camp or rent a room (limited number of rooms.) The beach bar Bang-Bang is a lot of fun. Its a little hard to find Posada Kiki, it is the southern most hotel on the strip, somewhat tucked away from the road, no sign when I was there.


I rode almost the length of Belize, mostly because my wife wanted to meet me in Placencia. Belize isn't my favorite country, but check it out of you have time. The culture is rather Caribbean and not always laid back. Belize City can be a little rough, so keep your wits about yourself. I managed to fine a pool bar on the edge of the bad section and nothing evil happened to me. We enjoyed a butterfly farm in the Pine Ridge District (north western) south of San Ignacio.

As mentioned and if time allows go to Tikal the amazing ruins in northeastern Guatemala. I traveled there via Belize. I believe there are roads will get you to Tikal from Mexico. Not sure of the route to the condition of the roads. If you are ready for off road riding, then keep asking and someone will provide the details. AndyT is very experienced in GU.

In Nicaragua, 20-30 minutes southwest of Managua there is a volcano that you ride to the top and look down into the smoking pot. Perhaps late in the day you can see glow of lava. I recommend stopping in Granada for a night or two. Consider storing the bike and taking the ferry to Ometepe Island on Lake Nicaragua. I haven't done it but heard good things from my second cousin who visited the island.

On the Pacific coast in southern Niceragua you might want to visit San Juan del Sur, a laid back surf town. I read about various touristic lodging north of town. Yoga, surfing, that kind of thing. Cheaper backpacker hostels can be found in town. I recommend from personal experience taking the gravel road south of San Juan del Sur to Playa Coco. You ride for 45 minutes to 1 hours. A little further is Playa La Flor, where turtles come in to lay eggs. You'll have to conduct some research see if any turtles are laying eggs while you are there. There is one season in the fall, late September to early October. I believe other turtle nest there, but do not know their schedule. If it is dry (no rain) and you are feeling adventurous, consider continuing south on the road that parallels the ocean until you get near the Costa Rica border. Chance are you will be stopped at some point by young soldiers for an ID check. When the road basically stops turn left and take the farm roads back to the Pan American highway. I have wanted to try this stretch of road, but have no idea it there are farm roads or paths that are navigable. Last time I was there it had been raining, so we turned around at Playa La Flor back tracked to San Juan del Sur, then the 20-30 minutes to the Pan Am...

In David, Panama, I recommend the Bamboo Hostel. In Panama City, Luna's Castle is the place to stay. Not garage for your bike, but there is a guard that stay out front all night.

I have a few spots marked on a personal Google map. http://goo.gl/maps/toR15

Have fun and post some stories.

Hi

This is what we did on our central america trip :)

includes dangers, food, best things we saw etc

Hope it helps

The Overlanders

Safe Travels
Gwyn & Linzi
The Overlanders
www.facebook.com/theoverlanders

Bomboliere, my best advice would be not to plan too much, and try to stress as little as possible about the route. Might be difficult to do right now as you're planning your trip and you're all excited about it, but just go with flow.
I started my trip in California and now I'm in Nicaragua. I plan to go all the way down to Argentina. I've put no time in planning the route and seen most of the things listed above in other comments. I've also seen stuff you don't see in guides and nobody really recommends - some of the best times on this trip were when I decided to just go. Highly recommend to stay away from backpackers route and lonely planet recommendations unless you really want to see certain things like Tikal ruins and such. Otherwise, you'll see lot of young kids partying who speak English all the time and know very little about local culture - gets old very fast.
Have fun! You can check out my blog (it hasn't been updated in a while) here;
Moto Trip South - Home

Roberto


As your bike is arriving in Veracruz then is it right to assume that your riding in Mexico will also begin there? And how many weeks do you have available before a shipping out date from Panama , perhaps arranged already ?

You did give the start point as Mexico city ( the DF = Distrito Federal )which is of course worth a visit as a tourist , but perhaps you are doing that as a "pedestrian" before picking up the bike at the port.
Beside the city attractions like the famous museums do consider a tour of Teotihuacan , the massive archeological site with the pyramids , northeast of Mexico city ,Bus tours available from the capital no doubt but if you already have the bike you can easily find your way there also from the direction of Veracruz.
Once finished with the DF and you wish to go south to OAXACA there are various interesting routes available but your time restrictions are important to know before I get into too much detail.

For certain is that you could run out to PUEBLA , have a visit inhistoric downtown and see the pyramid of Cholula . Then pick up Highway Mex 190 south and you will get some great views of the active Volcan Popocatépetl
The 190 runs southeast down the spine of Mexico , a delightful motorcycle road , great scenery , regularly spaced towns with plenty of fuel and hotels .
OAXACA the city is historic in center and Monte Alban ruins are nearby.
A bit south is Tule and then Mitla and it's ruins . After that it is more great riding to te isthmus of Tehuantepec

3200km may be the point to point distance but with time and a bit of wandering that figure can inflate madly.
Hey I am having a mini tour as I write this from memories

siren song
 

I second the advice of Renimus. Backpackers should be kept are arms length. Their mode of travel is much different then a motorcyclist and the mentality too. Sure they can be fun to hang out with now and then, but in the end you get on you moto and split. They are walking everywhere and taking buses. And I have found that in general (not always) they have a limited budget, always eat in the cheapest places and would rather hang out in front of the museum doing nothing, mostly because they don't want to pay the entrance fee...

Backpacker hostels are usually set up with wifi and the basics. They are easy to find and typically someone at the front desk speaks your language. But the cultural experience is much thinner in these hostels. And there are a lot of stories of people getting their valuable stolen by their fellow backpackers, so watch your stuff at all times. Don't feel bad if you stay in a hostel now and then, but do make an effort to find local accommodations that cater to nationals, not tourists. Otherwise it like going to Italy and eating at Pizza Hut. Yeah you are eating pizza, but it a far cry from the real deal.

That said, I like to drop into pool halls and have had a great time playing with locals. Only once did the locals give me a so-so reception and allowed me to lose when I broke their convoluted rules. Every other time I had a screaming good time. I'm not a bad shot and both a good winner and a good loser. Whatever you are into personally: playing an instrument, darts, dominoes, drawing, cards, dancing, you can probably join the amigos and make some new friends.

Want to start a conversation? Open a map and there is a chance someone will come up to you to see where you are trying to go. Sadly, I have found there are a lot of people that can't read a map, so its not a sure thing.

thanks!
 

Dear friends overlanders,
many thanks for your kind help.
Now Im eventually in holidays and I have time to read your very useful and interesting indications!
I'll answer on the HUBB very soon.
Thanks again to all of you!
roberto
Milan

Mex2Pan
 

What is your time frame?

We made this trip from Central Mexico to Panama and back in 9 weeks from January until March this year and it wouldn´t have been boring if it had been half a year! We drove over 14 tsd km with some 1-3 days breaks on nice and interesting places
The Panamericana is not really what you need, when you want to have fun.

This was our tour:
Attachment 13513

Combining the places where we´ve been, for a one-way south-east, I´d travel:

Town / Region / estimated days for traveling and stay

Arriving? 2-3
Oaxaca (Town and Monte Alban) 2
Puerto Escondido (vía road 131) 2
Chiapa de Corzo (Cañon Sumidero) 2
San Cristobal de las Casas (on toll-free road 190) 1
Palenque (Agua Azul and other waterfalls on the way,
Pyramids…) 2
Chetumal 2
Crossing Belize (on the beach, different places, we
stayed 2 nights in Hopkins) 2
Tikal N.P 2
Coban (eat a steak at "al carbon d´ fioara") 1
Panajachel (Lago Atitlan, 1 day for a tour around the lake) 2
Antigua 1

If you need parts or help, Guatemala City is the place "completest" and cheapest place in Central America,

Rio Dulce (N.P., boat ride to Livingstone and back) 2
Crossing to Honduras in direction San Pedro Sula
(for us the easiest Hondura border)
Lago de Yojoa, Honduras 1
Leon, Nicaragua 2
Granada 1
San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua 2
Nuevo Arenal (Laguna de Arenal, Volcano), Costa Rica 1
Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica 3
through Bocas de Toro, Boquete 2
Panama City 4

Already with this tight schedule, it`s a 6 weeks trip, each day more will improve it definitely.

A trip report in german with pictures, you find in the gs-forum.eu.
We live in Leon, Gto and Puerto Vallarta, Jal, if we can help with more details, let us know.

Saludos
Uli