Hi guys,

I'll be riding into Tijuana from San Diego on new years day and then making my way to La Paz to Topolobampo and I need a few recommendations and tips.

1. What is the border crossing like for motorcycles? Do I need to get mexican insurance beforehand? or can I do at the border.
1a. apparently I have to pay a special import fee/deposit, do I get this returned to me when I check my vehicle out of Mexico?

2. any towns/cities and places to stay I should in between TJ and La Paz?

3. should I book the ferry from La Paz to Topolobampo before hand or can I do it on arrival?

Thanks

1. You can get insurance at the border but simpler (IMO) to do so online in advance. One less thing to do at the border.
1a. Yes you do. Amt varies based on model year of vehicle, but anything reasonably recent will be $400. When you exit, at the border, you cancel out the TVIP and you get that all refunded. If you pay in cash (must be in US dollars) you will get refunded in cash. If you pay by credit card, you will be refunded electronically back to your card. In the case of credit card, save your paperwork until you see the credit on your account. Had an issue with this last year, and if I had not kept the paperwork I would have been out $400.
1b. You will also need a tourist visa (an “FMM) which you get at the border when you enter.

2. Wow. Tall task, everyone will have favorites. San Felipe, San Ignacio Springs, Loreto. Personally I’d suggest crossing at tecate and taking La Ruta del Vino south (RT 3), if you like wine. Tecate is an easier crossing, and RT 3 is a nice ride.

3. If you want a cabin (I recommend) then booking in advance is almost a must. Last Feb, we stopped at the la Paz Ferry terminal on our way to San Jose del Cabo and got our tickets for our departure a week an a half later. That worked out well.

There are threads with detailed instructions on how to do the border crossing - worth doing a search to find.

Jim


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I think you are a bit late in asking these questions , hardly gives time for responses and you reacting to those . .

Tijuana main border crossing is probably going to be hectic on Jan 1 , but then again it might be a ghost town . Bikes are not a problem but you do need to navigate to the west /right hand side buildings to do your paperwork to get the FMM (“ Tourist card” ) No Mexican border worker will tell you to do this . ( there is some doubt as to whether the TVIP is available here) Absolutely must get FMM at border!
It is always possible to default getting the TVIP at the ferry docks , but do that there before 3pm (7 days per week)

Maybe consider using the OTAY MESA border crossing in the eastern industrial district of San Ysidro CA, USA. The California Freeway 905 will deliver you directly to that crossing easily and it will have less traffic to concern you.
1.
Also I urge you to get BOTH the FMM and the TVIP done there . You will need both of these in order to use the ferry and this will get it done in one effort .Then at the ferry all you need to do is get the ticket.

OTAY May seem a bit convoluted too but it is really simple if you know where to go . Get on google maps and zoooom in on OTAY MESA border crossing
On the map you will be coming south on 905 onto the single wide lane beside a mess of skinny lanes that fan out . The “ fingers on right are all into the USA customs terminal

You enter by the main TOURIST automobile portal off the interstate to east end Tijuana .( trucks have the entrance to the west side )
Pull over to the west side and park in front of the MIGRACION office , go inside and get the FMM. Pay with cc or cash ( dollars or pesos) & get entry stamp in passport .

With FMM , get on bike and ride out the south end of the terminal area , take right exit onto public street , go west 150m to corner with gas station and turn north on street Sebastian Viscaino . Go north one block and look to your EAST side for the BANJERCITO office for buying and cancelling the TVIP . It is well marked . Sign will say Importacion Temporal de Vehiculos

1a.
Go inside and get TVIP. Every person with a vehicle needs the TVIP and must pay the REFUNDABLE SECURITY DEPOSIT ( max $400 US) Pay with cc or Cash US$. You get all of the DEPOSIT back when you cancel the TVIP before it expires . Nothing special . You do NOT get back the actual $59 cost of the TVIP itself .

You may consider crossing at TECATE if the big city Tijuana intimidates you and you have no desire for the first section of coast road Mex 1 which is going to be loaded with New Years Day traffic .
TECATE is a lot less busy and you will be out of the town quickly going south on Mex 3 to ENSENADA through a more rural rugged landscape with a lot of winery stuff . .

Crossing border at what hour? Do not shun late day , there are good hotels in Tijuana and in TECATE. Get off the road well before dark as there will be drunk drivers for sure on New Years Day . Do not rush, race, hasten , blaze , blitz out of town , scared-silly , to try getting to some distant hotel reservation .

Get your compulsory Mexico liability insurance before crossing the border . Lots of storefront sellers for it in San Ysidro and before the TECATE border. But why not buy it today over the internet ? Then you have less to bug your mind when getting to the border .This is ONLY vehicle liability insurance , you do of course already have health insurance .(?)


2. Yes .
Also remember to FILL your gas tank at El Rosario de Arriba , at Cataviña and at cross road to Bahia de Los Angeles and that will get you to Guerrero Negro past the only segment of Mex 1 where fuel availability is scarce . ( if you have a big tank you may make it on one full tank )

3. Booking the ferry at the terminal is the best policy . You don’t want to get ON the boat as soon as you hit La Paz , do you? Buy passage first as soon as you get to Pichilingue , the ferry port 18 km north of la Paz and then spend some Xx ?? days riding around the south tip of BAJA C. SUR.

Whether you get a cabin is your choice .
The trip takes about 16 hours ,you could snooze in one of the free reclining seats in the public lounges , or go to the expense of booking a cabin .
Either way you will be a bit ragged after the voyage and not the sharpest for riding a full day directly off the ferry so you might as well go straight to a hotel in Mazatlan and book a cheap nice room using the money you did not spend on a cabin then tour the city before catching up on the ZZZZ.

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Thaks so much for the tips! Very helpful especially about the FMM and tVIP.

I'll be hitting Otay Mesa in the AM tomorrow,
last question, will I get a better exchange rate for my USD into MEX Peso in San Diego or TJ?

This is probably a bit late for you since your question was posed yesterday , you are now probably in Mexico already .Don't sweat the exchange rate . All businesses exchanging money do it to make a profit . Posted exchange rates will be the same or differ only a few cents .
Bank machines will have certain service charges PER TRANSACTION that are added and your personal bank may also have a service fee for it unless you have a deal with them where such fees are waived . These fees can add up to about $5 per transaction whether that is for 7000 PESO or 700 Peso.
A Casa de Cambio ( money exchange ) may post a lower exchange rate but then adds a service fee which may bring it up to an overall cost to you not much different than at a bank machine .
It is possible also to exchange US dollars at the counter inside a bank but the costs work out about the same andyou may find it a long wait in line . If you try to exchange Canadian Dollars you will get puzzled looks and may have to wait a very long while ,if they do accept them .

The sensible practice is to get your supply of Mexican pesos IN MEXICO out of a Bank Machine operating in the lobby or special BOOTH in an actual bank IN MEXICO. Take out the maximum allowed withdrawal and use your BANK CARD from your home bank. Avoid using a credit card for this because the interest rate will kick in as if it were a loan.
Avoid using bank machines standing alone in convenience stores and food courts in malls and other locales removed from a bank . Avoid doing these exctractions in street side bank machines and after dark . Such remote bank machines have a higher probabilityof scamming devices being present ,or nefarious type persons hanging about .

Taking out the max permitted per transaction will make the service fees expressed as a percentage , very reasonable .
Tuck the cash away and don't stand around flashing it.
Keep track of how much money you spend each day and figure that into a daily average and you can estimate for the final extraction in Mexico how many pesos will get you back over the border without leaving you with too many thousand Peso to convert back to dollars .



D

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PS when you get (got) the FMM you will also be given a full white page which is your "proof of payment " for the FMM.
Save that white page because you will need to show it when you cancel the FMM eventually . If you lost or misplaced it they will ask that you PAY once again before they will cancel the FMM .

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I'm in La Paz now!

got my FMM and TVIP!

things are going gooooood!

thanks for the tips, pretty straight forward at the Otay Mesa border

Where are you now?

Tulum,
Going to be crossing into Belize tomorrow

I really enjoyed riding to Caracol in Belize. I camped at Douglas Da Silva so I could ride in by myself early in the morning before the tours arrived.

I went before the optional military escort and ended up having the entire site to myself for several hours. Very peaceful without the people. That was 10 years ago, so not sure what it's like now.

...Michelle

Yaaayyyy Belize.
First night try Mayan World Guest House in Corozal , economical price by BZ standards. ( staying the night before in a Chetumal ,Mexico hotel can be cheaper still)
Be sure to give yourself lots of time, buy at least a week worth of BZ insurance , it is cheap and COMPULSORY.
Tell the BZ customs where you intend to leave the country and they will expect you to do that.They get a bit upset if you go out at another port. Not that there are more than two points for legally crossing the border .
Be sure to take a wandering ride around the Menonite colony of Shipyard ,south outside Orange Walk It 's like stepping back in time 100 years , a weird movie time warp with some modern stuff thrown in . For contrast laterdo the same at the Spanish Lookout colony which is thoroughly modern with respect to technology You can actually access the Lamanai Mayan ruins site by road if you go out the south end of the Shipyard Colony .Otherwise you would need to take the tour by boat upriver from the highway

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