I live in southern ca and I want to reach Playa Del Carmen. Unless I can find a group heading that way in november I will be traveling alone. Can someone suggest the best border crossing, a route, hotels along the way, etc. Any info is greatly welcomed. I am also doing as much research on my own as I can. I feel very fortunate to have come across ADVrider and The HUBB. This is gold for the novice.

Thanks, Jeff

How much time do you have?
Are you just going to Playa or returning?
There is a lot to see and you are going from one end of Mexico to the other. If you like beaches then you could go down Baja then across to the mainland down the Pacific Coast and then across to Playa. If you like Colonial Towns then you could again go down baja then from Mazatlan take the Espinazo del Diablo to Durango then to Zacatecas onto to Guanajuato cathch the pyramids in mexico City then onto to Oaxaca then to Merida and across to Playa.
Tell us what you like, how much time you have and someone will come up with a great route

As far as border crossings:

Tijuana (big city crossing-dangerous due to having to navigate through heavy city traffic)
Tecate east of San Diego (supposed to be an easy crossing with much lighter traffic)
Mexicali (another big city crossing-dangerous due to city traffic navigation, although Mexicali is not as large as Tijuana)
Algodones (tiny town, simple wave through by Mexican customs, but is closed from 10 or 11 pm to 6 am--not sure if they are equiped to get you proper travel documents, however)
San Luis (24 hour crossing gets very busy during the fall/winter/early spring months due to farm field workers who commute to the Yuma area daily during the harvesting season)
Lukeville (I think that is the name of the one in the middle of Arizona-should be straightforward)

Not sure if you want to head any further east on the US side, but I think the next crossing is at Nogales, south of Tucson--large crossing into big city, however.

Personally, I go into Algodones either with bike or walk, and it is a tiny town, so should be extremely easy--I live nearby, so let me know if you decide to come this way...the other crossing I would take, and would be my first choice because you are probably closer is the one that goes into Tecate--supposed to be very simple and not crowded, but I have never crossed there but I am sure that others on Horizon have and can fill you in.

As Garryd has suggested, you would probably enjoy heading down the Baja peninsula and catching one of the ferries that go to mainland Mexico, so you should lean toward the Tecate crossing.

Nov 08 crossed at Laredo. no problems at all. good crossing- paperwork quick and not many queues.

then headed down to Monterrey stopping the first night at a hotel (unusual for us as we normally camp all the time) in Sabinas Hildago. if you want more information go look at our diary for Nov 08 to Feb 09.

Where abouts are you thinking of staying in Playa del Carmen? a hotel or camping? there are plenty of wonderful places south of P del C... you just have to hunt them out. these places are where the locals go to enjoy the beach - where the sea is a vivid blue and the sand is white........sigh

P del C town and of course Cancun is one big tourist area. you will think that you have somehow been 'magiced' back to the USA. take your time to find the areas where the tourists haven't yet been and you will be wonderfully rewarded.

also dont miss out on your way down on visiting the wonderful small mountain villages NE of Mexico city and see if you can stay over night (or two) in Real del Catorce.

Mexico is a great country. both times we have visited and travelled there we have had great times and made good friends.
you will enjoy your time an awful lot more if you speak some Spanish.

note: the route down the east coast is not very entertaining! you are best sticking inland if you want to see and experience the 'real' Mexico.

check out some of our podcasts re mexico on YouTube - 2ridetheworld's Channel plus a great guy called Graham who travelled Mexico on his own last year YouTube - brainrotting's Channel

he is currently traveling south America and we are now in Japan heading to Central Asia next week.
we also put up GPS ref points on our website too.

ciao- happy planning

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Lisa
www.2ridetheworld.com

Jeff,

When I crossed at Tecate in January 08 I already had my paperwork in hand so did not bother looking for a Banjercito office (where you get you temporary vehicle import permit). Some friends crossed later that same year, could not find an office to get their permits in Tecate and ended up going to Tijuana for them.

Perhaps someone else can confirm if vehicle permits are available at Tecate?

At Mexicali there is a modern border station with a Banjercito office. We found it to be quick and easy. Please take note that this "New Border Crossing" is about 20 km East of the "Old Border Crossing" which still exists but does not handle vehicle permits. As noted previously, this crossing is at a large city but we found it fairly easy to navigate through it.

If you are not going through Baja, I would recommend the crossing at Nogales. As you are approching Nogales on I-19 take the exit to 189 south. This is the truck-bypass and takes you completely around the city.

21 km south you will find a complex where you can obtain your tourist visa, vehicle permit, insurance (although getting it on-line ahead of time is likely a better idea) and change some money if needed. Everything is in one place and easy to get through.

Cross fairly early in the AM so you have lots of extra time to get to perhaps Hermosillo, before dark. Plenty of options for hotels there. Do not ride at night in Mexico.

As far as planning your route, hotels, etc. the absoulute best resource you will find is a book called "Economical Hotels In Mexico & Central America" by Sjoerd Bakker. It is a "must have" and will answer 99% of your questions on all things to do with motorcycle travel in Mexico & CA.

My wife and I used it during a 6 month exploration of Mexico & Central America this past winter and found it to be accurate and extremely helful.

You can order the book, which fits in a tank-bag, by contacting Sjoerd at:
sjoerd47(at)hotmail.com or sending a cheque, moneygram or international money order to:

Sjoerd Bakker
RR3 Norwich, Ontario
N0J 1P0 Canada

The price, including airmail and handling, is $15 CDN to Canadian addresses, $15 USD to US addresses and $17.50 USD for other countries

PS. You will definately be disapointed in Playa del Carmen after traveling through so many other wonderful places in Mexico on the way.

__________________
Bill Atchison
Red Deer, Alberta Canada
www.backroadexplorers.ca

Gee, Bill , you are making me blush- buth thankyou very much for the compliments. It is a rainy weekend herein S Ontario so I went in to work just to use this computer to post some info.

They tell me that the Tecate border has been simplified and no longer has the Banjercito service for issueing temp import permits, so you are better served by entering Tijuana or Mexicali if you insist on getting them right off .As stated both are really rather straightforward to locate if you don't let yourself get flustered - follow the direction signs. . However you could leave those details to work out in Pichilingue/ La Paz at the ferry terminal if you are heading down Baja and across the sea.
Or you could ride east in California and wait until you get almost to the Colorado River and turn off south to Algodones BC .The Algodones crossing also does NOT do any paperwork, they only check you in to the country and leave you to get your tourist card and temp import paperwork done at San Luis Rio .Colorado. ( did this last year) which is only a short distance south and east and is a much bigger facility on the main highway south of Yuma AZ.
East of San Luis you could cross at Lukeville AZ to Sonoyta SON, another simple crossing with full service which then puts you on Mex 2, limited service hours I believe, I have visited the terminal there from both sides but never actually crossed .There is a checkpoint and issueing office on Mex 2 at the south side of Sonoyta, but if you have to go back to the border it is only a few km .
There is a small crossing at Sasabe on the Indian reservations of Arizona, but I have never used it, know nothing about service hours or if Mexican side offers Banjercito service. If not I suspect you will have to go to Nogales .
Next entry east is at Nogales, very simple .The border tramites are all done at the Aduana & Banjercito facility checkpoint on Mex 15 12km south of town at marker km257 .Used it this past winter. You can enter Mexico either at the crossing from downtown Nogales AZ into Nogales SON centro or you can take the truck bypass entry on the west side of town and ride south to the checkpoint, no need to stop for papers until you see the clearly marked terminal..
Farther east the next official entry is at Naco to Naco , a small crossing which again I have not yet tried , but since it is near Douglas/Agua Prieta I would not be surprised if services are limited.
That Leaves Douglas to Agua Prieta as the last big 24 /7 crossing, full services from Arizona.

Next east is Antelope Wells NM to El Berrendo CHIH, gravel road access and open only a short span in daylight
Columbus NM to Palomas CHIH is much better crossing , south of Deming NM, open 24/7 Banjercito service for temp import.
After that it gets into the big city complex of El Paso , with several possible crossings :Sunland Park NM entry gets you into Mexico on a very underused new comercial entry terminal with access to bypass around west side of Cd.Juarez..In El Paso there are several crossings in the city. Use any.
The actual temp import and tourist card business for Cd Juarez is all done waaaay south 25km of the big city at a terminal on Mex 45. You will not miss it , so obvious are the big signs and barricades.

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

Thank you for clarifying the border crossings, Mr. Bakker. I had heard and read that the big cities are scary to ride through, hence the "warnings" although a rider can make up their own mind.

Your advice about riding through Algodones and heading over to San Luis, Sonoroa, makes alot of sense. There is little to no wait to get into Mexico at Algodones, while San Luis gets crowded with commuters in the afternoons during the agricultural season from the fall until late spring, so doing the riding on the Mex. side makes perfect sense! The bad thing of crossing at Algodones or San Luis from mid-May to late Sept. is the tremendous heat we are blessed with this time of year, so should be avoided during this time of year

If someone gives me some notice and decides to ride through either Algodones or San Luis, and get their paperwork in order in San Luis (the Mexican side), I have co-workers/friends who live on the Mexican side and commute to Arizona, and can probably help someone out finding where to find the office to issue the temporary paperwork.

Mr. Bakker, if you come through this way again, let me know and I will buy the cold ones!

I am planning on not coming back to the states. Heading out on the "great adventure". Jeff

this is a great community of fellow travels. I really appreciate everyone's insight and taking the time to provide great info!

After researching (when do you stop?) I am looking at Xcalak as a possible home base. Anyone been there? Also, does the vehicle permit sync with the 6 month visa and can you just cross a border and then return?

Jeff

1. It's true that there is no banjercito in Tecate, despite contrary claims on the internet.

2. It's true that the banjercito in Mexicali is simple and convenient---leaving Mexico it's in a little hut on the edge of a parking lot on the Mexican side, well-signed as you approach the border crossing.

3. It's also true that the Mexicali banjercito is at the eastern crossing, not the downtown crossing. But I don't think it's as far as 20km--my memory is maybe 10 or 12km--and it's not difficult to enter downtown and ride through town to the banjercito. No big city hassles, just traffic lights on a wide main thoroughfare. I like this crossing a lot more than Tijuana, and the road south from Tecate (or north to Tecate) is better riding than the coast road.

Hope that helps.

Mark

I get the impression that Jeff is using the bike more as a mode of escape than actually looking for a tour. Which is fine and totally his prerogative of course, but I would suggest he not burn any bridges behind him.
Have you actually any experience with the area you have selected , as in previous visit by air or car?Do you plan to learn Spanish? Do not fall into the trap of getting settled in firmly and then discovering it is not at all like the dream you had .In many spots in Mexico and Central America one can run into expatriate Americans and Europeans who gave into similar urges,bought a retirement property, set up a little bistro or shop, expecting to make a sort of living at it, and finding their meagre finances evaporating. Or with the recent economic downturn they found that their expected payouts from investments at home have waned .Now they are stuck , not able to live as well as they had expected , and not able to afford going back home.
There are many sorrowful cases of expats living in a single small hotel room spending most days drinking , but those are worst cases, would probably be doing the same at home. They tell me Granada ,Nicaragua is attracting a disproportionate number of this type of"tourist".

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

I thought that your perceptions are very accurate. I didn't think of it in that way, but it's true. I hope you don't mind if I share my heart. This observation has never presented to me for consideration and I can tell that it is important to search my heart and spirit in order to check my motivations.

At the starting gate it was to acquire enough info to make an intelligent decisions to see if I could ride down to Playa Del Carmen on my bike to see my Son. He plays the Cancun area clubs (singer) for 6 months of the year, then travelsso I thought that I would hang with him for a while to get a "sense" of the country by going in different directions to see the country. I can rent an inexpensive place for 6 months to search out the country. Also, at some point an adventure (after research and experience there are always changes to perception and goals), that it becomes somewhat intuitive as to the logistics of the hearts desire for something more than what I am doing now. I have a place to return if needed.

I don't want to make a "plan" or develop a circuit to travel on and miss the opportunities of the unexpected. Just talk to others who have traveled (for whatever their reasoning) to gain insight, to feel that it is something that is ok to try.

I have been to allot of places in the states and am bored with the people and the expense. Been to the middle east by myself and while it was scary (I was 19, I am 51 now) it was also a very profound experience.

I raised three kids. I owned a paint contracting business at Lake Tahoe for many years. In 2001, out of the blue my wife went on a trip, met a guy she knew for 3 weeks and all of a sudden it was love at first sight. It was a crushing blow. family, business, home, all gone within a three month period. I am not saying this as a "poor me" excuse. What I did find is that I had lost sight of who I am as a person (every part of "me" walked through the fire).

It's been several years of disintegration and rebuilding to get to the point where I believe that this is not just a trip. It goes to the very core of who I am and I expect to find answers that I would not be able to find any other way.

I really appreciate that you brought this out as it helps for insight and I welcome anyone who would like to share any insights that they might have (I know that this is NOT a "therapy" forum) but the history of people's lives are fascinating to me. And don't worry about not sharing my perspective. I don't get my feelings hurt when someone disagrees with me as there is always something to glean in every conversation.

Thanks