After two years of Van Life in the USA and Canada, we were up for new adventures and to get out of our comfort zone! We spent about 3 months in Mexico, and we absolutely loved it; Van Life in Mexico is definitely a highlight! To help you plan your own trip to Mexico, this guide contains everything you need to know from the planning stage (safety, insurance, money, etc), all the way to our trip report. Hope this helps!
Table Of Content
2- Insurance
4- Money
5- Language
7- Finding Water
9- Useful Apps
10- Tales From The Road
1- Safety & Travel Advisory in Mexico
“Did you feel safe in Mexico?” is a question we get a lot. Mexico gets a lot of negative press coverage, and a whole lot of it. To travel safely in a foreign country, one must look further than generalizations and be informed and aware of what’s going on precisely. It is then possible to avoid sensitive regions and to travel smart. Don’t get us wrong: Mexico does have issues with cartel and gangs, we’re not trying to downplay that. While incidents with tourists occasionally happen, the action is between the bad guys and the police. We’re not the target. When reading news about Mexico, don’t just read the headlines; read the details and you’ll find out for yourself. But in the end, tolerance to risks is a personal thing and varies with individuals: if your personal tolerance to risk is ZERO, then yeah, maybe you should avoid travelling in Mexico. But if we followed this idea of completely eliminating risk, we would have miss out on a lof of things in our life: backcountry skiing (avalanche risk), whitewater kayaking (drowning risk), mountain biking (injury risk), travel to the Middle East, Africa, Asia, etc. It’s all about MANAGING THE RISK. Still with us? Okay, here are some starting point for your research:
General Precautions
Discussion Group
Reality Check
Before crossing into Mexico, we read a lot about safety, crime activities, cartel, etc. We tried to stay rational and not worry too much, but honestly it really get into your head! Once we got in, we were able to put our concerns away as we got to see what’s really going on here. There are tourists everywhere, people live a normal life… Fun fact: in 2017, Mexico received about 35 millions visitors (source: Forbes). That’s the sixth most visited country in the world for tourism activities (source: Wikipedia). If you’re thinking travelling to Mexico is a death wish, let that information sink in for a while…
2- Insurance
2.1- Vehicle Insurance
Mexican law ONLY recognizes Mexican motor insurance (seguro), so a US or Canadian policy have ZERO legal bearing in Mexico. This means if you were involved in an accident in which you injured another driver or his vehicle, you would be uncovered and possibly arrested if you didn't have Mexican car insurance. You must purchase insurance from a company that is licensed in Mexico (it's not obligatory, but if you don't you risk going to jail). You can purchase coverage at the border or online before leaving for Mexico. You will need to purchase liability insurance that is specifically for foreign-plated cars, also called tourist car insurance.
Good to know: Since your current US or Canadian insurance won't work in Mexico, most insurers will refund you for your time spent in Mexico. So keep your Mexican insurance receipt!
At the border
Insurance can be purchased at the border, however expect to pay more this way. Buying in advance also simplify the border crossing. Therefore, we recommend buying online in advance.
Online
Buying insurance online before getting to the border is cheaper and recommended. There are several companies on the market, but after some research we settled on Baja Bound. Their website is comprehensive, phone customer support is excellent, and they would insure our self-built campervan (give them a call if you have a DIY van).
2.2- Personal Items Insurance
The vehicle insurance does not cover your personal items (laptop, bike, clothes, etc.); personal items may be covered by your homeowner's or renter's insurance policy. If, like us, you can't get homeowner's or renter's insurance because you live full time in your vehicle, then you have to assume all the risk...
2.3- Travel Medical Insurance
Some "deluxe" vehicle insurance includes medical coverage in case of an accident. That means you're not covered outside of an accident... Travel medical insurance is actually pretty cheap, so there's no reason to avoid it. We cover that topic in the following article:
Read More
3- Border Crossing to Mexico
List of Mexico–United States border crossings
There are over 50 places where to enter Mexico legally from the USA:
Required Paperwork
- Passeport (original & copie).
- Vehicle registration (original & copie) and proof of ownership.
To Be Obtained
- TIP (Temporary Vehicle Importation Permit). See note below*
- Entry Immigration Form (FMM). ~$50. Can be filled out online or at the border.
Driving Into Mexico
It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to ensure all the paperwork is completed during the border crossing! No one will guide you through. You could easily enter Mexico without having all the adequate paperwork thinking "hey, that was easy!", but you'll get into troubles on your way out.
*Temporary Vehicle Importation Permit (TIP)
The temporary vehicle importation permit can ONLY be obtained from Banjercito, the official Mexican issuing agency. For auto/SUV/van vehicles weighing less than three tons, it is valid for up to six months (180 days) and cost about 20$ and requires a deposit of about 400$ that will be refunded on your way out. For vehicles registered as motorhome (our van is registered as a motorhome in British Columbia, so this applied to us), the permit is valid for 10 years and cost about 50$ (no deposit). The permit may be purchased online at the Banjercito website, but most people get it at the Mexico border (that's what we did). You do NOT need a Temporary Vehicle Import Permit for driving in any part of the Baja Peninsula.
*We recently heard that, as of January 2020, those who obtain their permit online (throught the Banjercito website) don't have to apply a sticker in their windshield. The new system is digital, which is quite nice as the sticker is somewhat annoying...
Reality Check
We slept at the Texas Visitor Center (iOverlander) and headed for the border in the next morning at the Columbia Bridge “a.k.a. bridge #3” (Google Map); we got there for the opening at 8am. The border at Columbia Bridge is recommended as you can get all the paperwork done in the same building and the waiting time is very short. Crossing directly in the city of Laredo is not recommended for safety reasons. It took us about 90 minutes for the whole process.
- We first had to pay the toll road (approximately $3.50).
- Custom agent did a quick visual inspection of our van.
- Then we were directed to the vehicle inspection area (X-Ray).
- After, we got into the building to get our Tourist Cards (FMM).
- We had to do a photocopy of our Tourist Cards.
- Then we could get our TIP.
- And we left. That’s it! No question, search or anything. Just paperwork…
4- Money
Travelling in USA/Canada, we ALWAYS pay with our credit card. Our only need for cash is for laundry machines, and newer ones even allow to pay with our credit card! The situation is much different here in Mexico mainly because we were eating most of the time in street food stalls and buying fruits/veggies/meat at the market. Another substantial need for cash was for the toll roads which are not cheap.
4.1- Cash & ATMs
We don't go to currency exchange place as their exchange rate is rarely advantageous, plus they usually charge you a considerable amount of money for the service. That being said, before crossing to Mexico, we wanted to have some Mexican Pesos in case we needed to (and soon enough it was the case for the toll roads - they don't accept credit card and foreign currencies). Maybe it was poor planning on our side, but we learned that you need to advise your bank in advance (like more than a week) if you want foreign currency. Not having this time ahead of us, we went to a Travelex Currency Services to confirm you the above.
ATM machines are what we consider the best way to get money in Mexico. Banks usually charge flat fee/percentage of the withdraw and/or an ATM fee (out of network). On top of that, the mexican ATM machine also charges a fee (it was always a different fee). In the end, we don't feel we paid a lot a fee, but realize it was "cheaper" for us to pay with our credit card whenever we could. That being said, we were withdrawing money every two weeks.
Just in case... We traveled with some american dollars thinking we could use it if we were to be out of Mexican Pesos. Maybe in very touristy areas (Cancun?) or Baja it could have been useful, but it has never been the case for us...
4.2- Credit
Every credit card has different policies, but most of them will charge between 1.5% to 3% of your purchase on top of the exchange rate.As mentioned before, we compared how much we payed in fees when paying with our credit card vs cash and for us, credit card was more advantageous. We were able to use our credit card in every gas stations and grocery stores and some of the "higher-end" restaurants.
It worth mentioning we got fraud on our credit card. We are not proud of this one and will talk about it so it could raise awareness for some of you. We heard a lot about fraud at gas station, either they don't start the pump at $0.00 or they charge you more on your credit card. We were very cautious about this two things, but when was time to pay, we always gave them our card so they would swipe it and came back with the bill to sign. Once, it took a little more time to go through that step. And this is when we learned we've been a little naive. By giving them our card, we gave them plenty of time to take note of our information: credit card number, expiration date, CVV/CVC. Don't ever give your credit card! Ask them to bring the machine or get inside to pay! Anyway, this is not even the end of the story... The guy acted so weirdly that we didn't even notice he didn't give us our card back... #NotProudOfThisOne.
4.3- Tipping
In restaurants, Mexicans usually give 10% of "propina" (tip). When the service is exceptional, they would consider 15%.
In the grocery stores, baggers don't receive a salary, they rely on our tip. 5-10 pesos is what they usually receive per customer.
In several parking lots, there are attendants blowing their whistle all day long to help you get in and out... not sure how they really helped, but they were certainly annoying! We guess they usually receive 5-10 pesos per customer.
Guide. Some activities require a guide. You can choose the guide or he/she will be assigned to you. Since our Spanish was not good enough to have a conversation, having a guide that only speaks Spanish was pretty useless. But, this is how it works, you have someone to walk with and not tipping would be rude.
We saw some beggers (very few actually) and it has been a surprise to see how often Mexicans were giving them money. This isn't "tip", but it shows how Mexicans are generous and giving small amount of money to help each other is being part of their culture.
4.4- Van life Cost in Mexico
But wait, that's similar to our USA/Canada budget... shouldn't Mexico be cheaper??
It can definitely be done for cheaper. Here are our notes about this budget:
- PAPERWORK: A fixed cost that can be absorbed if you stay longer.
- MEXICAN AUTO INSURANCE: It’s mandatory. We chose the FULL COVERAGE insurance, but you can purchase THIRD PARTY LIABILITY only and it’s substantially cheaper. Try the Free Quote Tool to compare prices and see what’s included. Because we don’t know exactly how long we’ll stay, we purchased a 6 months plan that we have to absorb on 2-3 months.
- TOLL ROADS: They’re not cheap. You could avoid them, but travel time will be substantially longer AND if you don’t know what “TOPES” are yet, you’ll find out soon enough (hint: it’s a speedbump, and they’re absolutely RANDOMLY EVERYWHERE on the “free roads”. It’s absolutely annoying and dangerous. You’ll see for yourself).
- FOOD: We almost exclusively eat out, because we want to experience Mexican food. We could eat cheap tacos every day to save $, but we like to go to restaurants (around $6-7 USD for a full meal…) as the food is tastier and healthier than at the food stalls (otherwise it’s hard to get our dose of veggies).
- ACTIVITIES: Since we’re in Mexico, we feel like we have to pay for absolutely everything… (natural attractions, access to anything, parking, toilets, etc.)
- CAMPGROUNDS & SHOWERS: We always avoid campgrounds in USA/Canada, but here it’s sometime nice to have a quiet place to spend the night and shower.
- WATER: Tap water isn’t safe to drink here, so we fill our 25 gallon fresh tank at Agua Purificada (it costs around 30-50 pesos). We could fill our tank with tap water and use a jug for drinking water, but it’s actually nice to have potable water in the tank…
5- Language
No hablo español? It should be fine in Baja and in main tourist zones but other than that, we won’t lie, we expected almost everyone to speak at least a -little- English; that was not the case. English was little help. You’ll get by using Google Translate and signs, but we highly recommend learning the basics (see “Useful Apps” below) a few months prior travelling there. It’ll make your trip much more enjoyable; Mexicans LOVE IT when you at least try 🙂
6- Road & Driving in Mexico
You heard it before: try to avoid driving at night in Mexico. For safety sake, but also because of wandering animals and topes (speedbumps). Not kidding, these topes are everywhere; they can see you but you can’t see them. They get you by surprise; they’re EVIL creatures!
Generally speaking, toll roads (“Cuota”) are not cheap, but they’re in great shape and are the safest and fastest way to get to your destination. You can calculate the toll road fees in advance for a specific route using this calculator. In reality, we spend half of our time on free roads (“Libre”) and that’s fine; just stay focus and watch for people, animals, holes and topes (speedbumps) at all time. Also watch for speed limit, as it changes constantly and doesn’t always make sense…
7- Finding Water
Tap water isn't safe to drink in Mexico, even locals don't drink it (so we were told). Look for "Agua Purificada" places to fill your jugs and fresh water tank. All Agua Purificada can fill water jugs ("garafon"), but most of them can't fill RV tanks because they don't have the hardware to do it (to hook your hose). So we normally ask to hook our hose, but if they can't (which is often) we buy a 5 gallon garafon (jug) and transfer it tree times to our fresh tank using our beer bong: amzn.to/2vQcEvl. We improvised with our beer bong (which we normally use to sanitize our tank), but next time we come to Mexico we'll probably get a hose to siphon or get a small pump, so it's a bit easier...
You'll find some of the Agua Purificada in iOverlander, or ask around:
8- Camping & Overnight Spots in Mexico
You might be familiar with iOverlander already. Good to know: the database is way more extensive in Mexico; looks like travelers contribute more than in US or Canada (we do!). So make sure to get it:
Reality Check
In the USA and Canada, we never go to campground (how to find free campsites: faroutride.com/free-campsites). Since we’re in Mexico however, we do a bit more often. Note that we’re travelling to the Mainland and we suspect the situation here is different than Baja; if you’re doing Baja you’ll probably be able to find open spaces or beaches to camp for free. The main reasons we use campgrounds is because it is quite cheap (around 100-150 pesos per night), it’s quiet and there’s sometimes a shower which allows us to seek for Agua Purificada less often.
9- Useful Apps
10- Tales From The Road
Getting ready to cross the border
Having spent the last few days in Austin, it made sense to cross the border at Laredo, Texas. There are three entry points from Laredo (TX) into Nuevo Laredo (MX): Bridge #1 and #2 which are within town, and then bridge #3 (Laredo Colombia Solidarity International Bridge, Google Map) which is about an hour detour out of town. Remember that we mentioned to “be aware and travel smart” earlier in this article? Well, you should be aware that Nuevo Laredo is NOT a safe town and should be avoided due to frequent confrontations between the Cartel and the Police… So bridge #3 is frequently used by tourists like us and all the services (TIP & FMM) are comprised within the same building which make the crossing really easy.
The day prior our entry into Mexico, we spent the night at the Texas Travel Information Center which is convenient located 30 minute drive from bridge #3:
Border crossing
We woke up early (by Isabelle standards) and got to the border right on time for the opening (8am). It was only us and two other couples. Here is how it went:
- We first had to pay the toll road ($3.50).
- Custom agent did a quick visual inspection of our van.
- Then we were directed to the vehicle inspection area (X-Ray).
- After, we got into the building to get our Tourist Cards (FMM).
- We had to do a photocopy of our Tourist Cards.
- Then we could get our TIP.
- And we left. That’s it! No question, search or anything. Just paperwork…
Getting into Mexico for the first time is a bit overwhelming, so we decided to spend our first night in the mountains to catch our breath:
Monterrey
If you can make abstraction of the smog, Monterrey is a beautiful mountain city. The mountain reminds us a lot of Yosemite.
Road 20
Santiago to Saltillo
This steep and winding road will take your up to 7,000ft elevation and through breathtaking scenery:
Cascada El Meco
After a long day of driving, the desert faded out to make place to subtropical goodness:
Cascada El Salto
A short 10 minute drive will then take you to this paradise. You can camp there for free if you want:
Cascadas de Minas Viejas
Another nice place to view cascades and swim. There are many pools with different depths. You can also sleep at the parking lot.
Puente De Dios
Another dip in paradise... Each morning, birds fly out of their home and come back in the evening. It's quite a sight, and these warm thermal waterfalls are not bad either:
Cascada de Tamul
Cascada de Tamul is the highest fall we saw in the Huasteca Potosina. The best way to see this fall, in our opinion, is to sleep at the parking lot and then, the next morning, wait for a group to arrive and join them for the boat ride (cheaper than taking the boat for ourselves). We cannot access this fall as close as the other ones, the current being to strong. Still beautiful to see! On the way back, there's a nice stop to a cenote 🙂
Las Pozas (Xilitla)
Once upon a time a dude inherited too much money, had too much free time, moved into the jungle, did too many drugs and hired a bunch of Mexicans to build his psychedelic visions. Sorry but we failed to find an artistic meaning for all of this, it's kind of random... That being said, it's cool to wander here:
We totally enjoyed staying at "Casa Caracol", 2 minute walk from Las Pozas. They rent small cabins, but you can park your van here and use the amenities (hot showers, wi-fi, kitchen). The yard is filled with art and the vibe is awesome!
Guanajuato
This city is everyone's favorite, and this is no exception to us. It's a very special place.
But then this special dude showed up. Fosforo lives in Guanajuato and organizes Urban DH Races, builds trails, races and enjoys sipping coffee & beer on the terraces most of the day. Perfect.
We first had to pedal up "La Bufa", which overlooks the city:
We descended through the trail...
And we descended some... stairs? A whole bunch of stairs!
And we popped out downtown Guanajuato!
We were glad to learn that bike & beer is a universal thing 🙂
Some Mexican tunes to entertain the bikes; everyone is having a good time.
The following day, Fosforo took us to "La Fragua Bike Park" in Santa Rosa.
It’s just a 30-minute drive from Guanajuato city center. For now, there are about 6 gravity-oriented singletrack trails (insert “Enduro” keyword here) with a little bit of everything: berms, optional drops/jumps, steep chutes, off-cambers, techy rock gardens, etc. It’s fast and loose. It can be pedaled, but being at 8,600 feet elevation, we much appreciate shuttling all day! You can pay a driver to drive your truck, or they can arrange a vehicle for you (the access road is NOT van-friendly). There’s not much info available online, so a guide will definitely help you find the good stuff and arrange a shuttle. When he’s not organizing Urban DH Races or building tracks or racing his bike, Fosforo Garcia (Instagram) is your man. He lives right here in town and has the knowledge to make the magic happens.
Reserva de la Biósfera Santuario Mariposa Monarca
“TheMonarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserveis aWorld Heritage Sitecontaining most of the over-wintering sites of the eastern population of themonarch butterfly. The reserve is located in theTrans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forestsecoregionon the border ofMichoacánandState of Mexico, 100km (62 miles), northwest ofMexico City. Millions of butterflies arrive in the reserve annually. Butterflies only inhabit a fraction of the 56,000 hectares of the reserve from October–March. The biosphere’s mission is to protect the butterfly species and its habitat.
Most of the over-wintering monarchs from eastern North America are found here. Western researchers discovered these areas in 1975. Presidential decrees in the 1980s and 2000 designated these still privately held areas as a federal reserve. The Reserve was declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1980 and a World Heritage Site in 2008. The reserve remains predominantly rural. Reserve administrators continue to be concerned with deleterious effects ofillegal logging and tourism. Conservation efforts sometimes conflict with the interests of local farmers, community-based landowners, private land owners and indigenous people.”
The reserve comprises a few colonies to visit. We could stay in the parking lot of each colonies we visited:
Valle De Bravo
It is well known as a world class paragliding destination, but there's also good things to be found on the ground:
That feeling when you don't know where you are and what happened. Yeah, I just had my second concussion ever (both this year). Not good.
And what do you get when you're injured? You get to be the shuttle driver!
The trail ends at a fish farm. It's beautiful & delicious....
Hierve El Agua
Life is simple: eat, bark all night, chill at the Hierve El Agua...
Oaxaca City
The mole, the art, the culture... OK, you knew that already. But did you know Oaxaca is a destination-worthy mountain biking hub?
We stayed at "Le Petit T-Park"
It’s located right at the corner of the taxis stand that take us up to the mountains, so it’s bike-in-bike-out; we know the van is safe during the day. Then, that roof above us is AWESOME, because the sun here is absolutely brutal; it’s nice to come back to a cool van after a day out there. There’s also hot showers, WIFI, a washing machine & drying clothes, a small kitchen, electricity & water, and a bus ride downtown is just 8 pesos. It’s 200 pesos per night per vehicle. The owner is super nice, he made us dinner to welcome us 🤤 He used to travel full time in his VW kombi, but he decided to settle for a while and opened his business just 2 weeks ago. In fact, we’re his first customers and we hope he gets more; so go say hi if you spend some time in Oaxaca 😄 BOTTOM WORD: It’s probably not as nice as “El Rancho RV Park” or “Overlander Oasis”, but if being close to city center & the bike trails matters to you, then it’s an option to consider.
Bike Tour Companies
There’s no shortage of bike tour companies in town (Google it!); we were quoted anywhere from 3,800 to 5,000 pesos for a day of shuttling for the two of us, to give you an idea… So we went the DIY way, but if you have less than a week in town, we’d recommend splurging on a shuttle service. Trust us, the approaches (even when using taxis) are loooooong and the elevation doesn’t help; you won’t cover much ground in a day (unless if you’re from Colorado or such!).
And there’s even the all-inclusive option, which includes the airport pick up and drop off, guided ride, shuttles, the food, post-ride brews, lodging and the full cultural experience. Pretty neat if you’re looking for a winter sun-and-bike getaway:
Network: La Cumbre Ixtepeji
The Climb
Go to the taxi stand with your bike and your nice enduro kit, ask for “La Cumbre”; they know where it’s at. A car to yourself will cost approximately 150 pesos; a truck converted as taxi (like in our video below) should cost 30 pesos per person; a bus (passenger Sprinter van, might not has room for your bike) should cost 30 pesos as well. We had more luck getting picked up during the week between 10:15 to 11:00 am (we didn’t try earlier, maybe it’s better?). From “La Cumbre Ixtepeji”, pedal your bike (the access is 70 pesos per person) to the Top of “La Cumbre” (near the antennas). TIP: The climb is much shorter if you take LEFT at “El Cerezo” trail.
The Descents
The blue trails on top are flowy, fast and loamy; it’s not technical but super fun! From looking at the map, it looks like a bunch of very short and quick laps but don’t get fooled… Each lap takes you down about 200 to 300 meters; the climb back up suck a lot of energy out of you (remember, we’re at 10,500ft).
The black trails take you much, much lower. Picture this: 1,000m (3,300ft) of elevation loss during 5km (3 miles). If you like long, steep & sustained trails, you’ll get served! This is a LOT of fun in its genre. We would definitely not recommend this to beginners, and even not to intermediates that don’t have experience in steep descents. It’s very remote and there is most likely no rescue service (we didn’t check that, however)… Expect sustained loose & steep chutes. Not sure? Start with Martinez & El Toro. Want more? Nice, go for Llano Carreta (maybe our favorite), then Lo impossible peña prieta (our second favorite) and Punta De Piedra.
When we were there, “204” was closed. We did “Mil Rios” and we didn’t really liked it.
Network: Etla
We only got to ride “La Veredita”, which is supposed to be the best trail of the area (so we were told). We used our van as shuttle; the dirt road is OK, but it’s a loooong 50 minutes drive up there… (and it’s about 40 minutes from Oaxaca center).
La Veredita is a must ride in Oaxaca, we’d say. The first 2/3 is super fast & flowy, not steep or technical. Nothing to worry about. SO MUCH FUN. The last 1/3 gets steep & loose, but it’s not as committing as the “black trails” in La Cumbre.
Mexico City
Network: Desierto De Los Leones
We didn’t ride much there, but it looks like a rad place. We really enjoyed “Pablo Honey” trail, but the top being at 3,650m elevation, it’s painful to get there (but worth it)!
Texas, USA
If you’re from the future and reading this, did the human race make it through the pandemic? Please let us know in the comments! At the time of writing this, everyone is going banana and it is most likely the borders get shut down. With only 2 weeks left in Mexico and all the uncertainties, we decided to drive back north of the border. On the bright side, that leaves us with a nice itinerary for our next trip: Baja, Mazatlan, the west coast & Yucatan. Sweeeeet!
