Caravan Questions
Why a Mexico Caravan? Is it safe?
1) Unless you are a Golf or Pickleball addict you may have noticed Arizona can become rather boring. Consider expanding your horizons with a Mexico RV Caravan. Warm weather, beaches, ancient ruins, Colonial Cities - Mexico has it all.
2) Safety in numbers. I am betting when I say that, you are thinking cartels. Actually, they are not a concern. Physical hazards, etc. are the main concerns. We always get asked about safety, so we have a page to hopefully put your mind at ease. Safety
3) You will learn to handle the "sometimes-daunting" paperwork involved.
4) You do not have to worry about reservations and dealing in another language
5) Mexico does not have large RV parking lots at attractions. An RV Caravan will deal with all of that.
6) You will see the “Real Mexico”, not the tourist version.
7) You may find that perfect spot to return to on your own, in future
8) Our Wagon Masters know the roads, routes and parks that can accommodate your RV, especially larger rigs.
9) You will learn about how to prepare your rig for Mexico.
10) You will no doubt make some new lifelong friends
11) Sign up for our Newsletter
12) Download our latest Brochure
13) Considering retirement in Mexico? An RV Caravan is an excellent way to discover where, especially our 3 month, all Mexico trip. Our Customer Coordinator is an expert on how to arrange resident status and more than willing to provide info.
14) We have a customer information manual (over 70 pages). It is password protected and available to customers who have made a deposit. It is at this Link.
Taxes and our Prices
We are a reputable RV Caravan company, and we pay our taxes in Mexico. You do not have to pay any sales tax or GST in the US or Canada when you pay us. Unfortunately, there is a persistent culture in Mexico of avoiding taxes. If we ask for a receipt for expenses for RV Parks or restaurant etc., we are often hit with a 15% surcharge to offset any taxes those businesses have to pay as a result. This is most often done with a blindside when we go to settle up. This increases our costs considerably, but we still try to hold our prices down as low as we can without compromising our quality. Our prices are very competitive when you compare other companies, with what you get from us. They may be slightly higher, but you get the biggest bang for your buck. Our customer Information Manual (password protected) is only available to deposit making customers. Please review our terms (button below) before reserving.
The Caravanas de mexico Advantage
WHY CHOOSE US?
1) We are a Mexican-Canadian Company legally registered to operate in Mexico with the proper business licenses and permits. We pay taxes in Mexico, not the US or Canada. There are no issues with officials over our legality to operate.
2) We operate caravans all over Mexico, in English or in French
3) We use registered trained Mexican tour guides for our tours, not the wagon Master
4) Our prices are generally lower. We price in Canadian dollars which is generally over 25% less in value than the USD, so keep that in mind when comparing. You will sometimes see a competitors equivalent trip in USD for about what we charge in Canadian.
5) We pay the Mexican price for services, not the Gringo price. Some of our tour guides are on staff, so no middle man. This allows us to keep our prices down and/or provide more bang for your buck.
6) We have access to, or can call on, Government Officials, the Police, the Green Angels (like AAA) if we encounter issues. Furthermore, we can deal with problems in Spanish. Our Wagon Masters are either fluent, or have access to an interpretor.
7) Most companies price in USD. If you are Canadian, you get hit with the 4 cents buy/sell diferential. Since our prices are in Canadian dollars, this is not the case if Canadian, so you save 4% right off the top. If you are American, we accept USD at the going book rate, so there is no buy/sell hit there either.
8) We make it clear what is included. No surprise optional charges. No taxes.
9) If you have to cancel, we allow you to transfer all monies paid, including deposit, to a later trip or season.
10) We have negotiated a 10% insurance discount with some companies.
11) We offer free Spanish lessons on trips led by a Spanish speaking Wagon Master.
12) We specialize in providing high quality meals
You will find more information on how to compare companies, at Compare.
Travel Insurance
This up to you. We have had at least 2 customers claim on it for medical reasons, and we did have one customer have an accident 1 day into a trip, and his vehicle had be returned to the US. We refunded the money for his trip, BTW, even though we were not obliged to. It just seemed like the right thing to do. Although we do what we can, on some trips we have put out a lot of money in advance. In that instance, they did not have insurance to cover this, so were out the portion we could not rebate, but hey, that's life. Some options are on our Insurance Page
Club Tours
We currently operate specialty RV Tours for Airstream and Leisure Travel Vans. If you wish to participate, E-mail Paul, he will put you in touch with the respective organizers. Use our Contact Form.
Club trips do not run every year and the routes can vary and sometimes depend on Wagon Master availability. (BTW, the photo above is the Mummy Museum in Guanajuato. We do not offer it as a tour, but will facilitate a visit for those interested or morbid like myself. Personally I find it fascinating and a bucket list item, but many find it disturbing.)
Is Mexico Cheap?
In a word, NO. It is amazing how many people still think you can do Mexico on $10 a day. Mexico has a strong economy and the Peso has been rising rapidly against both the US and Canadian dollar, making it more expensive. It is not a 3rd World Country. 2 years ago you could get 22 pesos per US dollar, today it is more like 18. A decent restaurant meal with one drink will cost $15 to $20 per person and RV park fees now average about $30-$40 US a night for full hookups. Fuel is about the same as in Canada, more than the US (about $5 US per gallon or $1.80 Canadian a liter), and road tolls are the highest on the planet. If our trips seem expensive, this is why. They are still cheaper than RV tours in the US or to Alaska, but they are not that cheap anymore. We cannot run at a loss, obviously, and we want to maintain quality.
How we operate
We attempt to keep travel days as short as possible, but you do have to expect some longer days. We do not want to boondock in gas stations, unless it becomes necessary. We try to do as many body breaks as possible. Fortunately gas stations in Mexico tend to be huge, so we can often combine these with fuel stops. 98% of Gas Stations sell both Gas and Diesel, on separate Islands (colors are reversed, gas is green, diesel is black).
We want to make sure you are in a campground or RV Park at each stop. We will use the best one available at each location, but keep in mind that they will not all be up to US or Canadian standards. We do local tours at most of our stops, some are just beach stops, others include activities and local attractions. Remember this is Mexico, think of it as an adventure, and you will have a great unique RV Caravan Tour experience. Not like your friends spending the winter just playing pickleball.
What about Pets?
You are welcome to bring your Dog or Cat. Technically you are only allowed 2 pets, but that is not enforced. Only Cats & Dogs are allowed, no snakes, tigers, gazelles, etc. Their shots should be up to date, especially Rabies. There may also be an opportunity to adopt a Mexican dog. I have done this twice and they are smarter (natural selection at work). More info below.
No RV? Or you don't want to own one?
Consider buying a used Class C or a Tent Trailer. if you live in the northern half of the US or Canada, Camping Season is in the summer months. Quite often you can pick up a good deal on a used RV at end of season. After your spend winter in Mexico, you can re-sell it in Spring when there is demand. Probably break even or even make a profit.
A few more Comments
1) Is Mexico Safe? Answer: Yes. Most people's fears are a result of being in a country with a different language and laws. Using our caravans will aleviate that problem, as things are taken care of for you. Mexico is a country full of cultural riches, and it is an easy drive from the United States. What are you waiting for? Let us take care of it for you. Remember that most violence in Mexico is targeted, not random. Avoid drugs and bar hopping at 3 AM, and you will have no issue. Random shootings at public events, etc are almost unheard of.
2) Is it safe to take my RV to Mexico? Answer: Yes. We have been taking RV's all over Mexico for a decade with no safety issues. The biggest risks are not Bandido's or Cartels, the biggest risk is knowing where you can physically take your rig with no physical issues. As a Mexican company with connections, we know where it may be unsafe and we take precautions.
3) Are there RV Parks in Mexico? Answer: Yes, plenty of them. Not all up to American standards, but quite usable.
4) Are roads in Mexico good for RV's? Answer: Yes & No. Mexico has modern freeways and not so modern back roads. One big advantage of a Mexican RV Caravan tour is that we know where it is OK & where it is not. Especially for larger RV's. On your own with a larger rig, you are vulnerable to narrow one way streets, low arches, low trees and roads designed for the 1800's, not the 21st century.
5) Are there restrictions on what vehicle I can bring in? Yes, you cannot bring in a vehicle that shows it is salvaged. That has no work around. You can have issues with Pickups over an F150 (We can solve that) and if your vehicle has a lien that is indicated on the registration, you will have to provide permission from the lender. If the vehicle is in a company name you need a letter of permission even it it is your own company. You can use either the registration or title, so there is some flexibility for some. If you have both, bring them.
We have a lot of information on this site that will hopefully answer a lot of questions, some more links are at the bottom of this page, and others may be found on our "extras" page. You may be routed to a temporary server where we have our old website stored, as we move pages over.
Fuel prices are similar to Western Canada. To convert prices between the US, Canada and Mexico, see Fuel Converter Tool
