Best Times to RV in Mexico

Mexico is a diverse country and has diverse weather. The best time to RV in Mexico depends on where you want to travel and what type of weather you want to experience. We RV’ed Chihuahua with 5 degrees below in January and had balmy 60 degree weather in Puebla in July. When the summer heat and humidity becomes unbearable in August and September along the coast, the interior colonial cities provide a temperate relief.
Most folks come to Mexico when the weather turns cold in the US and Canada or just after Christmas. The second week of December marks the exodus southbound and highways are filled with rigs heading for warmer climates. By the 3rd week of March, most RV’s are heading North. As an experienced Mexican RVer I know that I better have a reservation and be parked at a destination that I want to spend some conserted time if I want to travel at this time. RV parks have waiting lists and you won’t get the prime spots.
Baja
The Baja has some great camping spots but during the winter months you will not be guaranteed good weather unless you are south of the Tropic of Cancer. Our favorite time to RV here on this magnificent peninsula is in November and early December and then in March to June. Late June to late September can just get too hot without AC and some of the best camping places just don’t have power; the Bay of Conception and Bahia de los Angeles.
The West Coast of Mainland Mexico is similar to the Baja. The Tropic of Cancer is just north of Mazatlan. Expect cool weather in December, January and February north of Mazatlan. South of Mazatlan tends to be perfect in late November through to June. If your goal is to get the best camping spots with the least crowds, go in late March to June. Likely you will have the RV Park to yourself or with only a few neighbors. If you RV in late June, July, August and September south of Mazatlan, expect unbearable heat.
The interior north of Guadalajara can be very cool in the winter months. The Copper Canyon for example, is far too cold during the winter for my liking and I found we just didn’t have enough bedding to make it comfortable. The summer months are perfect for visiting the interior Colonial cities and I highly recommend a trip at this time. Campgrounds are nearly always empty in the interior regardless of the season and are not a factor when planning a trip.
The Yucatan gets very hot in the summer and it too is crowded in the late December to March season. If you want to get the good spots, think October, November and late March to June.
Of course every camping spot on Mexico beach communities are filled with Mexicans during Semana Santa – Holy week and Easter. Best to stay put before and after the celebrations as the roads are filled to with impatient and risk-taking drivers.

WANTED: Travel Companions

Wanted Traveling Companions
We often get requests for people who want to travel to Mexico with another rig or two. This is especially helpful for first timers.
Let this be the board!
Please leave you name, email, the location you want to travel and the approximate dates under comments. This way, potential travel buddies can get together.(As a side note: We have found it very enjoyable taking first timers to Mexico. It is wonderful helping them explore and discover.)

Mexico is Not For Everyone

Mexico is Not For Everyone
I say this time and time again and emphasize it every time I lead our “Almost-free Caravan” down to Puerto Vallarta. Mexico is not for everyone. I am an unabashed fan of south of the border, but I recognize what drives people nuts.
If you are the type of person that needs “exact” in your life, well you should look elsewhere for your piece of paradise on this planet. Mexico is a nearly place; a place where mañana means not today and not necessarily tomorrow. If “on time” is your nature, look elsewhere because in business and social occasions it is a rarity here to be on time. In some circumstances it is rude. Getting a car or RV part or something fixed can be more than frustrating experience. Time is a flexible instrument and can be easily altered by attending to kids, doctor’s appointments, a good friend visiting. A watch or calendar is a best guess not a promise.
Of course time IS IMPORTANT to Mexicans when they get behind a wheel of a car. Put a normally laid back Mexican in the driver’s seat and watch out. They drive like they should have been there yesterday. Double solid lines mean speed up to pass and right of way is non existent. You have to be extraordinarily defensive when you drive and anticipate impatient drivers and irrational maneuvers.
If noise bothers you, Mexico’s not for you. It is noisy here. Right now as I write this blog the neighbor is playing his car stereo full blast. Kids laugh and cry, roosters crow and dogs everywhere howl to the moon. In one RV Park in Mazatlan (The California), the music plays in the adjacent bar well into dawn every single night. The last time we visited, the music amplifier was all of 10 feet from our rear bedroom. From all accounts this situation continues today.
There is still poverty in this developing nation. Many gringo’s get annoyed by the street and beach vendors constantly pestering for a sale. Others get annoyed by the garbage and litter. “It’s just not like home” they say.
For me the positives overwhelmingly outweigh the inconveniences and negatives. I love that families are respected as families and individuals can genuinely enjoy an inter-generational get-together. Old people are respected and not tucked away in an old folks home. I like the freedom of being able to ride in the back of a pickup truck and to go for a beach picnic anywhere I feel like. I enjoy the warm weather and warm friendships. I love being “not busy”, not competing with the Jones’s and not caring if I am 15 minutes late. I love that mechanics rebuild things, charge $5 an hour and are proud of their work. Ditto for all kinds of occupations and workers.
Mexico is definitely not for everyone but for those of us who love the place, it has changed our life for the better. After every caravan we are told by the vast majority that “Mexico has changed their life.” This past year one woman explained that she didn’t expect to like it and was essentially dragged down by her husband. “But Mexico changed me,” she said. “I don’t think I like who I was before and I don’t ever want to go back to being that person.” I’d like to hear from you what you love or hat and why Mexico has changed you or your life.

RVers Want Company to Circumvent Mexico

Every now and then we get letters from folks who want to team up as they travel through Mexico. We thought we would print this letter as it sounds like a great trip with folks that are not only experienced in Mexico travel, but also have a Datastorm Satellite dish which would allow 24/7 communication.

“We traveled Pharr, TX south to Lake Chapala and over to the Pacific coast at Melaque and then north up the coast to Nogales in 2004.
We are set to do a circumnavigation of mainland Mexico, entering somewhere between Brownsville and Pharr the first week in Jan., down the Emerald Coast, around the Yucatan then cross west to the Pacific and work our way north along the Pacific coast and re-enter the U.S. in late March.
We are full timers traveling in a 40' Dutch Star diesel pusher with toad. We are looking for company, like 2 or 3 others who would like to travel along with us. No schedule. Understand more Spanish than I speak. We have traveled all 48 states, all the Canadian Provinces except Manitoba and several trips to Alaska.
We have Data Storm MotoSat which should give us internet capabilities the whole trip.
If you know of anyone interested in making such a trip in this time frame please ask them to contact us.
We travel with two small dogs.
Bob and Pat Pence sixpence@hughes.net
Thanks!”

Check Before You Go This Summer

Many RV Parks, especially along the coastal areas, are closed during the summer. If you are headed south, check your directory to see if they are open. Lots aren’t because it is just too hot for most travelers. Church’s Book is good or you can check our website for summer closures.
On the other hand, the summer is a perfect time to visit the interior Colonial Cities. There is usually lots of room “at the inn” and the weather is refreshingly cool.