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| Travel to the Area - Driving |
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| Driving to Mexico is safe and a great way to see the country. I'm female and have travelled by car between Vancouver and Barra de Navidad five times and from Santa Monica to La Manzanilla once - without incident. The first time I was alone and not even fluent in Spanish. My friend Kim came with me on the last trip from Vancouver and had a good time too, even though we had to wait out a hurricane that was ravaging highway 15. We went to the Grand Canyon for two days and that was wonderful too. Driving down provides so much opportunity to explore and that is what a holiday is for! |
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| The only "bandits" I have seen were in the tollbooths on Highway 15 from Nogales to Mazatlan - ha ha - tolls are high compared to North America. Gasoline runs about $.75 US per litre, about $.70 CAD. Pemex stations are plentiful and the gasoline is clean. Diesel and propane are also widely available though propane is not sold at Pemex stations. |
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| Why photos of pools? These are places we stayed in Guymas, Mazatlan and San Blas on the way down from Santa Monica in November 2005. It's a fun drive down! |
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| Temporary Importation Permits |
| How to temporarily import a foreign plated vehicle into Mexico. |
| Click here for a listing of the documentation, both personal and vehicular, that you will need to temporarily import your foreign plated vehicle into Mexico. You will be required to complete a temporary importation permit application and pay a fee, either by credit or debit card. If you don't have a credit or debit card you must pay the fee and a cash deposit to guarantee that you will bring the vehicle out of Mexico with you when you leave. The cash deposit is based on the year of your car and is refundable upon return to the U.S. However, you'll likely save yourself some grief and some time if you register by credit or debit card. |
| If registration is done at a border crossing the permit fee is $29.70 USD, if done at a Mexican Consulate the fee is $39.60 and if done on-line it is $49.50. The credit or debit card must be in the same name as the registered owner of the car or the person who has permission from the registered owner to temporarily import the car into Mexico. |
| No matter where you register for your temporary vehicle importation permit you will still need to check in at Immigration and Customs at the border crossing. |
| For more detailed information and pre-registration on-line in English and Spanish check out the Mexican Government's Banjercito site. |
| So, drive on down and explore Mexico, just don't forget to check-out with Banjercito when you leave. Their comupters have long memories and if you don't check out and close your temporary importation permit in their comupters when you leave Mexico you will have trouble checking back-in for a temporary importation permit the next time you drive down. |
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| Mexican Insurance |
| Foreign car, truck, RV, trailer, 5th wheel, boat, aircraft & health insurance policies. |
| Canadian and American vehicle insurance is not valid in Mexico. There are many insurance agencies specializing in Mexican insurance for foreign (non-Mexican) plated vehicles. Back when I had foreign plates on my vehicles I was very happy for a number of years with insurance supplied by Bob and Hazel Acosta of San Xavier Mexican Insurance with offices in Tucson and Nogales, Arizona. Toll-Free (Canada & US) 1-888-327-1255 or 1-888-377-1570. They were always easy to deal with in person and for renewals on-line through their site and by e-mail from my home in Mexico each year. They would even fax me the new policy so I would have it before it came by post - and yes the post always arrived. |
| San Xavier Mexico Insurance offer insurance from several Mexican Insurance Companies so they can offer you the best policy for your insurance needs for Automobiles, Trucks, Recreational Vehicles, Trailers & 5th Wheels, Boats while being towed and hull coverage for boats while in Mexican waters. They even have insurance policies for Driver's Licenses and Aircraft. |
| In addition to the insurance listed above San Xavier Mexico Insurance can set you up with SkyMed Air Evacuation insurance and Travel Health Insurance. All this with no club fees, no renewal fees and a 24-hour toll-free telephone number from anywhere within the Mexican Republic. Do I sound like I am working on comission for them? Well I am not. I recommend them because I always found them very professional and a pleasure to deal with. |
| Want to investigate more? Checkout this conversation on the tomzap Barra and Melaque forum about San Xavier Mexican Insurance & temporary import permits.
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