first time going to mexico -solo-any advice appreciated
 

I have 3 weeks vacation and i wanted to spend at least a week exploring mexico since it is a 3 or 4 day trip from BC. I am in fresno cali right now and intend to cross border morning of aug 31. Excited yet cautious im thinking on going down baja take short ferry to mainland and see where im at from there. Any good positive last minuts advice eg. Border crossing for baja?
Thanks

You'll do fine. Baja is always my choice for transiting South. Very Hot at present everywhere. Once you cross over to either Mazatlan or Topolobambo, you can get rain. But heavy rain starts South of Mazatlan. This is the heart of the rainy season, but you knew that, right?

The Cent. Highlands can have a bit less rain and hopefully will be a bit cooler. Get a good guide book (I'm sure you've got one).

In Baja you could do some off road exploring, depending on what you're riding. Further South on the Mainland will be more and a bit harder rain, more rain on the Coast. But the rainy season is also stunningly beautiful. The smells and sights are great in the Sub Tropical zone along the coasts South of Puerto Vallarta.

If you're lucky you will get dry mornings. Best time to ride. By Noon it can cloud up and could rain anytime into the night.

Give yourself time to become accustom to Mexican driving habits. Watch and learn before you jump in.

Cross at Tijuana and get your TVIP either there or in La Paz.

3 weeks is not much time. If your a beach person stay on the coast. If severe heat and rain bother you, get up into the Highlands and see the old Silver mining towns .... some of the most beautiful and historic in Mexico.
Its all good. Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Morellia, San Miquel De Allende, and more. Some great roads in those mountains but the mainland now has a LOT of traffic.

For beaches I prefer Baja's empty ones. The Southern Pacific coast of Baja is fabulous and deserted .... if you know where to go.

I hope you've got tire repair stuff and decent tools. Keep an eye on your fuel in Baja. Always top up when you can. If you hang out in Mulege' area
you may hook up with other riders. Lots pass through every day. La Paz too is a sort of Hubb for travelers coming and going. It's off season now ....
so you Cannucks have got it all to yourself!

Have fun, ride safe, don't fight the heat ... adapt to it.

Thanks mickey:Beach:

With time for the ride to/from Mexico you are left with something like 2 weeks for Mexico itself, a nice span.
Suggest you just ride the highways south in Baja with side trips on short gravel roads to various coastal points. Not much enthusiasm for riding solo and in the dirt in hot weather in case you spill and get yourself marooned. Heat is actually not a great concern along the west coast of Baja where cold ocean currents keep things cool. Then when you turn inland at El Rosario you can ride over a ridgecrest and crash into a wall of hot air ( but a dry heat :biggrin3: - unless it happens to be a thunderstorm)From Topo south on the mainland it will be warm, chance of thundershowers every day from about noon on.Just because it is the rainy season there is no guarantee that it will rain on you every single day.
Either stay the coast route past Tepic and to Puerto Vallarta or head inland up Mex 40 to Durango, but be prepared for rain in afternoons again.Any highway from the coast to the interior is going to have lots of scenery, lots of curves. If the rain gets too heavy be ready to stop off early at any convenient hotel and start riding again at daylight next day .
Just enjoy the ride the sights and the smells , take it slow, and do a few hundred km per day. Don't make any overambitious distance plans, keep your return date in mind. When your time is half used up start the return leg with the same loose approach