Riding alone in Mexico
 

I plan to enter Mexico from the U.S. at Matamoras and ride south along the Gulf of Mexico at least as far as Veracruz and possibly to Merida in the Yucatan Peninsula. But when I mention to people that I'm going alone they warn me that if I'm not robbed by banditos I'll be shaken down by Federales looking for a handout. Of course none of the people I've talked to have actually been to Mexico by bike. Any advice pro or con would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Douglas

It's called "fear of the unknown"

The first 100 miles south of the border isn't great, past that and outside of the major cities is excellent, nice friendly people and as safe as anywhere.

Most people have had no trouble at all. We have had no reports of mc travellers being bothered. That doesn't mean that you can go into the back streets of Tijuana at 3am drunk out of your mind...

Common sense rules.

There are several reports in the Travellers Stories section on Mexico, have a good read, go, and have a great time!

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Grant Johnson

Share the Dream!
at: www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Last October I rode from Pharr TX to Pachuca and back alone, my first trip outside the US. I knew a grand total of 10 Spanish words and had no problems at all. The people are very friendly and gracious, I was stopped by the federales about 6 times, they were very professional, just wanted to have a looksee thru my bags. I have a friend who has traveled extensively in Mexico and says it is safer than the US. You will have a great time. I've took some spanish lessons and am headed back in April, when are you going? I'm going to Manhattan on Saturday, any banditos up there?

I wouldn't hesitate to travel in Mexico alone. Especially by road. Alot of people from the US are just plain scared of Mexico which probably has to do with watching too much TV. I was surprised by the number of Europeans and Australians in Copper Canyon last year. I can only recall one or two estadonudense. And it's right next door.

A word of advice: I was told by a Mexican guy who seemed pretty well informed that bribing government officials these days can be very risky. They've been making an effort to crack down on this type of corruption and you wouldn't want to get involved in a 'show case.'

I'm hoping to ride down from Chicago to Cuernavaca sometime in the near future to study. It's the only way to go! Be smart and have fun.

Kurt

Last August I traveled from Houston to Mazatlan and back. Some 300 miles of the return trip was down a goat trail, for lack of a better term. Gas was plentiful and the people were great. As curious about me as I was about them. Given another opportunity I would not hestitate.

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2001 Kawasaki KLR 650
2000 BMW K1200LT

Just did the same thing, but all the way to Panama and back, and continuously got the same response, regardless of where I was. No problems, not one. Don't travel at night, avoid the really BIG cities, smile and wave a lot, and learn and use some Spanish. You'll find friendly folks all along the way. Good camping along Quintana Roo coast south of Tulum. Unless you LIKE to pay to sling a hammock in the palms right on the beach, just take any path/road to beach from main(packed sand)road south of entrance to Sian Ka'an reserve. Great, clean, warm ocean awaits. Have fun.--Porter

ps--On my way south, I went inland into SLP state and found couple of really nice places to camp. One was near Rio Verde, called Media Luna. This is a thermal springs area and even though it was cool at night(late December)was able to swim/bathe next morn.
Other place was before that one, I think called Mika?. Very scenic area with waterfall and white water conditions and restaurants. Only other campers was local group of Boy Scouts. Any questions, fire away.--Porter


[This message has been edited by Grant Johnson (edited 25 August 2003).]

Douglas, myself and a group of friends followed almost your exact route in 1994. I know a lot has changed in the meantime, but we had no problems at all of the kind you mention. Just the opposite in fact.

There was major trouble in Chiapas at the time, - 80 people shot dead, so we ran into a lot of military and police road blocks. Lots of arms swinging around and at us, but no bad vibes. For some strange reason we did not feel at all threatened. How worried can you be when the kid pointing a rifle point-blank at your midriff is sporting a big smile? Our bags were searched several times, but in a gentle manner. My home customs could take a lesson.

Not only that, but several times locals volunteered to lead us to Hotels, eat with us. In general we had a ball. Whether it would have been so, solo, I'm not sure.

We had a fluent (Argentinian) Spanish speaker with us, which certainly opened doors for us.

On our return to the US we arrived in Matamoros in a rainstorm at dusk. Cars were carrying the mud from the road virges onto the road, which became like grease. One of our number fell over. The Mexicans came like ants to their rescue. One rushed ahead to tell me what had happened. It was a humbling experience.

There were some funny experiences. At one road block our spanish speaker decided to keep mum for a few minutes. About eight officers were talking among themselves, then one told me that he wanted to search my bags. He had just started when Alberto spoke up, indicating that he had understood every word said. The officers were a little embarrassed, started laughing. We left them in high spirits after they exchanged badges with the District Attorney and policewoman in our party.

Its more fun to tour places like that with friends, but I would not have missed it for anything. I rarely feel threatened anywhere, and I've been in some pretty 'dangerous' places. I suspect a lot has to do with attitude, and body language.

cheers
Peter

I am considering going solo to Chiapas to study Spanish and travel the area. One question, what arrangements do you make to secure the bike while you are in school or living with a family? Do any of the schools make accomodations for motorcycles?

Same as getting accomodation anywhere - you ask first if they have secure parking for the bike. Tell your school to put you with a family which does - there'll be one. Guaranteed. BTW: San Cristobel is nice, but nearby Antigua (Guatemala) is even nicer & much cheaper, with excellent language schools.

James

I would strongly encourage you to go, you will have an experience you will never forget. As far as security for the bike, just inquire of the people where you are staying "Tiene parqueo seguro para mi motocicleta?". They will completely understand your concern and they will know what is "secure" and what is not. It's not unusual for them to keep your motorcycle in the lobby!

Anywhere in Chiapas is more secure than Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn (I rode it last Saturday)

Thanks for the advise.

I was in Guatemala for one week in Feb (no motorcycle). Antigua is beautiful but everyone seemed to speak English. At first I was considering going to Quetzaltenango and riding around the Lake Atitlan area. However, this is my first trip by motorcycle and I am going alone on limited time. BTW, I am more afraid of mechanical problems than robbery etc, because I really have no mechanical skills (not many garages here in Brooklyn). Anyway, I thought riding down to Tampa and taking the Yucatan Ferry to San Cris via Cancun would be a good first trip for a couple of weeks.

Lonely Planet says good things about the town and the Spanish school, although I did notice that they only provide lessons for 3 hrs/day instead of the standard 5 in Guatemala.

Where would you cross the border is you wanted to ride into Guatemala after taking the Yucatan Ferry?

Hola,

We rode from San Cristobal to the La Mesilla crossing via the ruins at Palenque and Bonampuk. The ride parallels the border and is one of the best I've ever done - lots of twisty road and beautiful scenery. The crossing itself is very easy.

From what I remember, San Cristobal was no less 'gringified' than Antigua, but there's other places to study, e.g. Todos Santos, where no-one speaks English. Lago Atitlan is not big - you can easily ride around it in a day trip from Antigua, even taking the dirt roads there and back.

Relax about the bike - you're not going far, and the riding can all be on asphalt if you feel the need to take it easy.

I don't know anything about the ferry, but (generally) arriving by boat is much more complicated than by road. An English girl I met had several weeks of customs tie-ups after catching a ferry, though I can't remember which CA country it was she went to.

James

Very interesting, could you tell more details about that route. The only info I found about border crossings there talk about bus-river-bus transport.

Douglas,
I recently traveled from Albuquerque, NM to Panama and back alone. I didn't run into any problems with people, other than at border crossing, along the way. While I did get stopped often at either police or army checkpoints, I never had to pay any bribes or anything like that.
I came back along the route you are talking about taking and while the road is not a great one from the border to Veracruz it is ok as long as you travel during the day. It a two day ride from Texas to Veracruz.
People in Mexico and Central America were suprised that an American was traveling alone on a motorcycle, but everyone was helpful and friendly.
Just like traveling in the US you need to use common sense and be aware of your surroundings.
I would Travel from day break to early afternoon and then find a place to stay for the night.
If we take the advice of all the naysayers we would never get out of bed. So just plan out your trip and go for it.
Have a great trip.

I had been following this and other threads and was doing some other searching and found this link.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinat...merica/mexico/

I thought the warning at the bottom was interesting.

Thanks,
Todd Bellew