Belize please for a day or two....possible?
 

Wondering if it's possible to cross into Belize from Mexico for a few days without having to cancel our Mexican TVIP's on the bikes?

Hello Saralou,

Two differing views here. I asked when I bought my TVIP in La Paz, before boarding the ferry to mainland Mexico, whether I needed to cancel my TVIP if I was going to return to Mexico after travelling through Central America and South America. My original plan was to ride back home. I will now ship it. The helpful lady behind the counter said it was risky because if anything happened to you or the bike while outside of Mexico you would forfeit your deposit. But when I exited Mexico for Guatemala in October I had to go to the Banjercito first, where they cancelled the TVIP. I was then directed to Migracion where they asked for the cancelled TVIP that was given to me at the Banjercito. Could I have sneaked around the Banjercito? Maybe, but it was quite obvious I was on a bike and they were right next door to each other. Then again, each border is different. You could always ask if they allow a short trip into Belize without going through the process all over again. On a side note, the helpful lady was not sure if every border crossing had a Banjercito where one could cancel the TVIP. I thought that was a bit strange. Maybe she was wrong. Best to ask. Someone else might chime in with their own experience. Hope this helps.

Regards Mike.

It is common practice for people from Guatemala to get a TVIP for six months and cross the border multiple times, as the permit is valid for all that time. The BANEJERCITO officer at Ciudad Quactemoc tipped on to this bit of info. Reality is, they don't care, they have your money. The only place where such document gets requested at, is the custom/military check points 100 kms from the border.

Like the other fellow said. It really depends on the guys at the border. I've crossed many times with the TVIP still valid and not been asked for it. I've also crossed and been asked for it and when that happened I just showed an older one from times past and all was fine.

Yes you can go to Belize for a few days.
Mexico will now let you retain your TVIP so that saves you and them the bother of cancelling and refunding the deposit , only to have to take out a new one and deposit > Got that ?

You will however be asked to cancel your Tourist Card. Then when you return to Mexico you need to apply for and pay for a new tourist card . This is a regrettable expense, but not the end of the trip deal breaker.
And mikey, in the case of your potential plan to travel to South America before returning to Mexico it makes no sense to even think about keeping your TVIP going. The helpful lady was right. Would you actually get back to Mexico and exit to the USA before the six months expires ? Unlikely. You would just be asking for problems of having an expired TVIP and that means also that you would have THROWN AWAY YOUR SECURITY DEPOSIT.
There are indeed several border crosings into Guatemala with no Banjercito service , even with no Migracion.
If you cross those you are supposed to have your papers already in order by visiting one of the other points where those services are available .
or if you cross without that precaution you should limit yourself to a short exploratory trip but not carry on deep across Guatemala
Once you hit the Belize side of the border you MUST buy their liability insurance for bikes , they do check at roadside.Reasonable price, get the week, it costs no more than it does for three days.
You wil not regret it, once you start exploring the back roads you will find a week is used up pretty quick .Take the long ride down to Punta Gorda and back, out to Cayo, the ruins of Xunantunich and or Caracol, a ride up through the modern Spanish Lookout Mennonite colony and by contrast the other much more conservative old fashioned horse-and buggy colony around Shipyard.
Take a short trip through Belize City, it can look a bit of a dump but is interesting because of just that.

Thanks Sjoerd,

As we figured you can go but in the end it will depend on the boarder official and the mood of the day.

Thanks for the insight.

At the end of November I'm going to be heading south into Mexico at Tijuana, going down the Pacific coast, crossing into Guatemala at Ciudad Hidalgo, wandering around Central America, then crossing back into Mexico in February at Las Champas and headed up the Gulf Coast to Brownsville, Texas for some sun and fun with the Spring Breakers.
http://snipr.com/reno-padre-atitlan

Would someone confirm that you can pay the 6 month TVIP deposit at one Banjercito and redeem the deposit at another?

Are there any suggestions (cost advantages) for one Mexican insurance company over another?

Thanks :thumbup1:

mexico
 

Good luck on your trip. Yes you can pay and redeem deposit at different places. The cheapest insurance is thru Mexpro.com and is easy to buy it online. Sara

Thanks, Saralou. I checked out Mexpro and posted it's quote at
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...nce-cost-67420. I hope others post on that thread too so we can keep running comparisons for Mex and Ctrl Amer countries.

Cyberbiker.
Las Champas ? a new one on me. Please explain where it is in Mexico or Guatemala or Belize and what highway does it feed into ? .
Is it a teeny tiny crossing inthe middle of a jungle somwhere? I will check my maps tonight =) Carefull, those are not always serviced and can lead to problems with documentation.
As Saralou points out you can turn in the TVIP at any of the official Mexican border customs terminals when going back to the USA. This can be either immediately at the border in Brownsville or Reynosa, and Nvo.Laredo but it can also be done at the roadside customs terminal like the one at km53 on Mex 57 at Allende , Coahuila. Just so you know you have lots of options.

It is where Guat CA1 ends at the Mexican border. Las Champas is a little settlement right on the Mex side of the border. The nearest Mex municipality of Ciudad Cuauhtemoc, about 2km further into Mex, is the official border crossing name. Thanks for catching that.

Can the 180-day TVIP also be turned in at any US major city Banjercito like San Francisco or Sacramento? That would be more convenient because, once back into the US at Brownsville, TX, I may want to hop back to Mex a couple times on my way by Loredo, El Paso, Tucson, etc., en route to Reno, NV. Turning it in when I am sure I will not return (like in Sacramento 132mi from Reno) permits me to leave my options open on the way home.

Ciberbiker . Definitely a big fat emphatic capitalized NO on the possibilities you float of cancelling the TVIP in Reno or ANY other point not at the Mexican side of the border.These offices deal with othe things but will not cancel TVIP for you, not their duty.
You CAN leave Mexico and keep your TVIP ,not a problem that is totally legal and permitted so you can come back for multiple visits..
But to CANCEL you must be at a border facility as described , anywhere along the entire Mex/ US border and you MUST have the motorcycle present at the time you cancel it.
Once you decide you are ready to cancel the TVIP BEFORE it expires then just take a ride to the border and hop into Mexico to visit the Banjercito office there . They will cancel it , take a picture of the VIN plate on the bike and give your credit card the refund for the deposit you paid.
Your options for border crosssings to the USA are wide open, any one with a Banjercito will do the work for you ( not all have Banjercito now, eg Tecate is iffy they tell me ). As long as you have the bike right there to show them.

As for the Champas border crosssing , now I understand. You are off a bit with the crossing name however , This crossing of CA1 to Mexico's Mex 190 at Cd Cuauhtemoc is on the Guatemala side actually called La Mesilla, the name of the town right there on the border on top of the mountain. Your map led you astray.Naughty map:innocent: .