Hi folks.


We are some working stiffs that want to ride south of the US border but we only have ~2 weeks at a time as we need to get back to our jobs as retirement is a ways off yet.


So, the original plan was this October to ride to Pueaurta Vallarta Mexico, store the bikes and then fly back, ride them south for another two weeks and park them at a friends hostel in Guatemala and keep flying back there 1/2x a year using it as a hub.


But I've since learned about the 180 day TVIP limit for mainland Mexico and the 90 day limit for Guatemala, so one option is to ride south but then store the bikes in say La Paz or Cabo as the Baja does not have the 180 day limit but that would eat up some of our two weeks every time having to come back to Baja.


So, is there any country south of Guatemala that is more open to the idea we have of leaving our bikes in storage and then flying back to them 1/2 times a year to keep exploring?


We liked the Guatemala idea as buddy has a Hostel, so cheap accommodations and storage fees, and its not that much to fly there from western Canada, but 90 days won't work with the 1/2 times a year idea which is all we could make work. Could we get the bikes licensed in Guatemala if the Hostel owner did it (ie: we "sell" the bikes to him and he registers them, would that let us ride in other countries and then come back to Guatemala for storage)?


I'm about to purchase a bike for the trip but I need to have these questions answered before I pull the trigger using the 0% credit card $$.


Any suggestions from you world travellers on how we could make this work so we don't have to wait for retirement?


Thanks for helping us with our dreams!

Argentina allows 8 months (usually) and Uruguay allows 12 months. Peru will allow you to suspend your tip for long periods if you have good reason. At least two central American countries allow you to put the vehicle in bonded storage but it is expensive and one has one Aduana depot that will store it for a dollar a day.
Other countries have TIP for 90 days. Ecuador fine is $300 per day and Peru is said to confiscate vehicles after even one day overstay.

Just be aware that very few countries officially allow you to leave a vehicle behind even within the TIP validity period. Of course many do it without problems, but just never say anything to Customs or immigration.

__________________
Tony
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Hi Tony thank you for the feedback, I'm starting to get the feeling that our idea is a no go.....

It's looking like the Baja is the only area that this would work as a hub to come back to as a hub.

If anyone has another suggestion to save our dream I'm all ears!!

I think you can leave them in Panama,however they must be stored at a certified customs house. The cost is around $100 a month but the bike is VERY secure.

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Crykee that's too rich for our pocket books considering our bikes aren't worth much more than a couple years worth of storage!


We'll have to look for alternative options.


Any other suggestions folks?

What about purchasing a moto in, for example, Mexico and leaving it there when you go home? You can travel around Central America and cross borders with your Mexico licensed moto. Just return the moto to Mexico before you return home.

Fly to Mexico on a round trip flight, ride your moto in CA for two weeks, store it, and fly home.

I am doing exactly that with a Peru licensed moto - fly and ride trips before retirement. I purchased a Peru licensed moto, rode it for 6 weeks, and then stored it. It needs no TVIP when stored in Peru. Maybe something like that will work in Central America.

You'll probably have to be satisfied with something the locals ride. I have a Honda 250cc moto in Peru, which is perfect for adventure and travel on the roads less traveled, which are the fun roads anyway. BTW, I flew out of Thunder Bay to Lima, paying with US dollars $650 round trip.

Hey LD Hack, thank you for the interesting idea.


What started this whole idea was, a buddy had a friend who owns a hostel in Guatamala and we thought "wouldn't it be cool if we could ride to his place and use it for a hub to ride around CA given we have a good spot to work out of with cheap storage". I'm not sure we are prepared to use South America as a hub yet even though they seem to offer longer TVIPs.


Well now that I've been looking into it, there seems to be trouble in Paradise with the idea given the MX 180 TVIP issue and only 90 days allowed in Guatamala.


The very knowledgable Sjoerd Bakker suggests that we get the MX 180 day TVIP and then "if you get to the south border it is possible to cancel the TVIP , then store the bike inside Mexico eg in Tapachula area or Chetumal , one of the border towns in that southern frontier zone of Chiapas or Quintana Roo . You have your deposit back and on paper the bike is out of Mexico . Return and go straight out of Mexico with the bike or buy a new TVIP for another 180 days . You might even consider that as an alternate storage method between your GT visits if their TVIP process makes leaving it behind too difficult".


So that is one option to consider as I found out that the Quintana Roo province does not require a TVIP.


The other idea is to ride to Mazatlan on the 1st leg of the trip, cancel the TVIP and take the ferry to La Paz and store the bikes in the Baja (no TVIP required) then when we have the chance fly back to Baja, take the ferry back to Mazatlan, get the TVIP, exit MX cancelling the TVIP, ride to and around buddies place in Guatemala then bring the bikes back to a MX border town as Sjoerd suggests for storage till we come back. When we come back just ride the bikes out of MX do our tour and then ride them back for storage in a MX border town. Mind you why could we not just leave them in Guatemala for storage without the 90 day TVIP? Is it only a problem if we get stopped by authorities in Guatemala?


Any suggestions on best way to purchase a bike in MX folks?

I don't think your Baja plan will work. To cross from La Paz to the mainland you must get a TVIP. That permit has to be returned when you AND the bike leave the country and before the 180 TVIP expires. To my knowledge you cannot return the TVIP in La Paz, you must go to one of the border crossings.

Now if you plan to just stay in Baja then no issue,

By George MJS you are correct, I forgot that one can only cancel the TVIP when they hit a MX border so crossing into the Baja with a TVIP won't allow us to cancel it, d'oh!!


So its back to plan "A", get to PV, store the bikes and come back within 180 days, get another TVIP (unless we come down a week early and get to the border as the TVIP is running out), ride down to GT in a week, spend a week in GT, come back to MX, cancel the TVIP (or if we return at the end of the ride to store the bikes in Tapachula Chiapas Province then we won't need a TVIP as its a free Province) and store the bike near the GT north west border in MX near Tapachula as per Sjoerd's advice.

Then when we come back we ride over the border (no TVIP required) and explore GT, Belize, Quintana Roo (both of which I understand are TVIP free Province's?) etc and then store the bike near Tapachula and repeat...


How does that sound?

Hi folks, an update for you regarding TVIP "Free" zones along the south MX borders.


Both said the only option is Quintana Roo north of Belize which does not work with our plan so, hmmmm......


We may be able to chance it in Chiapas given the checkpoints are so far north of the border....?


I've pasted their replies below for your info:


1)


Then in southern Mexico, the latest we heard from Banjercito is that
the only state that is permit free is Quintana Roo.

Otherwise, all other states in Mexico will require you to carry a TIP.

Another thing we did hear a few years ago, is that you are not supposed to leave your vehicle in Mexico unattended, and leave the country. You are supposed to stay with your motorcycle.

Maybe that is something you would like to check with Banjercito or the Immigration office when you cross into Guatemala. You mentioned it would be in storage, so it might be fine, but I think this would be something that I recommend checking. I'm not sure if the rules have changed in that aspect.

If you need to contact Banjercito's office their main number is 011.52.555.328.2329

2)


Thanks for contacting Adventure Mexican Insurance. We’ve been spending most of the morning looking into an answer for your question. After speaking with 2 different Banjercito offices (they issue the vehicle permits), we have found that there is no free or border zone along the southern Mexican border like there is along the United States border. There are some areas where you can go as far as 80 kilometers without hitting a checkpoint, but technically you are required to have a vehicle permit anywhere within the state of Chiapas. If you were traveling through to Belize, the entire state of Quintana Roo is a free zone where no vehicle permits are necessary. But all other southern states in Mexico require you to have the TVIP for your bikes. If you would like to confirm for yourself and you speak spanish, here is the phone number for the Banjercito office in Chiapas: 011-52-963-631-4166