Tips on Mexican travel from the Buses in Zamora travellers
Folks, below is a list of things all should know about travelling in Mexico, especially those with VW buses and especially the Vanagon and Eurovan models. I am starting this list and invite all the other Zamora travellers to add to it to make it as useful and precise as we can in a effort to help all future travelers to this magnificent country, Mexico ! This is a work in progress so check back often for updates. Check also the “Comments” of this message for more tips from other Buses in Zamora travellers. Eventually a complete document will be posted.
Camping stuff:
Porta-poties – they do not exist here, bring one but do not expect to buy one here. Also the chemical deodorant, Liquid Gold and such, is not available here so bring your own supply.
Propane 1lb. bottles, the little green ones, are not available here, bring your own or organize another way. I have two with me at all times and have an adapter to fill them from my Westy’s tank.
Propane camping stoves are not available here. If you need parts for yours do not expect to find them here. That goes for Coleman or any other brand.
Camp gas or white gas, for the older style camp stoves is not available here so beware.
Mechanical stuff:
Mobile 1 Synthetic engine oil is available but you have too look high & low to find it, usually at Wal Mart, BUT it is EXPENSIVE, $13 ~ 14/ litre. Bring your own supply.
Brake fluid, DOT 4 is not available here. Only DOT 3 is available. All VW vans take DOT 4 so bring your own supply.
Antifreeze, I have not been able to locate any Phosphate Free Antifreeze. None of the many jugs of Antifreeze I have examined say anything about being Phosphate Free. This is especially important for those Vanagons with the OEM waterboxer engines.
Vanagon parts are pretty much non existent. The Vanagon was never sold in Mexico so there are no parts here except for those which were used on other VW vehicles and this you will have to know as the parts sellers will not be able to cross reference them as they know nothing about Vanagons.
Eurovans parts are to some extent available but be careful. VW did sell the Eurovan in Mexico BUT not the same models as in the US and Canada. As for example all the Eurovans up to the new T-5 were automatics here, no manuals so anything related to the manual transmission models is not available and does not show up on their parts books, ie: brake master cylinder reservoir, ask Paul why he knows this ! Also Peter had some issues in trying to get his ’92 Eurovan Diesel Westy transmission repaired. I do not have all the details on this so you need to contact Peter for more information.
General stuff:
Gas is all sold at Pemex, Mexican government run, gas stations. In general they do not take credit cards, only cash in Pesos. Some newer stations in large cities are starting to display signs that they are accepting credit cards. This is NEW and not to be expected.
Roads are generally good but have no or minimal shoulders. If you have a break down, chances are you will not have a place to get off the road. Be prepared with means of warning traffic that you are blocking the road.
Road signs are not always correct and sometimes do not exist. Mileage markers to locations will vary and are not always accurate. Have lots of good maps and be careful when you ask the Mexicans for directions. They all want to be helpful but many have less information about how to get from where you are to where you want to go than you do ! GPS systems or OK and that’s about it. We used Microsoft’s “Streets & Trips” and ”Mexico GPS Atlas V2- All Regions” from http://www.mexicomaps.com/ on a Garmin interface both running on our laptop on the dash. Neither one of these programs is complete and accurate. Others used Garmins Mexico Maps program on their dash mounted Garmin Units and they will comment on them. They are all helpful and need to be used in conjunction with good paper maps and inquiries of locals that have good knowledge of the area.
Topes, speed bumps, are EVERYWHERE except on the Cuotas (toll roads), and are the nemesis of Mexican road travel. Hard on brakes, suspension and undercarriage of low ridding vehicles. The Eurovans, especially the newer Winnabego models, do not do well. The propane tank and its protector are too low. Beware !
Cell phones. Our Bell Sympatico cell phone with the “North American Travel Plan” offered by Bell that is supposed to work in Mexico is pretty much useless here. Bell claims they need to be advised of your location to be able to make it work. This is inconvenient for traveling at will. Unless you have a preplanned itinerary then it will not work. And to boot there is no signal in many of the places we went. Our unlocked Sony Ericsson cell phone which we had Mexcian TelCel chips installed worked flawlessly for us in communicating within Mexico. It would be very expensive to call out of the county though. The chips are $30 and you get $100 Pesos of time for the current month and $100 Pesos of time for the each of the next two months with the chip. Only problem is that as you travel from one region to another the calls become long distance and therefor more expensive so the time gets used up faster. It becomes more economical to get another chip at $30 for the region your in if you plan to hang around there for awhile. We used TelCel and have no information about the other Mexican cell phone services.
Frank
Posted on March 30th, 2008 by FrankandRita
Filed under: Rita and Frank Condelli
Frank, this is a good idea I think and you have a great start on it. I’ll try to think of items for the list. A few come to mind now though:
Camping at Pemex stations is typically O.K. when outside of cities and at Pemex stations with larger parking lots. Always ask if it is alright to stay, and where to park.
You shouldn’t drink the tap water but purified water is readily available. Most grocery type stores have the 20 liter bottles of drinking water and in many areas trucks circulate to sell them daily. The bottles are the same as the ones used on water coolers north of the border.
In many parts of the country many bathrooms are missing one or all of the following: toilet paper, toilet seats, running water, soap, lighting. At least travel with toilet paper.
Look out for one way streets. Sometimes there are signs but usually there are parked and driving cars (if they are all facing you don’t turn in).
Propane is readily available at the gas (propane) stations across Mexico.
Avoid buying gasoline from the resellers (not straight from a Pemex) as they may be selling dirty gas or have added water to it.
If you are friendly they are more likely to be friendly (put on your smile at checkpoints and act like you are glad that they have waved you over
.
Feigning ignorance can come in handy when someone is trying to take advantage of you. You can pretend to not know that they want a bribe or “accidentally” pay too little or keep saying “no gracias” or my favorite “no intiendo” while walking/driving away. If the situation is very serious or you are in a dangerous position cooperation is probably best.
Jonathan
Frank that is a very good idea to write about what we have learned on this trip.Here is my experience with the Pemex,I’ve used my Visa credit to purchase fuel/diesel from Mazanillo to the US border.What you have to do is prepay the amount that you want to buy. Lets say 300$,but if you’re gas tank only needs 250$,they refund you the rest.As for my stick shift bushing problem VW dealer had a part ,but for a 1995 model,that is slightly different from mine.The corner mechanic fixed so good that I have not tuched it since.
Peter
Frank’s right the phone service is pretty iffy with bell phones. I had a good connection about 30% of the time. The cost was terrible it’s good to have a phone for emergencies but a better option is Skype on your computer. We all used it and it was a great way to keep in touch.
It’s great to have a computer with you but you might want to pick up a cheap used one to keep in touch, the salt air is very hard on computers.
Have a good first aid kit with any thing you think you might need, most things are available but sometimes a little hard to find.
Learning a little Spanish before you go, will be a great help. A good Spanish phrase book is a must. It will save a lot of frustration until you settle in a bit.
If your traveling with another van or a group of vans Walkie Talkies are a good idea. but check them out ahead of time to see that they will all work together. When your separated and lost you don’t want to find out they don’t work (as I did )
Make sure you allow enough time to get where you want and time to relax. For the most part your not going to get any where fast in Mexico, so slow down and enjoy the ride.
The same thing goes for restaurants, nothing is made ahead so your meal isn’t started at all until you order. Have a drink sit back and relax, your on Mexican time now