Pan American Highway > Mexico Currency to display:

1 Visiting Mexico
2 Entering Mexico with a Car or Motorbike
3 Driving in Mexico
4 Gas and Diesel price in Mexico
5 Safety and Security Considerations
6 Camping in Mexico
7 Navigation
8 Special Overland Travel interests
9 Vehicle Maintenance
10 Buy or sell a car or motorbike in Mexico
11 References
12 Helpful External links

Visiting Mexico

Give a brief overview of what it's like to visit. How easy is the border, how safe is the country, are there great things to see and do, etc.

Entering Mexico with a Car or Motorbike

Correct as of: May 2014

Required Paperwork

The border with the United States of America and Mexico has a zone where you can drive your car without doing any of the paperwork listed below. This zone usually extends about 20km South, and includes all of Baja California. If you plan to go further into Mexico, you will have to complete the paperwork listed here.

Passport of registered owner (original and 1 copy).
Vehicle registration (original and 1 copy).
Drivers license of registered owner (original and 1 copy).
Mexico Tourist Card you received when you crossed the border, or crossed outside the special zone mentioned above (original and 1 copy)

Process at border

(To check if you need a travel Visa for Mexico, application instructions and fees see: Mexico Visa online application at VisaHQ.com)

The owner of the vehicle gains entry at immigration (migración), including a stamp in their Passport and a Mexico Tourist Card (depending on which border you cross at, you may get this at the actual border, then proceed further until you are required to complete paperwork for the vehcile).
The owner must show the new passport stamp and tourist card, drivers license and the original vehicle registration to customs (aduana).
The owner is required to obtain a temporary import permit.

Temporary Import Permits

Permits can be purchased at Banjercito offices or online. You will need the following:

Passport
Your Vehicle registration – The Vehicle registration must be in the driver’s name
A lease contract if the vehicle is leased or a rental contract if it is rented
A Mexican tourist card or visa for travel in Mexico

This is the location of the Banjercito in Otay near the airport (The office has been moved from Tijuana in the last year) GPS 32.545750, -116.940556

online (the permit is sent by post and may take up to 7 business days).

Banjercito Online Temporary import permit

You may request your permit 7 to 60 days prior to entering Mexico by vehicle.
Once the payment has been accepted, they will send the permit to your address within 7 business days.
Once you have received your permit, you must send a copy of the documents you provided during the application process in one of the following ways:
Sending the scanned documents by e-mail to itvnet@banjercito.com.mx.
Through courier service to the following address: Av. Industria Militar 1055, Col. Lomas de Sotelo, Del. Miguel Hidalgo, México, D.F., CP. 11200.
Delivering them in person to any Banjercito office.
You may ONLY request a permit for a vehicle that is registered to your name or that of your spouse, your children, or your parents.
You may NOT request a permit for a vehicle weighing more than 3.5 metric tons (7,716 lbs).

Cost of Permits: The permit costs just under $50.00 USD. You will also have to provide the refundable deposit detailed below. You can pay by credit card or cash.

Vehicle Year	Deposit Amount Required
2007 & Later	$400.00 USD
2001 – 2006	$300.00 USD
2000 & Earlier	$200.00 USD

Important: Only the registered owner of the vehicle or spouse are allowed to drive the vehicle. If somebody else gets caught driving the vehicle, consider it donated to customs.

NOTE: You may encounter locals offering to help you with paperwork to get across the border. See Border Crossing Helpers for advice.

Border Zones

If Entering from the North*

The rules differ depending on where you plan to drive in Mexico; some zones (1&2) no permit while travelling to Senora or mainland Mexico. Outside of zones 1&2 will require a temporary import permit.

Border Zone – within 25KM of the border (No Permit Required)
The whole of Baja or Puerto Penasco (No Permit Required)
Senora – (Senora only Permit Required)
Mainland Mexico outside the above (Temporary import Permit Required)

Cost of entry

$295.00 MXN per person for the tourist card. Maximum duration 180 Days
$48.84 USD for the vehicle permit, maximum duration 180 days (often matched with tourist card). PLUS you must leave a deposit between $200.00 USD - $600.00 USD depending on age of vehicle. Better to pay in USD, but you can use your VISA card to pay and and leave the deposit.
If your vehicle is an RV, there is no deposit required for the permit. The permit in this case is good for 10 years.

Permitted length of stay

Unlimited, so long as the registered owner of the vehicle is legally allowed to remain in Mexico. Consider importing your vehicle as an RV, we were told that it can easily extend your vehicle import to a 10 year term, whereas your visa is the only limitation on your stay.

Extension of stay

See below, as long as the owner / driver is legally in Mexico, so is the vehicle. If it is parked and nobody drives it, it's still legal. There is no expiration date for the temporary import of the vehicle, so there is also no extension.

Storing a vehicle and temporarily leaving the country

The vehicle can stay as long as the owner and driver are legal in the country. If you park your car, leave the country and come back with a new tourist visa, you're free to drive on with your vehicle. There is no time limit for the vehicle to stay in the country.

If leaving via plane but you entered the country by land, you wll need to get your tourist visa stamped at the airport migracion office. They might ask you to pay the visa fee, but as long as you have your initial receipt you will not have to pay. We had to get our visa stamped before the airline would give us our boarding passes.

A couple of storage options recommeneded by Overlanders:

San Miguel Campground During our stay there are several trucks stored
Camping San Juan Teotihuacan N 19.68330 W 98.87057, during our stay there are several trucks stored.
Mexico DF: We are storing in 2014 at Pepe's RV park, Tepotzotlan. $915.00 MXN per month under cover, cheaper outside, lots of trucks were stored, it is a huge area. Email Benjamin for further info/quote: pepesrv@prodigy.net.mx

Exiting with a vehicle

The registered owner presents the temporary import paper to customs.
The registered owner is stamped out of Mexico at immigration.

NOTE: When leaving the country, you may be asked by immigration to pay a fee - this is bribery and you should not pay anything without getting an official receipt.

Driving in Mexico

Insurance requirements

Insurance is mandatory in Mexico, and you will have problems with the Police if you don't purchase it. You can buy it at the border, or many companies exist online that piggy-back on your insurance from the United States of America

Cost of insurance

$96.00 USD for six months for a 1987 4Runner from Sansborns Mexico Insurance including $14.00 USD "Legal Aid" upgrade.

$135.00 USD for six months for a 4x4 from Mexico Auto Insurance.

$169.00 USD for six months for a 1998 Toyota Land Cruiser (UK) from Bajabound including - Medical Payments: $10,000/$50,000, Third Party Liability: $300,000, Platinum Endorsement: INCLUDED (legal, medical and roadside assistance service.

$700.00 USD for six months for a van conversion valued at $40,000.00 USD including sufficient liability coverage for all of Mexico and comprehensive + collision. Note that you must maintain your home country comprehensive/collision insurance. Purchased from Discover Baja Travel Club in San Diego.

note the law changed in Mexico last year the current recommended third party liability is $300,000, (optional).

Where to purchase insurance

At the border or online

One option to buy online ICI: http://www.mxici.com/CSAVI/Default.aspx
Bajabound Cheaper to call than online

Driving license

A license from anywhere in the world appears to be enough.

Driving side of road

Right.
Right hand drive vehicles are permitted without problem.

Mandatory items in vehicle

None.

Roads

General Road quality

Roads in Mexico vary greatly from very good toll roads, to horrendous gravel roads.

Road signs

Road signs are common enough, and are generally good enough to rely on.

Toll roads

Mexico has an ever-increasing network of very good quality toll roads, mostly in the North, and near major population centers. They are very expensive. Expect to pay around $10.00 USD every 50km.

Vehicle Ferry between Baja and Mainland

There are five ferry services that go from Baja to the Mexican mainland, two of which are operated by Baja Ferries^[1], two by TMC and the other is the Santa Rosalia Ferry. The Baja Ferry services both depart from La Paz, with one going to Mazatlan (16-18 Hours) and the other to Topolobampo (6-7 Hours) which is roughly 430km further north.

The cost of both services from La Paz are comparable when you take into consideration the additional driving time and fuel required to drive south from Topolobampo to Mazatlan.

*Note to take your vehicle to the mainland, you will require a temporary vehicle import permit which can be obtained near the border or in La Paz. More information can be found here.

La Paz – Mazatlan 16 – 18 Hours
La Paz – Topolobampo 6- 7 Hours
Santa Rosalía – Guaymas 9.5 - 10Hours

A detailed post about the ferry services, with costs and time tables can be found here: Baja Ferries between La Paz Mazatlan & Topolobampo | My Overland Adventure

Meals are provided on board which do not include drinks and differ ferry to ferry. A mid-size SUV with driver cost and 1 passenger $2,900.00 MXN to $3,500.00 MXN. Cabins ($787.00 MXN) and/or other passengers ($897.00 MXN) to ($1,102.00 MXN) cost extra. Fees are from July 2014.^[2]

Bribery in Mexico

Police bribery is very common in Mexico, and you will probably encounter it at some point. See the bribery tips page for advice.

Checkpoints

Police checkpoints are very common in Mexico, especially in the North near the United States of America. There are two kinds:

Military checkpoints: Where they are primarily concerned with the transport of illegal items. They may ask to see your Passport, and may perform and inspection of your vehicle.
Police checkpoints: Here you will be asked to show your Passport, Vehicle registration, drivers license, the temporary import permit you were issued at the border and maybe your insurance. Depending on the circumstances, you may encounter bribery at these stops.

Traveling with pets

According to travelers in 2012, you need: ^[3]
Travelers in 2013 wrote this when traveling from USA to Mexico: ^[4]

A Health Certificate for the animal in Spanish (updated at least every four months)
A vaccination record (the European Pet Passport works well)

You might not be asked for either one, but you should have them ready.

Gas and Diesel price in Mexico

Last updated: April 2014

Currency and unit to display:

Gasoline Grade	Price
Regular	$12.41 MXN per Liter
Super (90)	$13.01 MXN per Liter
Premium (95)	??
Ultra (97)	??
Normal Diesel	$12.84 MXN per Liter
Diesel (low sulfur)	??

Gas prices are in whole Mexico the same and sold by Pemex gas stations. Except in Yucatan where you will find a little bit cheaper gas due to lower taxes.

Price Information:

Gas and Diesel Availability / Frequency

Gasoline is common, typically not more than around 200km from station to station.

Gas and Diesel Quality

Accepted to be generally good quality. Sulfur content of diesel is low.

Safety and Security Considerations

Driving at night

Driving at night is not recommended.

Homemade speed bumps (called topes) are extremely hard to see, very common, and almost always very severe. Hitting one in the dark at 80km/h is likely.
Poor road quality means potholes, washouts and other hazards are common.
Dangerous driving such as tailgating, overtaking around blind corners and excessive speeding are common.
There can be many objects on and around the road that are nearly impossible to see at night, such as livestock, people, slow moving carts, cars with no lights, etc.

Vehicle parking

Parking on the street during the day is usually OK. Find a secure parking lot overnight and in big cities. Price unknown.

Special driving considerations

For people driving South through the Americas, Mexico is their first introduction to driving and road conditions in Latin America. See Pan American Highway Driving Considerations for general advice.

Security advisories and information

Camping in Mexico

Camping is popular in Mexico, with both locals and foreigners driving South from United States of America. Roadside camping is difficult due to the high population density, abundant roadside fences and security considerations.

Camping guide books

The [Traveler's Guide to Mexican Camping] is the definitive list of campsites in Mexico. Information includes detailled maps, GPS co-ordinates, and descriptions of campground facilities.

Drinking water

Tap water in Mexico is not safe to drink. Bottled water can be bought, and stores selling purified drinking water are common. A 20 liter container costs around $14.00 MXN to fill.

Navigation

Paper maps

Reise Know-How are amoung the best paper maps. Purchase paper maps before arriving in Mexico

Mexico
by Reise Know-How Verlag
From $14.95 on Amazon

National Geographic Road Atlas - Adventure Edition
by National Geographic Maps
From $12.85 on Amazon

Fodor's Los Cabos: With Todos Santos, La Paz & Valle D...
by Fodor's Travel Guides
From $5.10 on Amazon

Central & South America (lonely Planet Read This First)
by Conner Gorry
From $39.99 on Amazon

The Mexico Road Atlas (aka the Guia Roji) is the road map to have for Mexico. It includes: toll booths and toll fees, places to stay and places to eat, gas stations, auto mechanics, medical services, rest areas, public telephones, border crossings and maps of Belize and Guatemala. It can be bought at gas stations within Mexico for around $20.00 USD. It is updated yearly, and is in Spanish.
The Baja Almanac is very good for anyone spending extensive time in Baja California.

GPS Maps of Mexico

Open Street Map: Appears to have good coverage.^[5]
Garmin: Apparently no map of Mexico. (its included in the North America Map)
TomTom: lists coverage as "street network, with detailed coverage of 70 cities". ^[6]
http://www.gpstravelmaps.com/index.php has maps of Mexico and many more countries. Not complete coverage of all the roads for the maps of Belize and Guatemala I used 2010, but constantly updating.

GPS co-ordinates for camping, propane, gas, repairs, etc. in Mexico

Mexico - Central and Yucatan - A trip through Mexico from Texas to Belize with gps locations and prices recorded.
MEXICO - CHIAPAS TO THE WEST COAST - A trip through Mexico from Guatemala to California with gps locations and prices recorded.
Places in Mexico - Camping Places & Sights in Mexico from Pawsontour
Mexico Campgrounds and Hotels | Life Remotely - a very detailed list of campgrounds and hotels in Mexico, with GPS co-ords.
Camping Sites: Mexico - Detailed list of campsites and propane filling with description, directions and GPS co-ordinates. Some at hotels (lists facilities and price), some roadside and free.
Central America Camping Locations - List of campsites, with basic directions and GPS co-ordinates. Mostly free sites.

Special Overland Travel interests

None.

Travel Guide Books

Lonely Planet Mexico (travel Guide)
by Lonely Planet, John Noble, Kate Armstrong, Stuart ...
From $16.07 on Amazon

Work Less To Live Your Dreams: A Practical Guide To Sa...
by Dan Grec
From $click on Amazon

Don't Go There. It's Not Safe. You'll Die. And Other M...
by LifeRemotely.com
From $click on Amazon

Americas Overland - The Driving Handbook
by Donald Greene
From $29.95 on Amazon

99 Days To Panama: An Exploration Of Central America B...
by John Halkyard, Harriet Halkyard
From $20.96 on Amazon

Overlanders' Handbook: Worldwide Route And Planning Gu...
by Chris Scott
From $22.49 on Amazon

Adventure Motorcycling Handbook: A Route & Planning Gu...
by Chris Scott
From $click on Amazon

Footprint Mexico Handbook, 2nd Edition
by Richard Argihiris, Geoffrey Groesbeck, Anna Marie ...
From $22.36 on Amazon

TRAVELIVING - a romantic & practical guide
by The Pin Project

at 10$ on thepinproject.eu