Letters

•Getting to Bahia de Los Angeles by Bus?
Taking a Rental Car from the US?

Hi, Carl and Lorena,

We live in Chicago and are planning to visit Bahia Los Angeles this Summer. We think to fly to San Diego and drive down to Bahia. Do you know any charters bus companies that may get us there?

Thank you. Yury

Lorena Responds:

I sent your question to my brother, who travels frequently to Bahia de Los Angeles. His reply follows.

Douglas Havens

There is no scheduled bus service to Bahia de Los Angeles. The bus runs the entire peninsula from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas and they will stop at the junction to the Bay. It is about 40 miles from the highway to Bahia de Los Angeles. The road is frequently used, so it may be possible to hitchhike from the highway. I don't know anybody who has done this. Here are a couple of discussion boards devoted to Baja. You may find something interesting on them.

http://math.ucr.edu/ftm/bajaPages/
MsgBoard/MsgBoard.html

http://www.bajanet.com/general/

It is possible to rent cars or vans which can be taken into Baja (most big name rental companies won't permit it), but they are more expensive than standard rentals. Here is the web site if you are interested. http://www.cabaja.com/

I make the trip 2 or 3 times a year because I think it is a great place to spend time. It takes about 8 hours to drive from the border with minimal time for gas and other stops. It takes longer if there is construction or people who haven't seen everything on the side trips from the highway.

Good luck and let me know if you have more questions.

Doug
doughavens@juno.com

•What ID do I need?

Dear Carl/Lorena,

If I fly to Cancun, is a tourist card with a birth certificate and driver's license adequate as before, or do I now need a passport also? Thanks in advance for the information.

Lorena Responds:

A birth certificate and driver's license will be sufficient for getting a tourist card for any place in Mexico. A passport is needed for Belize or Guatemala and can make it easier to cash traveler's checks in Mexico. But an even better/easier way to get your money in Mexico is to use your bankcard at the ATM machines.

¡Que le vaya bien!

•Finding Reasonable Car Insurance

We are planing our first RV trip into Mexico, motor home and car. We can not seem to find reasonable insurance.

We only plan on staying a month, and the insurance companies will only offer us daily or six month plans. It seems to us very expensive.

We are planing on traveling as far as San Felipe, and Puerto Penasco In Jan. we are planing on returning and staying for at least two months. Is there going to be any problems with this?

We would really appreciate your help in this matter.

Celine

Carl Responds:

First of all, there is no problem taking your RV and car into Mexico. In fact, if you will only travel to Puerto Penasco and San Felipe, the paperwork should be quite simple and straightforward.

As for the insurance, I'd need to know what rates you were quoted before I could say if the quotes are "high" or normal. However you might want to check out the insurance companies that are sponsors of this website: http://www.peoplesguide.com/1pages/
chapts/drive/insurance/
1car-mexico-insurance.html

Would you do us a favor? Once you decide on a policy, could you let us know what the terms are? This kind of up to date information will be useful to others who are interested in visiting Mexico by RV.

Have a good trip!

•Taking my dog to Mexico?

Dear Carl and Lorena,

I would like to drive to Mexico via Tijuana by myself with my beloved Rottweiler dog in a VW camper. I want to make sure I have no problem bringing the dog back to the US. What is required on shots etc.? Would appreciate your help.

Thank you. Elfi

Carl responds:

Have your vet give you a copy of the dog's health/vaccination records and you shouldn't have a problem. Also, our dogs wear ID tags with a contact phone number in the U.S. and the word "recompensa!" (reward!), just in case....

Lots of dog food available down here, and good vet care, too. We have two mutts and they just love our VW van!

•Living & Working in Puerto Vallarta

Carl and Lorena

Searching the internet, I stumbled onto your website. I am currently living in Sedona, Arizona. My best friend and I, (well, I am talking her into it) want to move to Mexico.

After talking with some of my Mexican friends about my ideas of relocating to Mexico, they offered Puerto Vallarta as a suggestion for us.

We are not interested in a retirement lifestyle, but rather to work there. I don't know if it is possible for us (being Americans) working there.

I was thinking of a Resort or something on those lines. Currently I am a restaurant Manager and have had much experience in the restaurant business. I don't know for work if it would make much of a difference, but I spoke Spanish as a child, I still can speak but not with the same fluency. My friend on the other hand really can't speak Spanish at all.

What will I need to be able to work there? Is it possible? If it isn't, I was thinking of teaching English to Mexicans.

Never the less, If you could answer any of my questions, I would be grateful. I really don't know where to start.

Thank you, Wilmot

Robert Foster Responds:

Wilmot,

Hola. I live in PV, and write occasionally for the Peoples Guide. Lorena forwarded your letter to me. Not too long ago I did an article about the challenge of working in PV.

This link will take you directly to it. Working In PV.

•Driving a Hornet RV?

hi, I got to your web site because I looked at a Hornet RV----and was wondering how good of an RV it was or is. I have always been a tent camper, but I'm looking for something a little easier so that I can plan more long weekends, now that my kids are in college. Your trip looked quit long--- but I would love to do it someday. I can't wait to get on the road----thanks gail yost

Carl replys:

I'm afraid you've confused us with the authors of one of the articles on our website -- Lorena and I drive an '89 VW Vanagon, and we use it and a tent for camping. We're hoping to get a larger self-contained RV, but that is still in the future.

There are a number of good RV websites where I'm sure you'll find advice about the Hornet. Here's one of our favorites:

RVers Online http://www.rversonline.org/index.shtml