BajaNomad

Baja camping for a newbie

BajaDreams - 3-1-2017 at 03:26 AM

So i'm sure these have been asked before, and the answers buried in many threads, but if some of you would indulge me I would appreciate it.

The "boss" and I have an older HiLo 22' camper. I'm thinking I'd like to do some camping in northern Baja next year as I begin scouting out a 2nd home location.

My initial questions are:

1) what do I need to bring/know/do to bring my camper (trailer) and truck into Baja for 2 weeks or so? Papers? Permits? fees?

2) we have two dogs, one a Mexican hairless who will get to set paws upon his native land. basically same question as above for them to travel in and out of Us with us?

3) and suggested camping areas in northern Baja say to just south of Ensenada?

4) what should I have asked and am too clueless to ask? And what are the answers?

5) what months would be optimal weatherwise, and avoiding holidays?

Thanks!

[Edited on 3-1-2017 by BajaDreams]

kevin_in_idaho - 3-1-2017 at 06:37 AM

You can probably find a lot of this in the forum but...
a) you may or may not need the FMM (visa) for 2 weeks. We got one for a month long trip and no one ever asked us for it. About $23 and you can do it online but need to stop at the border and get it stamped
b) You need insurance. Lots of alternatives and prices. Price for 2 weeks will probably be more than a 6 month policy
c) You may need health certificates for the dogs. We got one for our dog, no one asked for it (could be an issue coming back to the US if they think something is up). If you didn't have it, they could quarantine your dog
d) you will be stopped at military checkpoints. Don't worry. They may ask you to open up your trunk, camper, etc. Easy and normal.
e) you can bring back 1L of alcohol (I think) but research what you can and can't take in or bring back.
f) Get peso's at an ATM; things are cheaper using peso's.
g) take your passport

I'm sure there's a ton more.

Hook - 3-1-2017 at 07:07 AM

Theres plenty of time to answer many of your technical questions about legalities of moving to Baja for you and your dogs. You will get those answers quickly. My questions are about the climate you see yourself living in. I'm a bit of a weather wonk in my neighborhood.

What kind of temperature zone do you want to live in in retirement? Many retirees want periods of serious warmth; hence, the popularity of the desert regions of the US for retirees.

Have you lived within one mile of the Pacific Ocean in California? Are you OK with THAT level of coolness and cloudiness in retirement? Obviously, the ocean is a great recreational attraction. But in this zone, daytime temps above 80F are somewhat rare; usually only occurring when a full-fledged Santa Ana condition is in progress. Along this coastal strip, there are many, many days with highs between 68-73F, with dodgy sunshine. Is that warm enough for you?

Dont get me wrong. The weather on the coastal strip can rarely be termed "unpleasant" because it is so temperate.

Or do you prefer living more inland, where daytime temps are nearly always in the 70s, many days are in the 80s and days in the 90s are very possible? The sun is shining without obstruction probably 340+ days per year, as the marine layer is rare. But overnight lows can often be 5-10 degrees cooler at night, than the coastal strip.

Both the coastal strip and the inland strip occur in northern Baja. If you want to live in largely a gringo-inhabited area, it's probably the coastal strip for you.

For me, the answer is no, to the Pacific coastal strip. I want serious warmth (80+) for days on end, and am fine with lots of 90+. I would rather be in shade in 90 degrees in a bathing suit and sandals than in ~70 degrees (with a wind usually blowing, like the Pacific has) and needing long sleeves and often long pants, because the sun is playing hide and seek. I like an ocean to get warm enough to swim in w/o a wetsuit for several months. For me, that means like 73+ and 78+ is preferred. Not happening in northern Baja on the Pacific side.

One downside to this environment is that heavy physical exertion must occur in the morning or late afternoon/evening hours, once the days hit 90.

Maybe the most important weather-related consideration is how many months do you plan on being retired in Baja each year? If you plan on returning to your primary/secondary home in the US, you can avoid the most "unpleasant" (by YOUR standards) conditions of each and choose your seasons.

Something to think about. It's one of the major components of "rent, before you buy" that many overlook. You need to get a feel for ALL of the seasons in the areas you are considering.

David K - 3-1-2017 at 10:51 AM

1) You do need an FMM (Tourist Card), you may never be asked to show it, but that is a requirement technically.
To get it you MUST have a valid U.S. passport, if expired or will expire during your trip, it is no good.
You get it AT the border INM office. Park wherever you can immediately after entering Mexico. Often you will be directed to Secondary Inspection having a trailer. While parked there, get the FMM. It costs around $25US and is good for up to 6 months.

2) Before you begin your trip, buy your Mexican Auto Insurance. The sponsor of this website is excellent: BajaBound.com. You can buy and print your policy before you leave. If you will be in Mexico more than 2-3 weeks a year, an annual or 6 month policy may be LESS expensive!
If you join a travel club (Discover Baja, etc.) they offer insurance discounts.

3) Your dogs need rabies vaccination certificates. The international health certificate is theoretically needed, but we don't hear of any issues if you have the rabies certificate.

4) Don't be in a hurry.

5) South of Ensenada? That is a wide area... Do you have 4WD or want to stay on good roads only? Do you want a campground or just be near a beach? It has been raining crazy this year... mostly on the Pacific side. Consider San Felipe-Gonzaga or L.A. Bay (lots of campos)!

6) Most think the best two months are May and October. We like it warm, and the sea water warm, too. May-July and Oct.-Dec. are very nice most trips. AVOID the week before and after Easter Sunday. This is the Semana Santa national beach vacation period. Likewise, in December and January, February... the snowbirds (mostly Canadians) fill up the popular beaches of Baja Sur.

7) U.S. dollars are accepted everywhere (and preferred at some places) but you will find using pesos makes the buying easier and no worries of getting bad exchange rates or confusion over prices. I get my pesos before entering Mexico, at a money exchange place near the border... or Costco in Chula Vista. Last trip, it was 20.20 pesos per dollar. So a 200 peso bill = about US$10. The $ sign is used by Mexico for pesos, too. Sometimes the U.S. dollar on signs has two lines through the S (as it should) to differentiate from pesos (one line).

8) Gasoline is sold by the government controlled Pemex monopoly (that ends soon) and they have Magna (green label) 87 octane and Premium (red label) 91 octane. Works just like our gas does, in fact in Baja Norte, it may be from the U.S.
Magna is about $3/ gallon now.

If there is anything else we can help with, just ask!

BajaBlanca - 3-1-2017 at 01:14 PM

I say make sure your tires are in really good shape and that you have all the necessary tools to replace one ( a good spare tire goes without saying ).

Know how to deflate if you get stuck in sand. and have a shovel at hand.

Be sure to do a trip report when you are done so we know what worked and what didn't. Best of luck finding your piece of paradise.

bajaguy - 3-1-2017 at 06:53 PM

Actually it is NOT a "requirement technically" it is the law.

The government of Mexico will probably not stop you at the border and tell you to get one, and you may never have it checked while in Mexico, however if you do not have one you are in the country illegally.

Start the trip right, get the FMM
Quote: Originally posted by David K  
1) You do need an FMM (Tourist Card), you may never be asked to show it, but that is a requirement technically.

To get it you MUST have a valid U.S. passport, if expired or will expire during your trip, it is no good.
You get it AT the border INM office. Park wherever you can immediately after entering Mexico. Often you will be directed to Secondary Inspection having a trailer. While parked there, get the FMM. It costs around $25US and is good for up to 6 months.

Gulliver - 3-2-2017 at 11:11 PM

Just a small correction on money. I haven't had any luck using dollars to buy stuff here in Mulege. Used to be no problem but the banks are making it harder and harder for the merchants to deposit bucks.

Hit any cambio when you cross the border. Get a cash/ATM card from your bank/credit union. Usually there are lower charges at the machines for ATM cards compared to credit cards. Talk to them about their fraud protection policy. I've had to totally disable my fraud protection with my stupid credit union as they seem to be under the impression that Baja is a province in Nigeria.

Typically somewhere around a max 6-7000 peso withdrawal every week or two.

Slow was down and enjoy your self. Too much planning makes for missing all sorts of stuff. Books are necessarily out of date. Things change. Have your own experience.

BajaDreams - 3-2-2017 at 11:39 PM

Below in bold...
Quote: Originally posted by kevin_in_idaho  
You can probably find a lot of this in the forum but...
a) you may or may not need the FMM (visa) for 2 weeks. We got one for a month long trip and no one ever asked us for it. About $23 and you can do it online but need to stop at the border and get it stamped

I assume this is per person? Even for two not so bad.

b) You need insurance. Lots of alternatives and prices. Price for 2 weeks will probably be more than a 6 month policy

sounds crazy, but it's Mexico, and not he US...

c) You may need health certificates for the dogs. We got one for our dog, no one asked for it (could be an issue coming back to the US if they think something is up). If you didn't have it, they could quarantine your dog

we have two dogs, one a big guy who would be no problem, the other a Mexican hairless who has no teeth and has never had an immunization in his life. what toothless dog can bite? :D

d) you will be stopped at military checkpoints. Don't worry. They may ask you to open up your trunk, camper, etc. Easy and normal.

I've been in other Latin American countries with these. They don;t bother me at all. I speak enough Spanish to be "dangerous" in a good way.

e) you can bring back 1L of alcohol (I think) but research what you can and can't take in or bring back.

unless we find some superb sipping tequila, no interest in alcohol as a souvenir

f) Get peso's at an ATM; things are cheaper using peso's.

Thank you!

g) take your passport

but of course! It is already filled with previous stamping from Mexico too!

I'm sure there's a ton more.

BajaDreams - 3-3-2017 at 12:00 AM

below in bold...
Quote: Originally posted by Hook  
Theres plenty of time to answer many of your technical questions about legalities of moving to Baja for you and your dogs. You will get those answers quickly. My questions are about the climate you see yourself living in. I'm a bit of a weather wonk in my neighborhood.

I'm really glad you asked that! Really! We currently live in the Seattle area. Grew up in the mid-west cold and snow, with hot humid summers.

I think ideally a San Diego climate would be best for us. Something not tooo hot all the time, and if the days are hot, cool nights for a change. Rain or a rainy season of a couple months is not a deal breaker at all, provided it is not deluge rain that is endless day after day. It would be nice to be near the ocean, or at least have a view. And my wife would most certainly want something more urban, or with urban not far away (while I could live in a trailer by the beach in the middle of nowhere so I am not that picky). As my wife likes to knit having a "cool season" would allow her more latitude to wear what she makes. Does this place exist in Northern Baja?

What kind of temperature zone do you want to live in in retirement? Many retirees want periods of serious warmth; hence, the popularity of the desert regions of the US for retirees.

coming from Seattle, serious warth is anything over 80 degrees! :D

Have you lived within one mile of the Pacific Ocean in California? Are you OK with THAT level of coolness and cloudiness in retirement? Obviously, the ocean is a great recreational attraction. But in this zone, daytime temps above 80F are somewhat rare; usually only occurring when a full-fledged Santa Ana condition is in progress. Along this coastal strip, there are many, many days with highs between 68-73F, with dodgy sunshine. Is that warm enough for you?

That actually could work for us. we could always travel further south "on vacation" or visit friends in AZ where it gets really hot. Best daytime temp zone would be 70-78F if possible. We are not 'lay on the beach' people.

Don't get me wrong. The weather on the coastal strip can rarely be termed "unpleasant" because it is so temperate.

Actually I find your post amazingly helpful and want to hear more!

Or do you prefer living more inland, where daytime temps are nearly always in the 70s, many days are in the 80s and days in the 90s are very possible? The sun is shining without obstruction probably 340+ days per year, as the marine layer is rare. But overnight lows can often be 5-10 degrees cooler at night, than the coastal strip.

That could work as well, but it would be nice if we had a lake nearby. we have spent the last 25+ years in proximity to water, and a lack of even the sight of it might be a little hard.

Both the coastal strip and the inland strip occur in northern Baja. If you want to live in largely a gringo-inhabited area, it's probably the coastal strip for you.

For my wife it would be better to be in a more gringo area. I could live with no gringos and be just fine. It would certainly improve my Spanish!

For me, the answer is no, to the Pacific coastal strip. I want serious warmth (80+) for days on end, and am fine with lots of 90+. I would rather be in shade in 90 degrees in a bathing suit and sandals than in ~70 degrees (with a wind usually blowing, like the Pacific has) and needing long sleeves and often long pants, because the sun is playing hide and seek. I like an ocean to get warm enough to swim in w/o a wetsuit for several months. For me, that means like 73+ and 78+ is preferred. Not happening in northern Baja on the Pacific side.

If I want to "step up" in temperature, how much further south should I plan to go to get slightly warmer days with more sun?

One downside to this environment is that heavy physical exertion must occur in the morning or late afternoon/evening hours, once the days hit 90.

yeah, not this guy's idea of fun to melt in the sun under exertion. plus i'd like to ride my touring motorcycle in the future without melting away

Maybe the most important weather-related consideration is how many months do you plan on being retired in Baja each year? If you plan on returning to your primary/secondary home in the US, you can avoid the most "unpleasant" (by YOUR standards) conditions of each and choose your seasons.

well, I could move there forever realistically, but I doubt my wife could. If we kept a residence in the Seattle area, the good weather here is June-August. We could do 9/3 or 6/6 months

Something to think about. It's one of the major components of "rent, before you buy" that many overlook. You need to get a feel for ALL of the seasons in the areas you are considering.

makes perfect sense to me!

MulegeAL - 3-3-2017 at 08:46 AM

One more detail: I think most car/travel insurance policies for baja would not be valid if you don't have a current tourist visa, or similar document. Also, your USA policy has to be current too.