Caravan Questions
Why a Mexico Caravan?
1) Unless you are a Golf or Pickleball addict you may have noticed Arizona can become rather boring. Consider expanding your horizons with a Mexico RV Caravan. Warm weather, beaches, ancient ruins, Colonial Cities - Mexico has it all.
2) Safety in numbers. I am betting when I say that, you are thinking cartels. Actually, they are not a concern. Physical hazards, etc. are the main concerns.
3) You will learn to handle the "sometimes-daunting" paperwork involved, although that is more of an issue on the mainland.
4) You do not have to worry about reservations and dealing in another language
5) Mexico does not have large RV parking lots at attractions. An RV Caravan will deal with all of that.
6) You will see the “Real Mexico”, not the tourist version.
7) You may find that perfect spot to return to on your own, in future
8) Our Wagon Masters know the roads, routes and parks that can accommodate your RV, especially larger rigs.
9) You will learn about how to prepare your rig for Mexico.
10) You will no doubt make some new lifelong friends
11) Sign up for our Newsletter
12) Download our latest Brochure
13) Considering retirement in Mexico? A caravan is an excellent way to discover where, especially our 3 month, all Mexico trip. Our Customer co-ordinator is an expert on how to qualify for resident status and more than willing to provide info.
Taxes and our Prices
We are a reputable company and we pay our taxes in Mexico. You do not have to pay any sales tax or GST in the US or Canada when you pay us. Unfortunately, there is a persistent culture in Mexico of avoiding taxes. When we ask for a receipt for expenses for RV Parks or restaurant etc., we are often hit with a 15% surcharge to offset any taxes those businesses have to pay as a result. This is most often done with a blindside, when we go to settle up. This increases our costs considerably, but we still try to hold our prices down as low as we can without compromising our quality. Our prices are very competitive when you compare what you get with other companies, to what you get from us. We may be slightly higher, but you get the biggest bang for your buck. Our customer Information Manual is only available to deposit making customers.
Single discounts on Baja are 10%
The Caravanas de mexico advantage
WHY CHOOSE US?
1) We are a Mexican-Canadian Company legally registered to operate in Mexico with the proper business licenses and permits. We pay taxes in Mexico, not the US or Canada. There are no issues with officials over our legality to operate.
2) We operate caravans all over Mexico, in English or in French
3) We use registered trained Mexican tour guides for our tours, not the wagon Master
4) Our prices are generally lower. We price in Canadian dollars which is generally over 25% less in value than the USD, so keep that in mind when comparing. You will sometimes see a competitors equivalent trip in USD for about what we charge in Canadian.
5) We pay the Mexican price for services, not the Gringo price. Some of our tour guides are on staff, so no middle man. This allows us to keep our prices down and/or provide more bang for your buck.
6) We have access to, or can call on, Government Officials, the Police, the Green Angels (like AAA) if we encounter issues. Furthermore, we can deal with problems in Spanish. Our Wagon Masters are either fluent, or have access to an interpretor.
7) Most companies price in USD. If you are Canadian, you get hit with the 4 cents buy/sell diferential. Since our prices are in Canadian dollars, this is not the case if Canadian, so you save 4% right off the top. If you are American, we accept USD at the going book rate, so there is no buy/sell hit there either.
8) We make it clear what is included. No surprise optional charges. No taxes.
9) If you have to cancel, we allow you to transfer all monies paid, including deposit, to a later trip or season.
10) We have negotiated a 10% insurance discount with some companies.
11) We offer free Spanish lessons on trips led by a Spanish speaking Wagon Master.
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12) We don't put a lot of stock in testimonials. All companies only show the good ones, and like every company we run the full range of opinions from customers. However: Our Testimonials
Travel Insurance
This up to you. We have had at least 2 customers claim on it, and we had a customer have an accident 1 day into a trip, and his vehicle had be returned to the US. Although we do what we can, on some trips we have put out a lot of money in advance. In that instance, they did not have insurance to cover this, so were out the portion we could not rebate, but we did our best. Some options are on our Insurance Page
Club Tours
We currently operate specialty tours for Airstream and Leisure Travel Vans. If you wish to participate, E-mail Paul via our Contact Page and he will put you in touch with the respective organizers. They do not run every year and the routes can vary and sometimes depend on Wagon Master availability.
Is Mexico Cheap?
In a word, no. It is amazing how many people still think you can do Mexico on $10 a day. Mexico has a strong economy and the Peso has been rising rapidly against both the US and Canadian dollar, making it more expensive. 2 years ago you could get 22 pesos per US dollar, today it is more like 18. A decent restaurant meal with one drink will cost $15 to $20 per person and RV park fees now average about $40 US a night for full hookups. Fuel is about the same as in Canada, more than the US (about $5 US per gallon or $1.80 Canadian a liter) and road tolls are the highest on the planet. If our trips seem expensive, this is why. They are still cheaper than RV tours in the US or to Alaska, but they are not that cheap anymore. We cannot run at a loss, obviously, and we want to maintain quality.
How we operate
We attempt to keep travel days as short as possible, but you do have to expect some longer days. We do not want to boondock in gas stations, unless it becomes necessary. We want to make sure you are in a campground or RV Park at each stop. We will use the best one available at each location, but keep in mind that they will not all be up to US or Canadian standards. We do local tours at most of our stops, some are just beach stops, others include activities and local attractions. Remember this is Mexico, think of it as an adventure and you will have a great unique RV Caravan experience.
NO RV? Or you don't want to own one?
Consider buying a used Class C or a Tent Trailer. if you live in the northern half of the US or Canada, Camping Season is in the summer months. Quite often you can pick up a good deal on a used RV at end of season. After your spend winter in Mexico, you can re-sell it in Spring when there is demand. Probably break even or even make a profit.