"DON'T DRIVE AT NIGHT "
" DON'T CAMP ALONE"

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1/19/12 - Road Report from Baja Direct Caravan arriving in Cabo San Lucas - Reconstruction on the Baja Highway:

1) Leaving Tecate going South on Highway 1, at KM 50 there are about five short detours on rough dirt where the road is being repaired.

2) South of Maneadero and north of Santa Tomas - 10 miles of Highway 1 with a sharp curve down the big hill. During reconstruction traffic is rerouted onto a dirt road.

3) Between the military checkpoint and north of Jesus Maria (north of Guerrero Negro) is a five mile, rough, ungraded dirt road with zero asphalt; travel slowly. 

4) Going from Todos Santos to Cabo on Hwy 19 starting at KM 71 to KM 113 approximately, 24 miles of long stretches of graded dirt to rough ungraded patches several miles in length.  Then there is some pavement and then dirt again.  This stretch took 3 hours from Todos Santos to the Vagabundos RV Park and needs to be driven slowly.  From La Paz to Todos Santos there is a beautiful four lane smooth road.

Travel Buddies Calendar

In keeping with today's internet reliance and the Vagabundos code to travel with a buddy, our Travel Buddies Calendar is now online - a great tool to find a buddy to caravan with. Members traveling to Mexico can post trips, find other members who are traveling, find Vag sponsored events, and use the interactive map. Regardless of your driving experience the easy-to-use calendar will allow you to find a buddy. For more information and to login click on http://www.vagabundos.com/TBC.html

6/30/11 - Temporary Import Permits

Vehicle Permits

• The new fee is $44 plus tax. People going to Baja north & south and part of Sonora do not need to have one.
• Everyone is required to leave a deposit (if you pay by cash or credit card); the deposit is based on the vehicle year. If anyone fails to return their vehicle prior to the expiration date the deposit will be kept.
• Banjercito will run a check on the vehicle before issuing the permit, if there is any theft report on the vehicle or if it is restricted or prohibited to operate in the US or Canada, the vehicle cannot be temporarily imported.
• The temporary permit time is based on the person’s immigration status i.e. 180 days for tourist.
• People traveling in the eastern part of Sonora need to have a “Sonora Only Permit”

Boat Permits

• The fee is $45 plus tax.
• Everyone who is taking their boat to Mexico need to have an import permit, no matter if the import permit for the vehicle is required or not i.e. Baja/Sonora.
• This permit is for 10yrs, not based on persons immigration status

10/21/11 - Baja Road Report - From San Quintin the first bad section of road was South of Catavina at mile marker 209 it only lasted 3.6 miles until mile marker 214. The road into LA Bay is the best road in Baja. The next bad spot was 9 miles North of Jesus Maria at mile marker 72 it lasted 5.5 miles until mile marker 81, the north lane is fine, the south lane is slow travel. Jesus Maria to Guerrero Negro is excellent. Leaving Vizcaino going to Turtle Bay there is 14 miles of road with potholes then it gets better. The last 26 miles into Asuncion is in perfect shape. The weather is gorgeous, no wind. LA Bay was 94 during the day and 74 at night. The fishing was good. They were fishing for corvina and 2 lb yellowtail. Guerrero Negro 80 degrees, no clouds and no wind. Asuncion fishing is excellent, big yellowtail lots of calicos; a man had to throw some back because he was catching so many, no tuna.

10/20/11 - Baja Road Report - President Tony Schuck recently crossed the border into Baja at Tecate. The police there are up to old tricks, stopping one of the group for going through a stop sign when he had made the legal stop. The road is in good condition until about 20 miles out of Tecate. There are about 12 miles of bad road until kilometer 62. From there l is in perfect shape. South of Maneadero has minor road problems. Six miles into the Santo Tomas north area the road is bad, so go slow. It’s washboard road and the ground is not sand, but cast mud. Santo Tomas to San Quintin no problems, the road is perfect.
South of Bahia de Los Angeles turnoff from km. 74 there is road work for 6 kilometers. The northbound diversion was good, southbound the road is bad, so go slow.
Military checkpoints are inspecting southbound now. If you are traveling south,  you will probably not get a “wave through”. Diesel fuel is 9.8 pesos per liter in Baja and Baja Sur. Regular gas is 9.5 pesos per liter. The exchange rate is 13.4.

9/8/11 -Baja Road Report - On the Baja Highway --  the Tecate crossing south and north proved to be an easy route with construction near that area all but completed. Baja 1 is in good shape and is constantly being improved and widened with many new bridges. Some construction now to watch out for -- the 10 miles of Highway 1 with a sharp curve down the big hill just north of Santo Tomas. During reconstruction traffic is rerouted onto a dirt road. Also the road south of Catavina is undergoing construction creating some dirt bypasses, and the road from Guerrero Negro south to Vizcaino has some rough spots.

5/17/11 - Traveling Safely In Mexico -The Boulevard 2000 route from near Fox studios near Rosarito to the Tecate border is good. It’s a little rough with all of the truck traffic, but much is 4-lane highway.

Travel Information

View the Vagabundos del Mar Press Release on PRWeb concerning travel in Mexico.

Mexican Insurance Online - Visitors to the Vagabundos site can now obtain online quotes (quick and detailed) for Mexican Insurance Policy information, as well as securely purchase and download any quoted policy they like. Vag Members can also utilize the same system to securely access their membership account online, and to purchase new policies or renew previous ones. Current Members can obtain a username and password from the system by clicking on the Member Login link on the homepage.

Current Road Report

Check out the Baja Forums for the latest postings and info concerning road conditions.

Road Conditions -

1) Hiway 3 from Tecate has only 3 spots over 1/2 mile left to do. More construction S of Catavina & S of L.A. Bay junction.

2) Hiway 19 south of Todos Santos rough detours.

3) Speed-reducer strips before Topes, sharp curves and steep downgrades.
3) Fuel - Magna (87 octane) 9.6 pesos/liter, $2.75/gal; Premium (93 octane) 10.5, $3.00; diesel 10.0, $2.85 scarce at Guerrero Negro. At Catavina Magna Sin and L.A. Bay Junction Magna & diesel from barrels - 5 gal minimum. 2 new gas stations at L.A. Bay.

Prepaid FMM's and Fishing Licenses

FMM's are for Vag Members only, and are on a first come, first served basis. You can obtain these by filling out an application and sending it in along with a copy of your passport to our office. Contact us at HQVDM for more information on obtaining
these documents call (800) 474-2252.

PREPAID FMM'S (VISITOR CARDS)

These replace the former FMT's. Vagabundos members can obtain an FMM from our office, saving you from having to wait in line at a bank. There will be short times the office will not have them available because the process requires that we submit a report
and account for each and every numbered FMM for approval before Mexican Immigration will release another batch. Please allow two to three weeks for processing.

The price is $26 plus a $6 handling fee.

FMM's AT TECATE: It is easier to park on the U.S. side, walk across to
Immigration in the building on your right.

FMM's AT TIJUANA: Stay in the far right lane under the sign "For
Declaration Only", park and walk to the Immigration office in the long
building to the right. If you haven't obtained from Vag office- you can
obtain your FMM form there, fill it out and go to the nearby bank to pay for
it. Then return to the Immigration office to have it validated.

***FM-3's and FM-2's - The new ones will be a card with a magnetic strip.
However, the present booklets will be accepted until they expire. An FMM
form must be filled out for statistical purposes; these must be obtained at
the border. There is no charge for the FMM wherever they are obtained. Item
10 on the FMM states, "If you are a resident foreigner write down the number
of the FM2 or FM3 or Immigrant Photocard". The same requirement for turning
in the "Departure Registration" part of the FMM form applies.

You can also go to immigration website which has an instructional video for
the FMMs at the following link:
http://www.inm.gob.mx/EN/index.php?page/migratory_facilitation_video

FISHING LICENSE-

FISHING LICENSE APPLICATION