Speaking of Mexico......

[daryl_s]

My wife and I have a timeshare in San Carlos, Sonora Mexico at the Sea of Cortez Premier Vacation Club. We have it booked for Oct 14-21 and can't go .

It's a 6-7 hr drive from the Phoenix area depending upon where you live. There's a ton of cool stuff to do down there and San Carlos is very family friendly. My sister and bro-in-law will be down there with their 4 kids that same week.

 

Here's a link to the hotel web page. We have the silver suite which sleeps 4 adults.

 

http://www.ilxresorts.com/resort/sea_of_cortez_pvc

 

 

 

Here are a few pics from down there:

 

Snorkeling

The view from our hotel room

 

I am asking $600 dollars for the 7 night stay. October is peak season and that's less than $100 a day, which you can't book it for that price any time of year.

 

If interested or have questions call me or PM me. Daryl 520-723-0834 or 480-458-7263

[daryl_s]

Bump........will give up for $500........this is a sweet deal, I really wish I could go but we just bought a house and can't take off work.

[Outdoor Writer]

Bump........will give up for $500........this is a sweet deal, I really wish I could go but we just bought a house and can't take off work.

 

Man, I would jump at this super deal in a heartbeat, but we're already scheduled to be at our timeshares in Mazatlan from Oct. 8 to Oct. 22. -TONY

[More D]

I will still be in school.

 

I will say that Oct is the BEST time of the year to head down to the beaches of Sonora.

 

 

I really wish I could take you up on that deal...........

 

 

 

 

 

[daryl_s]

Average high is 88 and average water temp is 84 at the surface in October in San Carlos, hard to beat. That's why early in the year we booked it for that time. Plus, as far as I know and from our experiences the jellyfish are gone by that time. $500 doesn't even cover my maintenance fees for the timeshare, this is a smokin deal. Tell your friends.

[muledeerarea33?]

how does it work with checking in to the hotel? would they give a fellow a hard time checking in if it wasnt you? I am timeshare stupid sorry if this is a dumb question. also never been down in to mexico. do you have to have a passport now? do they hassle you going in or coming out? what about vehicle insurance do you have to have special coverage?

[kelbro]

PM sent.

 

Daryl, I'm the guy that called you about the room.

[tucsonbill]

My friend at work has relatives that live there. He said his cousin called him from there and said this hurricane last week really screwed San Carlos/Guymas up. Hermosillo caught part of it and was flooded out as well.

 

Also, he warned of buying any fish from there because of power failure causing frozen stuff to be thawed and refrozen.

 

Having said that, I wish I could go.

[Outdoor Writer]

how does it work with checking in to the hotel? would they give a fellow a hard time checking in if it wasnt you? I am timeshare stupid sorry if this is a dumb question. also never been down in to mexico. do you have to have a passport now? do they hassle you going in or coming out? what about vehicle insurance do you have to have special coverage?

 

I'll let Daryl answer in regards to the hotel, but I can answer the other questions since I've driven down to Mexico once or twice a year for a few decades now.

 

As of now, you do not need a passport if you DRIVE across the border, but you might if you fly. This has nothing to do with Mexico, per se, but getting back into the U.S. You will need some sort of proof, though, such as a passport or birth certificate and a PHOTO ID to obtain your visa in Mexico, which you will get about 15 miles south of Nogales on the main highway. It is well signed, so you can't miss it. Visa cost, payable at the border or any other bank, is $20.

 

I don't believe you will need a vehicle permit if you do not go farther south than Sonora, but you can ask at the place where you obtain the visa. If a vehicle permit -- about $25 -- is needed, you get it there, as well. Hassles are non-existent unless you cause them.

 

And yes, you do need a separate insurance policy, which is issued by a Mexican company. There are several places either before you cross the border or right near the border to buy a policy. I get mine well beforehand from a company in Scottsdale. It generally runs about $15 per day for a vehicle that's valued at about $15-20K.

 

The highway between Nogales & San Carlos is mostly 4-lane, and it's also a toll road with toll booths scattered as you go. I'm guessing the total for that trip is about $25-30 each way. Unlike the old days, there are plenty of Pemex stations to get fuel. But if you fill up just before you cross the border at Nogales, you can make San Carlos on one tank. The most difficult part of the trip will be negotiating the by-pass around Hermosillo if you don't pay attention to the signs! And be sure to REALLY slow down when you see a sign that warns you about topes ahead. Those are speed bumps that will jar your teeth if you hit them at speed. They are quite common in the populated areas.

 

You will also find, unlike the U.S., that drivers on the highway actually obey the rules and stay to the right. This is especially true of the truckers and buses. They also wait until you pass rather than pulling out to pass someone directly in front of you.

 

Ask if you have other questions. -TONY

[muledeerarea33?]

that cleared up a lot of my confusion tony thankyou. I have heard some horor stories about driving down there so I was kinda leary about the whole thing

[More D]

I travel to Hermosillo about 6-8 times a year for the last 13 years, the last two times was in June and July. I was lucky enough to go to San Carlos and Kino Bay via Hermosillo.

 

I have a few points to add......A stop at the "21" kilometer marker south if the border for us gringos WAS required for the Mexican tourist Visa, it is not required any more. Sonora FINALLY became a "libre" (free) state some time this year. Heading south of the border via Nogales is just like going south from Lukeville to Rocky Point. Permits for your self are not required nor are they required for your vehicle. There is a deal where you have to drive (slowly) thru a stop light looking deal that will flash green=go or red stop for a customs check. Customs will be intrested to see if you have anything that has greater than $300/person that you have to sell, NOT your personal items. Some times they might ask for proof of ownership of vehicle to fight the profesional car thiefs.

Traveling south out of the state of Sonora WILL require a tourist Visa and permits for your vehicle. The vehicle's permit does have some fee that have to be charged to a credit card, not debt card. I don't remember how much the fees are since it has been years that I have traveled out of Sonora.

The $20 fee for your Visa that you have to pay at a goverment bank will make it valid for 6 months. When I used to have to get a tourist Visa I NEVER paid the $20 fee. Even when I went 3 times in one month I would toss the previous Visa and fill out a new one because technically if you paid the $20 you had to return the Visa back to the place where you got it before the 6 month expiration date.

 

The tolls are worth it. As you are heading south on I-19 exit Mariposa road turn right(west) and it will take you directly to the border, put gas at the Shell station 500 yards before the border. As soon as you cross look for the toll road and AVOID the LIBRE(non toll road) because it will take you into Nogales, Sonora. It is a bit confusing but you can ask any one there where the "caseta"(toll road) is. It only cost 35 pesos and it will put you back on the main "carretera #15" (highway) on that side of the airport. Best of all you avoid all of Nogales Sonora because is a BIG HEADACH. Anyways, Nogales Sonora toll costs 35 pesos, Magdalena toll is 20 pesos, and the toll 10 miles before Hermosillo is 80-90 pesos.

 

I would recommend not to try and 'bypass' Hermosillo. It is not worth taking the "Periferico". The city has grown so much it is more trouble than it is worth. You will be heading south on "carretera #15" (highway) and when you arrive to Hermosillo and hit the first light just continue straight. That same boulevard is "carretera #15". If you don't turn at any lights you will head straight out of town toward San Carlos. Besides there are plenty of Pemex's and resturants to eat at in Hermosillo. Plenty of american fast food joints for those non-adventurous eaters on that same boulevard.

 

 

 

 

[Outdoor Writer]

I travel to Hermosillo about 6-8 times a year for the last 13 years, the last two times was in June and July. I was lucky enough to go to San Carlos and Kino Bay via Hermosillo.

 

I have a few points to add......A stop at the "21" kilometer marker south if the border for us gringos WAS required for the Mexican tourist Visa, it is not required any more. Sonora FINALLY became a "libre" (free) state some time this year. Heading south of the border via Nogales is just like going south from Lukeville to Rocky Point.

 

Traveling south out of the state of Sonora WILL require a tourist Visa and permits for your vehicle. The vehicle's permit does have some fee that have to be charged to a credit card, not debt card. I don't remember how much the fees are since it has been years that I have traveled out of Sonora.

 

The $20 fee for your Visa that you have to pay at a goverment bank will make it valid for 6 months. When I used to have to get a tourist Visa I NEVER paid the $20 fee. Even when I went 3 times in one month I would toss the previous Visa and fill out a new one because technically if you paid the $20 you had to return the Visa back to the place where you got it before the 6 month expiration date.

 

 

I thought the new setup for Sonora might have happened but wasn't sure. Since I always go to Sinaloa, I have to always get a visa and a car permit.

 

Do you perhaps have the visa and car permit return mixed up? We always pay for our visas -- usually at a bank in Mazatlan -- but have never once been asked to return it when we leave Mexico. I have just trashed them once they expire. That is not the case with the car permit, however, which has to be returned at the little booth when driving past the area at K21. If I know I'll be returning to Mexico prior to the expiration, though, I drive past the booth. Then on the subsequent trip, I turn it in when leaving.

 

And trust me, I learned a lesson the hard way.

 

I never returned the vehicle permit for many years. Then when they finally got the whole system on computers, they nailed me because their data showed I hadn't returned the car pemit from the previous trip. Fortunately I still had it in my little travel pouch where I keep all the paper work. It was still a hassle, though, because the gal had me go to a special office where I had to get approval from the head dude. It took about 30-45 mins. longer than it should have. -TONY

[More D]

The guy behind the Visa counter at the "21" one time saw inside my little travel pouch and saw and expired Visa and gave me a hard time about it, even threatened not to give me another one. I said, "Fine no one has ever asked to see it before anyways so what is the point in getting one to begin with" . He laughed and said OK, OK next time bring it back here BEFORE it expires. So........I stopped getting them. Seriously, I had NEVER been asked for it.

 

Yes, returning of the permits has always been a pain. The whole permit deal was set up to combat car importers and car thiefs at the request of, poiltically motivated by money, new car dealers. The reason you had to go see the head honcho was because the word was you could give one of returning agents $100 and magiclly your car was returned.

 

 

FINALLY Sonora realized that it was losing millions of tourist dollars because of the horror stories that Muledeer33 was thinking about. Now Sonora, the governor mostly, is making it very easy for us to go have a great time and leave all are money there and then come home. A VERY large part of the hotels, beaches and the tourism industry is owned by the Governor and his cohorts so tourism wins............for now.

 

 

 

 

 

[Outdoor Writer]

I wish they would do away with all that crap for the rest of Mexico, too. It would save us about $70 and about an hour each trip, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

Between the gas, overnight stay, fuel and tolls, driving to Mazatlan now costs us just a little less than if we fly. BUT...the way my wife packs, the charges for being overweight with our luggage could pay for another week's stay at our resort. -TONY

[More D]

My wife is a big packer too! It is us two and our 3 year old and she still fills up a full size SUV.

 

 

 

Where do you do stay over night?