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Baja 2012 Dual Sport Motorcycle Trip |
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Pre-trip Trip Planning Page
Snooker's SpotWalla Baja only ~~~
MuddyRabbit's SpotWalla Baja only
Our Baja Ride Report on ADV (also the earlier Planning Thread with link to map with route to be traveled, that is now dead).
Other Spot links:
Snooker's Spot ~~~
Snooker's SpotWalla ~~~
MuddyRabbit's Spot ~~~
General Trip Info and Route:
- Riders: snooker and muddyrabbit, also "farrell caesar" (all are Advrider names). Meredith is with muddyrabbit. Farrell may go on a different route.
snooker and muddyrabbit are on Black BMW G650X motorcycles. snooker has Colorado license plate "XC". muddyrabbit and Meredith (Yam WR250?) are Ohio and Farrell (Suz DR650) is Illinois.
- Route: 2/11-25 in Baja Mexico. Park Muddyrabbit's white Ford truck (Ohio plates) and my trailer (Colorado plates) in San Felipe on the beach at Kiki's RV Camping Motel, then Coco's Corner, Mulege, Scorpion Bay, Laguna San Ignacio, Bahia Asuncion where we are staying at a B&B, see: BajaBnB.com (GPS: 27 degrees 07 min 54 North by 114 dergrees 17 min 82 West).
Then back to truck with Ohio Plates in San Felipe at Kiki's on the beach.
My Packing List: Baja 2012 Packing List.xls
Mexico Insurance:
- BajaBound.com for Mexican auto and motorcycle insurance. They'll give you quotes from several companies to choose from.
- My ACE Seguros insurance policy was $77 for 2 weeks, no comp/collison.
Adv Ride Reports:
GPS maps:
GPS tracks and related:
Paper Maps and other info:
Cell phones:
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My first plan was to get a $10 Tracfone from Wal-Mart that is a GSM model and will work in Mexico by buying a local SIM card at Oxxo store, with either Movistar or TelCel. So this is just to buy cheap hardware as it will not use the Tracfone SIM card in Mexico! But I've since learned that you cannot unlock a Tracfone itself to do this, so I'm using my T-Mobile phone which I have previously unlocked (and used in China with a SIM card successfully) and will put a Mexican SIM card into. In my case, all my phone numbers are on the phone, not the SIM card. To dial a US number from my phone, prefix it with +1 (instead of the old (011)), but this is not what I ended up doing!
IMPORTANT: To avoid any charges while first crossing into Mexico and the T-Mobile SIM card is still in the phone - FIRST GO INTO SETTINGS AND PLACE IT INTO AIRPLANE MODE !!!
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Back to TracFone, it is still useful for the person in the US to have one and here is why:
Get a Tracfone for $10 and a 60 minute card for $20, for use by family in the US, per the description below:
-TracFone does not offer roaming outside the US, but they have favorable long distance rates to and from Mexico (and Canada).
-With their "International Neighbors" plan you get a local number in Mexico or Canada that allows calls to be made back to a TracFone in the US, charged only as a Local call in those countries. The cost to the TracFone phone user is the same as any incoming call.
TRACFONE International Neighbors is a service that enables callers in Mexico and Canada to set up a local number to ring on a TRACFONE in the US. (Please call 1-800-867-7183 for details).
>> I went online with TracFone and got a Mexico number (011) (52) 664 231 xxxx for calling our (480-438-xxxx Phoenix based Tracfone), to be able to call it via this local number while in Mexico. It showed (011) (52), and Mexico country code is 52, but I don't think these prefixes are needed even when calling this number from within Mexico. I asked for Tijuana which is city code 664 so that makes sense.
-Outgoing calls to these countries with a TracFone are Free through their International Long Distance (ILD) service, which involves calling a toll-free number, then entering your Mexico number (or to 60 other countries). From a Tracfone, dial the international long distance access number 1-800-706-3839 and follow the instructions, dial 011 then (Mexico country code 52) and I think the city code is part of the cell phone number you are dialing. HOWEVER, for Mexico it doesn't appear to work for calling cell phones.
-Since your TracFone will not work in Mexico (or any other foreign country) this option would make a Mexico prepaid phone economical to call a TracFone in the US.
Tracfone executive resolution help number is: 800-876-5753.
- Tips:
When you are calling any US number from Mexico, you must enter "001" (or, alternatively, "+1" on GSM phones) before the number called to access a US-based phone.
- RESULTS:
-I found I could buy a Telcel SIM card alone for 150 pesos which included about 15 minutes of local talk time. This is what I did. Another option is to buy the cheapest phone with SIM card for 330 pesos. (approx 12 pesos/ US$ 1).
-You can then go into any super market store and buy more Telcel minutes for rates as good as 100 pesos for 30 minutes (3.3 pesos/minute or $0.27/minute). I had them add the minutes for me as the voice menus are in Spanish. What is NOT clear is the actual rate Telcel charges for the phone number you call, either local or a different Mexican town, I think it is a lot more than they say.
-But nevertheless I was able to use my Telcel SIM card in my unlocked TMobile (Motorola) phone and then called the "664" number (Tijuana) assigned to my wife's Tracfone in the US and talk to her. The only problem I had was if she did not answer it still took a lot of minutes, so if you have a time to call planned ahead of time I think this would work.
- OTHER Options - RESULTS:
-In San Felipe at the Oxxo store nearest the center of town, 1 block off of the malecon (seawall boardwalk), they have phone booths in the back where you can call the US for 5 pesos a minute and pay when done. I don't know how common this is in other Oxxos or in other smaller towns but doubtful.
--Even better, right around the corner at the cambio shop in their window they have posted rates and they just hand you a phone and you talk on the street and pay them later. It was only 2 pesos a minute to the US! This cambio (exhange) shop just has a front window to walk up to, and it is located
between this Oxxo and the Telcel store on the street headed to the ocean, so on the main street that you come into town on that will go straight to the ocean seawall (malecon), in last 1/2 block.
Random stuff:
