Puerto Penasco

[Vegasdan]

My DW and I have just traded our Tradewinds in for a new rig to take to Rocky Point. We feel very safe.

[Gary - K7GLD]

Originally Posted by Vegasdan

My DW and I have just traded our Tradewinds in for a new rig to take to Rocky Point. We feel very safe.

AH - but just wait until you see what the Bandidos are driving....

[azloafer]

We crossed the border many times for approximately five years to go for dental work. It costs so much less there. We have a friend who is Mexican and she has family there. She said that if we were Mexican we would have no problem, but being American we are good people to kidnap and hold for ransom. This has been an increasing problem. She advised us to skip the dental trips until things change, but it doesn't look like that will be in the near future. It's too bad and I fell sorry for the Mexican people who count on American money for a living. I hope that things change, but it doesn't look good. It is not worth the risk right now. Happy trails, Joe

[rvarner]

When we lived in Mesa AZ and later Las Vegas NV, we made many trips to PP. In the 80's and 90's I really enjoyed our trips but, no longer have a desire to go there for many reasons. We are not afraid but find the area very different from the past. Too much American influence has changed the city and we no longer feel the relaxed atmosphere we ounce had. Leave it to corporate America to scew things up.
Richard

[Fred and Bonnie]

Originally Posted by dons2346

Just talked to someone currently in PP. Nothing is going on, still quiet.

So was Egypt two weeks ago.

fred

[bachler]

On our travels' P.P. is as safe as it is in the States; Don't let that garbage that is being posted scare/deture you from having a wonderfull time in Mex.co. Look you guys we had Like 12 police officers Shot in the US: this year in Jan. and you tell people to stay away from Mex.. I can't believe it'' LIfe is good;; No one posts all the good times they have had ; The bad just keeps comming up; Well pard; We had a great time every time. Enough said;;

[azloafer]

It would be interesting to see a poll on, "Is it safe in Mexico?" I don't know how to start one. Happy Trails wherever you go, Joe

[DonnaB]

Geez, have all of you who spout the gloom & doom ever been to Puerto Penasco?? To the OP, we are in PP now after coming in Monday from Q. We are at The Reef RV Park and it is darned near empty since our news media likes to sensationalize everything south of the border. We drove thru Playa Bonita yesterday & it was pretty full, but most of that was a rally. Not sure about the US BP as we don't leave until Monday. However, we noticed that since our coming & going last March on the MX side coming in they have put up new lanes & formalized the entry a bit more than it has been in the past. Check the web site for what you can take out. I hear they are getting sticky on food items.

Now for all you who think it is not safe....I would declare Puerto Penasco much safer than Phoenix, Tucson or most other major US cities. Today however it is windy & cold. Better temps later in the week predicted.

[azloafer]

Yes, we and another couple did go to Rocky Point some years ago. Where do I start? The playa Bonita was considered second-rate to the hotel that we stayed at. We can’t remember the name but it was close to the Bonita and was considered a 5 star Mexican Hotel. I’ll skip to the cost. The daily rate was supposed to be $100 including tax. Some weeks later we got our CC bill and found that with a tax now, money exchange and the bank charge for converting foreign money, we were now at $125.00 a night!

When we arrived at the hotel there was a really bad smell. We found that the smell was coming from the catch basins that had plastic put over the hole and then the cover on top of that. It was an obvious attempt to control the sewer smell. It wasn’t enough.

The hotel had open stairways and halls. That would have been nice, but most of the lights were hanging by wires and not properly attached. The room was not up to US standards. No window to the ocean. The air conditioner was built into the wall, but had open parts on each side that were large enough to slip our hand to the outside.

We were told that we should drink the bottled water in the room and to ask for more whenever we needed it. When we requested more, it was always delivered by a security guard. We had been told that this hotel was very safe and had security on the grounds and beach. It turned out that the only time we saw security was when we asked for water. The beach was not secured at all. Anybody from anywhere could and did walk onto the beach and hotel property.

We were on the beach as nighttime came and grubby looking people gathered to beg and sleep on the beach. It was not pleasant and we left for our room. Shortly after we got into the room, there was some kind of explosive on the outside wall. I went out to the hall and saw that people were shooting some kind of large rockets at the building and they exploded when they hit the wall. We were lucky that we didn’t have a window. This went on until after midnight, even though we called security. The next day we were told that any kind of fireworks was legal! What?

We took a walk to a nearby camp area and talked to some people there. They were getting their kids together to go to the pool. We were surprised that a campground there would have a pool. Nope…we were told that anyone who wants to swim goes to the hotel pool, our pool. We learned that anyone, even people from town, use the pool. No one bothered them. The pool was crowded all the time.

The restaurant had a buffet and we decided to eat there. There were some foods in red and green sauces that we were not familiar with. It wasn’t hot sauce and we didn’t know what it was. We did recognize little hot dogs that were pink inside and tasted terrible. Some things were known to us, but it all tasted awful. We only ate there once. After that we ate poolside at a neat little seafood bar. The seafood was good and we ate all the rest of our meals there because we were not going back to that restaurant. Someone that we talked to said that we should try eating at another restaurant that they knew of. When we asked how to find it they said, just follow the big sewer pipe up the hill. We chose to avoid sewers.

We were told to watch out for scams on the beach. People were trying to sell junky things. There were other people attempting to rent life vests when the vests were included in the price of renting a wave runner. These people positioned themselves between us and the real rental area. Other people were selling all kinds of junk on this secured beach front property! I could go on and on, how we were ripped off renting wave runners, etc. I won’t…except to say that the price of food and drink was the same as in the US. We actually had paid more [at this time] for the hotel room than a luxury hotel room in the US. All the prices seemed to be as high as in the states. There were no bargains to be had.

I almost forgot. On the way in, the Mexican Police had a car pulled to the side and were going through it. I mean the seats were outside of the car! Now maybe these people deserved to be searched. I don't know. My wife was so shocked that she wasn't watching for the ALTO sign. She had to back up. The officer just said, "Now you've got it." I thought we were in for it, but he let us go.

On Well, that’s the only time we went to Rocky Point. Someone asked for a review by people posting recent articles about Rocky Point. So now you have it. Happy Trails wherever you go. Joe

[Vegasdan]

My DW and I have been to Mexico several times. Puerto Vallarta twice, Mazatlan, Cabo and ATV,d in Baja. We will not go back, not just due to the violence and drug gangs now, but the overwhelming lack of sanitation even in the best places is apalling. Flying into the Puerto Vallarta airport is like landing in an open sewer. You dare not drink the water, we all know that, but at the resorts they always assure you of the filtered water that they claim to make ice with. Do not drink anything with ice in it! Let's just say personal experience. A bottle of water should be sanitized before you open it and then make sure the cap seal has not been broken. There have been instances of used bottles being refilled with local water and then old caps screwed back on.

[read & learn]

azloafer, sorry to hear that you had a bad trip to Puerto Penasco some years ago.
What happen to PP some years ago was PP was considered a great vacation spot for Americans and developers started putting Condos all along the "Sandy Beach" area.
This area was a whole group of camp grounds, 3 remain.
These condos did not sell so to make money that rent them out, yes I agree with you they are not complete, but what floors are, they rent.
The vendors selling their wares on the the beach is crazy as they never stop from 8am till dark. Is some of their wares cheap, yes. Is some of their wares good deals, yes. This is the way some of the locals make money. One vendor Juan Carlo has been selling his wares for 28 years. You buy something and are not happy with it he will either exchange it or give you your money back, even a year later. The vendors now have to have a vendors ID to sell anything on the beach started it 2010 and guess what 50% less vendors on the beach.
Many Americans do not know that in Mexico there is no welfare, no Food Stamps etc. This is one of the reasons they come North, everything is handed to them.
When we go down there, we bring supplies for the Old Age Home run by one of the local Churches and only remains open because groups from the Phoenix area support them, the Children's Home that houses about 40 children all on DONATIONS.
Security at Playa Bonita RV Resort in the day time is a little old man and his job is to keep the vendors on the beach not in the RV Resort. At night 2 big young men, to keep the RVers in line [quiet hours].
As in a post #22 Playa Bonita near full 1st of the Winnebago Owners Club, with 2 more to come.
Joe

[phxmtngirl]

I will chime in here. Coming back over the border is sticky, as I chated w/BP to ask for you. They have to be strick now, and thank goodness they are.
We did not go over the border, just stopped and chatted w/the agents, as we take them goodies and thank them for their service to us US citizens.
Why would we not go over the border? Because we earned our money in the US, we spend our money in the US, we are proud citizens of the US. I am sorry that the Mexican govt will not take care of their own ppl, but they are not going to get our money, small business in the US need our help.

[DonnaB]

Dear azloafer,

I'm so sorry to hear about your experience. I know that if I had a first time experience in Mexico like that, I probably would never want to go back. However, my experience in Mexico has not been like yours. I'm not trying to change your mind as I'm sure it is made up due to your bad experience so my words are for others that may see this thread.

Mexico is a country rich with great culture and history. The Mexican people are fun loving, sweet spirited and very giving. We have not spent time in the "tourist" places like Mazatlan, Cabo & Puerto Vallerta, but mostly small town Mexico. We have been as far south as Guadalajara and Tecoman. The people are just like we are. They want a peaceful life and better for their children. They are hard workers, family oriented, mostly religious, will share what little they have with you and they know how to throw a party.

Unlike in much of the US, ALL beaches in Mexico are public access. No security guard will "protect" the hotel patron (Mexican or tourist) from the locals. It is their beach. You are the visitor. Beach vendors are a fact of life in Mexico. For a country with extreme unemployment, these people work sun up to sun down to make a living. If you don't want what they are selling, say "no gracias" and they will leave. You may have to say that to many people, but you won't have to be unkind to any. Honestly, the worst acting people we have seen are some other Americans. Sometimes they act so bad it is embarrassing to be counted with them. They come to Mexico and act in ways that are totally unacceptable here or back home.

I don't know of any 5 star hotels in PP. You might find a 3 star at the most. It is a small town that has catered to the American tourist so unfortunately has paid the price. Today the Americans have quit coming and the locals are hurting financially since the developers have nearly priced them out of their own town.

As you go further south in Mexico, most of the tourists are Canadian. They still come in droves every winter (of course it is VERY cold in most of Canada this time of year). As in any other country, the customs and views differ from ours. It is always helpful to study up on a place before visiting so that your expectations don't prevent you from enjoying the culture. Most Mexican towns treat their water just like we do in the US. However we have yet to find adequate water pressure because the infrastructure doesn't support it. We have eaten the food and drunk the water everywhere we have stayed and we've never been sick from doing that. That doesn't mean we wouldn't decline to fill our tanks if we felt the water wasn't good, but we haven't encountered that circumstance so far. We do filter our water for quality and taste, but we do that all over the US also.

Certainly there are problems in Mexico now, just as there are in the US. I would counter that driving thru any of the major US cities at night is more hazardous than being in MX. We try to use good judgment and avoid places we don't feel safe, wherever we are. We avoid most border towns, cross the border at the truck crossings where possible and stick to small towns; avoiding associating with those that might do drugs or other illegal activity. Although we have traveled by ourselves, it is probably good to travel with one or two other couples in unfamiliar areas, wherever they might be.

Remember that there have been many "incidents" in the US. There are drug wars here and there have been several incidents where tourists from other countries were killed or taken advantage of by bad guys in the US. The news media doesn't keep reporting on the same issue over and over like they do with the issue with Mexico. Not that I want to make light of the issue, but there are risks in traveling anywhere. Just use good judgment and avoid risky behavior and locations. Don't just let bad press stop you from going somewhere without further investigation.

This is written from Mexico. Unfortunately we have to leave in a few days and go back north where I see it is much colder and the sun isn't shining so brightly. We spent the entire winter last year in Mexico. Our lives are richer for the experiences we had and the people we met and the few places we got to see. We hope to to have the opportunity to spend next winter in Mexico once again to revisit some of those we met and to see more of the country. I hope others who can appreciate the different culture, foods and experience the warmth of the Mexican people will give Mexico a try also.

[Chuck 1935]

DonnaB
Very well put. I admire your convictions and wish you well. I also traveled in Mexico two weeks after 9-11 and found the people and the culture to be wonderful. We traveled all over the country below Mexico City and up to Zacatecas. We used public transportation and had a wonderful time. I was also down around Rosarito last year for an engagement party and the hotel we stayed at was empty and the one next door was closed. There were Federales (kids) in sandbag bunkers on the side of the road with machne guns doing God knows what. The economy is really hurting and unless the drug problem is fixed Mexico is in big trouble as we will be.
I will say that if your poor or disabled your pretty much screwed. I feel very sorry for those poor souls.