San Juan del Lago RV Resort & Boondocking in Central Mexico

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jornvango

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We have been exploring Mexico (the country, not New Mexico  :p) in our Casita travel trailer these past months.  Having just joined this forum recently, surprisingly, I don't find many people here who are considering boondocking or RVing in Mexico ... so I thought I'd start by telling folks about our GREAT experiences traveling and camping throughout Mexico.

Not knowing what to expect and a little (well, a lot) apprehensive about driving into Mexico, we first drove into Mexico in 2013 when my wife and I lived in Texas.  We explored Mexico and other countries of Central America for 5 wonderful months.  We didn't get shot, mugged, killed, abducted, ... but traveled worry-free through beautiful scenery, ate great food, met wonderfully friendly people, slept in safe & secure campsites with amenities, spent a fraction of money compared to traveling in the US and returned to the US with a desire to go back to Mexico.  (Obviously, I'm not talking about the border area where you won't find the real Mexico)

We moved to Phoenix, AZ in 2014 and lived there until we quit our jobs and left our house to start full-timing.  Now, we are back exploring Mexico in our Casita trailer.

I really cannot say enough good things about traveling in Mexico and we only hear good things about fellow retirees (US and Canadian) who we meet on the campgrounds here.  No one understands why most Americans and Canadians only make it as far as Arizona, New Mexico or Texas when a big, beautiful, CHEAP, safe country of Mexico is just a little further south.

Anyway, a long intro to recommend an RV park where we recently stayed: San Juan del Lago RV Resort in central Mexico.  (http://www.sanjuandellago.com/)

On the picture, you see our Casita (and Clam) at the RV park, and behind the large tree on the left are 2 Canadian retired couples in their campers.

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The park provides great views onto the lake and small villages; has full hookups or allows boondocking; has WiFi; hot showers; a friendly American-Mexican owner who lives on site; extremely inexpensive ($1!) mineral hot springs in town; wild horses roaming the property ...  The owner told us he is especially looking for like-minded 'green / eco' visitors with the possibility to grown your own vegetables/fruits or eat from the free cactus orchard ...  The owner; Art; even offers to pick up travelers at the US border (AZ or TX) and escort them on the 2-day drive to his RV park!

And, the owner told us he's now giving out a 10% discount code so if you book, make sure to mention code "MONARCH".

We stayed at the park for a few weeks in February and took day trips to colonial towns such as Morelia, Patzcuaro, San Miguel de Allende, ... and of course to the wintering location for the monarch butterflies.

Highly recommended!
 
Glad you enjoyed yourself. I’ve certainly enjoyed camping in both the Mainland and Baja.
 
Well dang, I just got finished asking you to do exactly this on another thread.

What are you paying for your site there and where else have you stayed? Have you done any boondocking throughout Mexico?

What did you have to provide and pay when you crossed the border?

Send more photos please. I’m very interested in this thread.
 
The poster provided a link to the website for the RV park, you can see the rates on that website.
 
Thank you for the recommendation, it looks like a place I would enjoy staying in for a month or two as it has good access to many places that are of interest to me.
 
The daily rate is given, it is 400 pesos. For longer stays they do say to contact them.
 
maki2 said:
The daily rate is given, it is 400 pesos. 

Which at the current exchange rate is about $20 US, $27 Canadian.
 
good post :) good info and sounds like you are enjoying yourself well!
 
Great to see the level of interest!   We are currently traveling in Mexico and I'm posting updates on where we stay & what we see at my website at https://www.vangophotos.com/blog

For those interested, these are the current rates to stay at Art's RV park (San Juan del Lago) in Cuitzeo del Porvenir.  Some of these rates may be negotiable depending on your length of stay.  ;)

- Full hookups -
Monthly 7,600 pesos per site (380 USD in today's exchange rate)
Weekly 3,150 pesos per site (157 USD)

This gets you a very spacious, private site with great lake views; 30 / 50 AMP electricity; water; sewer; hot showers, bathrooms, WiFi, communal kitchen (with fridge / microwave / oven / cooktop), access to harvest cactus, gardening, ...

- Boondocking -
Monthly 2,000 pesos per person (100 USD)
Weekly 500 pesos per person (25 USD)

Keep in mind that this is not true boondocking.  You get hot showers, bathrooms, WiFi, communal kitchen (with fridge / microwave / oven / cooktop), water, access to harvest cactus, gardening, .... Pretty much everything a full hookup site gets minus electricity, although you can use electricity in the kitchen to charge your device if desired.

And, remember the 10% discount code "MONARCH".  

Big box stores like Walmart, Home Depot, ... are available in a 20-minute drive in nearby Morelia.
Regular groceries; including farmers markets, bakeries, tortilla shops; are a few minutes away, including good-sized grocery stores where you can find pretty much everything.

The cost of living is extremely cheap.  As an example, in the month of February, for 2 adults and a dog, we spent:
1) We ate out 13 times for a total cost of 61 USD
2) We bought fresh groceries every few days for a total cost of 206 USD.  This includes wine, beer and tequila.
 
Great post, thanks. There's precious little information regarding RV'ing in Mexico. I've lived in Mazatlan and Puerto Morelos for a total of three months now and will stay another 3 until my visa runs out. I've never had any safety-related issues. My plan is to buy a van in the states, build it out and head back down!
 
Tell us more jornvango. I’ve been wanting to spend at least a month down there in the winter but things keep happening.


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This is great info, thanks! I'm headed to Baja for this first time this winter. Cant wait!
 
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