DEN-PHX-Baja Oh Yeah!!!

[COFlyBoy]

Kayso, we were planning a trip around AZ just for fun this May. Then some friends of ours said they were going down to Puerto Penasco, MX in May. So I got to thinking that maybe I should add Mexico to our flight plan and meet up with friends South of the border. Route might look a little like this:

Ted, I may be peppering you with questions about the logistics of getting in and out of Mexico. So far, I created a checklist of all the docs needed, and I'm about 75% complete. The long pole may be getting the passports renewed. Unfortunately they expired last June.

 

[murphey]

You may want to contact the Baja pilots for more info. Also, there's a few folk here that were recently in Mexico and further south and are familiar with the details. I assume you're an AOPA member, so contact them, too. ePis or whatever it's called is the critical issue.

As for passports - get new photos ASAP, get the paperwork, make an appt at the local postoffice to deal with the paperwork then be prepared to pay $$$$ to expedite. Depending on your situation, you may be able to do everything by mail.


US State Dept, has details for expediting (2-3 weeks)
http://travel.state.gov/passport/renew/renew_833.html


Expediters (commercial company that claims to make it happen in various timeframes including 24 hours if you're willing to pay $$$$$$$$)
http://www.uspassportnow.com/services?gclid=CPKjm7fE-qcCFQELbAod3Godqw

 

[COFlyBoy]

Well, I got to working through the checklist that AOPA has for travel to Mexico and things just kept getting more and more expensive.

DHS Sticker: $27.50
Mexican Insurance: $290
Radio Station License (for 87W): $100
Radio Operators License (for me): $???
Mexican charts/pubs: $??
Expedite fee for passport renewal (me and my wife): $120
Learning eAPIS: $????????? (trying to finish my IR this month, I don't think there's any room for anything else)

I gave up and decided I'll just go to Port Aransas in September. I won't need any extra insurance, foreign currency, and I can go the whole way without filing a flight plan or crossing an ADIZ.

 

[4CornerFlyer]

You don't need "Mexican insurance" as long as your US insurance includes Mexico in its coverage area and has liability coverage greater than Mexico's minimum, which is less then US$300,000. You will need to bring a copy of the policy showing those two items.

To go to Rocky Pt you wouldn't need any charts other then the US WAC for that area. Anything you want to know about the airport can be found here:
http://www.therockypointairport.com/

As a fellow taxpayer, I appreciate it if you buy the radio licenses, but you do not "need" them and will not be asked for them in the US or in Mexico.

If you mail your passports tomorrow, you should have them back well before a May trip with only the standard fee. Processing time as of my renewal in September was under two weeks.

You will have to pay for a general declaration form (about US$60); landing and parking fees are listed on the airport web site. You will need the $27 US Customs sticker.

Avgas in mid-March was still under US$4 per gallon.

You can use US dollars for almost everything in Mexico.

It really isn't that big a deal or that expensive to go.

Jon

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

search for my post and attached file on Loreto from Jan this year, has a bunch of details that might help