Driving from Canada to Belize with 2 dogs towing an RV

Actually, you are probably the 2nd RV to hit Belize this month. I drove in on October 9th with a little (Toyota) Dolphin 21 footer and 1 cat.  Never saw another RV in Mexico the whole 3 days that I drove through. And not a single US or Canadian license plate, for that matter. I tried to find RV campgrounds, but ended up boondocking at truckstops. Could not find WiFi, either.
Next time I will get a GPS unit and pre-program it!

Nice to hear we are not the only ones!!! Are you still in Belize? There are 3 campgrounds here that I know of. One in Corozal town and 2 in San Ignacio. We had the same issue with wifi. Some of the Pemex gas stations that have a restaurant attached to them have wifi while they are open for business.

I am actually living in a cement home in Esperanza, just east of Santa Elena. I will do some exploring, then probably try to sell the RV to someone who wants to travel a lot or to someone who is building on purchased property.

Hi again

I googled Esperanza. It looks beautiful..and big! Belize has so many interesting places!!!!

I was wondering if you could tell us the route you took and what towns you stayed the night in on your way to Belize. We are going home up the east coast but unsure what is the best route.

Did you encounter any problems at all on your way down. The safety reports are horrid...as they were throughout the route we took and it was all good. Just thought speaking to someone who has been through recently might help

Any info would be awesome!!

I used the eastern route that JohnP created. If you PM me your email address, I can forward the file to you. Very detailed, too much for me without a copilot! I ended up just looking for the next city name and highway number, which actually worked pretty well. 
My biggest problem was an inability to get a GPS signal, so I got off track a couple of times. Tampico traffic was a nightmare.  I ended up following a truck, which was going out of town, fortunately.
I got hit with a US$200 "fine" in Tuxpan for an imaginary "infraction." Otherwise, the police checkpoints were innocuous.
Most of the toll roads were in good shape, but I still would not drive at night because of surprise road conditions. I think I spent about US$200 in tolls, be sure that you have enough pesos. Contrary to some people's advice, you do not need coins. Bills work fine, and some of the tolls were pretty expensive for an RV. A couple of them were about 300 pesos!

Thanks for help!!

**

We'll be driving through Mexico to Belize in our RV with our truck in tow and our 4 dogs next year. We plan on an extended vacation (6 months) with the hope of staying. The mcconnells said not to tell them we will be staying longer than a month, but I've heard that not having duties paid on our vehicles will create problems every month when we renew our visas. What does everyone think?

Also, we're planning on coming down the west coast for the first half of our journey then cutting over to the east coast (maybe at Guadalajara?) and continuing down to BZ (San Ignacio). Any route suggestions?

hi Mcconnells...
very interesting reading your travel experience to Belize..☺️😊.
We are living in Creston BC...&  would love to to to you by phone.
We hope to pull a trailer down there in Nov.   ..to property we have put an offer on.
is there away we can contact you...with out either of us being too public?

Greetings ..stay away from the west coast , nice big highway but the cartels control most of the  hotels and any other places tourists might stay or stop at..the police are there but 0n the take , they look for out of state plates , Canadian or  America, and they will harass you and demand money any thing of value..i have been through Mexico 12 times one of which was the west coast left to Guadalajara , you will be a target, it is an easy drive and quick but risky , i just talked to two big German men who just did that drive 5 months ago , the police stopped them under a false pretense , with a fictitious traffic violation , place them under arrest at the seen , and only released them after they gave up all valuables, take your  chances , or  when you get to the US , mex border you follow the highway in the USA going east then to Reynosa  or Mcallen , then south ...my opinion..check with the Mexican embassy in Vancouver or  AAA the one along the Mexican border ...dont forget to buy your TEmporary Importation permit , at the Mexican Motor Vehicle branch  i believe now you have to  give a deposit down refundable at this end .along the west coast there was no where to camp , do your  home work.

I did not pull an RV, but I drove my car to Belize from Alberta 9 months ago. I crossed into Mexico at Del Rio, Texas (Ciudad Acuna, Mexico). I followed toll roads all the way and except for a couple places where there was construction, the roads were good all the way. I did not drive into any of the big cities (especially not Mexico City). I would suggest taking the road going around them. The one around Mexico City is new, good, and well marked. I also printed off enlarged maps of all the roads I planned to take in Mexico, which turned out to be good because as has been mentioned before, finding wifi is very iffy. Took us 5 days to cross Mexico. We crossed into Belize at 4:00 pm, thinking it was early enough. Big mistake! Ended up having to leave the car at Customs overnight and come back in the morning or pay more than the car was worth in duty. The next day I was back at Customs at 7:30 am and did not get out of there until 2:00pm, but did get the duty cost cut way down to reasonable. (in all went through 5 customs agents)

Wow... 5 custom agents... Ouch.... Was it worth it?
We will be pulling an older trailer... Which we plan on leaving in Belize,
On the land we are buying...
Oh dear... Wonder how that will work. Anyway.... THANK YOU SO MUCH
FOR YOUR ADVICE AND EXPERIENCE!

For an older vehicle, yes, it was worth it, but we have decided, in the long run, if we want a newer vehicle, we would buy here. North American vehicles are made to run on low sulphur fuel. The fuel here is high sulphur and within two months the catalytic converter was burned out. In research we found that the vehicles sold new here are made specifically for this high sulphur fuel so if we want a newer vehicle, we would buy here next time.

bmcraig wrote:

The fuel here is high sulphur and within two months the catalytic converter was burned out.

Living about 6 months of the year in Placencia village, we walk or bike most places we want to go. Occasionally we use a readily available Cab. A couple of times each year, we will rent a car for a few days to explore other areas, or make a run to Belmopan/Spanish Lookout.

(now to connect to your post  )
All the cars I have rented were brought in from the USA, and all had a check engine light on.....because the  catalytic converter had been replaced with a small muffler or a straight pipe. After the first time I rented I brought with me black electrical tape or one time a band aid to put over the check engine light that is way to bright when driving at night. 

Can't ever remember driving in Belize in a vehicle over about 6 months old without the check engine light on. Even in the locally purchased Wingles. There are a couple of places here in Belmopan have the readers for them, but after 'repairs' the light is back in hours. Mostly black tape over the light  is the repair that gets rid of it.

Well.... did the OP from Alberta buy a farm. Did they live happily ever after?

Very interesting... BM CRAIG...And helpful. We will definitely keep that in mind. THANK YOU.

Hello,

Can you tell me about the fees to import the RV?
I would like import mine who is in Yucatan, plates from Quebec.
I saw in Hopkins a sir who import his, a 1992 RV. He paid only 1500bz.
Mine is 1998 but I don't know if it will be the same fee.

Thanks

Great info - thanks!

How is the crime situation in Belize after living in Canada?
Are the locals folks receptive to Canadians?

Thank you,
Khalid

Nutz,
A bit of a late reply to your post, but I brought in a 1992 Toyota Dolphin with a V6 engine, had a bill of sale for USD $6000. Paid about 60% of that when I got around to officially "patriating" it, after 2 months here. (I had played tourist upon entry, to avoid extra hassle at the border. Adding the cat was enough!)
As with everything in Belize, your results may vary greatly depending on the day and the officer in charge.