The country code for Mexico is 52.
When calling a Mexican phone number from out of country dial 011 + 52 + area code + phone number.
If you're calling a cell phone, you'll need to add a 1 after the 52, so you would dial 011 + 52 + 1 + area code + phone number.
For national long-distance calls within Mexico, the code is 01 plus the area code and phone number.
For international long-distance calls originating in Mexico, first dial 00, then the country code (for the U.S. and Canada the country code is 1, so you would dial 00 + 1 + area code + 7 digit number).
See Pacific List of Radio Nets
Northwest Caribbean Net, 1400 UTC 6209 USB, alternates 6212 and 6516, 7 days/wk. Generally covers Providencia north to Mexico on the Carib side, including Providencia, San Andreas, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica and the Caymans. They often follow boats all the way home to Key West through Galveston on the US coast, and sometimes boats heading south will continue to check in down to Panama, but not often.
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Banjercito site says 937 pesos for the TIP online. You do not have to be Canadian or USA citizen..
Park fees and anchoring fees? Do these apply in any port of entry? What about agriculture fees?
Fees can be varied and can include different charges depending on where you are cruising and how long you are staying. You can find out more on Noonsite’s Mexico Formalities – Fees (https://www.noonsite.com/place/mexico/view/fees/).
There is also a lot of additional useful information as well as links to additional cruising resources on Noonsite’s Mexico Formalities – Clearance (https://www.noonsite.com/place/mexico/view/clearance/).
Park fees, anchoring fees and agricultural fees will depend on where you are cruising.
Kind regards,
Megan
Noonsite Researcher / Sub-Editor
I’m planning on sailing down the east coast of Mexico from texas is there anyway to check in sooner than the Yucatan
Does anyone know if we can cancel our TIP in Cabo San Lucas? I do believe it is an official port of entry, but I don’t think there is a Banjercito there. I was wondering if the port captain/immigration can do it. Thanks
After almost 29 years of ownership, my wife and I are closing escrow today on our ketch-rigged Contest 48, Rutea. One of the tasks we needed to deal with prior to closing was canceling our Temporary Import Permit that we got the last time we were in Mexico. We reviewed about a half-dozen posts from respected sources and deducted that we could cancel the TIP at any Banjercito (the military bank in Mexico that issues permits for vehicles, vessels, etc). Our experience proved this to be incorrect – we found that we could only cancel our TIP at a Banjercito that is located at a Port of Entry.
Ruthie and I drove from our house to San Ysidro, the city that borders Mexico and Tijuana, and parked ($10). Walking into Mexico with our passports, we were issued a tourist visa even though we told the immigration officer that we were only going to be in Tijuana for maybe an hour (no charge) but we did get a stamp in our passports. We gave the first taxi driver we found the address of a Banjercito and he quoted us US$13 for the trip. The Banjercito was heavily guarded with armed military but a concierge inside, who spoke excellent English, said that we had come to the wrong Banjercito and gave us the address to the Banjercito in Otay Mesa. Fortunately, our taxi driver had waited for us and drove us to where we were told to go. However, upon arrival, the clerk at the Banjercito said she couldn’t help us – she consulted with her colleagues and they told us that we’d have to take our boat to Ensenada. I struggled to control my temper as I knew this was wrong but it was obvious that this office wasn’t going to help us. Our taxi driver stepped up as an interpreter but the outcome didn’t change. On our way back to the border at Tijuana, I called the Hotel Coral in Ensenada where we had last stayed – they had helped us clear out of Mexico and I thought they might be able to shed some light on the subject. The woman I spoke with was very knowledgeable, had my documents at hand and offered to cancel the TIP on my behalf for US$200. This didn’t seem unreasonable but I knew that my wife and I could get round-trip bus tickets from Tijuana to Ensenada for US$52 for the both of us. Not only would I save US$148 but I would know that the TIP was canceled. I asked her the hours of the Banjercito in Ensenada and she said it closed at 4pm, giving us plenty of time. She also emailed me a list of Banjercito offices in the US where a TIP could be canceled but the closest one to us was Los Angeles, more than 120 miles from our home. I have not verified if that information is accurate.
The buses in Mexico are usually luxurious and the one we rode was very comfortable (the myth that livestock and chickens are also on the bus is insulting) but we hit very heavy traffic and it appeared that it was going to take a lot longer to get to Ensenada. The port captain’s office in Ensenada is one of the most efficient points to check in or out of a country – when we circumnavigated the world, no where else did we find as easy a place to complete the process. The bad news was that they don’t close at 4pm – they close at 2:30pm and it looked like we weren’t going to make it. Once the bus dropped us off in Ensenada, Ruthie and I ran the .6 miles to the Port Captain’s office and made it while they were still open. I told the clerk at the Banjhercito in the Port Captain’s office what I wanted to do and she requested the original check-out document – she wouldn’t accept a photocopy – but I had the original with me. Within a couple of minutes, the process was complete and at no charge. I asked the clerk if this could have been done at a Banjercito in Tijuana and she said, no, it had to be done at a Port of Entry.
Ruthie and I enjoyed fish tacos in Ensenada (4 fish tacos, a lemonade and a beer – US$12) before boarding the bus back to Tijuana. Rutea is gone now and I feel like my identity and my sanctuary have sailed away without me. Fair winds and calm seas, Rutea. May a steady hand always be at your helm.
Neal Schneider
San Diego, California
Our clearing in process to Isla Mujeres from Key West has been a diabolical joke. This is not for the faint hearted.
The health inspector/doctor at the Port Captain’s office was very helpful and that part was easy. (Tie your dinghy on the inside of the dock at Marina Bartolomé which is just a short walk through a white metal gate to the Port Captain’s office; don’t tie it on the outside closer to the ferries as they will charge you 100 pesos/hour to leave it there and you’ll need at least 5-6 hours to complete everything. Assuming you are very lucky and can actually complete it.) So the doctor was fine, a decently friendly guy. Any paperwork you find online and print out ahead of time is going to be the wrong paperwork or filled out wrong–just fill it out in front of him the way he tells you and then go make copies of it elsewhere. All he needed was the crew list and the zarpe from the US. If you don’t have a zarpe you need to provide something like a receipt for fuel or from a marina the day you left the USA, and complete a form called the Acta Protesta where you plead for mercy that you didn’t get a zarpe and apologize and say you’ll never do it again. (We went to the Dry Tortugas first to wait for a weather window and got stuck there for a week. The office in Key West didn’t want to issue a zarpe and insisted that we didn’t need one. If this happens to you, be ready with a receipt and a willingness to complete the Acta Protesta or just don’t leave the port office in the US without a zarpe.) Also in general for all these steps, they also want a million copies of everything and take great personal joy in sending you away from offices to go make extra copies elsewhere, despite having their own copy machines visible; the fact that we brought a portable printer made them annoyed because the power trip they get from creating suffering/their ability to kick back and avoid doing their jobs was thwarted.
The next step was the immigration office where despite being told by the health inspector that we didn’t need anything else, they wanted different copies of totally different things and again our ability to stay in their office and print those things out immediately deepened their simmering bureaucratic rage. The immigration officer didn’t stamp a paper that we needed to have stamped (more on that later) but didn’t tell us. On purpose. Knowing we would run into a problem in our next step. He also berated us for filling out the FMM half in blue ink and half in black, despite those being the pens he provided, and when his supervisor told him it didn’t matter it made him very angry. He failed to give us copies of the FMM which also became a problem when we tried to get a TIP.
The third step was back at the Port Captain’s office with the agricultural agent and boat inspection. The agricultural agent lady was very sweet and the agent who dinghied out to the boat wasn’t looking for a bribe or to extort food or alcohol which was a pleasant surprise given what we knew of the way that shakedown typically works. We’re vegetarian and didn’t have much booze at all so maybe there just wasn’t anything worth taking. Also at this step, despite people in the previous step saying you have all the paperwork you need, they will want different paperwork and multiple copies of it. None of these services have any idea of what their sister departments require but they will insist that you’re good to go.
We weren’t able to properly complete this step because the immigration guy hadn’t stamped one of our papers. We had to rush back there and inform him there had been an error and one of our papers, the crew list, was missing a stamp. He said he hadn’t stamped it because the previous guy hadn’t stamped it first and therefore he couldn’t. Instead of alerting us to this apparent discrepancy he’d just sent us on our way to fall on our faces. The hilarious thing is that the stamp the immigration guy said was missing on the crew list was ACTUALLY THERE, it had just been stamped in very light ink. He was extremely mad to have that pointed out to him and angrily stamped everything properly… also in very very light ink. (This will be relevant later.)
After the agricultural lady and the boat inspection, the port captain takes all of your paperwork to process it and will give you a customs paper to take to the bank. This was more administrative hell. Firstly the port captain is a sour crust of a man who gives short, unhelpful answers. Secondly the bank he sent us to (Banjercito, the national bank just down the road) refused to process the customs fee for us, stating that they don’t provide that service despite being listed on the back of the very paper they are supposed to verify as the primary processors of that fee. We literally had to run to HSBC and back (a few blocks each way) to finish paying this fee and to get back to the Port Captain’s office by 1430 when it closes. He directed us to return the next morning.
We were there again first thing to pick up our completed documents to then hop on the ferry to Cancun to complete the TIP. Again, he told us we had everything we needed and we definitely did not. The woman who processes the TIP at the Banjercito in Cancun is notorious for delighting in sensing people away for any reason, and the ferry there is not cheap.
You need all of the documents from the Port Captain with every page stamped. The Port Captain had neglected to stamp one of our pages (what is it with these guys?) which we didn’t catch until it was too late and we were already in the bank. We also discovered that the stamp that the immigration guy had put on our crew list WAS TOO LIGHT TO READ. Remember, this is the guy who initially refused to stamp the crew list because the health inspector’s stamp was too light. Apparently no ink pad in Mexico is sufficient for its intended purpose, or all of these agents are running a pool to bet who can trip up the most cruisers before they’re forced to change out their ink. It’s demonic. Anyway the TIP lady also wanted documentation of our engine serial number (like on a survey) which we would have been happy to provide but the Port Captain said we didn’t need anything else so we didn’t bring it. Also, she wants copies. Will she make them on her copy machine? No. Does she appreciate that we brought our own printer? Also no. Finally she wanted a stamped copy of the FMM, which we could not provide because the immigration official didn’t give us one. She said we could do it online, but the website didn’t work. When we printed off the form and filled it out by hand, she said she couldn’t accept it because immigration hadn’t stamped it. I’m not sure what good it would do even if immigration had stamped it, as they apparently have no stamp ink in the entire office and the very faint stamp that he had eventually and begrudgingly put on our crew list was too light for her to read and she said it wasn’t good enough.
Anyone official you ask about the TIP will give you a different answer. The government website, the health inspector, the boat inspector, the port captain, the bank official–they all provide different numbers. They also will change the number they’ve insisted is correct within the same sentence. As mathematical performance art, it’s incredible to witness. If you can complete this online 10 days before your arrival, just do that. We weren’t able to do it that way because when we left the Keys we thought we were going straight to Isla Mujeres and wouldn’t have enough of the required 10 day pre-arrival window to do it. We then got stuck for ages in the Dry Tortugas, where there’s no cell signal, waiting for weather to blow over. I’ve read that you don’t need a TIP to get a zarpe so we’ll probably just leave Mexico ASAP, skip the TIP, and never return to this shell game of a government process again.
If you’re crazy or masochistic enough to visit here, bring your own damn ink. Check every document you are handed back. Prepare to be outright lied to. If a marina offers to do your paperwork for a fee, just do that–it’s a shakedown but well worth it because the bribes get passed down the chain and everyone is happy. You cannot complete this process quickly, legally, and easily. Pick two of the three.
Finally, I’d like to point out that I have successfully completed paperwork from the USCG to leave from US to Cuban waters, an infamously difficult and lengthy process, in a fairly short and simple time. About 3 days. So when I say that it’s easier to go from the US to Cuba, a country where our government wants to do everything in its power to prevent us from visiting, rather than our closest neighbor and ally Mexico, you will understand the insanity of this process. You’ve been warned.
Thank You for this Amelia. As well as great information, its totally priceless. Franz Kafka is alive and well and living in Mexico.
How long can you stay in Mexico after you have completed the forms at Immigration, the port captain’s office and returned the TIPP to the Bank?
We are waiting for a boat part and would like to leave shortly thereafter. As we are not sure when that part will arrive, I would like to start the ‘clearing out of Mexico process’ as soon as possible so not to delay our departure.
With the right notarized Power of Attorney from the french bank , I went to a road border next to San Diego, i.e. Mesa de Otay, and the Banjercito office there issued the TIP easily… finally putting me as owner of the boat, not the bank.
Mexico… you must obtain a temporary permit to import the boat. TIP.
You can do it in advance on the Banjercito site… or take appointment in a consulate. These two methods only work on the Web for a Us/Can/Mex passport… so as a Frenchman you need to show up and try your luck in Ensenada…
And there the trouble begins.
As your tender does not have under french flag its own registration, you must consider it as an accessory to the boat… and you need an invoice indicating the brand, length, and serial number. So you kindly ask by mail your Marquesan seller to make you as fast as he can a duplicate invoice with the added correct information…
It’s not over… your boat is financed by a french bank with a leasing, so you are not technically the owner, even your Ensenada agent cannot convince the military in charge of the file. It is the bank that owns the boat.
It is therefore necessary to obtain from the bank a power of attorney to carry out the procedures for them in Mexico, on a precise model, which must be notarized and therefore legalized… and it is the original which must be presented with all its stamps.
Returned to the United States to San Diego… waiting for help from the french bank… and a legalized document to be sent by express courier
Corruption is alive and well in Isla Mujeres.
Our boat was thoroughly searched by customs on check-in, and we we’re told that absolutely NO Alcohol was allowed and that a fine would be given for the 1 bottle of wine (750ml) and a few open bottles of Rum (570ml and Whiskey (750ml). The impression was conveyed that issuing the fine would also take a few days to process, clearly because they knew we were only making a quick stop to collect fresh goods and water, ready to leave the next day while our weather window holds.
Eventually we had to pay a US$80 bribe to complete the inspection and get checked-in.
Disappointing as it’s a close sail for us from our home port in Kemah, TX. This has now gone onto the “don’t visit again” list and we’ll rather try other tourist destinations.
Apparently the No Alcohol Allowed, is a new law that I’m still unable to find when searching the internet, and the online Mexican customs resources.
Usually there’s a limit on quantity for personal use, especially when containers have actually been used already, and I’m happy to pay a reasonable import duty, or even have the Alcohol confiscated. But this was clearly not in their interest to go down any other route than extortion.
Bruce and Alene, of SV Migration and creators of the Chart Locker (a free resource for cruisers), have this reminder:
For those of you planning to head to the South Pacific this coming season, don’t forget to download satellite charts for the areas you’re going to visit BEFORE you leave North America. A complete set of charts for only French Polynesia (ArcGIS, BingSat, GoogleSat and Navionics) is over 10GB so you’ll want to have a fast and cheap connection.
You’ll find the charts at https://thechartlocker.com/
To avoid having to download, if you’re in Mexico in Banderas Bay, Mike and Kat have a copy at Cruiser Comfort, and Andy Barrow kindly donated a portable drive with the charts that can be borrowed from the Vallarta Yacht Club. There’s probably a copy or two floating around La Paz as well.
Cruisers warn that domestic clearance in Zihuatenejo, on the Pacific side of Mexico, is lengthy and there are fees paid. This is very different from other domestic ports in Mexico where most port captains are efficient, fast and domestic clearance is a free process.
Former prison islands “Islas Marías” will open to the public as a tourist attraction in April 2022: The Islas Marías (“Mary Islands”) are an archipelago of four islands that belong to Mexico. They are located in the Pacific Ocean, some 100 km (62 miles) off the coast of Nayarit. Starting in April, tourists will be able to visit Las Islas Marías (Marías Islands) off the coast of Riviera Nayarit. One of the most paradisiacal and biodiverse places in Mexico, the four-island archipelago went from hosting one of the most feared and isolated prisons in Mexico to an environmental tourist destination. It is so far not known if private yachts will be permitted to visit. Read more at https://mexicodailypost.com/2022/02/25/former-prison-islands-islas-marias-will-open-to-the-public-in-april/
It is veryuncommon to get or need a Zarpe coming from the US. The US doesn’t have the same port authority fifedoms as other countries. I’ve not known any person coming from the US to have gotten or been asked for a Zarpe checking into mexico, so I don’t that that “Strong advice” on this page is valid in this case.
Our strong advice is for the East coast of Mexico, in particular Islas Mujeres (the most popular POE on that side). And yes, reports still coming in about the need for a zarpe.
In February, 2022, I cleared in to Isla Mujeres from Florida. Requirement for Zarpe!
Oz on SV Bat HaYam
Posted on behalf of SY Scraatch, currently in Mexico:
Mexico remains open and without restrictions, just as it has throughout the pandemic. Boats are being put in the water ahead of the end of Hurricane season. A few bold souls are moving up or down the coast.
Here at Tapachula half a dozen boats have antifouled and launched with more owners returning. One boat under rebuild for 4 years is rushing to get south before the end of its 10 year temporary import.
This temporary import is a generous treatment that considers the boat to be the same as a car and allows a stay of up to 10 years with only the low initial fee. It is applicable on both the Caribbean and Pacific sides.
Scraatch sat on the hard for 16 months @$400 or so a month (56ft yacht, with aircon/dehumidifier running and regular battery checks and top ups).
This year we are heading 1000 miles north, Mexico is a big country, to the Gulf of California and hoping for more whales.
Brian and Kitty
SY Scraatch
We recently checked in from the US in Ensenada (Jan 4, 2020). We had attempted to purchase the visa online, through the site listed on this page http://www.marinadelapaz.com/pdf/BoatingInMexico.pdf (which itself lists this page as the page through which to pay for visas: https://www.banjercito.com.mx/registroEmbarques/). It turns out, those pages took us to the wrong visa, so we paid $120 that was for the wrong visa and not refundable (it was never clear exactly what visa it was, even looking at the receipt). We had to also buy the right one, and they would not apply our previously paid fees. Also, the crew list (Lista de Tripulantes) listed on the Spanish for Cruisers site (https://www.spanishforcruisers.com/sfc-cheatsheet-crewlist.htm) doesn’t work here anymore. We even had Baja Naval in Ensenada assist (Viktor helped us), so it seems things have changed. Surprise! They did not inspect our boat, they did take our temperature (COVID-19).
You are saying Visa, you mean TIP.
Copied with appreciation from the Southbound Group:
Re: Southbound Boaters to Mexico – Beware!
From: James Fair
Date: Thu, 29 Oct 2020
I should relate my findings regarding a TIP in Mexico. It is good for 10 years. You do not need to cancel it when you leave Mexico. You can come and go as many times as you like using your TIP. However, you should cancel it on the last time the boats exits Mexico. If you do not cancel it, and decide to sell the boat outside of Mexico, the new owner will not be able to bring the boat back into Mexico until the TIP has been canceled. The original owner must cancel the TIP. It is not something the new owner can do. We ran into this problem on Chesapeake. We left Mexico thinking we would return. We then decided to sell the boat back in the US. This required us to make a special trip to Mexico just to cancel the TIP. We flew down to do this. Also, you cannot cancel it just anywhere, you must go to the right place. Fortunately, It is relatively easy to get to Tijuana to do it. Bottom line: cancel the TIP when the boat exits Mexico for the last time. If in doubt, cancel it and get a new one the next time you enter Mexico. Do not ignore it. Also, do not let it expire uncanceled. If you do then you are then subject to fines and it is linked to your passport, so they will probably catch you if you ever try to enter Mexico again.
Jim & Linda
Outbound 46, Chesapeake
Looking to rent a well maintained sailboat over 35 feet for 3 months This fall in Baja. I’m Asa certified. Experienced captain. Will pay well and sign a contract for damage waiver. Let me know if anyone is interested or anyone has a lead on anything…
Last Fall, 2018, I was robbed by 3 men that boarded my boat at 2am while I was sleeping. I was in a slip (B Dock) in Marina San Carlos that has security guards and cameras. I awoke to sounds and confronted the men. I yelled for security for over 5 minutes but security had all vanished and the marina would not use any video to help the police who really were not going to do anything anyway. They cut my chain and stole my new dinghy motor with a value of $2,800 USD. They had tied a fishing panga boat to the rear of my boat, lowered the motor down and then took off.
Do NOT feel safe even in the marina. I was told by dock workers that there have been many thefts in the marina and the security guards my even be working with the theives. There has also been over 20 dinghy motors stolen from Guaymas and anchorages around San Carlos. They no nothing will be done so they keep robbing the boats. It is getting worse and worse. I will be happy to leave Mexico soon and never return.
Reported by Chuck Houlihan of SY Jacaranda:
Thanks to Bruce and Alene on SV Migration who worked the issue with the French consulate in Mexico City. The French consulate is allowing non-residents in Mexico to apply for French Polynesia long stay visas. According to Bruce, the consulate is now allowing yachties and others to submit the paperwork from the French consulate in Mexico City.
Awaiting reports of the first cruisers applying.
This is a big hurdle as it allows cruisers to not have to travel back to the US, submit the paperwork along with their passports, obtain a temporary US passport and then travel back to the boat.
Chuck
Jacaranda
Reported by Larry Gaddy:
I can give you an interesting update on the TIP. We got one in 2013 when we were cruising the Pacific side, so it is still valid until 2023. However, the buddy boat we were with did not have one. They were not asked about it by the marina, customs, or port authority. I have heard different beliefs about how long you can stay without a TIP – anywhere from 3 days to 10 days. Anyway, after we had been in port for a week the marina asked to see our TIP’s.
They told our friends that they needed to get one, as “sometimes” it is necessary to show one when clearing out. So, our friends had to go over to Cancun to get it. This was difficult, as the taxi drivers didn’t know where to take them, but eventually, he got the TIP. When we cleared out we were not asked to show the TIP.
The dust-up a few years back when hundreds of yachts were seized by Mexican authorities was a result of foreign boaters not paying the TIP (Temporary Import Tax) upon entering the country. To a lesser degree it involved the inability of Mexican Customs folks to locate the HIN on the yachts, in an effort to prove ownership of the vessel.
Unless you are in a ‘Hassle Free Zone’ – and as sailors you probably won’t be – pay the TIP when entering Mexico! It’s good for 10 years and it’s not that expensive.
Great info!! My husband and I are thinking of hitting the Yucatán Peninsula. Thank you and Fair Winds
Reported by Larry Gaddy:
We stayed in Mexico for 10 days. Neither of us had Mexican insurance, and we weren’t asked to show our US policies. Maybe having Mexican liability insurance isn’t necessary anymore.
I can’t speak to a ‘requirement’ to have boat insurance in Mexico. But we winter on the Sea of Cortez (Sonora) where although Mexican insurance to drive a vehicle is technically not a ‘requirement’ (as we understand it) if you are involved in an accident, and you don’t have real, bonafide Mexican auto insurance, you are going to jail. Even with valid Mexican insurance, the driver’s of each vehicle will usually be going to the police station until driver’s licenses & insurance papers are deemed valid and fault is established.
We buy liability insurance only for the car, and for the sailboat when in Mexican waters. Laws are fluid and vague sometimes south of the border, and often subject to local interpretation!
As of May 2017, Pre-Arrival clearing into Isla Mujeres does NOT need to be done. I lost 1000 pesos pre-clearing with the Banjercito link in the Pre-Arrival section.
Does anyone know if a drivers licence is required to get Mexican liability insurance And if not, does anyone know of a company that does not require a drivers licence? I’ll be heading down there after November and have all my paperwork for the boat but have never had a drivers licence.
Checking out/TIP
After dealing with Aduana for 5 days in Cancun, here is what I have learned: If you leave Mexico and are never coming back with your current boat, you don’t need to cancel your TIP. If you leave w/o cancelling, then sell your boat to someone who plans to go to Mexico, they may not be able to Import it and will be liable for LARGE fines. If you leave w/o cancelling and come back after the expiration date you will be liable for LARGE fines.
You can have multiple exits and re-entries until the TIP expiration date. You must apply for a new TIP before the old one expires. I got two conflicting answers about how to cancel the TIP. 1. I would have to go to Aduana at the nearest airport. 2. I can cancel it at the Banjercito in the port where I’m checking out (Zarpe, etc). You are responsible for cancelling the TIP. Don’t assume that it will be done unless you specifically ask for it. Good Luck.
When clearing in or out at Puerto Morelos (Marina El Cid)a 24-hour notice is required by Immigration and Customs. You cannot call in advance to inform them as the marina requires you to be present when making the request. You will be required to stay in the Marina until all of the officials have cleared you in.
If you are coming from the south expect to be boarded and searched by customs. Five agents and a K-9 searched my vessel. (I am a male, single handing, and I came from Guatemala so, no surprise since I came from a known narco route and fit the profile). In my case, none of my meat or food was confiscated as others have reported. The agent and personnel at Marina El Cid were quite helpful.
Posted on behalf of Ken Simon:
I followed the link for “Boating in Mexico” on noonsite, which has very detailed instructions for getting an entry permit online. I followed all of these instructions: made the payment online, and sent my documents with my receipt to the listed email address for the customs authorities in Cancun, which is the nearest customs office for where I want to go, Isla Mujeres. I sent my email in both Spanish and English, twice in the last week. It came back with an automatic message, in Spanish, which said the mailbox is full.
I then emailed the manager, Brad Wareing, of the marina where I will be staying on Isla Mujeres, Marina Paraiso. He said he had never heard of this online procedure, although his marina is one of three places on Isla Mujeres for officially clearing into customs. I then emailed the Mexican consulate nearest me in Michigan; no reply.
I think others should be warned that there is a problem with this online procedure, at least for Cancun. I very much doubt now whether the customs people on Isla Mujeres will honour my receipt for 996 pesos when I arrive there.
I have been in Mexico for years and everything is a joke. Nothing works, no one knows what is happening and they will rob you any chance they get. They change rules constantly and make new ones to take things or money. Be very careful and don’t believe the people saying Mexico is great. I currently made the mistake of hauling out at a place that had an excellent rate for boatyard rental. They only charge a low price to haul out and for the rent so they can give you labor quotes 3 times more than I paid in California. Be very aware of their tricks to take advantage of tourists and cruisers. I can not wait to get out of Mexico and never return.
Are you still in Mexico?
Meat seizure in Mexico: Taken from Yahoo Group Cruisers Network Online
On Saturday, March 14, 2015, we cleared into Mexico, Puerto Morelos, on our sailboat, Sea Schell, from Belize. Most of the officials were very polite, friendly, efficient and professional.
The woman from SAGARPA came aboard and started looking into everything. In our freezer, she found several pounds of frozen meats for our personal consumption. Most of the meats were still labelled in their grocery store packaging and identified as being products of Belize. She said that she was required to seize and destroy any meats not labelled as having been inspected by the USDA, the Mexican department of agriculture or the similar agency of another government. The items she seized were: 4 chicken breasts, 2 chicken legs and thighs, pork chops, 1 pound pork stew meat, 4 minute steaks, 1 package turkey cold cuts. All of those items were still in their store packaging with appropriate store labels. In addition, she seized the following: 4 breakfast sausages, 2 Italian sausages. These items had also been bought at the grocery store in Belize but we had separated them into meal sized plastic bags before freezing.
We had never heard of any regulation that required destruction of meats on our boat for our personal consumption upon entry into Mexico. Friends on other boats clearing into Isla Mujeres, Puerto Morelos and San Miguel, Cozumel at approximately the same time and had not had that happen. Marina El Cid reported that they had never heard of such a thing. Detailed searches we did of websites from the Mexican government, tourist information sites and other cruisers showed no similar seizures and no indication that there was such a requirement. When we reported the incident on a radio net that covered all of the northwest Caribbean no one had heard of any such seizure in Mexico or any other country.
When we asked the woman where we could find the regulation she referred us to http://www.sagarpa.gob.mx <http://www.sagarpa.gob.mx/> . There is no information on that site that refers to what cruising boats can bring into Mexico.
We are reporting this incident to all the cruising websites that we use to learn how to comply with all government regulations. If there is such a regulation the Mexican government should make it clear to all vessels prior to entering. This news will deter cruisers from visiting El Cid Marina and Puerto Morelos. That’s a shame because the marina is beautiful, the people are wonderful and it’s a great spot to stop to tour Mexico.
The web link for the online TIP does work correctly. The address is right but clicking the link confuses their server. Instead, go to their home page, paste ‘Importacion Temporal de Embarcaciones’ into the Google search bar and click. This will take you to the right page, in fact, the same address as listed above.
Latitude 38 is warning cruisers planning on joining the annual fall migration to Mexico, to hold off on completing paperwork in advance. The problem is that Banjercito (the Mexican military bank) adopted their web page from the web page for automobiles crossing into Mexico. Aduana (Customs) is working to get them to change the website now.
It’s recommended that cruisers wait until the end of September or even early October to apply for their TIP once the Banjercito web site has been properly amended for yachts. Read more about this at http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/lectronicday.lasso?date=2014-08-29#Story5
If using Navionics to navigate in Mexico waters, Latitude 38 report that chart data on which the Navionics charts are based are sometimes off by a significant amount. It is recommended if relying on digital charts, to do a Google Earth overlay of a chart to ensure the coastline is correct, particularly if navigating near islands and at night. See the Latitude 38 article about this at http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/lectronicday.lasso?date=2014-07-25#Story4.