Well what a week it's been. We knew importing the bike wouldn't be easy, but we did not foresee it being quite so tricky!
Let me start from the beginning (however if you're only reading to learn about importing a bike into Mexico, skip to the bottom!)
We arrived in Cancun in the evening, and to get to our hostel downtown we were taken through the 'Zone Hotelera' or Hotel Zone. We had heard that Cancun was rather touristy, but what we drove through looked more like Las Vegas then anywhere remotely Mexican. Massive hotels, 'Ultra Clubs', flashy shopping centres and neon lights were everywhere. But our experience in downtown Cancun was quite the opposite, and we were very pleasantly surprised to see it did not match up to the reputation of the tourist zone.
We chose Cancun only for its ease for importing the bike, but have ended up having a rather lovely time here. We happened upon one of the friendliest hostels I have ever experienced, right by a square that was rimmed with stalls selling delicious, authentic Mexican food and heaving with locals having dinner, their kids running around the square, while some rather questionable but very jolly live music set the atmosphere. It was lovely to see this side of the city, when all you hear about is Spring Break and crazy parties.
Pueblito hostel is run by a chap called Hector, who puts his life and soul into the place and as a result it is an absolute joy to stay at. The included breakfast is cooked by him every morning - fresh juice, omelette, refried beans & homemade salsa - no matter how many guests are staying. To give you an idea of just how nice old Hector is to his guests, this morning he dropped Tom at the airport to pick up the bike in order to save him the cab fare, plus waited for him at the airport to check everything was going alright. You certainly don’t get that kind of care everywhere.
Anyway, onto the bike. We set out yesterday to get our import permit, so that today we could go and pick up the bike with limited dramas. It didn’t quite work out that way…
We knew we had to go to a Banjercito to get the permit, which is a bank chain here in Mexico. I’ll break down what went on from there into bullet points, so as not to bore you too much.
- We went to the local Banjercito. Of course it wasn’t the right one - we had to go to the special vehicle one the other side of town. So off we went.
- At the Vehicle Import Banjercito, we provided our paperwork but alas were told we must first go to the airport to get a stamp on our documents before they could give us the import permit. Fine, airport it is then.
- Another cab ride later, we’re at the ‘aduana’ (customs) at the airport, but of course it is the wrong customs, there is a separate aduana for importing cargo.
(Note: by this point we had acquired a friendly taxi driver, Fernando, who had witnessed our struggle and proceeded to escort us around the airport translating our needs to various officials. Without this man, we would still be standing at the front of the airport without a clue what to do.)
- Fernando takes us to the Cargo Aduana, where we speak to an official. She says no this isn’t the right place, go over there through that metal door. So off we pop. The lady here speaks no English, but luckily Fernando is there to tell her about the stamp. She says no I don’t know what you’re talking about, you're at the wrong place, etc etc. He ends up getting frustrated and being rather rude to her and as a result we’re asked to leave the area.
- Fernando goes back and apologises, and she says fine we can probably do the stamp but it will take minimum 3 hours and will cost us a large sum of money. Frustrated once again Fernando turns to us and says “I will get you your stamp and you will not need to pay for it! This is bullsh*t!”. He later manages to convince the woman behind the window to call in someone more senior.
- An hour or so goes by and another lady approaches. She speaks excellent English but is adamant that we have to go to the Banjercito first. Eventually we get her to call the woman that we spoke to at the Banjercito earlier in the day.
- After hanging up she says “there has been a mistake. It is not here that you must get a stamp but at the office of the courier, and you cannot go there until 10am tomorrow.”
So there we have it. It took a whole day to get absolutely nowhere, plus costing us a fair amount in taxi fares! Although without going to the airport and without our old mate Fernando, I’d imagine we’d still be fairly at a loss as to how to get our import permit.
Today Tom did all the legwork. Off he went at 9:30am and did not return until 5:15. After playing a cruel trick on me whereby he told me they wouldn’t release the bike because you are no longer allowed to import bikes that are pre 1981 (which didn’t go down well) I finally got to meet the noble steed that is to carry us around 15 countries. And what a beauty she is! Tomorrow it’s south down the coast to Tulum, before heading into Belize. Let’s see how she does on the first bit of our adventure!
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How to get your bike into Mexico by air (without our mistakes!)
Make sure you have the title/registration of the vehicle, the plate numbers, your passport and immigration card, and drivers license
Once the plane carrying your bike has landed, call the freight handler to confirm it’s arrived
Visit your freight handler with all of the above documents, and they will give you an airway bill that they will stamp for you.
Now go to the Banjercito specialising in Vehicle Import permits (in Cancun it’s in Puerto Juavez). They’ll check your documents and if all is well will ask for a deposit, the amount of which depends on the age of the bike. Since ours is so old, we were in the lowest bracket (pre 1980) which cost us USD$260. But apparently you get all bar $60 back at the border.
Once you have your vehicle import permit from the Banjercito, it’s off to the airport. Go to the Cargo Aduana, and give whoever is on duty your paperwork. They will give you a visitor’s pass so you can go into the import/export area, and be escorted to another office where your paperwork will be checked again
Then they’ll take you to the bike, and customs will have a good hard look at it
Then more paperwork in a different office, and yet another different office to make a payment (we’re still not quite sure what this payment was for…) and a bit of waiting around for invoicing etc.
Then you’re free to put any bits of the bike you had to take off for shipping, back on!
You’re not allowed to start the bike in the aduana, so you have to walk it out. On the way out they check your paperwork once more, and then so do security, and then it’s freedom! Then you just need to hope the bike starts ok (ours did on the second kick!)
I’m sure many experiences will differ but we hope that all of our faffing around will save you having to do the same. Please get in touch if you want to know any more details!