July 27 Island Acres State Park
·A few miles east of Palisade, CO
N 39º 10.076’ ·$20 per car
W 108º 18.121’ ·No internet
·Parking included
·Public bathroom
RV and Car camping between the highway and the river. Tons of mosquitoes. Not that great.
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July 28 Best Western Hotel
·Riverside, CA 10518 Magnolia Ave. 92505 (909) 359-0770
N 33º 54.561’ ·$66.59 for a room with 2 queen beds
W 117º 27.931’ ·Free Wifi internet
·Parking included
·Private bathroom
Pretty seedy part of town. Actually a motel. Room was ok, but the bathroom leaked or something and water got all over the floor. Continental breakfast consisted of instant oatmeal and Honey Buns.
July 29-30 Casa de Tyler and Robin
·San Diego, CA
·$Free!
·Free internet
·Street parking
·Shared bathroom
Beautiful part of town, right next to the park, though they said that a lot of cars get broken into on the street.
July 31 Don Eddy’s Sport Fishing
·San Quinton, Baja California Norte, Mexico
N 30.4861º ·$195 pesos ($15 USD)
W 115.9778º ·No internet
·Parking included
·Public bathroom
RV camping with some rooms that were basic. But they let us use the showers, and he seemed pretty nice of an old man. 10 to 15 minutes west off the main road Mex-1.
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Aug 1-2 Playa Los Naranjos
·10 minutes south of Mulege, Baja California Sur, Mexico
N 26º 47.020’ ·$150 pesos ($11.55 USD)
W 111º 51.799’ ·No internet
·Parking included- no guard at gate to stop trespassers
·The world is your urinal
Flat and deserty at the top of the Bahia de Concepcion. No beach. They just plowed over the desert and built some shitty palapas. We camped at the south end of the grounds and didn’t see anyone for 2 days. There was good snorkeling, but it was bloody hot all day and night.
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Aug 3 No name RV park
·Puerto Escondido, Baja California Sur, Mexico
N 25º 48.366’ ·$100 pesos ($7.69 USD)
W 111º 19.215’ ·No internet
·Parking included- no guard at gate to stop trespassers
·Public bathroom
Pretty much just a parking lot with electrical and water hookups. Not close to the beach.
Aug 4 Pirate Camping
·Beach 30 minutes north of Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico
N 23º 4.373’ ·$Free!
W 110º 6.493’ ·No internet
·Bush parking
·The world is your urinal
Down a long dirt road off Mex-1. A little scary, didn’t know who would come in the middle of the night. Desolate, but safe in a stream bed until it started raining in the middle of the night and we moved to higher ground. Main road couldn’t see us. Right on the beach.
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·Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico
N 22º 53.201’ ·$734 pesos ($56.50 USD)
W 109º 54.830’ ·”Free Wifi” never worked
·Seedy street Parking
·Private bathroom
Beautiful little B&B. Off the main tourist area by just a block or two. Inner courtyard with fountain. Great tiles bathroom, fruit and juices for breakfast. Could borrow movies from owner. AC!
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Aug 8 Pirate Camping
·La Playa El Tecolote, 30 minutes north-east of La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico at the tip of the peninsula.
N 24º 20.272’ ·$Free!
W 110º 18.560’ ·No internet
·Bush parking
·The world is your urinal
Long arcing beach with tons of vacationing Mexicans car camping and partying (all night). Beautiful, but windy as hell- almost blew the top off the truck!
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Aug 9 The good ship Chihuahua Star
·Ferry from La Paz to Mazatlan, Mexico.
·$4820 pesos ($371 USD)
·No internet
·Parking on lower deck- truck was inaccessible to passengers during ferry crossing, but take valuables out of vehicle while on ferry
·Public bathroom
Departed Puerto de Pichilingo (north of La Paz) at 5pm, arrived Mazatlan 7:30am. Should have paid $60USD extra for a cabin. The economy seats were disgusting, hot, and filled with screaming kids, and they never turned the lights off in the seating area all night.
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Aug 10-11 Los Cocos RV Park
·San Blas, Mexico
N 21º 31.921’ ·$150 pesos ($11.53 USD)
W 105º 16.941’ ·“Free Wifi” worked about 20% of the time
·Parking included
·Public bathroom
Picturesque RV/camping- walled yard, with nice cut grass and tall palm trees throughout. Tons, tons, tons of mosquitoes! 5 minute walk to the beach.
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Aug 12-14 The Villas by Conto del Sol
·Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
N 20.6338º ·$904 pesos ($69.50 USD), but with 3rd night free $46 USD/night
W 105.2316º ·No internet
·Parking included in front of hotel- felt safe
·Private bathroom
Old time-share hotel, pretty run down, comparatively, but ok inside the room- got the “European deal”, not all-inclusive, had a studio room with a kitchen. Small pool, not on beach and technically no beach access even through the sister hotel. Mostly Mexican families on budget vacations. AC and TV though. Better deal than in town hotels.
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Aug 15-18 Hostel Allende
·Morelia, Mexico
N 19.7021º ·$210 pesos ($16.15 USD)
W 101.1995º ·“Free Wifi” worked about 40% of the time
·Street parking in front of hostel- felt safe
·Shared bathroom
Nice “hostel” with regular rooms, no dorms, big open courtyard. Only a few minutes walk to the Centro. Aside from the shower and stinky toilet (standard in Mexico) it was clean and a great place to stay.
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Aug 19-21 Hotel Casa Grande
·Taxco, Mexico
N 18.5557º ·$390 pesos ($30.00 USD)
W 99.6067º ·No internet
·No street parking available- had to park in one of the city garages about 4 or 5 blocks away for $60 pesos per day- wouldn’t leave valuables in car.
·Private bathroom (smelled a little foul though)
Cool old building on the 2nd main plaza with 4 or 5 stories built around a main courtyard (covered now by a fiberglass roof). We had a room on the top floor, and there was a nice patio with a great view. The 2nd story had a bar that played very loud live music till 4am every night.
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Aug 22-23 Hotel Azores
·Mexico DF, Mexico 25 Republica de Brasil, Tel: 5521-5220 www.hotelazores.com
N 19.4365º ·$320 pesos ($24.62 USD)
W 99.1336º ·No internet
·No safe street parking available- hotel has “parking” arrangements with a garage a few blocks away for $20 pesos a day- wouldn’t leave valuables in car.
·Private bathroom
Clean hotel just a block or two north of the Zocalo. We were a little creeped out by the “taxi” they called for us one night- we chose to walk instead- but it might have just been a misunderstanding.
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Aug 24 “Sexy Town” motel
·Puebla, Mexico
N 19º 03.238’ ·$270 pesos ($20.76 USD)
W 99º 11.524’ ·No internet
·Parking included- very safe locked private garage for each room.
·Private bathroom
Definitely a “pay by the hour” place normally. We didn’t realize it till we had already paid for the night, but they sold dildos and sex lube that you could order from room service. Was one of the seemingly cleanest places we had stayed yet, but I guess that makes sense to a degree. I think that the owners were as bewildered by the situation as we were.
Aug 25-26 Los Moreles Hotel
·San Cristobol de las Casas, Mexico
N 16º 44.114’ ·$350 pesos ($26.92 USD)
W 92º 38.405’ ·Free Wifi internet
·Street parking in front of hotel- felt safe.
·Private bathroom
Really cool hotel with a bunch of individual cabins built up on the hillside- even had a fire place.
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Aug 27 Jungle Palace Hotel
·Palenque, Mexico
N 17.4973º ·$100 pesos ($7.70 USD)
W 92.0152º ·No internet
·Parking included
·Public bathroom
Small little bug-netted kabanas with thatch roofs along a stream- but in the middle of the jungle so there were tons of bugs. Cheap, and you got what you paid for. One nice little bar close by, but further down a much bigger (and spendier) bar that had a free fire dancing show at 8:30ish every night- worth seeing.
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Aug 28 The Pirate Hostel
·Campeche, Mexico
N 19.8425º ·$270 pesos ($20.76 USD)
W 90.5366º ·Free Wifi internet
·Street parking- felt safe
·Private bathroom
Simple small rooms, with fan – bathrooms in same room, just a divider for the shower. Ok for one night, but wouldn’t stay there for long. They tried to have too much pirate character. Cool bridge over courtyard to 2nd floor rooms. Ate at “Tokos y Tronkas” down the street- delicious carne asada!
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Aug 29 Club Med
·Chichen-Itza, Mexico
N 20º 40.595’ ·$767 pesos ($59.00 USD)
W 88º 34.037’ ·Free Wifi internet
·Parking included
·Private bathroom
One hotel down from the really cool one- should have made online reservations to get a “2 nights for 1” deal. Was nice, the rooms reminded me of Starwars- adobe, with lots of rounded corners and cushions. AC! Nice pool and expensive bar. 5 minute walk to ruins entrance.
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Aug 30- Sep 1 Los Arrecifes Cabañas
·Tulum, Mexico
N 20º 09.556’ ·$450 pesos ($34.62 USD)
W 87º 27.311’ ·Free Wifi internet worked only part of the time
·Parking included
·Private bathroom
One of the many hotels along the beach, but probably one of the best beach set up of chairs and such, with a nice but spendy bar. The room was large but only had a crappy stand up fan. And the power went out every night, all night- which made the fan useless. The shower and sink were with salt water. We spent every day in the parking lot working on the truck car alarm but also went running every morning up and down the beach.
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Sep 2 Maya World Hostel
·Corozal, Belize 16 2nd Street North, Tel: 501-666-3577 byronchuster@gmail.com
N 18º 23.588’ ·$56 Bz ($28 USD)
W 88º 23.182’ ·Free Wifi internet worked only part of the time
·Street parking in front of hostel felt ok but not super safe
·Shared bathroom
Newly remodeled, upstairs rooms were the best, downstairs still being worked on. Gated and walled all around- made you wonder why? The town didn’t have much to offer, but was an ok stop over. The Taiwanese guy who runs it bought the building when the bank foreclosed, with just the intent of living there, but backpackers kept showing up at his door because it is listed in all the guide books, so he said “what the hell” and reopened it as a hostel. The previous owners got sour and ratted him out to the authorities so he had to register it as a business, but couldn’t because he wasn’t a Belizean citizen, and the girl at the government office said he could only do it if he had a Belizean business partner, so he said “you’re Belizean right?” She said “yes”. He said “ok, you are my new partner!” And the rest is history as they say.
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Sep 3-7 Tropical Paradise Hotel
·Caye Caulker, Belize
N 17.7398º ·$45 Bz for two nights or more ($22.50 USD)
W 88.0254º ·$5Bz ($2.50 USD) for internet access
·Had to leave the truck at a sketchy parking lot in Belize City for $7.70 Bz ($3.85 USD) per day. Weren’t sure it would be there when we got back…
·Private bathroom
We got the “economy” room at the back of the property- but it still had AC (we nicknamed it the Refrigerator because it worked so good J). Room and bathroom very basic, they used rain water for the shower and sink and it was rather stinky. Ok “beach” seating, but there was no real beach. Thought pretty highly of the place till we tried to get back our GPS transponder which we had accidently left in the room- took us a whole day, traveling back to the island and (after they said they would ship it to the mainland for us) had to be really persistent. They were blatantly lying to us to try to steal the GPS, and when we showed up at the hotel counter they said that the manager had taken it home with him and wouldn’t be back, but then I saw it on the shelf under the counter and called the lady out on it and finally got it back.
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Sep 8-9 Hi-et Hotel
·San Ignacio, Belize
N 17.1557º ·$40 Bz for large room with private bath ($20 USD)
W 89.0713º $25 Bz for small room with shared bath ($12.50 USD)
·No internet
·Street parking- felt safe but big trucks kept driving by in the night setting off the car alarm
·Private or shared bathroom depending on room
We stayed here two nights in a row though we checked out in between due to our GPS debacle with the Tropical Paradise Hotel on Caye Caulker. The first night we got the large room, and the second night the small room. The large room was ok, but having the private bath wasn’t worth it- the small room was about the same. You had to walk through their living room and kitchen to get to the hotel rooms- and they weren’t the friendliest people we have ever met, just not very warm and inviting for a hostel.
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Sep 10 Jaguar Inn
·Tikal, Guatemala
N 17.2268º ·50Q for camping in the parking lot ($6.06 USD)
W 89.6119º ·Free Wifi internet
·Parking included
·Public bathrooms
They had a nice restaurant and patio with internet, but the food and drinks were overpriced. The rooms looked nice, but if we had been staying in them, I think the scads of scruffy tent campers in the yard would have turned me off a bit. Being that we were the scruffy tent campers, I was it with it. Was just a short walk to the entrance of the Tikal ruins- which were awesome!
Sep 11 Posada de la Jungla
·Flores, Guatemala
N 16.9289º ·150Q ($18.18 USD)
W 89.8930º ·No internet
·Street parking in front of hotel- felt safe
·Private bathroom
Nice but empty hotel- lots of rooms (the lady showed us each and every one of them). Roof top did have a nice view, like the guide book said, but it wasn’t for hanging out on- more for drying the hotel laundry.
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Sep 12 El Retiro Finca
·Lanquin, Guatemala
N 15.5821º ·50Q camping ($6.06 USD)
W 89.9758º ·Free Wifi internet
·Parking included
·Public bathroom
Nice riverside hostel- lots of travelers. Camping was a little sketchy, right off the road by the truck parking/washing building. Cool bathroom with sinks that had conk shells for faucets.
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Sep 13-14 Las Marias
·Samuc Champey, Guatemala, www.posadalasmarias.com
N 15º 32.495’ ·25Q for camping ($3.03 USD)
W 89º 56.980’ ·Free Wifi internet worked only part of the time
·Parking included
·Public bathrooms
Camped in the parking lot, was a little strange because everyone at the bar could look right into our tent effectively. They had tent camping down by the river and a rope swing into the water. Got a discount on the cave tour because the hostel owns the cave (definitely should do this!). Went tubing in the river and got out at our hostel.
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Sep 15-21 Hotel Sueño Real
·Panajachel, Guatemala, Tel: 502-7762-0608
N 14.7368º ·200Q ($24.24 USD)
W 91.1588º ·Free Wifi internet
·Parking included
·Private bathroom
Beautiful little hotel with a great patio upstairs with wireless and an awesome view of the lake. The rooms were clean and tidy, with cable TV and they let us park in their gated lot all week for free. The family was really nice and also did our laundry for us. Was only a short walk to the waterfront and a bit longer to the main touristy road.
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Sep 22-24 Posada Santa Martha
·Antigua, Guatemala
N 14.5578º ·150Q ($18.18 USD)
W 90.7375º ·Free Wifi internet
·Street parking in front of hotel at end of dead-end road- felt safe
·Private bathroom
Quiet small hotel off of a main street at the end of an alley run by a very talkative, strange, white, short and fat guy. He was pretty helpful, but a little creepy- like you might wake up to see him standing over your bed watching you sleep. The rooms were pretty clean though, and big- though they never cleaned ours while we were staying there.
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Sep 25 The Surfers Inn
·El Sunzal, El Salvador
N 13º 29.785’ ·$5 USD for camping ($2.50 per person)
W 89º 23.515’ ·No internet
·Parking included
·Public bathrooms
Right off the highway, was a long muddy walk to the beach. The lady was nice, and there were tables outside to eat and write at, there were a lot of bugs and the bathrooms were absolutely horrendous.
Sep 26-27 Roots Camping
·El Tunco, El Salvador
N 13.4937º ·$6 USD for camping ($3 per person)
W 89.3843º ·No internet
·Parking included
·Public bathroom
Much better spot than the night before, right down the beach from the restaurants and bars. Run by a nice young guy with 2 cute little kids running around. Ok showers and bathrooms. They were doing a lot of remodeling and construction up front, close to the beach, and it should look really nice, as a bar or restaurant or hotel with 2 pools- but the owner was just building… he didn’t know what he wanted to turn it into?!
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Sep 28-30 Hotel Mopelia (Cinco Tunco Tres)
·El Tunco, El Salvador
N 13º 29.631’ ·$15 USD per night (if staying more than 1 night)
W 89º 22.993’ ·Free Wifi internet
·Parking included
·Public bathrooms
Very simple rooms, kind of dingy- but we put the bug screen in the window and that helped. Ok fan, but broke on the third night. The bar/restaurant was great- $6 steak was delicious. Had a dice drink game- you bet $2, $2.50, $3… and then role the dice to see what drink you got out of that category- some were more, some were worth less than what you bet- but it was fun and different. The Belgian guy Gillet was really nice and had designed the hotel based on ideas he had seen or had when he was backpacking all over the world. The internet was good and had 2 transmitters. Small freshwater pool and a hammock palapa to hang out in. Unfortunately, someone owned the lot in front of him on the beach proper, but it was only a short walk to the beach and the bars. Great homemade hot sauce too. We’d go back!
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Oct 1 Tazumal Hostel
·San Salvador, El Salvador
N 13º 43.206’ ·$30 USD small room with AC, 2 single beds
W 89º 12.448’ ·Free Wifi internet
·Street parking- a bit sketchy
·Shared bathrooms
Had to bargain for the price – nice clean rooms, but in a neighborhood in the middle of nowhere, not close to any restaurants or nightlife or shopping, though there wasn’t really any “anywhere” in San Salvador.
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Oct 2-3 Casa El Nancite
·Leon, Nicaragua
N 12.4385º ·$410 Cordobas ($20 USD)
W 86.8747º ·Free Wifi internet in the bar
·Street parking- felt safe
·Private bathroom
Very nice, very new(4 months old)- beautiful little hotel, gardens, just a few blocks over from the main part of town.
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Oct 4 Hostal Nicarao
·Granada, Nicaragua
N 11.9272º ·$287 Cordobas ($14 USD)
W 85.9537º ·No internet
·Street parking- felt a bit sketchy (read below)
·Private bathroom
Dingy, hot hotel. No AC, only a small floor fan, though was as good as next door which went for $25USD. Paid their “guard” to watch our car all night, but when we went out later that night he was nowhere to be found.
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Oct 5-7 Villa Paraiso
·Playa San Diego, Isla Ometepe, Nicaragua
N 11º 30.646’ ·$50 USD for large family cabin (split 6 ways 1 night, split 4 ways
W 85º 33.265’ 2 nights)
·Internet for a fee (don’t know how much?)
·Parking included
·Private bathrooms
Best hotel on the island. Tim Lucy (our new British friend) bargained like a pro to get us the room for about half off. One large room with loft, slept 6. Nice hot shower, TV didn’t get any channels. Slightly dirty though, as if no one had stayed in it for a long time (some mouse poop in the corners). Were shown two other rooms- nice view of lakes from patio, but incredibly dirty and poopy (almost insultingly so). The rest was ok but expensive. The grounds were cool, with beach kabanas, but the sand was a bit dirty with junk. Long 45min dirt road to get there.
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Oct 8-10 Posada Amon Inn
·San Jose, Costa Rica
N 09.9377º ·$15000 Colons ($25 USD)
W 84.0755º ·Free Wifi internet- but they kept changing the code, so it
rarely worked for us
·Garage parking up the street- $20 for 24hrs- would not park on the street!
·Private bathroom
Old house with apartment style rooms. Ours had a sitting room (with a dirty dirty couch that I’d never sit on), a large bedroom, with fridge and TV (didn’t work), and an ok bathroom (small shower). Dicey part of town with a bunch of hookers out on the street at night and day (but hey, that’s normal for San Jose). About 5 blocks from the main down town. Hotel attendant was smoking cocaine in room adjoining ours and invited in his drug friends. No AC, but was so cool, wouldn’t have used it anyways.
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Oct 11-13 Hotel Cascada
·Montezuma, Costa Rica
N 09.6510º ·$15000 Colons ($25 USD)
W 85.0695º ·Free Wifi internet
·Parking included
·Private bathroom
Great hotel with big porch with hammocks. At the end of the road and a ways from town, but not too far to walk in a couple of minutes. Had laundry too. Only fans in rooms, but nice polished wood everywhere and seashells imbedded in the concrete.
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Oct 14 Eric and Noah’s rental house
·Bejuco, Costa Rica
N 09.5240º ·$Free for us ($600ish USD per week for them)
W 84.4358º ·Free Wifi internet
·Parking included
·Private bathroom
New 2 story house with nice furniture and appliances, in a gated neighborhood with other rental/vacation houses for rich Costa Ricans and Americans. Not on the beach (5 minute walk), and not anywhere close to town. I think it would be boring if you were there more than a couple of days.
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Oct 15 Hotel Iris
·David, Panama
N 08º 25.662’ ·$18 USD for a double with fan
W 82º 25.542’ ·Free Wifi internet in lobby
·Street parking- felt a bit sketchy
·Private bathrooms
Dirt old hotel right on the main plaza. Cheapest option. $0.75 beers! David is a awful town- wouldn’t go there again.
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Oct 16-20 Hotel San Remo
·Panama City, Panama
N 08º 58.085’ ·$39 USD for a double with AC
W 79º 32.227’ ·Free Wifi internet
·Secure parking in basement of hotel- low clearance!
·Private bathrooms
In a real dicey part of town. Good clean modern rooms though, with cable TV.
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