used map to bike: ITM México Costa Sur (available on the Zocalo, México city)

day 1 : Mexico City - Milpa Alta - Amecameca 75 km
day 2 : Amecameca - Paso de Cortés - Puebla 84 km
day 3 : Puebla - Tecali : Sta. Clara (Tecali : Sta. Clara = overnight between this two villages or cities) 61 km
day 4 : Tecali - Tepexi - Sta. Inés Ahuatempan - Acatlan de Osorio 115 km
day 5 : Acatlan de Osario - Huajapan de Leon - Sta. Maria Tutla 89 km
day 6 : Sta. Maria Tutla - Tamazulapan - Nochixtlan 67 km
day 7 : Nochixtlan - Oaxaca 106 km
two days of rest
day 10 : Oaxaca - Zimatlan - Sta. Maria Ayoquezco - S. Miguel Sola de Vega : Sta. Ana 105 km
day 10 : Sta. Ana - Sta. Rosa : San Gabriel Mixtepec 87 km
day 11 : San Gabriel Mixtepec - Puerto Escondido 45 km
one day rest
day 13 : Puerto Escondido - Sant Antonio 20 km
day 14 : Sant Antonio - Ventanilla - Mazunte - Ventanilla 14 km
day 15 : Ventanilla - Puerto Angel - San Pedro Pochutla 64 km
From San Pedro Pochutla to Cancun we took the bus (a 24 hour bus ride)
day 19 : Cancun - Playa del Carmen 72 km
day 20 : Playa del Carmen - Tulum 80 km
day 21 : Tulum - Felipe Carillo Puerto 103 km
day 22 : Felipe Carillo Puerto - Bacalar 119 km
day 23 : Bacalar - Orange Walk (Bélice) 95 km
Total Mexico: +/- 1401km

2. Specific Country Information

Mexico is a huge country. It takes you a lot of time, in comparison to other Central-American countries, to cycle through. The South is very mountainous so quite hard to cycle but in return it spoils you with beautiful views.

Dogs can be quite annoying and they like to attack cyclist. We only had this problems especially in Mexico and Ecuador. Yelling and throwing stones to the dogs while stopping your bike is very effective. A vaccination against Rabies is not a luxe in these countries.

Mexico is also more expensive than other Central - American countries. When you take your bike with you on the bus there is always place in the trunk our on the roof but most of the time you will have to pay for it, bargaining is then a must.

Eating on the streets is delicious and without danger, in our one month stay in México we never had problems. Crowdy eating places are a sing of good quality food. Local people like to eat where the food is safe and good. With fruit and vegetables we also had no problems. We purified water with Hadex (30 min.) and Micropur (2 hours).

In big cities you can find easily bicycle spare parts (Shimano,…). For example in Mexico City near mercado 'La Merced' there are several bicycle shops. European tubes with small valves are difficult to find in all Central America, we only saw them in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Overnight in a tent is possible, just look for a quiet place where nobody can disturb you. You can also ask restaurants or local people to put your tent in their backgarden or on their territorium, that is also a safe solution. Often people will invite you to stay and eat in their home. We carried little souvenir presents from our country to thank these people for hospitality. Roads are quiet good in Mexico, we cycled lots of the time on dirtroads and tracks because there is almost no traffic on, they pass through little beautifull village and unspoiled nature.

3. Route information

Cycling in Mexico City is possible! We started our trip in Tlalpan, a district in the South of el D.F. In a little hour we were already out of the big city direction Amecameca. In Amecameca you can have a beautiful amazing views (when the weather is not cloudy) off the volcano Popocatepetl and Iztacahuatl. We climbed the Paso de Cortés, a very steep hard +/- 24 km climb through woods in which you get glimpse of the beautiful Popo. The climb ends on almost 4.000 meters, wetter can be cold and wet outthere.

From the Paso de Cortés the way down to Cholula is a nice downhill on a dirty road through forest. Watch out for flat tires, we had some. Puebla is a beautiful colonial rich city worthwhile to stay one or two days. The way from Puebla to Oaxaca is quiet mountainous, it goes through typical Mexican Sierras. You can take the 135 road but we preferred to take smaller dirtroads to join the 190 more South. Cycling on these smaller roads is really more fun and interesting, especially the part between Tepaxi and Acatlan crossing Sta. Inés Ahuatempan was amazing! You pass typical Mexican Sierra little villages with a nice atmosphere and beautiful churches. The road from Acatlan further on to Oaxaca is busier but still ok to cycle. It is all the way up and down until you reach the huge three valleys of Oaxaca.

Oaxaca is very colonial and has great things to see in the surroundings (Monte Alban, Tula, Mitla, … all easy to visit by bike). We thought the way from Oaxaca (1800 m) to Puerto Escondido (sea level) was one big downhill but we were quiet wrong, you have to cross three ridges (one of +/- 2.400 m). Here we also chose for smaller roads instead of the 175 'full of bustraffic' from Oaxaca to the Ocean. The closer to the Ocean, the greener and lush the land becomes. The road is asphalt, some little parts are still dirt. Puerto Escondido is a symphatic fishing, tourist village great for surfing. From Puerto Escondido to Pochutla you pass beautiful beaches. Near the Ventanilla beach is a beautiful lagoon where you can make boat trips on. Mazunte is also great and in Cipolito beach you have a nudist beach.

From San Pedro Pochutla we took the bus to Salina Cruz and further on to Cancun. One of our friends had to catch his plane in Cancun, he only would join us untill Cancun. From Cancun we cycled direction Chetumal to go on further to the border with Belize. This 360 km totally straight mysterious almost flat road passes Playa Del Carmen (nice tourist village, smaller and more beautiful than Cancun), Tulum (village and ruins), some other smaller ruins and lots of cenotes great for a refreshing dive. Lots of tarantulas cross this road, nice. There are no villages or food and drink supplies between Tulum and Felipe Carillo Puerto. This is a 105 km trip in hot conditions, we were VERY thirsty so take a lot of water with you! In Bacalar you pass the lake of the 7 colours, quiet beautiful. When entering Belize you can not take fresh food with (vegetables and fruit) so when you have some, filling your stomach is the only solution.