The La Paz to Mazatlan ferry crossing can be quite a nightmare! We had already heard this from other travellers but didn’t quite realise it would be THAT BAD. This blogpost is a little rant about our experience so you have a genuine idea what your ferry crossing may look like when things don’t go to plan. It also covers the various steps involved for the La Paz to Mazatlan ferry crossing. Hopefully this will help some of you in your travel preparation. But of course we cross our fingers and hope you’ll have a better experience than us!
And if you are looking for some awesome travel inspiration check out
TOP 20 THINGS TO DO IN MEXICO or watch our travels through Mexico on YouTube!
How to book the La Paz to Mazatlan Ferry Crossing ?
The two companies that operate this ferry crossing are Baja Ferries and TMC. Baja Ferries focuses mostly on passengers and is popular with overlanders. TMC is predominantly a cargo ferry. That said, you can go with either company as they ultimately both offer passenger and cargo crossings.
Both ferries travel overnight. TMC allows you to stay in your vehicle. Baja Ferry doesn’t but allows you to book a cabin. The cost is more or less the same. For Fiona and I, it wasn’t important which ferry we would travel on.
Can I book online?
In theory yes. However, it was not possible to buy tickets online at the time we tried to book. You can call the company directly and our Mexican Couchsurfing Host was luckily around to help with this. Despite his help we also didn’t succeed to book over the phone though. We therefore decided to arrive in La Paz two weeks before our intended departure in order to book the tickets in person, directly at the ticket booth.
What are the ferry operating times?
Both companies usually offer regular services throughout the year. However, during the time of our booking (August 2019) TMC had no departures at all for several weeks. We could therefore only travel with Baja Ferries.
Baja Ferries Ticket Office in La Paz
Upon arrival we were first told that Baja Ferries weren’t able to sell us a ticket either. We were so stressed at this point! We had committed to a house sit on the mainland and didn’t have the luxury of waiting around for a few weeks. After some more spanglish we understood they could only offer us a ticket for a cargo ship. That was fine with us. We just needed to get across! The lady at the counter then wanted a bunch of paperwork but wasn’t able to sell us an actual ticket still. Our place will be reserved she said – just like that! No ticket, no formal reservation of any kind. Fiona and I had very little trust in this process. So we decided to travel to the actual ticket booth at the ferry departure terminal and try our luck there!
Baja Ferries Ticket Booth at Terminal Pichilingue
If you type “Baja Ferries Pichilingue” into Google Maps it’ll take you to the La Paz to Mazatlan ferry crossing departure. This is also where you should in theory be able to buy your ticket in person. It’s roughly a 25 min. drive from La Paz downtown.
Upon arrival the situation was still pretty much the same. Provide a whole bunch of documents and just rock up on the day. No payment required in advance. I insisted on an email confirmation stating that we had a reservation at least. Luckily the lady behind the desk agreed to provide us with one. We felt a little better about that already.
Paperwork required to book the La Paz to Mazatlan ferry crossing
T.I.P. (Temporary Import Permit)
In order to get our paperwork sorted, we first visited the Banjercito (little booth next to the ticket counter). The T.I.P. is an essential document to travel across mainland Mexico. You will need it when entering and exiting. The idea is that you pay a deposit for your vehicle which you’ll get back once you exit the country again. Providing you haven’t illegally sold your motorcycle of course 😉
The fee for preparing the T.I.P. is roughly 60 USD. The deposit will depend on the registration year of your vehicle.
| 2000 & Earlier | 200 USD |
| 2001 – 2006 | 300 USD |
| 2007 & Later | 400 USD |
The documents you’ll need to provide are:
- Passport
- Vehicle Registration & Title
- Insurance (both for Mexico and USA where we purchased the bike)
- Driver’s license
- Mexico Tourist Card (you receive this at the border when first entering)
Note: It helps to have several copies of each document above. If you don’t, you’ll need to run back and forth to another little booth to get copies for a small fee.
Once you provide all necessary documents and pay (card or cash) you will receive your T.I.P. and a sticker for your windshield. I strongly advise you to check the documents for typos. Pay special attention to the VIN number, license plate, passport number and make sure everything matches. Typos are common and cause such a headache later if not immediately rectified. We learned that lesson at a later stage in Panama where it caused us huge issues later with our sailing trip to Colombia.
You can obtain your T.I.P. up to 60 days before entering Mexico online
Alternatively you can purchase it at any Banjercito office in mexico
Ticket reservations are meaningless – don’t rely on them!
Once we obtained our T.I.P and showed our documents we finally received our e-mail confirmation for the La Paz to Mazatlan ferry crossing. Once again, they don’t normally send any kind of confirmation. We insisted on it for peace of mind. Little did we know, that it counted for nothing!
We now had two weeks to enjoy Baja California before our actual ferry departure. And we felt happy it was all taken care of. Off we went to explore Baja California Sur. You can read more about our favourite places below:
TOP 10 PLACES TO SEE IN BAJA CALIFORNIA
We returned to La Paz the night before the ferry crossing. The ferry departure time was 5pm. However, we were told to arrive no later than 1pm to complete all necessary procedures before we could board the ferry.
The day of our La Paz to Mazatlan ferry crossing
So here we are. We arrived nice and early and proceeded to the very same ticket booth where we reserved our tickets. But surprisingly we were told that we couldn’t buy a ticket and that the ferry was sold out. We were furious!
Next we were told to go to another ticket booth where we might be able to obtain a last minute ticket. In case of cancellations or any left over space as they explained. So now we found ourselves in a tiny little booth filled with lots of other people wanting to take the ferry. There was no information how long we would need to wait or how many people may be able to travel. And there was no system to determine who arrived first. So we didn’t move and waited impatiently!
Last minute tickets … but not for us!
Around 4pm the people behind the desk started giving out tickets. But not to us. Just anyone else … including people who walked through the door only minutes before. We were outraged!
Someone later provided us with the following explanation: The ferry can only carry a certain amount of passengers. It is therefore in their interest to carry as many vehicles with the fewest amount of people (ideally one vehicle and the driver). In our case the transport of the motorcycle was cheaper than a car or van or truck and we were riding two up. In essence, we were taking up valuable passenger space and more money could be made selling tickets to single drivers of larger vehicles.
I can’t confirm if this is what happened. But it certainly felt like it. And without any other plausible explanation we accepted that this might be how Baja Ferries operates. By this time it was around 5pm. Tickets were now all sold out and we were told that around 7pm we could board another ferry going to Topolobampo. We checked our phones … Topolobampo was 280 miles and roughly a five hours ride north of Mazatlan. No way! We declined and demanded to be put on the next ferry to Mazatlan. But of course, we could not buy any tickets again. Imagine returning the next day to find yourself in the exact same situation.
We were so upset at this point that we just wanted to get out of Baja and reach the mainland at any cost. So reluctantly we accepted the ferry crossing to Topolobampo after all.
Going through customs
This part was very straight forward. We walked back to the parking lot and passed the main gates, proceeding in the “Nothing to Declare” line. They checked our passport, TIP and ensured the VIN matches the paperwork.
Weighing your vehicle
Okay so this part I was actually looking forward to. I knew our motorcycle weighed about 200kg. But with all the crash bars and luggage I was very curious to know what the scale would say. We paid and received a ticket in return. But no one had any interest in weighing the motorcycle. I insisted because we had two hours to spare and I wanted to know how heavy the bike is. No luck!
Finally … we could buy that damn ticket
Once you pass customs there is a little TMC office to your right. The exact same booth we previously queued for tickets. But only now, after passing customs and paying for not weighing our motorbike, were we actually able to buy our ferry tickets!
Boarding the ferry
We could board the ferry almost immediately despite being super early. Perhaps because motorcycles have to park at the very front. In any case I was pretty happy about that. The ferry staff then secured our motorcycle with straps. I will add though, that we bumped into some locals on GS Motorcycles that carried their own straps. They advised “it’s better” to secure the bikes properly and even helped us out with an extra strap.
Life on the ferry
We knew we had boarded a cargo ferry but I didn’t expect such a poor set up. There was a canteen which only served food at a specific time. No announcement was made and you could easily miss it and not be given any food. This happened to us but we managed to track down the chef (not like we had anything else to do). He kindly gave us a plate of leftovers. The food was extremely basic so we recommend you bring snacks!
Apart from the dining area, which was tiny with rather uncomfortable chairs, there is just one area for passengers. It’s quite small and consists of a few rows of seats. The room is pretty chilly, the tv is on non-stop and that is pretty much where you are expected to stay for the duration of your journey.
There are basic toilet facilities and you can go for a walk. But honestly, there isn’t much to explore. We were happy to have made friends with the chef and the other motorcyclists so we killed some time listening to each others travel stories.
Once we arrived, after a sleepless night, we had to ride five more hours to Mazatlan. In order to get there quickly we took the toll roads. The money added up quite quickly. Yet another unexpected expense! But then we arrived in Mazatlan where Mauro, our fantastic couchsurfing host, came to meet us. He took us out for some tacos and we headed to the beach. I’d love to tell you that the trouble of the ferry crossing was soon forgotten about. But honestly we still get worked up thinking about it today.
How can we avoid these problems with the La Paz to Mazatlan ferry crossing?
I honestly don’t know what we could have done differently or better to avoid the issues we had. Some people have a trouble-free experience. But we are one of many travellers that were not so lucky! The forums online are full of similar disappointments!
Understanding the process helps. Come prepared and understand that you can’t buy a ticket until you pass customs. And whatever you do, NEVER ASSUME it will be smooth sailing and bring that extra bit of time.
Sorry we don’t have a magic recipe to make the ferry crossing easier. But we hope this blogpost has helped to prepare you for some of the issues you may encounter nonetheless.
Last but not least: please share your experience with us! We’d love to know how the ferry crossing went for you. If you have any questions, tips or advice please comment below 🙂
