Van, thank you for sharing your journey with us. No, not the mexico adventure, but your entire journey on youtube. There is a lack of genuine intent in most content but you can sense it in yours. Never feel pressured to present a certain image to us, but make a living out of this and provide for your family. It's wonderful to see and an inspiration.
To clarify $10,000/month and it was the 4 month trip that cost $30,000. Still a lot of money. I find I'll struggle with taking that amount of time off and of course I'll need a different job to do that.
@@jakevote8978 median household income is $69,717,000, median household spending is $66,928 according to the bureau of labor statistics. After saving for retirement and a home, please explain to me how you turn this $3,000 average surplus into $30,000. Do you really believe that the inability to save up 30 grand quickly is a sign that people are dumb?
Nice vid, I appreciate that you took the time and commitment to make this trip happen (too many people aim for that quick satisfaction). A few comments complaining about the cost of the trip, but saving $10,000 over 4 years is just putting $6 aside each day.
Thanks for encouraging us to go out there and explore, I have a 3 week roadtrip coming up in November in my fjcruiser LA to baja all the way to Cabos. Then take a ferry to mazatlan, down to guayabitos, over to guadalajara, Mexico city, San luis, Monterrey, nuevo Laredo, New Mexico, Arizona, and back to Cali. Thanks for your videos.
I never felt miserable flying on coach, 2 weeks for vacations seem to be the perfect number where I away from everything yet I don’t disconnect for too long from work and clients, there are safe and “magical” places too, lots can be done with “just” $3-5k…I don’t know, loved the video but it’s very specific to one persons preferences. Happy you gad a great time tho!
We spend an absolute fortune on our holidays....well worth every penny for the experience of life and memories. And the national park which is my favourite...is Monument valley! absolutely awe inspiring. great vid Van, love roadtrips
Ive lived in Mexico for 5 years, moved from nyc, and have never been happier. Mexico is super safe. My friends and family sometimes ask me what’s going on in Sinaloa and are we afraid? I literally live a distance from there that is equal to the distance of Nyc to florida. Point is: giant country, lots of people, shit happens… like anywhere.
In my 20’s I taught skiing in winter and hotel reception in summer. 10 years in Austria teaching and where ever I landed in summer. When going up the lifts my students always ask, “What do you do in summer?” I would respond, offer me a job and I’ll tell you. Never had to hunt. My students saw how professionally I conducted my classes and very often got jobs to die for. Worked in Torremlinos, Spain, Stockholm, Sweden, Vennia, Innsbruck Austria, London for two summers, what fun that was. In the 70’s life was a lot safer for a single gal to travel and find work. I bought a VW bus with a friend and we tootled around in the off season. What a blast. Then I met my husband, married, had two lovely boys and lived happily ever after in New England.
My first time visiting Mexico (CDMX) a few years ago our small hotel was broken into and all the doors were kicked in the second day of the trip. Thankfully no one was there at the time but my partner and I were the first ones to come back to discover it and we had most of our stuff including passports stolen. It was traumatic but still one of the most beautiful places I've ever been and would go back in a heartbeat --and find a good hiding spot for my passport ;)
@@blakeXYZ the US embassy was unfortunately closed for a few days for something like Columbus Day, so in the meantime we had prepared the paperwork for an emergency passport appointment and just had to wait. The day they opened we got a call from them saying that someone had turned in our passports...really bizarre scenario, nothing else was turned in (i.e. stolen goods), and the police nor anyone else at the embassy had any information on who turned them in of course, it's like they just magically appeared. So luckily we hadn't yet cancelled them, and we were able to recover them. If I had to guess ,either the thieves ditched our bags somewhere after emptying them, realizing they don't care about having our passports and someone picked them up, or they just turned them in themselves (which feels less likely). But lesson learned, always find a good hiding spot for your passports when traveling internationally, everything else is replaceable :)
Sorry that happened to you, Van. Been through something similar myself and it shit me up good and proper. Hope the fam are doing well with it. Would love to hear more about the story, please put it on your RUclips channel for us non-patrons. Keep up the great work.
Im going to italy in about a month. For one month and i really appreciate this video. Thank you van. I fell in love with your videos and you really inspired me. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart
The world if for the Daring. I travelled and worked in the 5 continents. Love Mexico and I travelled by myself from the Atlantic to the Pacific in 2001 and later in 2008 I worked in Quintana Roo every month from Europe. I am original from Spain and we have one month holidays since always...thank you for sharing and I have applied some of your 10 rules or suggestions!!!
I’m from the Netherlands and we always go somewhere in Europe by car, like France, Italy, Norway, Austria or Spain, or just in the Netherlands. We go camping, always taking our bikes and having so much fun. And in my experience you don’t have to go a long time to have a good time.
Lol as soon as I saw the nueva Italia sign, my jaw dropped, you got some guts, michoacan to me is one of the most beautiful states in mexico, but sadly is ridden with hot spots or places you are supposed to bypass all together if you don't want to take any chances, most of the time I see people drive towards Mexico city and take the circuito mexiquense then head to Cuernavaca towards Acapulco/Ixtapa, still lots of great places to see on the way without the extra risk. Great to know you made it back fine, my family and I travel the in the same fashion. hit me up if you ever need somewhere to stay in the Highlands of Jalisco in the future, lots of tequila factories to tour and is very safe around here.
When I was 20 (lol 2 summers back) I drove from The beaches in Florida to the north rim of the Grand Canyon to work and explore for the season. Best decision of my life. Made a detour to California and Montana before heading back to FL. Man I think about those open roads every day. Your Mexico trip has me very intrigued:)
@@michaellorenzen8200 100%. Plenty of amazing sights and plenty enough flat agricultural land that may not be the Rockies mountains but still provide value to the journey. I think everyone should experience driving across America.
8:40 your kid was right - it's not missing anything. This is very common in Mexico and it's designed like that. Not missing anything it's exactly how it's ought to be. Nothing wrong with it, just different.
Sounds like fun, but I don't think my 99 Nissan Altima would make it to Mexico and back. Coach is fine for me. Plus, I really enjoy traveling to cities with good public transportation, and just riding around that way. I feel like then you can actually get to know the city and not just drive through it.
when i travel to baja i always drive at night (it's been 10 years so far) but for maybe 3 hours... stay in San Felipe then continue on. So far, no problems, but i do go during low season and also during the week like on a wednesday. less likely to be held up vs on the weekend on 4th of july.
10k for a family vacation is a lot of money. For $5k I took my family of three for two weeks to 8 country cruise in Europe. That was luxury to the max, I could have spent less, but I do agree slurge is good, but I am not waiting 4 years for my next vacation.
Great video as always, Van! Definitely agree to travel during low season. I will never again travel during major holidays (like Christmas) or during high-peak summer. October a great time also January - March. Mexico is excellent value if willing to stay in local hotels ($50 per night is a good mid-range in Mexico). I’ve stayed at plenty for $25 per night but not so nice. Lastly, Mexico is totally safe. 2 Americans killed in Mexico last week and it was all over the news, and in the same day 60 people were murdered in the U.S., which was not at all mentioned in the news. Don’t believe the media. Mexico is totally safe for people with common sense.
I’m a Mexico lover. Actually lived in PDC for two years. Had a few scares similar to yours Van and another not so similar but a helluva story. Thanks for the wonderful content
Man, I’m glad, your family and you made it back home safe. 😰😰😰 I try to learn to be a little bit more brave and less baby in life. 🙈 Thank you for this inspiration! Awesome video!
Believe it or not, heavy machinery mechanic is a seasonal work. A friend of mine quits everytime he wants and like noone wants to do that job especially during the holidays they just call him back and throw cash at his face
Mexico is such a special place. I long for it always. I was fortunate enough to experience an eleven month stint in Guanajuato on an exchange program during my university days. The food, the people, the culture, the diversity of the regions and geography. I hope to go to Oaxaco later in the year. Thanks for sharing. Cheers. Salud!
so different in Europe haha cheap £10 2hr flights to different countries whereas you'd pay £100s in fuel, tolls, maintenance, and 10s of hours of time to do the same trip by car. my parents retired and spend around £1.2k/mo (between them) travelling europe at the moment, very far from the $10k/mo you mention bikes /ebikes are still a good shout tho lol
My family is from Mexico, I was born here in California. We used to drive as a whole family (multiple families in different cars) to my parents home town in Guanajuato atleast once a year. 2015 was the last time we stopped driving there. We go by plane now always. It’s gotten too dangerous to drive and we have heard many stories of being pulled over by armed non government officials. Even government officials are scary and sketchy to deal with. So I salute you for taking that risk to visit that beautiful country. But for anyone going driving, please do your due diligence before going
@@markhuebbe nice! It is an amazing place!! I always said Mexico could be a huge tourist attraction if it got it’s shit together. There are so many places that I would love to go see there but even I am scared of going alone. So it sucks
Great video, and glad the family are safe after that horrible experience. I will say though that the point about driving as opposed to flying is really a taste thing, and dependent on several factors. For many, the relatively short annoyance of awful air travel is preferable to the long exhausting grind of driving, not to mention it's carbon footprint.
Yeah I too loved Ixtapa, so luxurious, and close to zihuatanejo where they the last scene of the Shawshank redemption is located.....love it, great story, you're a brave man.
I have a HD bike rack. I plan to build a rear bumper with a tire swing out with a secondary hitch on it. Then the tire and bikes can swing out of the way, and be high enough to not hang up on anything like a bumper rack can. I'll build it at some point this year.
I'd rather fly coach then spend literally days driving. I consider myself a car/driving enthusiast but slogging through straight roads in boring scenery is worse IMO than a few hours in coach where you can knock it out in a 10th of the time. When I was a kid my parents took me out of school for a month and we took our popup camper from Denver all the way to Baja. I don't remember much of it, but certainly enjoyed it.
Teachers don’t get two months off everywhere. They don’t get paid enough in Oklahoma. Not complaining just stating a fact. Thanks for the content. Good job Van
I go to Mexico a few times a year, never had any issues other then things my drunk friends bought into ourselves. Don't know about taking my kids there though.
I'm not at all diminishing your experience. I understand it is scary sometimes. I've lived in Mexico all my life and I've had a gun held to my head at least 4 times in twenty five years (most of my friends have never been robbed, guess I'm just unlucky) Once, I even got held up in Oaxaca by jungle militia who were blocking the road. However, it's funny that when these things happen to foreigners, they genuinely consider it a traumatic experience they remember their whole lives. For me at least, it's kind of like "ugh, whatever, happened again". I don't even remember it years later. I once, however, got mugged in Paris. That actually scared me. I don't know why, but it seams Mexican criminals just want money and will leave you alone after that. However, American and European muggers have kind of an unhinged personality, I thought he could shoot me even after giving him my wallet.
Glad to hear you made it out of the robbery OK. I lived in Mexico City for a couple of years and the only times I ever had an issue was when I left the big city and went to smaller towns. It's almost impossible not to stand out as an American in those small towns. People definitely take notice and you have to be extremely vigilant. But the worst thing I ever lost was some change and a camera. Nothing serious.
I've been to Mexico twice, but resorts only and air travel. Most people say, don't go outside the resort. I follow that rule. I can't decide if it's brave or stupid to travel on land through the country, but I get it that that is where adventure is. Still, I know if I was robbed with guns, I would have peed my pants.
I took a road trip from NYC to Disneyland 2 years back and it was about a month long and many of his points are totally correct. We had no real hard reservations except for Disney and there were several points during the trip it was scary. Death Vally at night when you are the only one on the road is very intense as a breakdown with no cell service is real fear. Also the heat in Nevada, Arizona was deadly so day trips need proper preparation
This is true and can happen really anywhere. So either you reduce the risks to go there or stay away. I have rolled though Camden NJ and had attempted carjacking so yea there are dangerous places everywhere.
Even for Mexican this area is hot.. we avoid or run faster. Bikes on the rack, the top and type of wheels is what they saw and the reason why they stop You. I just cross the peninsula of Yucatan, Cancun and Belice in a rented car all good ... safe for all tourist I truly recomend as a Mexican.
10000 lasted me for more than a Year! I mean I get he’s traveling with family and that changes a lot…. But I can manage to travel for under 500$ a month (even in New Zealand) if I try and if I would do 1000$ I’d be splurging like crazy, especially in a country like Mexico. The problem is that most Americans don’t know to adapt to spend less. They think things need to cost at least x amount and places need to look a certain way for it to be good. Splurging for me can be amazing & cheap street food and a chill campground or cheap Homestay on a beautiful beach. Going to a fancy restaurant or hotel would cost much more AND take away from my travel experience as it’s usually less traditional or connected to locals and their culture. Modest hotel is a luxury for me and I love them. A 5star hotel doesn’t make me much happier besides maybe for the nice breakfast buffets.
Back when I was single, a couple 2-3 decades ago, I hitchhiked all over Mexico, spent $900 the entire time. Donde esta el hotel mas barato en este pueblo? Gracias.
As to Ingredient 7 (Motels): I remember vividly a very bad hotel I stayed in with my father in Istanbul back when I was 12 (2014). He is a man that can make due with what he has and he prides himself on that, he got a bit scared tho because he had me along and didn't want me to get upset. He even asked me if I wanted to take our stuff and leave as he didn't expect such 'modesty". He was relieved though when my reply was that we will only sleep and shower here, we don't need anything better as we are together. I impressed him by mirroring his Spirit back to him. I was a vulnerability to his Spirit, his fragile boy, but Instead I became his power, mirroring his Spirit in all his might!!!
I’ve wanted to want to do the Pan Am one day with my wife, but she absolutely refuses to go to Mexico. After hearing about your experience, I’m almost thinking I’m with her.
Perfectly safe, only second or third hand stories.... Gets ran off the road, at gun point and robbed. But hey, you should totally take your family on a road trip to mexico!
It was, in fact, rich guy stuff 🥴
Van, thank you for sharing your journey with us. No, not the mexico adventure, but your entire journey on youtube. There is a lack of genuine intent in most content but you can sense it in yours. Never feel pressured to present a certain image to us, but make a living out of this and provide for your family. It's wonderful to see and an inspiration.
"this sounds like a rich guy thing but it only cost 30,000!"
He did say it took him 4 years to save
a month long vacation sounds like my Polish ex wife expected every fucking year
yeah he said not rich he didn’t say stupid and poor.
To clarify $10,000/month and it was the 4 month trip that cost $30,000. Still a lot of money. I find I'll struggle with taking that amount of time off and of course I'll need a different job to do that.
@@jakevote8978 median household income is $69,717,000, median household spending is $66,928 according to the bureau of labor statistics. After saving for retirement and a home, please explain to me how you turn this $3,000 average surplus into $30,000. Do you really believe that the inability to save up 30 grand quickly is a sign that people are dumb?
No lie, Van, you are glowing after your trip. Stoked to see where the post vacation inspiration leads you.
Nice vid, I appreciate that you took the time and commitment to make this trip happen (too many people aim for that quick satisfaction). A few comments complaining about the cost of the trip, but saving $10,000 over 4 years is just putting $6 aside each day.
Six months of Van wisdom is worth it's weight in gold.
so about a gram/year
Thanks for encouraging us to go out there and explore, I have a 3 week roadtrip coming up in November in my fjcruiser LA to baja all the way to Cabos. Then take a ferry to mazatlan, down to guayabitos, over to guadalajara, Mexico city, San luis, Monterrey, nuevo Laredo, New Mexico, Arizona, and back to Cali. Thanks for your videos.
I never felt miserable flying on coach, 2 weeks for vacations seem to be the perfect number where I away from everything yet I don’t disconnect for too long from work and clients, there are safe and “magical” places too, lots can be done with “just” $3-5k…I don’t know, loved the video but it’s very specific to one persons preferences. Happy you gad a great time tho!
The problem is I wouldn't know the places to avoid.
I've been lost in shady parts of China but there were no guns and I was twice everyone's size.
We spend an absolute fortune on our holidays....well worth every penny for the experience of life and memories. And the national park which is my favourite...is Monument valley! absolutely awe inspiring. great vid Van, love roadtrips
Ive lived in Mexico for 5 years, moved from nyc, and have never been happier. Mexico is super safe. My friends and family sometimes ask me what’s going on in Sinaloa and are we afraid? I literally live a distance from there that is equal to the distance of Nyc to florida. Point is: giant country, lots of people, shit happens… like anywhere.
In my 20’s I taught skiing in winter and hotel reception in summer. 10 years in Austria teaching and where ever I landed in summer. When going up the lifts my students always ask, “What do you do in summer?” I would respond, offer me a job and I’ll tell you. Never had to hunt. My students saw how professionally I conducted my classes and very often got jobs to die for. Worked in Torremlinos, Spain, Stockholm, Sweden, Vennia, Innsbruck Austria, London for two summers, what fun that was. In the 70’s life was a lot safer for a single gal to travel and find work. I bought a VW bus with a friend and we tootled around in the off season. What a blast. Then I met my husband, married, had two lovely boys and lived happily ever after in New England.
My first time visiting Mexico (CDMX) a few years ago our small hotel was broken into and all the doors were kicked in the second day of the trip. Thankfully no one was there at the time but my partner and I were the first ones to come back to discover it and we had most of our stuff including passports stolen. It was traumatic but still one of the most beautiful places I've ever been and would go back in a heartbeat --and find a good hiding spot for my passport ;)
How did you manage to get back home?
@@blakeXYZ the US embassy was unfortunately closed for a few days for something like Columbus Day, so in the meantime we had prepared the paperwork for an emergency passport appointment and just had to wait. The day they opened we got a call from them saying that someone had turned in our passports...really bizarre scenario, nothing else was turned in (i.e. stolen goods), and the police nor anyone else at the embassy had any information on who turned them in of course, it's like they just magically appeared. So luckily we hadn't yet cancelled them, and we were able to recover them. If I had to guess ,either the thieves ditched our bags somewhere after emptying them, realizing they don't care about having our passports and someone picked them up, or they just turned them in themselves (which feels less likely). But lesson learned, always find a good hiding spot for your passports when traveling internationally, everything else is replaceable :)
@@ryanbromm7598 wow crazy turn of events! Thanks for sharing
Wisdom by the Neistat family is always a good thing. Nice to see you back Van.
1000% agree with Ingredient 10. As someone who lives in northern Iraq, definitely wish more people would experience the magic of this place.
Sorry that happened to you, Van. Been through something similar myself and it shit me up good and proper. Hope the fam are doing well with it. Would love to hear more about the story, please put it on your RUclips channel for us non-patrons. Keep up the great work.
This is a rich guy thing. We live paycheck to paycheck out here
Im going to italy in about a month. For one month and i really appreciate this video. Thank you van. I fell in love with your videos and you really inspired me. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart
The world if for the Daring. I travelled and worked in the 5 continents. Love Mexico and I travelled by myself from the Atlantic to the Pacific in 2001 and later in 2008 I worked in Quintana Roo every month from Europe. I am original from Spain and we have one month holidays since always...thank you for sharing and I have applied some of your 10 rules or suggestions!!!
The trip does sound perfect. It looked amazing. Lots of core memory’s for your son. Glad everyone is ok and your posting again.
I’m from the Netherlands and we always go somewhere in Europe by car, like France, Italy, Norway, Austria or Spain, or just in the Netherlands. We go camping, always taking our bikes and having so much fun. And in my experience you don’t have to go a long time to have a good time.
10000? I am ok with 9 ingredients.
3:50 "Save your money for extravagant experiences" is the key to a well-lived life.
Also, "extravagant experiences" is a really nice phrase.
I just came back from my 3 months trip, Panama, Costarica and Italy
Lol as soon as I saw the nueva Italia sign, my jaw dropped, you got some guts, michoacan to me is one of the most beautiful states in mexico, but sadly is ridden with hot spots or places you are supposed to bypass all together if you don't want to take any chances, most of the time I see people drive towards Mexico city and take the circuito mexiquense then head to Cuernavaca towards Acapulco/Ixtapa, still lots of great places to see on the way without the extra risk. Great to know you made it back fine, my family and I travel the in the same fashion.
hit me up if you ever need somewhere to stay in the Highlands of Jalisco in the future, lots of tequila factories to tour and is very safe around here.
When I was 20 (lol 2 summers back) I drove from The beaches in Florida to the north rim of the Grand Canyon to work and explore for the season. Best decision of my life. Made a detour to California and Montana before heading back to FL. Man I think about those open roads every day. Your Mexico trip has me very intrigued:)
California Meh for me Florida is better 2 distinct coasts and the Glades ! Ca. to Mt. that's a long distance see anything memorable between the 2 ?
@@michaellorenzen8200 100%. Plenty of amazing sights and plenty enough flat agricultural land that may not be the Rockies mountains but still provide value to the journey. I think everyone should experience driving across America.
God bless you Van and Fam! Glad your trip was perfect, good to hear you are all whole and happy!
8:40 your kid was right - it's not missing anything. This is very common in Mexico and it's designed like that. Not missing anything it's exactly how it's ought to be. Nothing wrong with it, just different.
Sounds like fun, but I don't think my 99 Nissan Altima would make it to Mexico and back. Coach is fine for me.
Plus, I really enjoy traveling to cities with good public transportation, and just riding around that way. I feel like then you can actually get to know the city and not just drive through it.
when i travel to baja i always drive at night (it's been 10 years so far) but for maybe 3 hours... stay in San Felipe then continue on. So far, no problems, but i do go during low season and also during the week like on a wednesday. less likely to be held up vs on the weekend on 4th of july.
10k for a family vacation is a lot of money. For $5k I took my family of three for two weeks to 8 country cruise in Europe. That was luxury to the max, I could have spent less, but I do agree slurge is good, but I am not waiting 4 years for my next vacation.
and it was Europe, ffs.
This video is flaming with boomer mentality
Which cruise line?
@@krehbein NCL, I was just there in July on the Norwegian Dawn.
Great video as always, Van! Definitely agree to travel during low season. I will never again travel during major holidays (like Christmas) or during high-peak summer. October a great time also January - March. Mexico is excellent value if willing to stay in local hotels ($50 per night is a good mid-range in Mexico). I’ve stayed at plenty for $25 per night but not so nice. Lastly, Mexico is totally safe. 2 Americans killed in Mexico last week and it was all over the news, and in the same day 60 people were murdered in the U.S., which was not at all mentioned in the news. Don’t believe the media. Mexico is totally safe for people with common sense.
I’m a Mexico lover. Actually lived in PDC for two years. Had a few scares similar to yours Van and another not so similar but a helluva story. Thanks for the wonderful content
Man, I’m glad, your family and you made it back home safe. 😰😰😰 I try to learn to be a little bit more brave and less baby in life. 🙈 Thank you for this inspiration! Awesome video!
I'm sorry you experienced that.
I'm Mexican and you've traveled around my country even more than I have.
Believe it or not, heavy machinery mechanic is a seasonal work. A friend of mine quits everytime he wants and like noone wants to do that job especially during the holidays they just call him back and throw cash at his face
Mexico is such a special place. I long for it always. I was fortunate enough to experience an eleven month stint in Guanajuato on an exchange program during my university days. The food, the people, the culture, the diversity of the regions and geography. I hope to go to Oaxaco later in the year. Thanks for sharing. Cheers. Salud!
For me your videos feels like it's coming from another dimension! Thanks god for making you who you are.. really inspiring!
glad you had a great trip, stoked for new videos!
so different in Europe haha
cheap £10 2hr flights to different countries whereas you'd pay £100s in fuel, tolls, maintenance, and 10s of hours of time to do the same trip by car.
my parents retired and spend around £1.2k/mo (between them) travelling europe at the moment, very far from the $10k/mo you mention
bikes /ebikes are still a good shout tho lol
Great vid, and thank you for loving our country even though it’s not perfect
Binge watching your videos since yesterday when I find your channel. Excellent content!
Another amazing episode for this very wonderful guy! Glad your family is safe! :)
Much love and respect. Leaving for a trip this afternoon and am excited to try integrating a few of your ingredients.
Oh good, I was looking forward to this ! Now we wait six month till we hear the Mexico story 😅
Yeah driving is better than a plane, but trains are an even better alternative. Great video!
My family is from Mexico, I was born here in California. We used to drive as a whole family (multiple families in different cars) to my parents home town in Guanajuato atleast once a year. 2015 was the last time we stopped driving there. We go by plane now always. It’s gotten too dangerous to drive and we have heard many stories of being pulled over by armed non government officials. Even government officials are scary and sketchy to deal with. So I salute you for taking that risk to visit that beautiful country. But for anyone going driving, please do your due diligence before going
I LOVE Guanajuato! I was there in 2012 for the World Rally Championship race. Amazing people and scenery.
@@markhuebbe nice! It is an amazing place!! I always said Mexico could be a huge tourist attraction if it got it’s shit together. There are so many places that I would love to go see there but even I am scared of going alone. So it sucks
Great video, and glad the family are safe after that horrible experience. I will say though that the point about driving as opposed to flying is really a taste thing, and dependent on several factors. For many, the relatively short annoyance of awful air travel is preferable to the long exhausting grind of driving, not to mention it's carbon footprint.
those old Toyotas are not 'cheap' anymore though! I've been looking for one like yours for over a year
Yeah I too loved Ixtapa, so luxurious, and close to zihuatanejo where they the last scene of the Shawshank redemption is located.....love it, great story, you're a brave man.
Glad to have you back and glad you all are good. Great travel advice. Definitely get out there all.
I have a HD bike rack. I plan to build a rear bumper with a tire swing out with a secondary hitch on it. Then the tire and bikes can swing out of the way, and be high enough to not hang up on anything like a bumper rack can. I'll build it at some point this year.
Van I’m too broke 😂
I'd rather fly coach then spend literally days driving. I consider myself a car/driving enthusiast but slogging through straight roads in boring scenery is worse IMO than a few hours in coach where you can knock it out in a 10th of the time.
When I was a kid my parents took me out of school for a month and we took our popup camper from Denver all the way to Baja. I don't remember much of it, but certainly enjoyed it.
Teachers don’t get two months off everywhere. They don’t get paid enough in Oklahoma. Not complaining just stating a fact. Thanks for the content. Good job Van
Is $7500 per month supposed to be not much?
I go to Mexico a few times a year, never had any issues other then things my drunk friends bought into ourselves. Don't know about taking my kids there though.
Man, I’m sorry Van. Can’t imagine that feeling with your family in the car. Glad you guys are good
I just adore your work.
I'm not at all diminishing your experience. I understand it is scary sometimes. I've lived in Mexico all my life and I've had a gun held to my head at least 4 times in twenty five years (most of my friends have never been robbed, guess I'm just unlucky) Once, I even got held up in Oaxaca by jungle militia who were blocking the road. However, it's funny that when these things happen to foreigners, they genuinely consider it a traumatic experience they remember their whole lives. For me at least, it's kind of like "ugh, whatever, happened again". I don't even remember it years later. I once, however, got mugged in Paris. That actually scared me. I don't know why, but it seams Mexican criminals just want money and will leave you alone after that. However, American and European muggers have kind of an unhinged personality, I thought he could shoot me even after giving him my wallet.
Thanks for the advice, Van. You missed the very first ingredient though… money ffs
Glad to hear you made it out of the robbery OK. I lived in Mexico City for a couple of years and the only times I ever had an issue was when I left the big city and went to smaller towns. It's almost impossible not to stand out as an American in those small towns. People definitely take notice and you have to be extremely vigilant. But the worst thing I ever lost was some change and a camera. Nothing serious.
The negative comments are sad. JFC. Everyone has different lifestyles, do we all need to relate 100% to every video or action this man takes?
I've been to Mexico twice, but resorts only and air travel. Most people say, don't go outside the resort. I follow that rule.
I can't decide if it's brave or stupid to travel on land through the country, but I get it that that is where adventure is.
Still, I know if I was robbed with guns, I would have peed my pants.
So true!!
Thank you for this amazing advice- all of this was a good reminder!
Off Season is the one to live by. Changes every destination. Great list.
I love this! I am going to talk to my wife about shifting the way we think about traveling!
Hey Van. You're a big inspiration. When is the episode about putting "reserved for neistat" signs on resort chairs coming out?
Great timing, heading out for a non-miserable vacation tomorrow!
good luck ;)
I took a road trip from NYC to Disneyland 2 years back and it was about a month long and many of his points are totally correct. We had no real hard reservations except for Disney and there were several points during the trip it was scary. Death Vally at night when you are the only one on the road is very intense as a breakdown with no cell service is real fear. Also the heat in Nevada, Arizona was deadly so day trips need proper preparation
You can get phenomenal Airbnbs in Mexico for very good value
“Mexico is safe” and “Robbed at gunpoint in the middle of the day on the highway” seem contradictory
He’s partly delusional which adds to his charm
@@tjailts when will you be putting your life
decisions out there for us to judge?
the point is, there are safe parts of mexico. he wasnt robbed at the resort, or at the air bnb, he was robbed when he left the 'safe' town.
This is true and can happen really anywhere. So either you reduce the risks to go there or stay away. I have rolled though Camden NJ and had attempted carjacking so yea there are dangerous places everywhere.
To a large portion of the world, the US is not considered a safe place to travel due to the mass shootings that regularly take place.
Even for Mexican this area is hot.. we avoid or run faster. Bikes on the rack, the top and type of wheels is what they saw and the reason why they stop You. I just cross the peninsula of Yucatan, Cancun and Belice in a rented car all good ... safe for all tourist I truly recomend as a Mexican.
How to make your subscribers feel worthless
Looking forward to this new season!
I have never articulated these things, but I simply nod and agree to everything you said :)
I love the use of Larry David to depict misery at the airport. 😂
Caseys lucky to have such a cool brother
This is fucking bananas. Lol a month off, you’re insane.
Your crazy
love the energy the video emits, whats the music artist through out the video?
Seconded, I wonder where he gets these sounds from
He makes them himself
Welcome back, welcome home and glad you and yours are safe 🤙
I love your videos.
I want a t-shirt or a hat.
I'm here in Utah, thanks for visiting us !!😊
10000 lasted me for more than a Year! I mean I get he’s traveling with family and that changes a lot…. But I can manage to travel for under 500$ a month (even in New Zealand) if I try and if I would do 1000$ I’d be splurging like crazy, especially in a country like Mexico. The problem is that most Americans don’t know to adapt to spend less. They think things need to cost at least x amount and places need to look a certain way for it to be good. Splurging for me can be amazing & cheap street food and a chill campground or cheap Homestay on a beautiful beach. Going to a fancy restaurant or hotel would cost much more AND take away from my travel experience as it’s usually less traditional or connected to locals and their culture. Modest hotel is a luxury for me and I love them. A 5star hotel doesn’t make me much happier besides maybe for the nice breakfast buffets.
As someone who's never left the USA before, is it difficult traveling and having fun if you're not fluent in Spanish?
Motel stands for Motor Hotel, by the way. Not Modest. Im sure you knew that and it was just artistic license, but wanted to make sure others knew.
I've never clicked a video so fast
It’s seems you’ve never typed so fast either.
@@neander6975 HAHAHA
@@neander6975 lol. You are right. 😜
Van, thank you so much for your work.
i worked 11 weeks last year
the rest has been a nonstop vacation🎉
Back when I was single, a couple 2-3 decades ago, I hitchhiked all over Mexico, spent $900 the entire time. Donde esta el hotel mas barato en este pueblo? Gracias.
As to Ingredient 7 (Motels):
I remember vividly a very bad hotel I stayed in with my father in Istanbul back when I was 12 (2014). He is a man that can make due with what he has and he prides himself on that, he got a bit scared tho because he had me along and didn't want me to get upset. He even asked me if I wanted to take our stuff and leave as he didn't expect such 'modesty".
He was relieved though when my reply was that we will only sleep and shower here, we don't need anything better as we are together.
I impressed him by mirroring his Spirit back to him. I was a vulnerability to his Spirit, his fragile boy, but Instead I became his power, mirroring his Spirit in all his might!!!
I’ve wanted to want to do the Pan Am one day with my wife, but she absolutely refuses to go to Mexico. After hearing about your experience, I’m almost thinking I’m with her.
1 vaction in 4 years, such a delight!!!!!
I think you're great and this video pisses me off the most. so OUT OF TOUCH.
Perfectly safe, only second or third hand stories.... Gets ran off the road, at gun point and robbed. But hey, you should totally take your family on a road trip to mexico!
I never can understand RUclipss algerithim. I am subscribed and have notivication but still manage to miss 3 video?
Excellent episode. Thanks.
The only one I patron is the spirited man, on patreon.
Yeah, it’s a rich guy thing.
Great video Van! Thank you
If you’re a California resident w/ a library card an annual pass is about $13.
thankyou