Touring - So Mexico

A friend and I are planning a roughly three month-long tour of Mexico next spring. We've both done a few shorter tours, but this would be our first of any real (longer than a week) duration. I feel pretty good about gear, etc, but have questions about Mexico itself. What advice do you have for bike tourists going in regarding the current drug/police situation? I don't believe that, if we avoid the worst places, we'll have too much trouble in this area, but what should we know going in?

Also, any more general advice about touring in Mexico would also be greatly appreciated.

Mexico is a GREAT place to tour! The violence is very targeted and the chance that you will get caught in the crossfire is very low. I wouldn't worry about that at all. We've cycled a lot in Mexico and have loved it all - wonderful people and deliecious food - what more could you want!

Great, thanks! I've talked to a few other people I know who are pretty familiar with the country, and the consensus seems to be what you're saying-the violence is very much within the drug trade and not random at all.

On a different tack, what should we budget (roughly) to spend? We'll be self-supported, staying primarily in tents and cooking a lot of our meals on MSR stoves, but what would be a good amount to expect to average daily?

Thanks!

It's hard to say what to budget. A few years ago we cycled Baja, then back up to Arizona from Mazatlan and we found it to be very expensive. Hotels were about $40/night (or more) and restaurants were expensive - so we cooked our own food and camped. But then earlier this year we did the whole east coast and found it to be very cheap! Hotels for the 4 of us were around $20 (or less) and we could all eat a good meal in a restaurant for about $10. I don't have any idea if the whole country has gotten cheaper in the past couple years, or is the east coast is cheaper than the west.