Laredo to Mazatlan

I am considering a surf trip from Laredo to Mazatlan by car. Does anyone
have any experiences driving from Laredo (or Piedras Negras) to Mazatlan?
Any suggestions, tips, etc?

Thanks,

RD

Automobile insurance, to cover you in case you have an accident or run over
somebody. "Liability insurance". In Laredo, TX the company is called
"Sanborn's" but there are competitors whose prices might be less. Sanborn's
just seems to have their act together, but thankfully I've never had to make
a claim. I thought the orginal poster was driving their own car from Laredo
to Mazatlan, but this still applies if you are getting a rental car. The
atlas that I recommended shows the major and minor highways throughout
Mexico, plus streets plans for the major cities. The highway maps are very
detailed with information about service stations and rest areas. I never
checked the stores in the Mexico City airport, but its large with a lot of
stores and I would expected that there is a bookstore or a magazine kiosk
within.

If you are going to Mazatlan you probably could also go from Mex. City by
bus much more cheaply and with a lot less stress, but its up to you

"Duncan McNiven" <duncan@mcniven.net> wrote in message
news:hl2umvckk9qgo922jsnokhhml7icaj4otu@...
> On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 08:45:35 -0500, "Bob F." <bobf@phantom.com> wrote:
>
> >Yes, here's a tip. Be sure to purchase insurance for Mexico, the price
will
> >probably $10 to $15 per day.
>
> You mean normal travel insurance, or something else?
>
> >Be aware the signage in Mexico generally , so you need
> >to watch carefully to keep going on your intended route. If you don't
have
> >one already, purchase a "Guia Roja" atlas with maps of all the regions in
> >Mexico.
>
> What scale is that atlas?
> If I hire a car at the airport as soon as I arrive in Mexico City by air,
where is the
> best place to buy a copy? Can I buy one at the airport?
>
> --
> Duncan
>

The advice to not drive at night applies to all of Mexico, but applies
double in the south of Mexico, where I do not even recommend night bus
travel. Oaxaca, Guerrero, Chiapas, and Campeche have known problems.

The toll roads are probably safer at night than the regular highways, if
you had to drive at night.

Richard



Duncan McNiven wrote:
>
> On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 01:29:26 GMT, Richard Ferguson <raferguson@att.net> wrote:
>
> >You probably know this, but everybody who knows Mexico will tell you not
> >to drive at night,
>
> Does that advice apply to the whole of Mexico?
> If not, which areas?
>
> --
> Duncan

>
> OK, Thanks. I have now found Sanborn's web site and asked for a quote; not
sure what the
> reaction will be as the site says they provide cover to Americans, which
we aren't.

Yes, I'm not sure about that one. They always asked me for my driver's
license, but I don't remember if it was just to get a positive ID or if it
was required. I expect that they'll take your money whatever you
nationality as long as you are a licensed driver, but I guess you'll find
this out soon.


> >If you are going to Mazatlan you probably could also go from Mex. City by
> >bus much more cheaply and with a lot less stress, but its up to you
>
> We will be travelling all over the country. We will be using a mixture of
our own car and
> a hire car. The only part of our trip where we could use a bus would be
from Mexico City
> to Veracruz, but I think we will use a hire car.

Mexico city to Veracruz is an easy drive, very beautiful scenery. The
mountains are fantastic and very steep in places. Whatever you do, don't
rush. Take some time to stop on the way. In Veracruz, I recommend getting
a seaside hotel/motel room just south of Veracruz in Boca del Rio. While in
Veracruz, if you like drinks, try a "Torito de Cacahuate" or something like
that. Its a rum drink that tastes like peanut-butter.

> The advice to not drive at night applies to all of Mexico, but applies
> double in the south of Mexico, where I do not even recommend night bus
> travel. Oaxaca, Guerrero, Chiapas, and Campeche have known problems.
>
> The toll roads are probably safer at night than the regular highways, if
> you had to drive at night.
>


Richard,

Have you ever driven the toll road from Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey? Would
this be an exception to the rule about night driving? I'm reluctant to drive
at night, but, the way my itenerary is working out, we might have to make
the drive from NL to Monterrey late at night. I've never driven this
stretch of road, so I would like to know what it's like before I commit to
it at night. I have heard that it is a pretty good road, just as good, if
not better, than US interstates.

Thanks to everyone for all the great info in response to my post.

Regards,

R. Duke

The usual reasons cited for not driving at night are animals on the
road, poor signage, unlit vehicles, unmarked topes (speed bumps), and
bandits, with or without uniforms. All in all, Mexico is a more
dangerous place to drive than the USA, and driving at night makes it a
lot more dangerous.

By night I mean in darkness, but I would note that in the USA, the
twilight hour is often considered the most dangerous, so I assume that
would apply in Mexico as well. So I recommend that you not drive
between sunset and sunrise.

Dennis the Technobarbarian makes the case against night driving in a
little more detail.

As far as I know, all authorities on Mexico recommend against driving at
night. I will occasionally drive a short distance at night if I know
the road, but no way would I consider a trip plan that called for hours
of night driving. It really doesn't pass the common sense test, if you
know Mexico.

Richard


Duncan McNiven wrote:
>
> On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 15:58:45 GMT, Richard Ferguson <raferguson@att.net> wrote:
>
> >The advice to not drive at night applies to all of Mexico, but applies
> >double in the south of Mexico, where I do not even recommend night bus
> >travel. Oaxaca, Guerrero, Chiapas, and Campeche have known problems.
> >
> >The toll roads are probably safer at night than the regular highways, if
> >you had to drive at night.
>
> OK. We were thinking of Morelia to Veracruz, wholly or partly at night. I take it you
> suggest we think again? Why exactly? (Sorry if that is a dumb question but I have not been
> to mexico before).
>
> Oh, and by night do you simply mean "in darkness"?
>
> --
> Duncan

Richard

Your response reflects the conventional wisdom regarding driving at night in
rural Mexico. His question, however, dealt with a specific area which does
not suffer from loose animals, topes of any kind nor banditos. I think it
does a disservice to just give the usual canned response not to drive at all
at night. It's like the admonition not to eat the lettuce in Mexico. It all
depends....
saludos
Brian


"Richard Ferguson" <raferguson@att.net> wrote in message
news:3F6FBDFD.E25755D8@att.net...
> The usual reasons cited for not driving at night are animals on the
> road, poor signage, unlit vehicles, unmarked topes (speed bumps), and
> bandits, with or without uniforms. All in all, Mexico is a more
> dangerous place to drive than the USA, and driving at night makes it a
> lot more dangerous.
>
> By night I mean in darkness, but I would note that in the USA, the
> twilight hour is often considered the most dangerous, so I assume that
> would apply in Mexico as well. So I recommend that you not drive
> between sunset and sunrise.
>
> Dennis the Technobarbarian makes the case against night driving in a
> little more detail.
>
> As far as I know, all authorities on Mexico recommend against driving at
> night. I will occasionally drive a short distance at night if I know
> the road, but no way would I consider a trip plan that called for hours
> of night driving. It really doesn't pass the common sense test, if you
> know Mexico.
>
> Richard
>
>
> Duncan McNiven wrote:
> >
> > On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 15:58:45 GMT, Richard Ferguson <raferguson@att.net>
wrote:
> >
> > >The advice to not drive at night applies to all of Mexico, but applies
> > >double in the south of Mexico, where I do not even recommend night bus
> > >travel. Oaxaca, Guerrero, Chiapas, and Campeche have known problems.
> > >
> > >The toll roads are probably safer at night than the regular highways,
if
> > >you had to drive at night.
> >
> > OK. We were thinking of Morelia to Veracruz, wholly or partly at night.
I take it you
> > suggest we think again? Why exactly? (Sorry if that is a dumb question
but I have not been
> > to mexico before).
> >
> > Oh, and by night do you simply mean "in darkness"?
> >
> > --
> > Duncan

The Terran carbon-based unit designating itself as "Technobarbarian"
<d_murry-ztopzpam@excite.com> shared its ideas in
.latin-america on Tue, 23 Sep 2003 06:34:25 GMT:
> My former girlfriend started eating her greens after she saw me
> "getting
> by with it" all over the place. The answer is that the restaurant
> business is very competitive and it's not good business if your
> customers get sick. Eating where the locals eat works good for me.

I follow this rule whenever I travel. If there are a lot of locals
frequenting a restaurant, even if it looks like a hole in the wall, I will
trust it far more than a very nice looking place that is nearly empty.
People don't go back to a place if they get sick all the time.

It also works with activities. I remember in Italy, I was with a
group of people, and there was an area of beach and ocean that had no one
in it. Several of the group wanted to go in, as it was a hot day, and it
looked refreshing. I was leary, since an empty beach seemed suspicious,
so I didn't go in, but several others did. It turns out that many of the
people that went in came back out fairly soon, with jellyfish
burns/stings. Watch the locals, they usually know what's going on.

--Douglas

Raoul Duke wrote:

>>The advice to not drive at night applies to all of Mexico, but applies
>>double in the south of Mexico, where I do not even recommend night bus
>>travel. Oaxaca, Guerrero, Chiapas, and Campeche have known problems.
>>
>>The toll roads are probably safer at night than the regular highways, if
>>you had to drive at night.
>>Richard,
>>
>>Have you ever driven the toll road from Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey? Would
>>this be an exception to the rule about night driving? I'm reluctant to drive
>>at night, but, the way my itenerary is working out, we might have to make
>>the drive from NL to Monterrey late at night. I've never driven this
>>stretch of road, so I would like to know what it's like before I commit to
>>it at night. I have heard that it is a pretty good road, just as good, if
>>not better, than US interstates.
>>
>>

The road N. Laredo to Monterrey to Durango is excellent, except it
is rather confusing getting through Torreon. Durango can be reached
from Texas in one day. We did it in May from Austin, leaving at 5am
arriving before dark. Now, we *did* already have car insurance and the
import permit prior to leaving which saves time.
I've driven at night through Mexico and the toll roads are
outstanding. Beyond Durango, be prepared for a beautiful but twisting
trip through the sierras.

> a surf trip from Laredo to Mazatlan >>

You won't be getting in much surfing on this sort of route. And when you get to
Mazatlan you still won't get too much surfing. You will have to go farther
south.
Look at a map.
Best for you would be to head west across US on good roads and then go south
into Baja if you really want to surf. Baja is a prime surf spot. This avoids
the Mex driving talked about here (bad roads, night driving, $$$ toll roads,
Mex insurance) and gets you to the surf areas.
Your prospective route now is not a surfing trip.