# Drive to Mexico



## andrea333 (Jan 17, 2019)

Three weeks to go until we start our drive to Progreso Mexico from Ontario Canada, crossing at the peace bridge looking forward to it!

Can anyone share with me which is the best boarder to cross at when arriving to Mexico, as well as any cities or areas we should avoid staying in as we drive through? On the other hand, any city or destination that is a must see on our way as we are not on a time crunch to get there.

I understand that if we run into any car trouble, there is an organization like AAA which is called the green angles, can anyone comment on this, has anyone used them? Hopefully we will not need their services:fingerscrossed:

Any other helpful tips would be appreciated as this will be the first time we are driving in.


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## Jreboll (Nov 23, 2013)

It depends on the Mexico route that you take. If you take the coastal route you can probably take Los Tomates bridge in Brownsville, the Free Trade bridge in Los Indios or the Pharr bridge.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

andrea333 said:


> Three weeks to go until we start our drive to Progreso Mexico from Ontario Canada, crossing at the peace bridge looking forward to it!
> 
> Can anyone share with me which is the best boarder to cross at when arriving to Mexico, as well as any cities or areas we should avoid staying in as we drive through? On the other hand, any city or destination that is a must see on our way as we are not on a time crunch to get there.
> 
> ...


I'm not sure if that was a typo, but the name of the group is Ángeles Verdes or Green Angels.


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## andrea333 (Jan 17, 2019)

yes it was a typo, thank you!


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

I'm not sure if you've already purchased your Mexican car insurance, but I used to get mine from Lewis and Lewis, online, very reputable company, been in business for a very long time. I always added the towing option- it only added a few dollars more to the total cost and was well wroth it- I had to use it, twice.


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## andrea333 (Jan 17, 2019)

I would like to take the coastal rout, but I keep hearing to stay on the main hwy's. I know the boarder cities are the worst (so they say) but are they really?? I am starting to get sick of people telling us that we are not going to make it to our destination and that we will probably die at the hands of the cartel, I am hoping to prove them wrong. Hearing such negativity on such a beautiful country is starting to take its toll, Some positive feedback would be awesome to hear at this point from people who actually travel throughout Mexico on a daily basis.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

The coastall route will not offer you any coastal scenery, and will be much slower, and less safe, than the major highways; the toll roads (Cuotas-Autopistas) are much better, and insurance is included in the tolls to cover road damage from debris, etc. 
Save your 'scenic drives' for when you have learned more about Mexico, and what there is to explore.


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## Jreboll (Nov 23, 2013)

I just took that route from Cd. Victoria to the Free Trade Bridge about six months ago. There is a heavy police presence all along that route, not only checkpoints but police cruisers patrolling up and down. I am not familiar with the roads further south of Cd. Victoria.


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

Andrea- I drove back and forth from the PV area to the westcoast of Canada many times, by myself, a single woman. I never experienced any trouble at all, quite the opposite- people were kind and helpful. One guy who was driving behind me through an area where there was a lot of highway construction, detours and confusing signs somehow figured out that I was lost. He motioned me to pull over, which I did (it was daytime, there was tons of traffic, so I wasn't fearful), then he told me I needed to go back 2 blocks and make a left. I got confused again and only went one block, but he was right behind me, pulled alongside, said follow me, and led me to the exit from town onto the route I was looking for. He wasn't even going that way- he pulled over at a Pemex, waved at me at I went by, and turned around and headed back to town. Many Americans are fearful of foreign cultures and believe everything they read about Mexico. They think you're constantly in major danger here of getting gunned down on the street just walking around minding your own business, which is absurd. If the rest of the world's state depts put out the kind of travel warnings the US State Dept. does, no one would ever go to any large American city. There's actually much less random violence in Mexico than in the US - the cartels kill, but mostly each other, they're vying for turf and settling scores. Of course you can be in the wrong place at the wrong time and be in the line of fire, but there's a tiny tiny chance of that, and that can happen anywhere. At least the average Mexican isn't walking around packing a gun, ready to shoot you if you accidentally take the parking space they've been waiting for or look at them sideways. And there aren't crazies with assault weapons plotting and carrying out mass shootings of innocent citizens. Quite honestly, you couldn't pay me to enter the US right now.
Look forward to and enjoy your adventure- the energy you put out affects the reception you receive. Most Mexicans are incredibly warm and friendly and even the border officials aren't afraid to smile and act human. If you come to a military checkpoint, don't get worried- most are just young guys doing the job they are tasked with and are quite polite.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Surabi,
Andrea will be going to the *other coast*; the eastern one, Gulf of Mexico side.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Andrea, 
The green angels can be life savers but you may have to wait hours for them so you cannot rrely on them totally and to get the help it is good to stay n the main road. 

I do not drive alone as I cannot change a tire or figure out what s wrong if the car stops and I do not want to wait on the side of the road for hours by myelf.

I just drove with a male friend who cannot drive but can change tires.. from Guadaljara through Michoacan and then to Puebla, Oaxaca Juchitan and San Cristobal. It tooks us a week and we stayed in villages and visited artisans..

We encountered check points with police that wanted to chat nothing more, BUT I had a flat tire and a blow out south of Puebla in the rain on the really busy cuota south of Puebla.. It was scary because there was no place to stop and the trailers were whisking by .. I finally drove on the rim to a place that was a little safer but I sure was glad I was not alone.

I would not recommend to a woman alone to drive for days in Mexico .

I first called the green angels at 074 or 078 . They wanted to know exactly where I was between wch casetas and the number of the KM.. I did not pay attention to the names of the casetas so I did not know and there was no KM showing anywhere where we were and I was not going to walk in the torrential rain to find out since I did not have any plastic to protect myself and the trucks were gong way too fast and close to the side where I would have to walk. It was 4 pm and I knew the night would come at 7.30pm in that area so I wanted out..

Thank God my friend managed to change the tire as I had no clue of where we were and they had to have the information... How far in time or distnce from the last caseta..You have to havethe receipt of the caseta if you want to claim anything from the CAPUFE insurrance and wait for their adjuster.. Capufe would have paid for the blow out since it was due to some metal left on the road but I was not about to stay n a dangerous spot late eafternoon and be caught driving at night. I just do not see well at night nothing to do with external danger so I do not drive at night ..

We have driven that highay on a regular basis for years and I just do not drive it alone because I know I may have to wait for a long time for help.

A similar thing happened to us 2 other times, once near San Lus Potosi, my husband was alone and a truck triver helped him and another time on the Vera Cruz highway and we waited 3 hours for help and got reimbursed for the famage to the car by CAPUFE...

I drive to many very remote places in Mexico, this week I was in a village on a dirt road way up in the Sierra Mixteca and I just do not like to drive alone because I know how long it can take to het help. Yes Mexicans are very friendly and helpful as a ruke but I can tell you that this week as we were stopped in a dangerous place in torrential rain , no one offered to help..


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

RVGringo- Yes, I realize she is driving down the east coast, not the west. I've actually driven all over Mexico over the last 50 years. I was just saying that one doesn't need to start out with a sense of forboding- that bad incidents can happen anywhere but are not the norm.
One should certainly not be cavalier about it- it's always important to keep your wits about you, pay attention, and exercise the same caution you would no matter where you're travelling.


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## andrea333 (Jan 17, 2019)

Thank you for the reply

I am looking to cross the veteran bridge and taking the 101 to the 180 then 180D to Progreso.

Thought?


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

What is the 101 , 180 and 180D... People do not go much by numbers in Mexico....


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Highway route numbers. Those ending with D are cuotas.....D=dinero.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

yes and I do not know anyone who knows the numbers including me.. I have driven all over southern Mexico many many times and I do not know one road number...None of my Mexican friends know them either and neither do the truck drivers I deal with.. People refer to cities not numbers.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

The safer way to go is going down is San Luis Potosi, Puebla Orizaba , Cordoba and on direction Vera Cruz then Merida down the cuota all the way to Villahermosa then to Escarcega and then you can go via Champoton Campeche etc..
Escarcega s famous for the gas stations there to swap bills on you , they got me last year ...so do not stop there if you can, the cops ae also very crooked in that town,, otherwise everything is pretty nice and safe.


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## [email protected] (Nov 12, 2017)

citlali said:


> The safer way to go is going down is San Luis Potosi, Puebla Orizaba , Cordoba and on direction Vera Cruz then Merida down the cuota all the way to Villahermosa then to Escarcega and then you can go via Champoton Campeche etc..
> Escarcega s famous for the gas stations there to swap bills on you , they got me last year ...so do not stop there if you can, the cops ae also very crooked in that town,, otherwise everything is pretty nice and safe.


 . . . it's the "crooked cops" that got me twice driving through Puebla ( Cuota 150D elevated heading out of Puebla to Chiapas . . . driving down to San Cristobal de Las Casas, and then on my return to USA (I cross at Colombia Bridge border crossing). 

What (if ever) were your responses to the Policia Municipal in Escarcega? At this writing I am looking to circumvent Puebla entirely, dropping into Cordoba ( stayed overnight there last Marzo at Motel Caribe con mi dos gatos) for an overnight. Not a fan of driving at night either ( here in the USA ), my eye sight is not so sharp . . . con una sonrisa


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

I have been driving to Chiapas from Guadaljara at least twice a year and sometimes more for the last 15 years and I have always hated crossing Puebla. It used to be much worse than now but I find the drivers there agressive and nasty.
This last month I missed the overpass and drove on the lower road bitching the whole time.. I never got a ticket there , I thought that driving the elevated freeway woul avoid the cops, I guess not.. Why did he give you a ticket?

I try not to stop in Puebla when I can, I usually stay in Orizaba or Fortin the Las Flores.

In Escarcega the gas station switched a 500 with a 50 which they do a lot... The cops left me alone and I do not pay mordida any more, I fight the cops tooth and nails and they let me go.. In Chiapas they get you at the entrance of Tuxtla. They got a friend of mine there and robbed him of all his dollars. He is a Mexican merchant who goes to Chiapas and Guatemala to buy for hs store so he takes dollars to Guatemala.. 
They tried it on me but I had the office of the governor on the phone in no time and the cops ended up fixing what they say was wrong with my car and wishing me a happy trip..

The Escarcega cops are infamous.. I like to go to Calakmul in Campeche and stay at a hotel in the jungle that is held by a nice British lady. She told me the cops in Escarcega are nasty crooks and so are the gas stations, after the fact.... I spent a night there one but really if you can stay somewhere else it is better.

This last time I went via Oaxaca but it is way longer..I also had a blow out in the rain around Amazoc and that was pretty scary.The work on the road made a traffic nightmare..

How do you plan not to go through Puebla.. I went via Tlaxcala to see some artisans and you can come out around Amazoc but I am not sure that was an improvement..I really dislike that area but I do not see how to bypass it very easily..


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## [email protected] (Nov 12, 2017)

citlali said:


> I have been driving to Chiapas from Guadaljara at least twice a year and sometimes more for the last 15 years and I have always hated crossing Puebla. It used to be much worse than now but I find the drivers there agressive and nasty.
> This last month I missed the overpass and drove on the lower road bitching the whole time.. I never got a ticket there , I thought that driving the elevated freeway woul avoid the cops, I guess not.. Why did he give you a ticket?
> 
> I try not to stop in Puebla when I can, I usually stay in Orizaba or Fortin the Las Flores.
> ...


At this time my thoughts are Going around Puebla via Tlaxcala. Arrive in afternoon and stay in Tlaxcala or Apizaco . . . depart in the morning for San Cristobal de Las Casas.

The ticket . . . going down was "infracion" inside my Jeep - boxes, suitcases, cat carrier . . . who knows? HOWEVER, going back to the USA in junio, in late afternoon with traffic the Policia Municipal officer passed me, then slowed, then pulled over to the side of the elevated 2 lanes ( that is the problem I see, you are literally "fish in a barrel" with no exit options ), and then lights flashing . . . first it was my tags TIP; second it was my license ( USA drivers & immigration card RT ); when all were in order, it became I was speeding 15km over the limit . . . ha ha ha, I was below the limit . . . he threatened to tow my Jeep to the airport??? "The police station was closed." I knew this was heading in the wrong direction. Long story short . . . young guy with a gun, cartel bully type, if they separated me from my Jeep . . . goodbye . . . and my cats . . . it ended up costing pesos & dollars, and my calm tranquility . . . next two days to Laredo were uneventful . . . 

the irony, in my mind before, Puebla was special & romantic . . . not today (I had not read of any troubles in Puebla, instead the buzz was Coatzacoalcos . . . ) . . . not a fan of Puebla 

con una sonrisa . . . .


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

there are problems on the road fro Orizaba to Puebla and in San Martin Texmalucan..I stay awayfrom Coatzacoalcos because it is unattractive and I do not like the heat..and I stay away from Puebla because I never liked the town. It has good food and nicearchitecture in the center, the rest is the pits as far as I am concerned. I have been there and visited many times because I always thought that I wasmissing something..but at the end I try not tostop there and go through as fast as I can..
I stayed in Tehuacan this time and I enjoyed that but I had to go via Oaxaca so it took me way longer but I enjoyed the trip..the Cordoba Tuxtla part is such a drag..

A nice detour is via Vera Cruz,Boca del Rio the Tuxtlas and Catemaco but once you are back on the main Highway it is back to boredom, heat and crooked cops.

There has also been a bunch of assault at las Choapas...

I am now going to fly this next time. Left a car in Chiapas and flying after doing that road for so many years is really attractive and cheap. Good luck on your next trip..


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