# Accommodations over Semana Santa



## HolyMole (Jan 3, 2009)

I need some advise from those who drive to and from Mexico during Semana Santa. We're going to find ourselves on the road during the 2+ week period of Semana Santa/Pasqua (12-27 April/14). We have to leave Mexico by 21 April. We're down here in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, which is a minimum 4 day drive from the Arizona border, meaning we have to leave Zihua by 18 April latest, if not at least a day or two earlier.

We realize that hotel accommodations through the entire 2+ week period are at a premium, (and at a premium price), certainly in any areas on the coast. 

1. Is hotel availability a problem EVERYWHERE during that period, or JUST in the coastal vacation resort areas?

We may decide to take the ferry from Topolobampo over to La Paz in Baja Sur, then drive up Baja California and home to Canada via California.

2. Should we anticipate problems getting onto the ferry during Semana Santa week, during the period from approx. 13 - 17 April?

3. Would Baja Sur and Baja Norte hotels be subject to the same availability problems during Semana Santa as mainland hotels, or just those in coastal vacation/resort areas?

Thanks in advance.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

Unless you really want to visit Baja I can't see why you would spend all that Ferry money with a midnight-1AM boarding ..... just to return via California? Head for Nogales or points west and make it easier and cheap.

All of Mexico is on vacation ... not just the mainland


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

Rutas Punto a Punto

2100 klms. to Nogales on the mainland.


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## HolyMole (Jan 3, 2009)

AlanMexicali said:


> Rutas Punto a Punto
> 
> 2100 klms. to Nogales on the mainland.


Thanks, but it doesn't answer any of my questions.


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## HolyMole (Jan 3, 2009)

sparks said:


> Unless you really want to visit Baja I can't see why you would spend all that Ferry money with a midnight-1AM boarding ..... just to return via California? Head for Nogales or points west and make it easier and cheap.
> 
> All of Mexico is on vacation ... not just the mainland


Unless the schedules have changed, the Topolobampo-La Paz ferry leaves Topo sometime around 8 or 9 am and arrives La Paz around 3 pm.

And yes, we loved driving Baja southbound and wouldn't mind at all trying it the other way. "Easier and cheap" isn't the issue: my questions concerned the availability of accommodations, especially in towns, both on the mainland and in Baja, that are not tourist destinations. I'm aware all of Mexico is on vacation - that's why I asked the questions.


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## makaloco (Mar 26, 2009)

I don't have the answers to your questions, but here's the website for the ferry:
.:: Baja Ferries Website ::.
Looks like it leaves Topolobampo at 11 or 12 at night, depending on the day, and arrives at 6 or 7 the next morning.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

I do not think anyone can ell you exactly what will happen in a place or another regarding hotel occupancy. We have travelled from Chiapas via Oaxaca coast and city, vera Cruz several times and always found a place to stay.
My sister travelled in Quintana Roo over Semana and also has found space even on the beach but that does not mean you will not have a problem here and there. Just stop early enough that it gives you some time to find a pace before the night comes.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

HolyMole said:


> I need some advise from those who drive to and from Mexico during Semana Santa. We're going to find ourselves on the road during the 2+ week period of Semana Santa/Pasqua (12-27 April/14). We have to leave Mexico by 21 April. We're down here in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, which is a minimum 4 day drive from the Arizona border, meaning we have to leave Zihua by 18 April latest, if not at least a day or two earlier.
> 
> We realize that hotel accommodations through the entire 2+ week period are at a premium, (and at a premium price), certainly in any areas on the coast.
> 
> ...


1 and 3: I don't think hotels will be a problem anywhere that week except in beach destination areas. There are also some pilgrimage destination cities that can be full that week, Talpa, Jalisco is one that I know of, there may be others. People tend to go on vacation, so many places empty out. The ordinary motels on the outskirts of towns should be no problem.

2: I suggest getting a reservation for the ferry in advance. I tried to take the Mazatlan ferry once without a reservation. They wouldn't let me on and I was just an individual without a car. I had to go to Topolobampo where I was able to get on without a reservation. Topolobampo is a bigger ferry. But the ferries fill up, so reserve ahead.

The first response is an opinion, not based on experience. The second is also an opinion, but based on some experience. Take both with a grain of salt.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

Actually I didn't know when the ferry left from Topo ..... but it arrives from La Paz about 11PM. Maybe it sits over night


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## HolyMole (Jan 3, 2009)

Thanks to all. We'll pass on that Topolobampo-La Paz overnight run. Glad I asked. We took it the other way, leaving La Paz at around 3 pm and arriving around 9, which was fine. 
We'll probably leave Zihuatanejo around 12 April and take our chances re finding accommodations. We'd like to spend a few days in Mazatlan, but we're guessing that hotels there will either be full or very expensive. We recall stories of one year when Easter was early, and the owner of a small hotel in Mazatlan popular with regular, long-term ****** snowbirds kicked them all out during Semana Santa so he could rent out their rooms at 150 pesos/head and allow 8 or 10 to a room.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Semana Santa is most often considered the Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the week preceeding Easter. Not the entire two week period. Not for tourism purposes, that is. The days most congested on busses, highways and hotels ... in some parts of the country, are those days. This year that would be: April 17, 18, 19 and 20. Just about any beach community with facilities for tourists will be busy, because those days are one of the two vacation periods when many people head for the beach. My observation has been over the years that many Mexicans don't make reservations very far ahead of time, and many just show-up looking for rooms. Then there are those few towns, as TundraGreen refers to, where there are special Semana Santa pilgrimages and events where hotel rooms can be hard to find. Enjoy the adventure, of travel in Mexico during Semana Santa!


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