# Navigating Mexico



## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

We have a 'new' 2016 Subaru we picked up last March which only has 1000 kms on it - so we were thinking of maybe planning a trip somewhere - maybe Mazatlan - where we have never been. The route looks pretty straight forward - Hwy 15D for about 12 hours...

But my real question - the car was supposed to come with nav system - but didn't. We have a Samsung phone and I've tried Google maps and Here maps. But they only work so-so. The maps themselves seem fine but the voice navigation is pretty terrible - telling me to make a left when I know I need to make a right.

So - what means do you use to navigate uncharted waters in Mexico ? A phone, A TomTom, a Garmin ?

We are only interested in maps for Mexico and ideally I would like it to use bluetooth to interface with the car stereo.

Thanks


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## Bobbyb (Mar 9, 2014)

Some Garmin units have Mexico maps. BUT Google maps is excellent. Maz. is a straight shot from Nogales. You will have a great trip. BTW: When we are in some Mexican cities I do not drive. Parking can be hell and there may be theft concerns, Busses are fun and cabs are cheap. especially the Pulmonias ( open air fiberglass VW's). Enjoy !

Moisheh


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

Friend had a TonTom with old maps and it still took us to the front door of the hotel in Guadalajara. He now has Garmin


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

The only thing that I ever used to navigate Mexico was the Guia Roji Atlas de Carreteras, available online for about $30 USD. We could plan our trips, make notes on 3x5 cards and never failed to reach our destination. Once, we tried a friend‘s GPS. It was often confused, in error and constantly “recalculating“. GPS is great for sea voyages, airplanes, or even a car in the USA or Canada. Not in Mexico for anything other than main highways. Even then, it does not handle laterals, glorietas, or left turns well at all. Plan ahead, with a good map, and even use street view on Google Maps to look at landmarks. You can even print them, if you wish to take them in the car with the 3x5 notes.


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

RVGRINGO said:


> The only thing that I ever used to navigate Mexico was the Guia Roji Atlas de Carreteras, available online for about $30 USD. We could plan our trips, make notes on 3x5 cards and never failed to reach our destination. Once, we tried a friend‘s GPS. It was often confused, in error and constantly “recalculating“. GPS is great for sea voyages, airplanes, or even a car in the USA or Canada. Not in Mexico for anything other than main highways. Even then, it does not handle laterals, glorietas, or left turns well at all. Plan ahead, with a good map, and even use street view on Google Maps to look at landmarks. You can even print them, if you wish to take them in the car with the 3x5 notes.


Yes - we used to use AAA travel services to print out and highlight the routes we should take. Used that even to get to Mexico from South Florida. Gives a certain sense of progress as one turns the pages  I think AMA here in Mexico might offer a similar service - but my preference at this point would be for hands free navigation...


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Hands free is easy: At each pit stop, review the next segment of your notes and any landmark prints you may have made. That is all it takes. I have done it in cars, airplanes and in navigating my schooner from Maine to the South Pacific. But then, I am very old and we had to learn stuff back then, when there was no such thing as GPS, or digital anything. The young, now, are so terribly helpless and dependent upon “devices“ that they will not survive when the power goes out.....and one day, it will.


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

RVGRINGO said:


> Hands free is easy: At each pit stop, review the next segment of your notes and any landmark prints you may have made. That is all it takes. I have done it in cars, airplanes and in navigating my schooner from Maine to the South Pacific. But then, I am very old and we had to learn stuff back then, when there was no such thing as GPS, or digital anything. The young, now, are so terribly helpless and dependent upon “devices“ that they will not survive when the power goes out.....and one day, it will.


Perhaps you are right - I should probably keep a compass in the glove compartment as well


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

Guia Roji probably good for well traveled areas. It can be really deceiving out in the country.

Going south from Tapalpa and roads from Santa Maria del Oro Jalisco into Michoacan for example


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Gatos said:


> Perhaps you are right - I should probably keep a compass in the glove compartment as well


Of course you should. One of our cars had a built-in compass, but the other had one in the glove compartment. Just remember to either calibrate it in the car, with known directions, or use it outside and away from the car.
PS: The moss grows on the north side of trees.
PPS: The Sun and the stars all rise in the east and set in the west.
PPPS: It is noon when the Sun is at its highest, but only where you are; nowhere else. 

Then......There are those big green signs.


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

I was a boy scout 

btw : it is a myth that moss only grows on the north side of trees


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## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

RVGRINGO said:


> PS: The moss grows on the north side of trees.


I look for it on the beach palms, never found any, not even on the north side .:confused2:


> PPS: The Sun and the stars all rise in the east and set in the west.


Works the same way with the moon, and depending what phase it's in indexed to its position, you get a pretty good idea of what time it is too. I like watching the stars.... or Star Trek.


> PPPS: It is noon when the Sun is at its highest, but only where you are; nowhere else.


Maybe, but the sun's usually pretty high for at least three hours where most of us live. This ain't Seattle in January.


> Then......There are those big green signs.


Don't get me started on roadsigns in Mexico. :rant:. The official green ones usually aren't there at a critical point, or they're pointing the way to a shopping center or car dealership. My wife nags until I pull over to the next Pemex and ask directions, which I hate doing. Makes me feel like less of a man. I'd rather drive around lost for hours.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

I call many green signs in Mexico the "confort signs"..usually not there at a crossroad but go down the road you think may be the right one and you will see a sign that tells you where you are going , making you feel good about being right or you have to go back a few kms and take the right road.. Those sings placements are really infuriating, why can't they be there when you need them.


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## LMtortugas (Aug 23, 2013)

RVGRINGO said:


> Hands free is easy: At each pit stop, review the next segment of your notes and any landmark prints you may have made. That is all it takes. I have done it in cars, airplanes and in navigating my schooner from Maine to the South Pacific. But then, I am very old and we had to learn stuff back then, when there was no such thing as GPS, or digital anything. The young, now, are so terribly helpless and dependent upon “devices“ that they will not survive when the power goes out.....and one day, it will.


RV, _*right on!*_ a good hard copy map, GOOGLE, and some common sense will get one safely to Mazatlan. Nice ride entire route with PEMEX/OXXO conveniently along the way. Guaymas, Ciudad Obregon, Los Mochis offer comfortable stop-overs is so desired.


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## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

LMtortugas said:


> RV, _*right on!*_ a good hard copy map, GOOGLE, and some common sense will get one safely to Mazatlan. Nice ride entire route with PEMEX/OXXO conveniently along the way. Guaymas, Ciudad Obregon, Los Mochis offer comfortable stop-overs is so desired.


Being from Sinaloa, I guess you know what you're talking about, but as far as lodging, I never found anything decent at the low end in Guaymas or Obregón. Mochis isn't bad, but the downtown area rolls up at 7 pm. For clean, comfortable, cheap and safe hotels I like Navojoa and they're all right on the highway going through town, no detour. The other thing about that route, cuotas start getting abusive past Mochis. Overall the signage if pretty good, except for getting through Culiacán on the libre which is poorly marked.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Gatos said:


> I was a boy scout
> 
> btw : it is a myth that moss only grows on the north side of trees


I don‘think I said, “only“, but it does grow thickest on the north side, even if some is found on the other sides. Do round trees have sides???? Oh well.

If you are already at the beach, your worries are over.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

RVGRINGO said:


> Of course you should. One of our cars had a built-in compass, but the other had one in the glove compartment. Just remember to either calibrate it in the car, with known directions, or use it outside and away from the car.
> PS: The moss grows on the north side of trees.
> PPS: The Sun and the stars all rise in the east and set in the west.
> PPPS: It is noon when the Sun is at its highest, but only where you are; nowhere else.
> ...


I have never been lost in Mexico, but I have been bewildered many times.


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## TurtleToo (Aug 23, 2013)

joaquinx said:


> I have never been lost in Mexico, but I have been bewildered many times.


Ha ha! That describes me exactly!


.


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## LMtortugas (Aug 23, 2013)

perropedorro said:


> I never found anything decent at the low end in Guaymas or Obregón. Mochis isn't bad, but the downtown area rolls up at 7 pm.


Interesting comments...I regularly stay in Guaymas, much prefered over San Carlos. I find multiple hotel accommodations offer a very nice room, private secure parking, and ample local dining options, as does Ciudad Obregon. As I live part-time in Los Mochis and my business is domiciled there, its closing at 7 PM perplexes me.


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## RPBHaas (Dec 21, 2011)

Google maps is fast and accuarate. I drive every week in Mexico out of my home town. If it is to a new area, I use Google maps and its landnav system. Rarely has it been wrong.
Having experience driving in Mexico helps tremendously with the peculiarities of the Mexican road system. Usually traffic signs are misleading, redundant or misplaced. The exception tends to be along the autopistas.
Good luck and have fun.


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

Unless you are one of those people who has zero sense of direction, it's pretty much impossible to get lost between Nogales and Mazatlan. Only thing that might negate that statement is if there is highway construction, with detours, since, as other posters have noted, signs here are confusing to say the least. And in that case, GPS, or other navigation systems won't do you any good. I have driven a lot of Mexico with nothing more than a Rand McNally road map of Mexico. It's funny to me that people now think they need a navigation system.


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## Howler (Apr 22, 2013)

*trip planning, maps, GPS & Sanborn's*

I've NEVER been able to plan "perfectly" for driving in Mexico... it always seems that something changes or comes up to invalidate or confuse my best efforts in advance. Still, every year I'll get the latest version road atlas I can find - which is great for the US side, but barely functional for Mexico (lacks detail and has only ONE page for the WHOLE freakin' country!!).

Also, as I try to map out & calculate my routes in advance with Google Maps I make use of the "street view" feature for potentially problematic areas. Still, it is soooooooooo frustrating there how directions & signs can be confusing and often posted with little opportunity to safely anticipate moves, turns or decisions until I'm past where I should have acted.... then the fun is on to find a way to turn around & make another pass at it.

Back before GPS & widely-available internet I would put a stop in at Sanborn's on the border. They were great with very detailed instructions & planning for almost ANYWHERE you wanted to drive in Mexico... right down to key mileage posts, topes & tied-up donkeys along the libres when there were very FEW worthwhile cuotas. Has Sanborn's evolved over the years in this respect?

It's funny I saw this post tonight just as I've been programming all of my Mexico addresses into my phone to try it out this trip in Mexico. We leave Saturday or Sunday and will spend the bulk of our time in Orizaba, with stops in Queretaro, Martinez de la Torre (Ver.) and the port of Veracruz. Hope maybe we can cross paths while down there... if we end up close to you, just give a holler & let's see what we can do!! :car:


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

I go in many remote areas and I find the detail Guia Rojii very good. It even has some of the dirt roads.. Used to have the cuatas and their prices, gas stations etc.. I managed way back then to cross DF using their map.
Forget calculating distance though..the mountain roads average 20km to 40 km an hour just like the San Cristobal Palenque road and no matter what you do it sticks around there because if there are no topes , there is work, demonstrations and who knows what and there is always something to bring you back to the 20km/ 40km an hour an hour average..


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

US road atlases do not have sufficient coverage for Mexico. That is why I suggest the Guia Roji Atlas de Carreteras, which you can buy online, anywhere in the world. It will come to your door. 
Of course, if I had my way, one would not be able to get a driver‘s license without knowing how to check the oil & water, change a tire, replace wiper blades, and read a map.


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

I can read a map - but I'd prefer not to do that and drive at the same time. If I am approaching a maze of intersections in Mexico City - I wouldn't mind a little help from a device which says - stay in the left lane your exit is in 500 meters.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

My Garmin Nuvi works well, there are supplemental Mexico maps at....

MEXICO GPS ATLAS GARMIN


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Yes city driving would be simplified with a GPS.. I go by nose in Mexico city and Guadalajara but always get lost in Tuxtla.. those simple cities with north south east west like Puebla and Tuxtla are killers for me..


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

Tampico is a maze for me, I just make up my mind that I will get lost and then find my way out on the other side, that seems to help.


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

Zorro2017 said:


> Tampico is a maze for me, I just make up my mind that I will get lost and then find my way out on the other side, that seems to help.


At times my wife has hopped in a cab and I have followed the cab to our destination.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

I have done that in DF and Tuxtla..it beats going in circles..


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

RVGRINGO said:


> I don‘think I said, “only“, but it does grow thickest on the north side, even if some is found on the other sides. Do round trees have sides???? Oh well.


It also depends on which hemisphere you're in. In southern climes it will be thicker on the south side. 

We use Garmin, which came with "Lifetime Maps" for all North America, including Mexico, which allows for free updating of the maps. We've found it very reliable in Mexico. It's actually more reliable than asking directions - remember the Mexican penchant for trying to give directions out of courtesy, even if the person actually has no idea how to get to your destination. 

The problem with using Google maps is in areas where there is no reliable cell phone signal. GPS is satellite based, so works even in remote areas.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

¡Ja! It took a while, but I finally stopped asking directions from pedestrians when I realized that there was a reason that they were on foot & might never have left town. That decision was confirmed when I was once accompanied into Guadalajara by a Mexican friend, who did not drive or own a car. He always rode the bus. As I zipped about the city, he asked how I managed to know my way around so well, having only been in Mexico a short time. He was unconscious of the fact that I was simply following signs and/or had previously planned my trip with a map. He just depended upon bus drivers and buildings as landmarks.....He is not one of those to ask for directions.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

A long time ago we did not seem to find out way out of a town in Guatemala so we asked for directions and came to a huge hole in the street, the people just walked around it and were on their way out of town but with the car it was another dead end-


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

citlali said:


> A long time ago we did not seem to find out way out of a town in Guatemala so we asked for directions and came to a huge hole in the street, the people just walked around it and were on their way out of town but with the car it was another dead end-


I had a pick-up when I lived in Guatemala and never hesitated filling the back up with passengers. That helped me get where I wanted to get and help push me out when I got stuck


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

citlali said:


> A long time ago we did not seem to find out way out of a town in Guatemala so we asked for directions and came to a huge hole in the street, the people just walked around it and were on their way out of town but with the car it was another dead end-


I mostly walk everywhere and don't have to pay attention to oneway streets and allowed left turns. When I am in a car with a friend and directing them, I often get into trouble because the car can't do things that I do on foot.


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