# Banjercito Nuevo Larado



## Beynt (Feb 21, 2013)

We live in Manitoba but are now in La Cruz.

We are travelling from La Cruz to Larado, Texas in our own vehicle and must turn in the vehicle hologram to the banjercito. 

We are planning (hoping) to be driving from Zacatecas to Nuevo Larado in one day and stay overnight in Larado,TX. We were told to use the CITEV closest to Puente I in Nuevo Larado. How do I find the CITEV close to Puente I in Nuevo Larado. We will be driving into Nuevo Larado on Mexico Hwy 85. 

After we get everything looked after at the CITEV at Puente I, what streets or route do we take to get into the USA.

If we don't get to Nuevo Larado while it is still daylight, we plan to stay in Saltillo overnight.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

If you type in this:Banjercito, Sector Centro, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, to Google maps it will show you the way...


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## circle110 (Jul 20, 2009)

We make the drive to Laredo from Guanajuato regularly and it is three hours longer for us than your drive from Zacatecas. We always make it to the border well before sundown, so you should have no trouble getting there by that time. It looks to be some 7 hours from Zac. to Nuevo Laredo so if you leave before 10:30 a.m. you should be fine.

We cross at Colombia Bridge so unfortunately I can't help you with the details of the crossing at Puente 1.


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## Beynt (Feb 21, 2013)

chicois8 said:


> If you type in this:Banjercito, Sector Centro, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, to Google maps it will show you the way...



Thanks the prompt response. I have now read another response which states that the Banjercito at Puente I & II has long wait times and that Columbia is quicker. 

If this is the case, I would certainly use the Columbia banjercito instead if it is faster than Puente I and II.

What do I put into Google to get the correct roads, streets, avenues etc from the time I enter Nuevo Larado on Mexican Hwy. 85 until I am on Interstate 35 in Texas. We are planning to stay in San Antonio so if it is faster to use Columbia then we would take Columbia. I assume the Columbia banjercito and the US custom offices are open at least up to midnight 7 days a week.


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## circle110 (Jul 20, 2009)

Beynt said:


> What do I put into Google to get the correct roads, streets, avenues etc from the time I enter Nuevo Larado on Mexican Hwy. 85 until I am on Interstate 35 in Texas. We are planning to stay in San Antonio so if it is faster to use Columbia then we would take Columbia. I assume the Columbia banjercito and the US custom offices are open at least up to midnight 7 days a week.


Unfortunately, the Colombia crossing is only open from 8 am to midnight. I don't know why you would be wanting to cross there near midnight - that would not be a recommended idea. I would suggest getting there by sundown.

One of the pros of using Colombia is that you never have to enter Nuevo Laredo. It's all highway right up to the entrance to the crossing. Another pro is the lack of wait to cross. We frequently just pull up and are first or second in line on the US side. The con is that you drive 15 extra miles to cross there. Some people say that when you drive to Colombia you are "out in the middle of nowhere" but I have to say that we always find ourselves in a caravan of trucks and other cars so I don't feel isolated or vulnerable at all. Again, if you cross at midnight you will be all alone out there.

From MX 85 you really can't miss the turnoff for Colombia bridge - it's very well marked. You get off onto MX 2 but it is marked more clearly by "Puente Colombia" than by its number. You take that for some 30 km and then there is an overpass where you get off of MX 2 to get onto MX 2 - a goofy but common thing in Mexico. Just follow the signs to Colombia; it is very well marked since it is a major truck crossing.

Once you enter the crossing area, there is a little hutch on the left side before you get to any buildings. That is where they cancel your car permit. After getting that done, you proceed forward and on the left side of the wide median you will see the Mexican INM/Banjercito building. You will have to cross that median to get there. 

In that building you will get your deposit back at the Banjercito window and also either turn in your FMM or "check out" if you have a resident visa. Then you cross back over the median and drive north over the river to the US crossing.

Once you pass through the US side you go straight ahead and enter TX 255 that will take you back to I35. You'll need a "Tex pass" (I'm not sure if that's what it's called) for 255. That's another con of Colombia.


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## circle110 (Jul 20, 2009)

I forgot one very important thing:

The stretch of highway MX 2 after the overpass where you "get off of MX 2 to get onto MX 2" is a major speed trap. There is a nasty motorcycle cop working that stretch that wants you to help him pay his grocery bill. DO NOT go even one KPH over the posted limit there. 

That's yet another con of crossing at Colombia.

In spite of all the cons, we still prefer crossing there. The 15 minutes of extra driving is more than made up in speed of crossing. But I understand why many just deal with the wait to cross at Nuevo Laredo.


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## Beynt (Feb 21, 2013)

circle110 said:


> Unfortunately, the Colombia crossing is only open from 8 am to midnight. I don't know why you would be wanting to cross there near midnight - that would not be a recommended idea. I would suggest getting there by sundown.
> 
> One of the pros of using Colombia is that you never have to enter Nuevo Laredo. It's all highway right up to the entrance to the crossing. Another pro is the lack of wait to cross. We frequently just pull up and are first or second in line on the US side. The con is that you drive 15 extra miles to cross there. Some people say that when you drive to Colombia you are "out in the middle of nowhere" but I have to say that we always find ourselves in a caravan of trucks and other cars so I don't feel isolated or vulnerable at all. Again, if you cross at midnight you will be all alone out there.
> 
> ...


Thank-you for the detailed response. We are leaving La Cruz tomorrow morning early and hope to be in Zacatecas overnight and then leave early Tuesday morning for the Colombia bridge. We hope to be there well before dark. (2-4 p.m. if all goes well. 

Do you have a recommendation for a hotel/motel with off-street parking in or around the Zacatecas area which has internet access and which is located reasonably close to Hwy MX 54.

Thank-you again for your advice. I'll watch my speed on MX2. I hate paying seeding tickets.


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## circle110 (Jul 20, 2009)

I'm sorry but I don't have a hotel suggestion in Zacatecas - I've not been there yet. We live in Guanajuato so we just drive north up MX 57 until almost to Saltillo. 

We always go on to San Antonio because my brother lives there. It takes us just under 10 hours to the border from Guanajuato, at least an hour at the border (you guys won't take that long but my wife is a Mexican citizen with a US tourist visa and they always give us the 3rd degree plus she has to enter the customs building and get an I94 permit for the interior) and then two more hours to SA -- 13 hours in total.

Leaving from Zacatecas, you guys should be in San Antonio in under 10 hours that day.


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