# safe route to enter mexico??



## leesy72 (Sep 15, 2011)

i am wanting to travel to mexico next month, anyone know any safe routes to avoid any danger of the cartels?


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## pappabee (Jun 22, 2010)

leesy72 said:


> i am wanting to travel to mexico next month, anyone know any safe routes to avoid any danger of the cartels?



fly




well it'll be as safe as any:lol: people will need more information before they can help you. I see that you're in Florida does that mean that you'll want the most direct route and where in Mexico do you want to go? More info please


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

leesy72 said:


> i am wanting to travel to mexico next month, anyone know any safe routes to avoid any danger of the cartels?


Just do it. In the past 6 months, I have left and returned via: Tijuana/San Ysidro, Mexicali/Calexico, Ciudad Juarez/El Paso. They all were perfectly safe. Stuff can happen anywhere, but it usually doesn't.


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## telcoman (Feb 11, 2010)

What are you driving? If its an SUV with darkened widows or a PU truck (with no camper sitting on the back) then there are areas you should avoid, like Tamaulipas State.

You can try one of the 3 known travel buddy sites to try & find others to travel with

www.mexicotravelbuddies.com
www.rollinghomes.com
www.mexicoroadtrips.com

a car is a good match with an RV since most RV parks have hotels attached or very close by.

Also, you might try lonely planets thorn tree forum


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## dongringo (Dec 13, 2010)

You may want to contact those that run narco submarines from south and central america to the US. Presumably they are returning without a payload and might appreciate a paying passenger.

Also, I have been led to believe, there is a regularly scheduled heavily armored bus from Matamoros to Veracruz. Their schedule is a bit erratic because they supposedly have problems retaining tail gunners who apparently do not know how to fill in the blanks on food stamp applications. You may consider applying.

Another choice is railroads owned by mostly US companies, crossing the US border to most anywhere in Mexico. They transport tens of thousands in the south to north corridor and I think you should have no problem going north to south.


Or you could just drive.


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

Not sure where you are going to in Mexico but our little town between San Luis Potosi & Queretaro off hwy 57 has a lot of folk that drive to/from Texas.
The most popular route recently is to bite the toll bullet and drive via Laredo to Monterrey, to Saltillo and then Matehuala & San Luis Potosi while maximizing toll roads. The preferred crossing is Columbia(watch speed on rte 2 as a lot of police activity) but others use Laredo crossing. We do have a few folk that won't pay the tolls and do Harlingen TX via Los Indios/Valle Hermoso or Matamoros to Ciudad Vicroria to San Luis Potosi.
So far, no problems. I just did the Laredo route Wednesday.


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## leesy72 (Sep 15, 2011)

*safe route to enter mexico*



leesy72 said:


> i am wanting to travel to mexico next month, anyone know any safe routes to avoid any danger of the cartels? I am driving from florida to guanajuato and will be driving a pickup truck.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

The very safest route: Depart Florida by boat, pass through the Panama Canal and turn right at the Pacific Ocean. Then, choose any port from Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta or Mazatlan to disembark. There will be several men, all waiting just for you, willing to take you anywhere and show you a good time; for a fee, of course.


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## telcoman (Feb 11, 2010)

Despite all the sarcastic replies, many of which make good points. Monterrey is probably best avoided if you can. Just like you would probably avoid New Orleans or parts of Detroit or SE LA, Monterrey is definetly a city to be avoiding these days . It has become another Cuidad Juarez. There is a battle for control between the Zetas & the Gulf drug cartels in that city.

Barb Contreras who runs an RV Park described the route they take in detail on another forum. Here it is. The route takes you through Guanajuato.


This is the way Sal and I go, for us it is the best route to our place. No problems in the past few years and we have done it 8-10 times since 2005.
The Columbia bridge is a little northwest of Laredo. You can access it from I35 and while it is a toll road, there are no toll booths. You can either pay on line ahead of time or they take a picture of your plates and mail you a bill. To prepay call 1-888-468-9824 or 001-512-874-9998(international). Don’t know if they will take a onetime payment or not. Make sure they know it’s a one time thing.
You can take care of the paper work at Columbia. We paid a $300 deposit for our truck, nothing for the 5th wheel and were told by the clerk at Banjercito that motorhomes do not need to leave a depost. But others have questioned that, so will just have to wait and see. The parking lot now has curbs so big rigs may not be able to get in and out easily. The official had us park alongside the wall by the entrance, then we drove by the green light gate and parked on the far side while we did our paper work. No problems with the parking on the other side of the entrance, lots of room. For truck campers the parking lot would work just fine.
After taking care of the paper work, turn left onto the road and look for signs to Monterrey. After the checkpoint at the 26 km, you will see signs for libre or cuota. We take the cuota even though it is more expensive, then follow signs to Saltillo using cuotas all the way. We don’t stop in Saltillo either but drive on to Matehuala again using cuotas. This is more expensive, but you avoid small towns and Monterrey, except for about a mile by the airport. It seems safer to us than the libres at this point in time. You can get from Columbia to Las Palmas hotel and rv park in Matehuala in about 6 hours.
Once you are on 85 after leaving the Columbia crossing, you should see a sign that says Monterrey, cuota or libre. Take the toll (cuota) road to Monterrey. When the tollway ends you will be on the free road. Continue straight. Approximately ½ mile past the airport (on the right) is the sign for Saltillo, Cuota 40D. It is a right exit by an overpass. Follow this road to another sign that says Saltillo cuota 40D. This is a brand new beautiful road.
You will see an exit sign for Mexico, Saltillo, Matehuala. This is a very sharp hairpin curve, so go slow. This exit will take you to 40 libre, go only a couple of kilometers and you will see a large Apasco cement sign on the right. Stay in the left lane. Very soon after the Apasco sign you will pass a Pemex #4540 and there is a left exit to Matehuala 57 Cuota. This is the bypass of Saltillo. Sign says Mexico, Saltillo, Matehuala, San Luis Potosi.
After this cuota, keep going towards Matehuala and take one more toll road thru the mountains.
If you want to stay in the campgrounds in Saltillo listed in Church’s book, you will need to follow their directions, as we have not been there. From the border to Las Palmas in Matehuala it take us about 6 hours pulling a trailer. The second day for us is a long day of driving, 8-10 hours, depending on your stops. This last time we made it in 8½ hours, didn’t stop to eat at restaurants, ate in the truck.
Another thing you might do to break up your drive is stay in Saltillo, the next leg could be to a campground in San Luis Potosi, then on to our place the next day, only driving 7-8 hours. But then you have to do city driving thru both Saltillo and San Luis Potosi, which Sal and I try to avoid as we have been to those places before. But if you are interested in seeing them it might be worth your while.
So after the toll ends you will be on 57 towards Matehuala. Follow signs that say, Mexico, San Luis Potosi. There is a very nice rest stop about kilometer marker 108. It is on the left side and called Parador San Pedro, with a Pemex #7537. There is lots of room for parking and some motor homes stay the night along side the trucks. There is even parking a little further back on both sides of that gas station, if you want to stay away from the noisy trucks. We can’t guarantee the safety of course, but it’s pretty nice and we stayed there once.
Continue on 57. If not going into Matehuala, follow the sign that says San Luis Potosi, Queretaro, Mexico, Cuota. You will bypass Matehuala and head onto San Luis Potosi.
If you are going to the hotel Las Palmas where we stay, take 57 Libre to Matehuala. You will pass Pemex #2297 on the right, Las Palmas is about 1 mile down on the left. Watch for topes, vibrators, and stop lights. There is a large sign, high in the air that says Las Palmas. You can make it under the archway with a pickup camper, but if not there is another gate they will open you. The campground is little more than a parking lot with hook ups and showers, but it is quiet, safe and the restaurant has good food. There is also a pool and little hiking path at the hotel with nice desert flora. Free internet.
If you plan on going all the way to our place the next day, leave early as possible so you can get to us before dark.
When you leave the hotel, go south(left) and it runs into 57 again. Signs will say Mexico, San Luis Potosi, Queretaro. If you are not going into SLP take the cuota around SLP. There is a nice rest stop right before the toll booth and people have spent the night there.
After you pay the toll, continue straight. Go about 12 km to the end of the bypass. You will be on 57 again so go about 5 miles. Stay to the right and follow the sign for Villa Reyes (37). The road is a little bad but it gets better quickly, a wide 2 lane with shoulders. If you see a bipass around Villa Reyes you can take it but there are a lot of topes that way. With a truck camper you could go straight thru town without any problems. It’s shorter.
From VR follow sign to San Felipe/Leon/Dolores Hildago. You will keep going till you get to Pemex # 6510 near San Felipe. You do not go into San Felipe. Go to stop sign and go under the overpass to make a left hand turn. Follow sign to Leon/Dolores Hidalgo. Go about 3 miles to Pemex 8997. (This is a nice Pemex with a 24 hour restaurant in case you need to stay over night, but we never have before.)
Continue straight and now follow sign to Silao/Leon (77) You will be on a boulevard in Silao (watch for big topes) and you will get to a stop light by the highway overpass. Go under the overpass to make a left hand turn onto the highway. (There is NO SIGN for this turn, don’t know why, we missed it the first time.)
When you are on the highway, follow signs to Irapuato. Before Irapuato follow signs that say, Guadalajara, La Piedad CUOTA. Take the right side exit to GDL/La Piedad cuota. After the 2nd tollbooth, stay on the right and go towards Abasolo. Do not take the exit into Abasolo but go towards La Piedad.
Along this road about a mile or so after Abasolo on the right hand side is a Parador Touristico Morales, rest stop, and it is open 24 hours and has a bus stop, hotel and restaurant. The owner (Juan Morales) told us RVs can park overnight, out front in the parking lot for free. He says to park by the pick up trucks. It may be noisy from busses, not sure.
There are also ruins in the small town of Plazuelas near there, but we were not able to get close because of our 5thwheel. We tried but had to turn around and it was very hard. A truck camper should be fine if interested.
Continue on towards La Piedad. You will enter the city for a bit, but traffic is not too bad. Follow signs that say GDL CUOTA to the right.(Sign is missing the right arrow, go figure) It also says GDL straight but that is the toll from Mexico City to GDL so don’t take it. After you turn right, go over the toll bridge, pay the toll. Go about ½ to 1 mile and the road come to a T.
Important: Now follow the sign that say GDL 15 to the right. You do NOT want the cuota. The sign says GDL 15 right and GDL left, you go right.
In about 3 km take road that says Vista Hermosa, Yurecuaro (110) Bipass Yurecuaro. It is about 2- 2 ½ hours to our place now.
Follow sign to Vista Hermosa, go over bridge to VH. DO NOT get on toll road to GDL/Mexico now. At the end of the road is a stop sign. Go right toward Vista Hermosa/Sahuayo. You will go thru the town of Vista Hermosa, at the square, turn left and follow traffic on blacktop road out of town. Big rigs can make this turn, the road is wide.
Sign will say Brisenas/Sahuayo. Before Brisenas there is a tope and the bipass of Brisenas is on the left. If you miss it its ok, just go thru town and make a left at the flashing light. Sign says Sahuayo/ GDL. Go on to Venustiano Carranza, or take the bipass around it is you see it. Some of these bipasses are easy to miss but even with a big rig you can go thru these towns. Not bad just several topes of course. The bipass around VC is out of the way, but a good road.
Go on to Sahuayo. At the circle turn left towards Jiquilpan. Lots of topes in Sahuayo. Keep going till you get to the circle in Jiquilpan and turn right by the Pemex #1080. Then another right at the end of the Pemex, sign says Colima. Go up the hill till the end and make another right. Follow this road (110) about 28 km to the Pemex 8489, and turn left. (This station is closed right now. There is a propane station on this corner also if you need LP.) Go 8 km and turn right and then you will see us about 1 ½ km on the right!!!! Safe travels.


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## Mexico Babe (Aug 1, 2011)

RVGRINGO said:


> The very safest route: Depart Florida by boat, pass through the Panama Canal and turn right at the Pacific Ocean. Then, choose any port from Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta or Mazatlan to disembark. There will be several men, all waiting just for you, willing to take you anywhere and show you a good time; for a fee, of course.


All of y'all act like a bunch of smart aleck kids!!!! Good grief. She asked a simple question is all!!!!! Get over yourselves already!!!!!!


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## telcoman (Feb 11, 2010)

I think its a sign of frustration. A lot of us are getting sick of all the scare tactics, when in fact bad stuff happens all the time in Canada & the US to drivers and you never hear about the incidents. There are too many!!!

The only good thing about scare tactics is they tend to make people more cautious, which they should be anyway no matter where they drive.


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## Mexico Babe (Aug 1, 2011)

telcoman said:


> I think its a sign of frustration. A lot of us are getting sick of all the scare tactics, when in fact bad stuff happens all the time in Canada & the US to drivers and you never hear about the incidents. There are too many!!!
> 
> The only good thing about scare tactics is they tend to make people more cautious, which they should be anyway no matter where they drive.


You gave her good positive info!!!! Thank you!!!


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## leesy72 (Sep 15, 2011)

im not a drug dealer thank u, so why the hell would i depart by boat, if u cant give me an honest answer dont answer please, i really need to get to guanajuato its urgent and i need to know with the situations with the cartels if its safe or not...i have kids and family there that need medical attention and i need to get them back here.


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## leesy72 (Sep 15, 2011)

thanks for the info, so its safe to pass thru laredo?..which bridge u recomment, i heard #3 the columbian bridge is safer than #1 and 2, i am driving from florida and i need to get to guanajuato, i do usually take queretero and san luis potosi way, just not sure where to cross without problems..and i stick to hwy toll roads, much safer.


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## conorkilleen (Apr 28, 2010)

pass through Laredo. Go over bridge 1 or 2. Thousands upon thousands pass through there everyday. Take the toll road south. Thats what I did. Fast and easy.

Monterrey is NOT the new Juarez.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Good advice. The Columbia route is some 20 miles longer, involves the Texas pass billing on the toll road and has a long isolated stretch, which can be pretty lonesome and is sometimes targeted by opportunists dressed as cops; maybe even real cops.
You are in 'numbers' and most find Bridge #2 the most convenient. There are signs directing you to the auto permit building, etc. Enjoy your trip.


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## leesy72 (Sep 15, 2011)

thanks for the advice everyone, i'll give some update passing info when i return..god bless


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## maryellen1952 (Oct 5, 2009)

You didn't mention anything about the local gangs which, many experts agree, are more threatening than the cartels. so you need to do a lot of research about what to expect when traveling anywhere in Mexico. Unfortunately most Americans have limited knowledge about anything about Mexico except the drug cartels which can significantly hamper good judgement.


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## tdemex (Aug 2, 2011)

Good advise Maryellen1952. It seems a few people make it thru and think Wow that was easy. What about the ones that didn't?.........


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## pappabee (Jun 22, 2010)

tdemex said:


> Good advise Maryellen1952. It seems a few people make it thru and think Wow that was easy. What about the ones that didn't?.........


Your statement that "a few people make it thru" is a perfect example of YELLOW JOURNALISM. (yes caps because I'm upset). The largest majority of travelers have no problem with either the cartel or gang violence. Yes if you want to drive around one of the border towns at 4AM with your windows open you might be inviting some concerns. Over the past months there have been at least 100 posts from people who have traveled with NO problems and only a very few that even saw anything that looked like trouble. 

Again here are the crime stats for Houston and Dallas Tx. Give us a break!!! (yep that for a very good reason) Mexico ain't even close.

Crime Rate Comparison: Houston Vs. Dallas

If you are going to try to prove a point, please use statistics that can be verified otherwise I must assume that you can not.


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## pappabee (Jun 22, 2010)

maryellen1952 said:


> You didn't mention anything about the local gangs which, many experts agree, are more threatening than the cartels. so you need to do a lot of research about what to expect when traveling anywhere in Mexico. Unfortunately most Americans have limited knowledge about anything about Mexico except the drug cartels which can significantly hamper good judgement.


Please don't walk downtown in any US city that has a population over 5000. You don't want to have gang problems.


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## tepetapan (Sep 30, 2010)

tdemex said:


> Good 1952.


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## tdemex (Aug 2, 2011)

Stats. LOL! The press is not reporting anything. YOU ARE LIVING IN A FANTASY WORLD. I use caps because I live there, that's called reality. I can send you some pics? But they are too gory and would affect many here that are in denial... You have your tainted opinion and I live here, I have mine...OK?...


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

*Local crime*



pappabee said:


> Your statement that "a few people make it thru" is a perfect example of YELLOW JOURNALISM. (yes caps because I'm upset). The largest majority of travelers have no problem with either the cartel or gang violence. Yes if you want to drive around one of the border towns at 4AM with your windows open you might be inviting some concerns. Over the past months there have been at least 100 posts from people who have traveled with NO problems and only a very few that even saw anything that looked like trouble.
> 
> Again here are the crime stats for Houston and Dallas Tx. Give us a break!!! (yep that for a very good reason) Mexico ain't even close.
> 
> ...


I posted to you because I see you follow the way I think along with others here:

I have been traveling all around the border cities [TJ and Mexicali] at all hours. I can tell you personally of the problems in Mexicali for the last 61/2 years that what the news reported was limited to the Federal Police and Military trying very hard to get the bad guys out of town for the last 3 1/2 years and the place has had hardly any violent crime for about 2 years. The crime lately is mostly due to locals getting even with others and auto robberies and home. business break ins. Three years ago and beyond there was many incidents of cartel violence. As one poster stated, don't go looking for trouble and more often than not you will not have any real incidences with the locals.

Being worried about it beyond being cautious would indicate to me you might not really like living in Mexico no matter where you chose to live. I find that if you act scared you attract attention from the people who might be inclined to mug you. Walking around like you belong there would make anyone think seriously about messing with you. For heavens sakes the college girls walk around at 3AM going for hot dogs or tacos near where I live in groups of two or more, even 5 or 6 years ago. What some perceive of Mexicans and their culture seems to be warped and will cause some to hide out as soon as the sun goes down. LOL

Cut them some slack and don't talk to locals like you are not part of the community [alienated or a special case] and you will be fine. Don't forget they watch out for each other just like anywhere else in the world.

LEARN TO SPEAK SPANISH FAST!


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## pappabee (Jun 22, 2010)

tdemex said:


> Stats. LOL! The press is not reporting anything. YOU ARE LIVING IN A FANTASY WORLD. I use caps because I live there, that's called reality. I can send you some pics? But they are too gory and would affect many here that are in denial... You have your tainted opinion and I live here, I have mine...OK?...


Let's get a few facts straight. The topic of this thread is "safe route to enter Mexico" not is it safe to live in 'any city'. My comment was about your statement regarding that even though a few made it through without any problems (crossing the border and getting to where they wanted to go) there still were a bunch (large number) that didn't. Of that you can offer no facts, no stats, only your "tainted opinion" and that's fine. Just so long as you make sure that it's clear that it's YOUR opinion and not a fact. You have a perfect right to voice your opinions as do all the rest of us. But no one should purport opinion as being fact. 

You live in a city that is having more than it's share of problems. FYI I have a very large group of friends who also live there and I hear their stories frequently. There are sections of your city that I would not want to walk down, as there are sections of many US cities that I would not want to walk down. (I've lived in 15 different ones during my working years). I lived through the Hough-Glenville Riots in Cleveland Ohio and I saw the results of that and I was at Kent State when the 4 kids were killed and I saw the results of that. And I listened to the stories of my relatives who survived the German Camps so please don't talk to me about gory anything. 

My only comment was on how you presented the idea of only a few crossed the boarder and got to their destinations and that there were a very large number (the way you stated it) that had troubles. Not a fact but an opinion.


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## tdemex (Aug 2, 2011)

Whoa pops Facts? My original post is some how gone??? I didn't say...there still were a bunch (large number) that didn't... If you have glasses you should wear them, I said we heard from the people that made it down there, but what about the ones that didn't. I never said large numbers NEVER. Facts...right on! I'm done with this, you want to keep it going have at it! ;-)


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## pappabee (Jun 22, 2010)

tdemex said:


> Whoa pops Facts? My original post is some how gone??? I didn't say...there still were a bunch (large number) that didn't... If you have glasses you should wear them, I said we heard from the people that made it down there, but what about the ones that didn't. I never said large numbers NEVER. Facts...right on! I'm done with this, you want to keep it going have at it! ;-)


Here is a copy of your post (you could find it on one page back toward the end of the page).

Good advise Maryellen1952. It seems a few people make it thru and think Wow that was easy. What about the ones that didn't?......... 

Your use of the term "a few people make it thru" is what made me comment. You seem to be unable to remember what you did post. You never said ANYTHING about "you heard from" anyone. That might have a difference. 

Let's just drop the entire subject. "your argument remindes me of Ferdinand's horns--a point here and a point there and a lot of bull in between".:focus::focus:

fini


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## tdemex (Aug 2, 2011)

Oh! OK you win...feel better now...


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Pappabee & Tedemex: Okay. You both have said you are ready to drop it and I am going to enforce it. Any more posts in this vein from either of you will be deleted. Time to move on.


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

We live in Mineral de Pozos which is just off hwy 57 in the state of Guanajuato. Brief route that I gave you was same as the detailed route in reverse although I used Laredo crossing versus Columbia. As I said, we drove Pozos to Laredo last Wednesday. We left Pozos at 8:15AM, stopped 3 times for gas, one with picnic lunch, arrived at Nuevo Laredo immigration at 4:15PM, had our car permit removed and across the border about 4:45PM.
Absolutely no problem. This not our favored route as pretty boring but also probably most prudent.
You didn't say where in Guanajuato but doubt more than an hour or so longer than our drive.
One reason that I do Laredo is the hotels. Not much between Columbia & San Antonio.
From Florida, you would do the I10/I12/I10 combo to at least Houston. Our friends that live in Houston prefer rte 59 to Laredo versus staying on I10 and then I35 but I have done both.
Not sure where you are in FL but if you do stop Laredo, could start as far away as Pascagoulah MS although I prefer Breaux Bridge LA.


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## anoutlaw (May 13, 2009)

Many believe it will not happen to them, and for some it is true.

I used to think the same even though was told over and over to take care on the highways of Tamaulipas. Had friends pulled over and have thier vehicles taken away. They then had to keep walking along with other families who also were losing their cars/trucks. No one will help even if you call the cops. Doing that will actually get you in a bigger mess.

Personally I was driving a big new truck so silly me but it was before things got as bad.

Example. Tampico in Tamaulipas. Local police replaced with military and **** still ging on....

Tamaulipas and nueo leon highways are to be avoided if you can and by all means travel if you have to, just be careful and drive in the morning to around 4 pm? 

Their is not one person i know that 

1) has not experiecned something related
2) does not have a friend or family member that experienced something related.


Most important is to be on the lookout but ofcourse dont expect to escape if their is a road block.

Maybe have some money to spare to donate in wost case. 1000 pesos?
Good luck on your trip,


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## tdemex (Aug 2, 2011)

*Sad but True!*



anoutlaw said:


> Many believe it will not happen to them, and for some it is true.
> 
> I used to think the same even though was told over and over to take care on the highways of Tamaulipas. Had friends pulled over and have thier vehicles taken away. They then had to keep walking along with other families who also were losing their cars/trucks. No one will help even if you call the cops. Doing that will actually get you in a bigger mess.
> 
> ...


Sadly I've heard many of those stories. I've been stopped a few times and Lucky it was the Real Army, but my friends have also lost vehicles by what they thought was an Army Check point. I know they stop buses also and take Cash and young males and make them join their Cartels!


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## conorkilleen (Apr 28, 2010)

anoutlaw said:


> Many believe it will not happen to them, and for some it is true.
> 
> I used to think the same even though was told over and over to take care on the highways of Tamaulipas. Had friends pulled over and have thier vehicles taken away. They then had to keep walking along with other families who also were losing their cars/trucks. No one will help even if you call the cops. Doing that will actually get you in a bigger mess.
> 
> ...


On my trip down to Monterrey I experienced 3 road blocks. 1 was the immigration checkpoint and the other were police military. This was along rt 85 before the toll road in Nuevo Leon. Thousands of cars and trucks pass through there daily. If there was a Narco roadblock on that road it would be reported by the long haul truckers and swiftly dispatched. Plus that road is patrolled all the time now my military and Federal Police. I work with a dozen or more people here in Monterrey that still drive to Laredo and McAllen twice a month to go shopping...nothing has happened.

I would NOT however advise going through lightly traveled roads in Tamps. Thats just a rule of thumb for the Regios. Stick to major, heavily traffic roads and you should be fine.


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## AaronD (Feb 24, 2010)

conorkilleen said:


> On my trip down to Monterrey I experienced 3 road blocks. 1 was the immigration checkpoint and the other were police military. This was along rt 85 before the toll road in Nuevo Leon. Thousands of cars and trucks pass through there daily. If there was a Narco roadblock on that road it would be reported by the long haul truckers and swiftly dispatched. Plus that road is patrolled all the time now my military and Federal Police. I work with a dozen or more people here in Monterrey that still drive to Laredo and McAllen twice a month to go shopping...nothing has happened.
> 
> I would NOT however advise going through lightly traveled roads in Tamps. Thats just a rule of thumb for the Regios. Stick to major, heavily traffic roads and you should be fine.


Several weeks ago_ Excelsior_ (a respected Mexico City daily) warned readers of the many dangerous routes in Nuevo Leon, including the toll road to Monterrey. It reported / claimed that narcos often set up "official" road blocks north of the toll booth around Sabinas Hidalgo. It is also quite common to read of road blockages orchestrated by Zetas and others in and around Monterrey. 

As someone who likes Monterrey (lived there years ago) and last drove down and stayed there in December 2009 en route to Merida, I would, yes, accept that all routes in Tamaulipas are more dangerous, but can no longer accept Nuevo Leon routings either. Hey, read the travel advisories of the USA or Canada!

Many of us in Merida are advising folks to ship goods (as from Houston or New Orleans by Maersk and from Panama City, FL by Linea Peninsular) and fly down.

That all said, YES, odds are your overland travel will be safe -- perhaps with some morditas if traveling through Tampico, Veracrus, Boca Rico, or Mexico City, among other spots. Do you want to play the odds?


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## conorkilleen (Apr 28, 2010)

AaronD said:


> Several weeks ago_ Excelsior_ (a respected Mexico City daily) warned readers of the many dangerous routes in Nuevo Leon, including the toll road to Monterrey. It reported / claimed that narcos often set up "official" road blocks north of the toll booth around Sabinas Hidalgo. It is also quite common to read of road blockages orchestrated by Zetas and others in and around Monterrey.
> 
> Do you want to play the odds?


meh...been living in Monterrey for 7 months and never had an issue with roadblocks. There is so much military and federals around here lately that I think that has come to an end...especially on high traffic roads...I can't speak to the low traffic roads since I don't travel them.

If the news from Excelsior were true, then the Narco road blocks would be backing up traffic for miles. That road gets hundreds if not thousands of cars, trucks, and semis every hour especially during the day. Maybe the roadblocks were at night (when you should not be traveling in Mexico anyway)?

Travel highly traffic roads during the day and chances are you will be ok. Don't come in driving a new Caddy Escalade with tinted windows and 24" wheels either. We here up north live under a uber set of ghetto rules.

I'll play the odds because they are in my favor...just as long as you make sure that you are playing by the correct set of rules.


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