# Borders, dogs and mexico



## A reef (Oct 2, 2012)

we are driving, from Seattle, with our dog to Lake Patzcuaro, a hundred and fifty miles west of Mexico City. We could use much advise on the passage - planning to cross at Nogales (truck route). Would like to know how long the crossing through customs will take so we can get the most of the day's driving south. Is it true that crossing with a dog is no big deal as long as you have a health certificate done no more than 72 hours previously? Is it reasonable to plan that after leaving Tucson, getting to the border around 6am, and then proceeding south on Highway 15, that we can reach Guaymas (329 miles south of Tucson) by nightfall? Is it difficult to find hotels that accept dogs? As we go to Culiacan and Tepic do we need reservations well ahead of time?
thanks,
Avery and Polly


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

I think the 72 hour rule is for cattle, not pets. Check carefully. Do be sure to have a veterinary letter stating that the animals are free from internal and external parasites and that frontline has been applied by the vet. Then, you may even find that they are not interested in any of that at the border; but they could be & you better have it, for the sake of the dogs.
Mexicans do not generally travel with pets and they are not welcome in most hotels or any restaurants. So, many folks use the discreet no-tell type tryst motels.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

You could save a little sleep time by staying in Nogales rather than Tuscon. I made it to Navojoa with a 7am border crossing. From there you can make it to Tepic.

3 hotels as you enter Navojoa on the right. The second budget one probably best for the dog.

A quick in and out inexpensive in Tepic is the Paraiso on the highway. On your left just before the last Pemex. Has a restaurant too.


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## A reef (Oct 2, 2012)

thanks these suggestions are really good


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## A reef (Oct 2, 2012)

where is Navojoa??


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

In Sonora, south of Ciudad Obregøn and north of Los Mochis.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

_Mexicans do not generally travel with pets and they are not welcome in most hotels or any restaurants. So, many folks use the discreet no-tell type tryst motels.[/QUOTE]_
Do not be intimidared by this comment. We have traveled often in Mexico wiht several dogs between Noales and Lake Chapala and on several routes between Lake Chapala and Chiapas and have always found accomodations in very nice hotels along the way. We never stay in "No-Tell Motels" or other sleazy joints of like kind. Just remember the three important rules:

* Always look for a hotel/motel early enogh in the afternoon - say about 4:00PM or earlier - so you can look around if certain motels are not amenable to taking pets.
* Always have collapsable pet cages with you to show the desk clerk.
* Remember *RULE #! *in Mexico. If you call on the phone just about all hotels/motels will emphatically tell you absolutely no pets allowed. However, it is un-Mexico-like in this culture to be rude and confrontational so if you walk into the motel and politely and humbly request accomodation of the desk clerk for yor pets for whom you have brought cages, it is against the national cultural grain to flatly refuse you and leave you to the dangers of the night road so you will likely find accomodations for you and your pets as long as you remain civil and polite. We have trarveled all over much of Mexico with as many as five dogs and always found rooms in very nice motels using this method. Just remember these rules:
- Look to motels in rural or suburban locations and not high-rise mid-town hotels
- Always ask for rooms in person and *NEVER *over the telephone.
- Start looking for a room around mid-afternoon; say no later than 3:00 to 4:00PM.
- Always have collapsable cages to show the clerk even if you don´t plan to use them.
- Never dishonor the clerk who accomodates you by allowing your pets to make raucous noises or mess up the room.

We have found accomodations in places as diverse as Guaymas. Navajoa, Tepic, several cities in Veracruz and Oaxaca States and you name it with as many as six dogs - some of them as big as 150 pound mastiffs. Keep your wits about you and always be polite.


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## LMtortugas (Aug 23, 2013)

If you cross into Sonora on HWY 15 at 6:00 AM, you will be in Guaymas early afternoon. Good divided hwy. Be sure to utilize Hermosillo bypass. Obregon is only about 80 miles further with plenty of hotel/motel accomodations.


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