# Tx to Merida



## TereseMarie (4 mo ago)

Hi all we are driving to Merida Oct. 7th 2022 with our dog. What is the best crossing in Tx? We will take toll roads. Are there pet friendly hotels along the way? Is there a prepaid option for toll roads? If not how much should we have for tolls? Coins or paper money? Any caravans heading that way? Is it best to get TIP and FMM in advance or at the border? Thanks for responding.


----------



## Jreboll (Nov 23, 2013)

There’s very little use for coins except to purchase store items nowadays. Try to get your pesos before crossing over, enough for gas, tolls, meals and hotels. I wouldn’t trust ATMs along the way. Everyone has their favorite crossing point but I have heard cautionary tales about Laredo crossing. My favorite is Anzalduas bridge in Mission, TX. Opens at 6AM.


----------



## Takingiteasy (Aug 12, 2021)

The TIP comes much later, and is only for residents. The FMM you get at the border.


----------



## TereseMarie (4 mo ago)

Sorry tvip...


----------



## Bodega (Apr 20, 2016)

TereseMarie said:


> Hi all we are driving to Merida Oct. 7th 2022 with our dog. What is the best crossing in Tx? We will take toll roads. Are there pet friendly hotels along the way? Is there a prepaid option for toll roads? If not how much should we have for tolls? Coins or paper money? Any caravans heading that way? Is it best to get TIP and FMM in advance or at the border? Thanks for responding.


We drive from Querétaro to San Antonio several times a year, always through Laredo, and have never experienced any of the trouble people mention. We do travel only in daytime, and only on toll roads. We’ve been doing this for 10 years now, and finally this year we bought a prepay toll card. My thoughts after using it for several trips now is why the h didn’t I get it ten years ago. They are cheap, ~10.00, and once you have it, the toll fees are the same as using cash. You can reload them at any Oxxo store, our 7-11, or any similar business. Most of the toll stations have multiple lanes, and most lanes accept either cash or the cards (they are called llaves, keys) If your Spanish is a work in progress, llave comes across as yah-veh. With the llave, you just drive slowly under the scanner, no contact with the person in the booth. Other than a smoother trip through the toll gate, the card also allows you to carry less cash, and toll fees will be considerable. 
As to the question of coins, we always keep a little tray full to tip the various little hustlers along the way. Cleaning your windshield, guiding you out of your parking spot, etc, they do come in handy. 
I wish you a good trip. We were in Merida last year, and had a grand time. It was a post-Covid celebration.


----------



## TereseMarie (4 mo ago)

Thank you for the info. We appreciate help. Can you tell me your route? Where do you stay? Are hotels/motels pet friendly? We have an 80 pound 2 year old dog. Do you know if we need to get a health certificate for the dog? Where does one get a toll card? How much per toll booth? 
Do you know of any caravans going our way around that time? We don't have Facebook. Thank you again for responding.


----------



## Jreboll (Nov 23, 2013)

If you spend the night in Laredo you can arrive in Queretaro by sunset


----------



## Bodega (Apr 20, 2016)

TereseMarie said:


> Thank you for the info. We appreciate help. Can you tell me your route? Where do you stay? Are hotels/motels pet friendly? We have an 80 pound 2 year old dog. Do you know if we need to get a health certificate for the dog? Where does one get a toll card? How much per toll booth?
> Do you know of any caravans going our way around that time? We don't have Facebook. Thank you again for responding.


We travel via hwy 85 leaving Laredo, going to Monterrey. We leave Laredo mid afternoon, getting to Monterrey before dark. We always spend the night in a Citi Express Hotel just across from the airport. It’s right on the hwy, difficult to miss it. Pet friendly…I don’t know, but the fact that I don’t recall ever seeing any animals there might be a bad omen. You need a health certificate to take any animal across any border these days. 
The toll cards are widely available at Oxxo, Circle K, or any other of the small stores along the highway, as well as Walmart, Soriano, and other big market stores. The tolls are all different, depending on the road. The first two leaving Laredo are pretty spendy, ~$10.00, then they ease up a little as you get on down the road.
Caravans?? Sounds like a good idea, but I’m not really knowledgeable. 
Good luck with getting the information you need for your trip.


----------



## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

I've done it a few times (3) in the last two years. 

I had no problems. I used a different crossing point each time. I crossed at Eagle Pass, TX the first time, because I'd heard of problems in Laredo. That is an extra hour's drive, and if anything I think it might be riskier because it's such a desolate little-used route. Now I read regular news reports about "illegal aliens" crossing north at Eagle Pass, so I think Laredo is probably better. Cheaper hotels, too.

I've used the Columbia crossing in Laredo (actually 20 minutes west of downtown). That's an easy crossing as far as the line of people waiting, but then on the Mexico side there's a half hour of bad road parallel to the border (on Mexico route 2) to get back to 85. I had no problems, but I've heard stories about cops farming that stretch for speeding tickets. So I crawled along, but saw no cops anyway. I did see the remains (charred) of a head-on crash between two 18-wheelers and I think small auto. That was on my way north. The next time through there heading south I saw a few wreaths beside the road at that point.

And I've used the downtown Laredo International Point II crossing. Really I think unless there's some specific problem going on that's the best. The line is a bit longer, but it puts you right on Ave. Luis Donaldo Colosio, which takes you right around Nuevo Laredo with no city traffic (watch your speedometer though, I did see a speed trap along that route). The gas along that road was particularly cheap, too for some reason.

Then it's 85 to Monterrey, then on to Saltillo, Matehuala, San Luis Potosi, Queretaro, around CDMX on the Arco del Norte, Puebla, Orizaba, Cordoba, Minititlan, and Villahermosa.

At Villahermosa you have a choice. One way is via Frontera, Ciudad del Carmen, and Champoton, the other is going around Villahermosa to the 186 and taking it over to Escarcega, from which you drive north to Champoton. 

I have only done the first alternative, though it's really bad road between Frontera and CD del Carmen. Someone on here once complained about the cops in Escarcega, and the hotels. I like the hotels in CD del Carmen, which is where I always stop for the night (in both directions). But since you're going to Merida you'll be on a different set of stopping places. Villahermosa is about 8 hours from Merida.

I have no idea about dog-friendly hotels. Maybe you can search along the route city by city using google.

I like to hit the border around 10 am. The morning rush is over with, and most of the day is still ahead. I want to be able to get to at least Monterrey even if there is car trouble or a big traffic tie up along the way, because I don't think anything north of there is anywhere I'd want to be after dark. 

Doing that, one time I ended up in Matahuala, once I made it as far as San Luis Potosi, and the third time I forget. In Matahuala I stayed at Las Palmas. Someone said they get all the way to Queretaro, that's 10.5 hours drive from Laredo, plus any time spent at the border. I was always bringing a truckload of stuff south, and had to spend time at customs unpacking and getting searched and paying duty and repacking. If you get up early and hit the border close to dawn you probably have enough time and daylight to reach Queretaro. If you are the type to do really early/long days and waste no daylight, maybe with two drivers, you can get to merida in 3 days staying at Queretaro and Villahermosa. But splitting it into 4 days will be much less stressful, when you run into an hour-long traffic jam due to road construction or an accident you can just chill instead of stressing about not making your destination that night before dark.

The latest I've ever driven is 7 at night, and that was in summer with long days, except for once when I had a flat tire on my last day and finally made it to Cancun around 9 pm. And that time I hit an unmarked tope (or maybe it was an open manhole) on a Cancun street I wasn't familiar with at 40 mph and dented a tire rim, broke a shock absorber (and nearly my teeth).


----------



## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

I've never brought a dog, but I thought someone wrote that when coming by car you don't have to do anything. It's only when flying that there's paperwork.

I had a mexican vehicle so I didn't have to bother with a TIP, that's an additional border delay unless you get it ahead of time.

I recommend the Tag Pase toll pass tag mentioned above. There is an app that you can download that lets you check your balance, but it isn't always uptodate or correct. You can add money to the account with the app, but using OXXO is more reliable (I've had issues using the app to add money). It's not guaranteed that every OXXO is going to have one, and its not guaranteed that even if they have them the person behind the register knows about it and how to sell them to you. But you'll pass a couple OXXOs driving around Nuevo Laredo, and there's one at the only rest stop along 85 between N.L. and Monterrey that might have them.

I think the most you can put on the tag is 2000 pesos, and you'll need nearer to 3000 one way for all the tolls. There is one particular toll bridge near CD del Carmen that takes only cash. It's 80 pesos for the bridge IIRC. Every other one takes the tag. You have to pull up to the person with the window and wait for the tag to be read before it lifts the boom, you don't get to cruise through at 30 mph or something. It's one lift of the boom per tag read even in the tag-only lanes. Which are better to avoid anyway, in case some numbskull in front of you doesnt have a tag and decides he wants to back up, or your tag is out of pesos or just cant be read or their system is suddenly temporarily offline.


----------



## kphoger (Apr 22, 2020)

eastwind said:


> I've done it a few times (3) in the last two years.
> 
> I had no problems. I used a different crossing point each time. I crossed at Eagle Pass, TX the first time, because I'd heard of problems in Laredo. That is an extra hour's drive, and if anything I think it might be riskier because it's such a desolate little-used route. Now I read regular news reports about "illegal aliens" crossing north at Eagle Pass, so I think Laredo is probably better. Cheaper hotels, too.
> 
> I've used the Columbia crossing in Laredo (actually 20 minutes west of downtown). That's an easy crossing as far as the line of people waiting, but then on the Mexico side there's a half hour of bad road parallel to the border (on Mexico route 2) to get back to 85. I had no problems, but I've heard stories about cops farming that stretch for speeding tickets. So I crawled along, but saw no cops anyway. I did see the remains (charred) of a head-on crash between two 18-wheelers and I think small auto. That was on my way north. The next time through there heading south I saw a few wreaths beside the road at that point.


I used to use the Colombia crossing on an annual basis. About ten years ago, I was travelling in a caravan of two vehicles, and we were approaching the junction with the new (-er) Nuevo Laredo bypass. A car that had just passed me slowed wa-a-a-ay down, so I went around, and the driver stared at me like I had bugs crawling out of my forehead. That's when I saw the cops running radar guns in the median. It was the Nuevo Laredo municipal police. A new speed zone had been signed since my last trip, and I didn't notice the sign. We were pulled over, on the ramp between Fed. 2 and the bypass. I hemmed and hawed, and eventually bribed my way out of the speeding ticket. The officer then walked back to the other vehicle, who had parked behind us since we were traveling together, and demanded the same payment from the other driver. On the return trip north, about five days later, the INM officer asked me how my trip was, and I told him about the speed trap and the bribe. He asked me what day and approximately what time and made a note of it. The next year I made the drive, the speed zone was gone.

— —

As for my favorite crossing, I do like Colombia, but I prefer Ciudad Acuña these days—but mainly just so I don't have to drive through Fort Worth and San Antonio and Monterrey along the way. The toll bypass around Monterrey is nice, but it's expensive, and the free bypass is always clogged with truck traffic. I've never used Anzaldúas, but my friends say it's awesome. The downtown Laredo crossing is kind of confusing when it comes to finding the INM and TIP offices—especially northbound. I've only used the office once, and it was by taxi back in March, but I can see a first-timer getting turned around there.

I always pay cash for travel expenses. Too many stories of my friends' credit/debit cards being charged twice, or even at places they never even went.


----------



## Bodega (Apr 20, 2016)

We made the southbound crossing at Laredo, bridge 2, yesterday. Uneventful, but as we were exiting the border crossing compound, I tried to look at it through the eyes of a first timer. It can easily become intimidating. You must turn left immediately at the exit gate, just watch for the sign indicating “Monterrey”. It’s on Nicolas Bravo St. The first few blocks are through a pretty rugged area, but soon it opens up into highway. You’ll need to turn left again at the first traffic signal to get down to the INM offices for your permits. 
This entire area, from here to the old, unused checkpoint about 30 Ks south, is one huge, sanctioned speed trap. Don’t be lulled into a “flow of traffic defense”. These guys are pros. They can determine everything they need to know by looking at your plates. They can tell a local from a grnnngo, (that word isn’t allowed) or a local from someone from deeper in Mexico. Just pay attention to the posted speeds and you’ll be fine. 
after permitting, you’ll have about a 30 minute drive along the river to get you to The Monterrey Hwy, 2, a nasty stretch of pot hole hell, but it will take you directly to 85, the Monterrey toll road, a big, new, well lit well travelled piece of road. 
Cell phone GPS systems work fine, and are a godsend in some of these areas.


----------



## TereseMarie (4 mo ago)

kphoger said:


> I used to use the Colombia crossing on an annual basis. About ten years ago, I was travelling in a caravan of two vehicles, and we were approaching the junction with the new (-er) Nuevo Laredo bypass. A car that had just passed me slowed wa-a-a-ay down, so I went around, and the driver stared at me like I had bugs crawling out of my forehead. That's when I saw the cops running radar guns in the median. It was the Nuevo Laredo municipal police. A new speed zone had been signed since my last trip, and I didn't notice the sign. We were pulled over, on the ramp between Fed. 2 and the bypass. I hemmed and hawed, and eventually bribed my way out of the speeding ticket. The officer then walked back to the other vehicle, who had parked behind us since we were traveling together, and demanded the same payment from the other driver. On the return trip north, about five days later, the INM officer asked me how my trip was, and I told him about the speed trap and the bribe. He asked me what day and approximately what time and made a note of it. The next year I made the drive, the speed zone was gone.
> 
> — —
> 
> ...


----------



## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

There are some lower speed limits on the 4-lane road running from bridge 2 around to the east of NL. And the 30 km section of route 2 that parallels the border from the NL bypass to the Columbia crossing has speed limits that change up and down a bunch of times, and in some sections are egregiously slow (like I think 40 kmh). In other areas the limits aren't marked (and so you must know the default speed limit for such roads, which I forget at the moment.)

I remember crawling along at exactly the speed limit on route 2 and getting passed by 18-wheelers (with the trucks pulling into facing traffic to go around - that made me slow down even more!)

So it's pick your posion to some extent. I think if I had to do a TIP I'd do Columbia, because it's all right there and it's clearer where the Aduana building is. Coming north I'd rather do bridge 2, though I recall there was one place where the road to the east of NL has a split and I was confused which side of it to take and got it wrong and had to backtrack and try again. 

It's true the cops can tell a lot from your license plates - because each state in Mexico has certain 3-letter combinations that the plate numbers start with. So they might not have every combo memorized, but they know which 3 letter combos are local. And of course US plates are obvious.

But honestly, speeding tickets and speed traps I can deal with. What I was most worried about was cartels, because I've heard they sometimes stop traffic and shake people down for donations, but I never saw anyone that was obviously cartel or anyone taking "donations".


----------



## TereseMarie (4 mo ago)

Thank


eastwind said:


> There are some lower speed limits on the 4-lane road running from bridge 2 around to the east of NL. And the 30 km section of route 2 that parallels the border from the NL bypass to the Columbia crossing has speed limits that change up and down a bunch of times, and in some sections are egregiously slow (like I think 40 kmh). In other areas the limits aren't marked (and so you must know the default speed limit for such roads, which I forget at the moment.)
> 
> I remember crawling along at exactly the speed limit on route 2 and getting passed by 18-wheelers (with the trucks pulling into facing traffic to go around - that made me slow down even more!)
> 
> ...


Thank you for the info. Where do you travel to? Do you know of any caravans traveling around Oct 8 or 9? I am having a hard time looking up routes and determining the hwy numbers in my phone. No computer to use...
Do you know what route your friends took from Anzaldúas and where did they go? It looks like you don't have to drive as much in Mexico and this one is less used


----------

