Getting to Mexico: Driving
By Carl Mason and Will Nel ~ Posted with Permission
What you’re going to read summarizes driving to Mexico. This topic is covered in full in our book, “Successfully and Happily Move to Mexico.
The number one thing you must have in place before you go is insurance and you must buy it before you come to Mexico. If you don’t and you wind up in an accident, there’s a strong possibility of going to jail. As for where to get insurance, contact Mexpro or Sanborns.
Driving to Mexico
There are two main US border crossings to enter Mexico if you are headed to Puerto Vallarta or Mazatlan: Laredo, Texas, and Nogales, Arizona. Laredo, Texas will also be your choice if you are planning on settling in Monterrey, as it is a mere 140 miles to travel from one to the other. For the Yucatan (where Merida is located), you can enter Brownsville, TX, and follow the Gulf Coast through Tampico, Minatitlan, Villahermosa, and Campeche into Mérida.
For the purpose of this document, we will focus on the routes leading to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Merida (since the road to Monterrey is a straight line from Laredo on 85).
Driving to Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan
After speaking to numerous expats who have driven to Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan from the US, we deduced that entering Nogales is the best route to travel. With Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan both on the west coast of Mexico, Nogales is the obvious choice from almost anywhere in the western US. This route is also well traveled, very safe and features appealing as well as easily traversable geography.
These routes all have toll gates that need to be paid for in pesos. Not all toll gates are currently run by officials. Many have been taken over by the locals. The story goes that these roads invaded lands that belong to indigenous people. They were promised compensation but never received it. So they rebelled. The government thought better of pushing back and let them take over the booths. What that means for travelers is, on the surface, a bit alarming but really very innocent.
When approaching the toll booths, you’ll either see attendants in thebooths, those are the officials, or people outside with buckets in hand. Obviously, the officially run booths will require you to stop and make a formal, pre-defined payment.
