driving from colorado to akumal

cassie514 wrote:

hi, my hubby and i want to drive to akumal from breckenridge, colorado. the map traced it out taking highway 57 mexico going through matahuala.  it says that these roads may be closed though at different hours of the day. does anyone know if this is a good route to take or is there another better, safer route to take that will have roads that are always open? thanks!

I was doing some playing on Google Maps.  When I lived in Northern Mexico, only a few people I knew at Eagle Pass because of back ups.  I prefer McAllen, TX which is 5mi. from the crossing at Hidalgo.   This route keeps you in the US for a greater part of your trip, I believe.

Crossing a 9 AM on a weekday, you should be able to make Queretaro during daylight.  Breakfast in McAllen, stop a Pemex stations for rest stops and fill ups when the tank is half full.  Some of them have chain fast food restaurants and the rest rooms are usable but you may want to bring your own toilet paper.   Food and snacks at the convenience stores on site Supper near you hotel in Queretaro.  Queretaro is a big city with a modern infrastructure and a wide variety of hotels and restaurants.

As far as Matehuala goes, there's a good bit of construction going on in all parts of the country and other bottlenecks.  It may not be that big a factor.

Maybe someone else has more detailed info on this route and security considerations.

https://www.google.com.mx/maps/dir/Brec … !3e0?hl=en

singledd wrote:

Hi, I live in Akumal. I'm sure you already know you're looking at about 2,000 miles, or 3+ days of driving 12 hours. I don't know how long you are staying... but I think the safest route is to FLY to Cancun and rent a car there. Akumal is a little over an hours drive from the Cancun Airport.

Check with your local Mexican consulate right before you leave where current Cartel hot spots are... and obviously, avoid those. Check out driving advisories before you leave.

Many, many people who drive thru Mexico carefully have no problems. But the police here are very corrupt... and if you get unlucky, you could have a bad time.

My neighbor here (mid 50' female gringo) took a little touring trip from Akumal to 'inland' Mexico. Long story short... her car (a mid 2000s BMW) was confiscated by the Federal'es. She was left on foot with her luggage to get back how home. A year later she is still on foot (her car is lost!), and also out many hundreds of dollars on Mexican lawyers.

I don't know how rare that kind of event is. But you simply don't have the same 'rights' down here as you do in the states. Make multiple copies of all your paperwork (license, registration, insurance, etc). People here might know better, but I'm pretty sure your USA auto insurance is not valid in Mexico. You want to have a Mexican auto policy. I believe a liability policy is required by 'law' here.

I would never advise a single woman in a expensive car to drive through many parts of Mexico or the U.S for that matter. I've been driving in Mexico for over 4 years. I brought my car down from the U.S. after the first year. Which in hind-site with experience I do not advise. If you plan to stay and become a permanent resident the car is not excepted , unless you want to try some very expensive importing. I say try because I'm not sure that would be easy, or if it would work.

I have not had trouble with the police, but then I avoid states bordering Texas. It's in the upper east that I have heard about tourists getting ripped off Chihuahua & Coahuila for instance are states I would avoid. The relation ship between the local police in those states and the cartels is, shall we say comfortable. Southern Mexico is different.

Yes you should get Mexican insurance, but don't expect much from it. It's mostly to protect you in the event that you get into and accident.  As far as I know no U.S. insurance covers you here. Which given the number of motorcycles and shall we say forceful driving is a possibility.  You must be hyper-attentive in Mexico. Motos ( motorcycles) drive anywhere and can come up on any side. Also don't gauge your driving by their driving, they know where the problems are and they drive very fast. So it's you who would hit that unseen speed bump not them.

Yes you should always have good multiple copies of all of your essential paperwork. You will need them.

travellight wrote:

I'm saying that you can check with an importer and see about keeping it. You can bring it from the U.S. by paying a refundable import fee ( you can check on line) it is connected to your visa which is initially a 180 day tourist visa. You can return to the U.S. or take a trip to Belize every 6 months to renew your car, and yourself. Allow at least an hour at the border with the car the first time. If you were only going in and out of Sonora for instance no import would be required , you could just drive in and out of that state. Because you are driving beyond that you will require the fee.

If you decide on a more permanent visa like temporal or permanente you can not have a U.S. car. The more permanent import is dangled out there but I have never met someone who did that. So I don't know if it works I have heard it is very expensive.

I took my car back to the U.S. and now drive a Mexican car. That's another long story that makes it clear that the Mexican car insurance is not something to rely on like U.S. insurance. Mexico loves it's paperwork.

Importing a vehicle permanently  now is expensive and only NAFTA made 2007 and 2008 vehicles can be imported or a 30 year old or older one considered an antique. A TIP or temporary import permit is for 180 FMM tourist card holders and Residente Temporal visa holders. Residente Permanente visa holders cannot have a TIP so no foreign plated vehicles for them.