driving from colorado to akumal

If it were me I would cut across and go down through Arizona to the Sonora border. I would feel it would a lot safer than crossing any where near Texas. But then that is me. I always look for the safest border crossings . The riskiest places are in Texas.

The recent kidnapping of El Chapos son might stir up the cartels and you would be in the vicinity of heavy cartel activity. Yes the son was taken from Puerto Vallarta , but that is not their primary area. Just what I would do. I haven't crossed a border in a year now, so I have no real current info. Just be safe.

Don't drive at night anywhere in Mexico.   Split it into 8 hours legs

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

thanks so much all you guys great input! Gudgrief really appreciate all your work!

Oh one more thing I don't think about , because it's habit. watch closely for pot holes and speed bumps those are real tire killers and they are not always marked. as sparks says do not drive at nigh. If it's starting to get late go to a hotel. Drive on the toll roads which are safer, in better shape, and are likely to have help if you do get a flat. Part of the toll fee pays for people who check for people needing help. And there are phones to call those people.

big thanks travellight!

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.

we are driving there because we are moving there, dear. thank you though!

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.

so you guys are saying that, if we are staying, we CANNOT bring our car from the us?

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.

okay, so we think maybe our car might make us a target because we don't want to appear like "rich gringos" driving a mercedes, perhaps buying a mexican car would be better. any thoughts?

Hi,
I moved here in Jan. 2016, and how to have a car, legally and by-the-book,  was my biggest obstacle. I live at Tao.
If you ONLY have a 180 dayTourist Visa:
1) If you bring in a USA car, both you AND the car will have to leave and re-enter the country every 180 days.
2) You can BUY a car here, but can NOT register it!
--------------------------------------------
A car you buy to use here must be bought in Mexico. To register a car bought here, you must be on a 'temporary' (1-4 year) or 'permanent' (forever) visa.
There is a cash OR income requirement for those two types of visas. When I can down, it was around $120,000 cash/assets or $1600/month income. The number varies, as the 'rates' are based on the Peso, so the dollars amounts above were based on the exchange rate at the time I found those numbers. It's also based on the Mexican minimum wage, so that could go up before you arrive. If you own property/a condeo here, I think that helps also.

If you can get a Temporary or Permanent visa, I would HIGHLY recommend it. You apply for these visa's in the USA, at a Mexican Consulate. If you are approved, you don't actually get the visa, but the paperwork needed to enter the country and 'finish the visa process' in Playa del Carmen. Once here, you can buy and register a car. And yes, having a Mexican plated car will garner less attention from the police than a USA plated car or Rental car.

You can hire a service/lawyer here to help turn the paperwork you get for your Temporary or Permanent visa into an actually visa. It's usually costs under $500, and is well worth it. It usually takes 3 or 4 visits to Playa to do this. My neighbors just moved down from the East Coast, and hired a lawyer for this. Their opinion was that you were 'Nutz' to do it yourself (although if you read and speak Spanish, it's a bit easier).

You might want to just get a less obvious car, and just drive over the border every 6 months until you decide if you want to be permanent. It's tricky I know. Or You could just fly here then rent a car when you need one, or use a bus or taxi. Crossing the border every 6 months in a car is an adventure at first , but after awhile it gets tedious.

There are Mercedes , Audi's, and other high end cars around, but they all have Mx. plates. The roads are hard on cars, so you want a tough car that has good clearance. The cartels tend to favor SUV's . the big Cadillac's, so avoid that look,.
I had an Audi, that more or less drowned in a flash flood. I say more or less, because if the insurance had done their job, the car would have survived, and been worth more when I returned it to the U.S. As it was it was very hard to get it back to the U.S. and was close to a total write off.

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.

awesome information you guys, thanks SO MUCH! i'm not certain when we will be leaving, it really depends on when our house in breckenridge, colorado sells. then we will be down in Akumal to look for a house. Singledd, we want to look at TAO they have good amenities for a really great price. we most likely will also look closer to hmb the lagoon also but TAO has us very interested! how do you like it there?

we are looking at homes only- no condos for certain, because of the 4 large dogs