Renting a car in SMA

My husband and I will be visiting SMA the month of July with the idea of living there full time. We plan to take some side trips and will be visiting areas in SMA outside of the Centro. We've been told not to rent a car. If anyone has some advice, I'd appreciate it.

Just rent a car but get all the optional insurance.  A compact automatic should be about $45.00 USD per day insured. It is different driving here than NOB. Just take it easy at first and drive like everyone is going to drive illogically compared to what you are used to. Good luck. I am sure it will be OK. Don't get distracted and assume they will drive according to common sense - some don't. Watch out for some drivers that have a bad judgement where there vehicle parameters are. They think their vehicle is much larger than it is and use extra space to pass by other vehicles and come very close to your car for no reason as they have 4 or 5 feet on the right side but think they are inches away. Very common here. Watch some people getting out of a street parking spot. They stop 3 feet from the car behind and 2 feet from the car in front and jog their car several times when it is not needed. This is the main problem to be aware of.

Thanks. Are you talking about SMA? We've been told we absolutely don't need a car in SMA. Is that true?

pamijo wrote:

Thanks. Are you talking about SMA? We've been told we absolutely don't need a car in SMA. Is that true?


You need a car in SMA. Don't try what you want to do without one. It will make your stay more pleasant and it is rainy season where a car is a must. Get the latest Google Maps GPS installed on your Smart phone. Get a Telcel SIM card and a local phone number. Get Google translater installed and have a great trip. I haved lived in Mexico for 11 years. 6 years in San Luis Potosí a 90 minute drive to SMA. My wife and myself spend Sundays there often.

Thanks again. Maybe we'll see each other on a Sunday. We're both in our 60s, and my husband has a prosthetic on his right leg. You can't miss him.

Car hire in Europe isn't a problem?! There're many rental agencies (both local/small and internationally known Avis, Hertz, Europcar, Sixt, etc.). We took a car as in Spain as Portugal, booking through the Internet. Each time we use another agency as the price in different countries for the same company is different. All this information we learned through the service [link moderated]-rental cars. If you want to order, pay attention to the franchise, insurance coverage, etc.

We had rented a car from a third party here and also got all the very costly insurance here... and then we cancelled because so many people told us we absolutely don't need a car. No one gets one. Now, I'm wondering if it's financially possible to rent one in SMA and get the insurance there. Do you know if people do that... even for a three-day side trip a few times during the month?

I really appreciate this.

Pam