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dlh1149

Feb 1, 2005, 11:19 PM

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Driving from Zihuatanejo to Oaxaca

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Hello everyone;

I will be making another trip to Mexico later this month and I have thinking I might be ready to do some driving. I am set to fly in and out of Zihuatanejo, Guerrero (great airfares from Denver on Frontier) and then heading south to Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca and Oaxaca City in a rental from Hertz. The route looks fairly uncompllicated, south along the coast on Mexico 200 to Puerto Escondido then north to Oaxaca on Mexico 135. I understand that Mexico 135 is often not in the best shape, so I may continue south to Puerto Angel and head north on Mexico 175. I'll see what the locals have to say when I get there. I will be traveling alone, a big 50 year old gringo, but my Spanish is fairly good, certainly good enough to get around.

My questions to you all are:

1) What is the relative safety of these highways? I know to only drive during the day etc. Has there been bandit activity in this area lately?

2) What can I expect to pay for gas?

3) Any suggestions on what to see, or not see, along the way?

I have not completely decided to drive yet. I know that buses are available and economical, I have traveled by bus several times around the central highlands. I hope to do some serious craft shopping in the villages around Oaxaca and having a car just makes things logistically easier.

Any insights you care to share would be greatly appreciated.

jshrall

Feb 2, 2005, 11:04 AM

Post #2 of 3 (1015 views)

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Re: [dlh1149] Driving from Zihuatanejo to Oaxaca

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I just drove part of your itinerary last month. Highway 200 between Acapulco and Puerto Escondido is a good road, mostly near the coast, but occasionally veering inland to cross some hills. Lots of topes near Acapulco, but pretty clear sailing the rest of the way. It took me 6 hours to drive the 250 or so miles.

Highway 135 between Oaxaca and Puerto Escondido is in decent shape, except for an abundance of pot holes between Puerto Escondido and the first mountain range of the Sierra Madres. This stretch of road crossing the Sierras was not nearly as windy as the strech between Cuidad Obregan and the Copper Canyon area, but it still took over 5 hours for the 150 mile trip. Even if Highway 175 is better, it is still nearly 50 miles to Puerto Angel to pick it up.

Other than a beautiful mountain road to Oaxaca and a relatively flat drive between Puerto Escondido to Acapulco, there isn't much to see. Can't speak to Acapulco to Zihuatenjo. Once you get close to Oaxaca there are multitudes of side journeys to experience.

No problem with gas stations on either stretch, but expect some pretty long stretches sans Pemex. It was actually worse taking the cuota out of Acapulco toward Cuernavaca. An extremely long, gas sucking, up the mountain stretch until you hit the next city. We made it OK, but when we arrived at the Pemex, they had no power to run the pumps. Fortunately, about 30 minutes the power came on and we finished our pit stop.

Gas is running about 6.24 pesos per liter or 24 pesos per gallon as of Feb 2005. That's going to be close to $2.20 USD per gallon.

dlh1149

Feb 3, 2005, 12:03 PM

Post #3 of 3 (971 views)

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Re: [jshrall] Driving from Zihuatanejo to Oaxaca

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Thanks for the reply. That's the kind of info I was looking for. I was expecting gas to be higher, so that's a pleasant surprise.

Don