McAllen to San Miguel de Allende

McAllen to San Miguel de Allende

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I'm trying to find out if going through Monterrey to SMdA is the better route? Or can I go through Cuidad Victoria? I will be taking the trip in late September, early October, and will be attending school in SMdA for the winter. Not that, that has anything to do with it.
Thank you,
Bruce Warren

Jul 28, 2005, 7:15 PM

Post #2 of 14 (1513 views)

Re: [BruceW] McAllen to San Miguel de Allende

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I just got back from Morelia about a month ago. I took the route going through Cd. Victoria getting there and I would not recommend it right now. There are large sections under construction and it appears that it will be a while before it is all fixed. I would recommend going through Monterrey instead.

BruceW

Jul 28, 2005, 8:16 PM

Post #3 of 14 (1504 views)

Re: [jreboll] McAllen to San Miguel de Allende

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Yes, yes, thank you. I was kinda hoping that, that direction would have been better. It's less miles, ya know? Again, thank you for your information.
Bruce Warren

Aug 4, 2005, 4:38 PM

Post #4 of 14 (1434 views)

Re: [BruceW] McAllen to San Miguel de Allende

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We just got back from McAllen/Harlingen. Went up via Monterrey and it took 9 hours plus $50+ dollars for tolls. Coming back, we came via Ciudad Victoria in the same 9 hours which included only minor delay due to the construction projects. Only had to pay one $5 toll at SLP parador. Cleanup crews from Hurricane Emily were working between Valle Hermoso and San Fernando. Many destroyed buildings, uprooted trees and demolished signs were in evidence.

My advice is to save the extra money and go via Ciudad Victoria/SLP via corta. Cheaper and, if you cross at Los Indios, the car permit/visa procedures are much quicker than in Reynosa.

saludos

Brian

BruceW

Aug 4, 2005, 5:14 PM

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Re: [Brian] McAllen to San Miguel de Allende

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Thank you Brian for the information. Where is Los Indios? Milage wise, the Cuidad route to SMdA is shorter than the Monterrey route. Plus I've never been that way. I did travel it once by bus out of Reynosa. But slept most of the way. If you want, you can email direct, to that end, I am;bw4lyf@hotmail.com
Bruce Warren

Aug 4, 2005, 5:17 PM

Post #6 of 14 (1427 views)

Re: [Brian] McAllen to San Miguel de Allende

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I took the Cd. Victoria route about a month ago and I estimated that I lost at least an hour driving time due to the construction going on. There were about 4 to 5 sections of road being redone. If you say that you only had "minor delay" then the repairs are coming along faster that I would have thought. Do you have any thoughts as to when the construction might end?

Aug 4, 2005, 6:58 PM

Post #7 of 14 (1419 views)

Re: [jreboll] McAllen to San Miguel de Allende

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Los Indios, otherwise known as the Free Trade Bridge garita, is located just south of Harlingen, TX. It has a very small, nicely landscaped garita with little traffic on either side. Southbound, it goes through Valle Hermoso before connecting with the road between Matamoros and Ciudad Victoria Hwy 101. The construction mentioned is an ongoing project with much left to be done. In the past, these sections have had controlled traffic (one line of cars going south permitted to proceed while northbound traffic waits for upwards of 30 minutes at a time). Today, traffic proceeded slowly in both directions simultaneously while the work continued. I would estimate that at most we lost 15 minutes of driving time due to having to slow down at these four spots.

Here is a link with information regarding Los Indios and its history:

http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~ahsweape/

(This post was edited by Brian on Aug 5, 2005, 8:55 AM)

johnv

Aug 5, 2005, 7:24 AM

Post #8 of 14 (1395 views)

Re: [BruceW] McAllen to San Miguel de Allende

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The Los Indios Bridge is located in Brownsville, Texas and is sometimes referred to as
the "new bridge". It is located at the end of US Route 77-83, the freeway leading south
into Brownsville, at it's termination point with the border. I have been using the
Brownsville crossing and the Ciudad Victoria/San Luis Potosi route into central México
since 1982. This route avoids all major population centers, such as Monterrey, has only
one 39 peso toll at SLP, and is currently being improved in the "Balcones de Moctezuma" area located between Ciudad Victoria and Entronque Huizache. I have always found the
Brownsville/South Padre Island part of the Texas "Valley" area to be superior to others
such as Laredo. It has the Gulf of Mexico and to me is generally more interesting. And,
in this day and age, it has far less crime than the Laredo area. The only other crossing that I use is Reynosa, with MX 97 south to MX180 to Ciudad Victoria, whenever I need to
bring anything substantial into México, due to the leniency of Mexican Customs at that
crossing, and on that route south.

Aug 5, 2005, 10:24 PM

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Re: [johnv] McAllen to San Miguel de Allende

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You may have gotten your bridges mixed up. The newest bridge in Brownsville is the "Los Tomates" bridge. The "Los Indios" bridge is actually south of San Benito-Harlingen.

johnv

Aug 6, 2005, 9:23 AM

Post #10 of 14 (1339 views)

Re: [jreboll] McAllen to San Miguel de Allende

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Yes, the new Brownsville bridge is Los Tomates.

jerezano

Aug 7, 2005, 8:38 AM

Post #11 of 14 (1311 views)

Re: [johnv] McAllen to San Miguel de Allende

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Hello,

Let's clear up just where the Los Indios Bridge is located:

As you Drive the interstate from Mc Allen to Harlingen you take the Brownsville exit at Harlingen. Just as you pass the Harlingen Airport exit, you will encounter the FREE TRADE BRIDGE exit to Los Indios on the right just BEFORE you enter San Benito. From there to Los Indios is about 6 miles of excellent highway. Note that the exit is labelled FREE TRADE BRIDGE not Los Indios.

Once you cross the bridge just keep on the highway to Villa Hermosa then straight through Villa Hermosa and straight on until the highway joins to the coast highway just a bit north of San Fernando. You can't miss it. Just don't start worrying that you might have missed a turn off.

If you take this route, be careful at CD. Victoria. The last time I came this way (in March) I found the signage confusing. You might have to stop and ask. I found it necessary twice. Maybe Brian can tell us if that has been changed.

Brian knows what he is talking about, but I still find that this route is about an hour longer than the route via Monterrey, Ramos Arizpe. I haven't been able to explain the difference. He is right though, the crossing at Los Indios is usually a delight (15 minutes or less) if you must get a temporary import permit for your car, and the countryside is much more beautiful. And he is also right about the tolls. You save a lot more money which might be important as the cost of gasoline in Mexico is about $2.30 a gallon.

Now with all that said, I still personally prefer the Monterrey, Saltillo, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes route, but then that is just personal.

Have a good trip. Adios. jerezano.

(This post was edited by jerezano on Aug 7, 2005, 8:42 AM)

Aug 7, 2005, 9:00 AM

Post #12 of 14 (1305 views)

Re: [jerezano] McAllen to San Miguel de Allende

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Hi Jerezano

There is, indeed, one part of the route which one could miss and, thus, lose some of the time saving. Well before Ciudad Victoria one encounters a sign indicating Tampico/San Luis Potosi via corta. This is HWY 83. Follow it south for several miles where another sign will indicate Ciudad Victoria. Take that westbound a few miles to a major intersection with a large Pemex/convenience store (I think its HWY 85). At that intersection turn left to resume your journey south. If one misses the HWY 83 turnoff, you will go into Ciudad Victoria but without the time savings.

Last week it took us 9 hours from SMA to Pharr via Monterrey bypass toll roads. It was also 9 hours Los Indios to SMA including the minimal construction delays. To compare apples to apples, it would take me an extra 30 minutes to go SMA/Monterrey/Pharr/Harlingen.

saludos
Brian

Aug 7, 2005, 9:06 AM

Post #13 of 14 (1303 views)

Re: [jerezano] McAllen to San Miguel de Allende

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"Once you cross the bridge just keep on the highway to Villa Hermosa..."

Did you mean to say "Valle Hermoso?"

I used to think that the Cd. Victoria was longer but I was pleasantly surprised that the times are the same and the amount that you save on tolls is significant as compared to the Monterrey route.

Aug 9, 2005, 9:53 AM

Post #14 of 14 (1271 views)