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Rex Chappelear

Oct 5, 2002, 8:47 PM

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Best route

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How is the best way to drive from Laredo to Mazatlan in a car with no trailer , in Febuary ???? Thank you Rex

dan

Oct 6, 2002, 9:41 AM

Post #2 of 4 (448 views)

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Try www.maps-of-mexico.com

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: How is the best way to drive from Laredo to Mazatlan: in a car with no trailer , in Febuary ????: Thank you Rex
:

Rolly

Oct 6, 2002, 10:17 AM

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Best route - and other stuff

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Plan to over-night in Laredo, so you can cross the border very early in the morning. 5 or 6 AM is not too early. At that hour the line for car registration should be short and the building not too hot. Still it can take an hour or more. Later the line may be hours long and the building hot. Customs is a snap, but the car papers are a pain. You will need the title or other proof of ownership, a valid drivers license and a credit or check card all in your name. If your car is not paid for, you will need a notarized letter from the bank/finance company granting you permission to bring the car into Mexico. If the car is in someone else's name, you will need a notarized letter from the actual owner (and the proof of ownership). Bring two copies of all these things and the picture page from your passport. Buy Mexican insurance. Your US insurance is not good in Mexico. It is crazy to drive in Mexico without insurance!!!!A few miles outside of Nuevo Laredo, you will have the choice of taking the free road or the toll road. The toll roads are excellent, four-lane highways with very little truck and bus traffic, but they are expensive. The free roads are old, narrow, two-lanes with lots of slow moving truck, buses, burro wagons, bicycles, etc, but they show you the real Mexico.You’ll go south to Monterrey, then west through Saltillo, Torreón+Gomez Palacio, Durango and, finally, Mazatlán. The scenery from N Laredo to Torreón is the pits – desert. After Torreón, it gets quite interesting; after Durango, it is spectacular. It’s toll roads all the way to Durango. BUT – the toll roads do not go through the cities. You get dumped off onto the free highway at the edge of the city and don’t get back on the toll road until the other side of town. This is where things get a bit tricky – the route is not always well marked, so be alert! lest you miss a turn. This is especially true in Torreón and Gomez Palacio. (I live in this area.) Be watchful as you follow the highway through Torreón to Gomez. The signage is poor and there are a couple of places in Torreón where you can miss a turn if you are not alert. Toll road drive time from N Laredo to Torreón is about 7 hours. On to Durango is another 4 or 5 hours. If you want to over-night in Torreón (where the toll road dumps you off) or in Gomez (where you get back on the toll road), you’ll find many motels along the highway, or you can venture into the down town of either city for some classier places, but it’s not always easy to find your way back to the highway. You might have to hire a taxi to lead you; this is always a quick and cheap way to get unlost. Whether you spend a night in Torreón or drive on the Durango. I would suggest that you spend a night in Durango, so you can start down the mountain road to the coast in the morning. This road is called the Devil’s Backbone. It is great scenery, but it is also a tight, two-lane mountain road. You’ll be more comfortable driving it early in the morning so the sun is not in your eyes as you head west. Do a Google search for hotels/motels in Durango. Also check some other posts about Durango on this board. There’s a day’s worth of stuff to see in Durango. There’s not a half-hour’s worth of stuff to do in Torreón/Gomez unless you want to stop for a few beers with me. :- ) Or visit a Tyson chicken factory. None of this part of Mexico is a tourist area, so don’t expect to find many English-speaking people.Have a good trip.

Rex Chappelear

Oct 8, 2002, 8:56 PM

Post #4 of 4 (454 views)

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Best route - and other stuff

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: Plan to over-night in Laredo, so you can cross the border very early in the morning. 5 or 6 AM is not too early. At that hour the line for car registration should be short and the building not too hot. Still it can take an hour or more. Later the line may be hours long and the building hot. Customs is a snap, but the car papers are a pain. You will need the title or other proof of ownership, a valid drivers license and a credit or check card all in your name. If your car is not paid for, you will need a notarized letter from the bank/finance company granting you permission to bring the car into Mexico. If the car is in someone else's name, you will need a notarized letter from the actual owner (and the proof of ownership). Bring two copies of all these things and the picture page from your passport. Buy Mexican insurance. Your US insurance is not good in Mexico. It is crazy to drive in Mexico without insurance!!!!: A few miles outside of Nuevo Laredo, you will have the choice of taking the free road or the toll road. The toll roads are excellent, four-lane highways with very little truck and bus traffic, but they are expensive. The free roads are old, narrow, two-lanes with lots of slow moving truck, buses, burro wagons, bicycles, etc, but they show you the real Mexico.: You’ll go south to Monterrey, then west through Saltillo, Torreón+Gomez Palacio, Durango and, finally, Mazatlán. The scenery from N Laredo to Torreón is the pits – desert. After Torreón, it gets quite interesting; after Durango, it is spectacular. : It’s toll roads all the way to Durango. BUT – the toll roads do not go through the cities. You get dumped off onto the free highway at the edge of the city and don’t get back on the toll road until the other side of town. This is where things get a bit tricky – the route is not always well marked, so be alert! lest you miss a turn. This is especially true in Torreón and Gomez Palacio. (I live in this area.) Be watchful as you follow the highway through Torreón to Gomez. The signage is poor and there are a couple of places in Torreón where you can miss a turn if you are not alert. : Toll road drive time from N Laredo to Torreón is about 7 hours. On to Durango is another 4 or 5 hours. If you want to over-night in Torreón (where the toll road dumps you off) or in Gomez (where you get back on the toll road), you’ll find many motels along the highway, or you can venture into the down town of either city for some classier places, but it’s not always easy to find your way back to the highway. You might have to hire a taxi to lead you; this is always a quick and cheap way to get unlost. : Whether you spend a night in Torreón or drive on the Durango. I would suggest that you spend a night in Durango, so you can start down the mountain road to the coast in the morning. This road is called the Devil’s Backbone. It is great scenery, but it is also a tight, two-lane mountain road. You’ll be more comfortable driving it early in the morning so the sun is not in your eyes as you head west. Do a Google search for hotels/motels in Durango. Also check some other posts about Durango on this board. : There’s a day’s worth of stuff to see in Durango. There’s not a half-hour’s worth of stuff to do in Torreón/Gomez unless you want to stop for a few beers with me. :- ) Or visit a Tyson chicken factory. None of this part of Mexico is a tourist area, so don’t expect to find many English-speaking people.: Have a good trip. Thanks Rolly and Dan It will help.