jerezano
Jan 25, 2010, 6:38 AM
Post #22 of 30
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Re: [donemry] Driving to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle
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Hello all,
I'm a bit confused by the answers our original poster is getting here. By all means take 15D the cuota from Nogales to just before you reach Tepic.
Absolutely the best way to get from the frontier to just before Tepic.
Just before you reach Tepic, exit to the right to San Blas. and then drive the coast down to Santa Cruz to Las Varas? and pick up the coastal highway there to go on to Puerto Vallarta.
This is flat all the way to Las Varas. Your wife will not have to worry about curves etc. I always recommend this route to people with RV's or towing boats. The coastal route from San Blas south to Las Varas is two lane state highway which may or may not be well maintained. Usually it's OK, but not for high speed driving. It passes through or by numerous coastal villages including nearby Playa de las Tortugas. Still it is a short distance. And much easier to navigate than Compostela down to Las Varas.
Now if you must go on to Tepic (my favorite city in Mexico) the periférico on the west--called Libremiento-- bypasses the city almost entirely and on the South end there is a well-marked exit to the right to Puerto Vallarta. Take it. It is not a difficult exit but you will now encounter traffic. You will drive through a short distance of urban traffic but bus and truck traffic are off to the side on frontage roads. Once past Xalisco? Xalapa? (I can't remember the mane of the small urb which is actually an adjunct of Tepic) you will have a two lane well marked and well maintained state highway to Compostela. You do cross a mountain range but still no real mountain driving. Now for the sad part. From Compostela down to the coast at Las Varas there are a lot of curves which are very dangerous if there is a fog (quite frequent). Going down is not so bad because even the truck traffic travels fairly speedily. The problem is stupid drivers coming up who pass those laboring trucks and buses on curves and if foggy without adequate vision ahead. Those curves have been widened and the obscuring jungle overhang has been cut away.
Either way, the flat coast route or downhill from Compostela you end in Las Varas and from there to Puerto Vallarta it is all federal two lane highway in the process of being converted to high speed 4 lane. As you approach Bucerías you may encounter a parallel cuota to Puerto Vallarta, which eventually will be extended northward all the way to to Tepic.
There is another way. Take the cuota from Tepic to Guadalajara. At the Puerto Vallarta exit to the right, turn downhill and take the cuota to Compostela. That cuota is really two lane most of the way and drops way down into a valley and then goes back up to reach Compostela. Itis not difficult driving. From Compostela down to the coast there is only one way. The same way as if you had come from Tepic.
Really the most pleasurable way is San Blas to Santa Cruz to Las Varas but this is all local highway joining fishing and farming villages back to the highways
Either way takes about the same amount of time.
e
Enjoy your trip.
jerezano.
(This post was edited by jerezano on Jan 25, 2010, 6:46 AM)
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