seeking advice on mexico road trip

[cruisernerd]

does anyone have an idea about safe border crossing points, or the real state of danger levels while travelling in mexico? i want to travel south, how far i don't know, but have been spooked by all the hype. would like to hear some first hand opinions on what to expect. and which places are considered the safest passage. looking at gov't travel advisories makes it sound like the movie " no country for old men."
thanks,
eric

 

[SR.GRINGO]

Eric,

I lived in Sinaloa for the past 9 years. Glad to be living in the U.S. now.

Never drive at night.

Your best bet for safety is to travel the Baja....the southern portion is safe.

Mexico's policy is to "cover up" most problems....the Travel advisory is pretty spot on.

Also big diesel or late model 4x4 trucks are a No, No....get trip insurance for your vehicle including theft.

Good luck.

Jason

 

[cruisernerd]

i had heard to stay away from the baja, that would be my first choice. hopefully beat up old 40 series cruisers are stealthy... thanks for the advice, i had even considered shipping my truck south, by train and meeting well below the boarder, but feel that is going overboard...
eric

 

[e9999]

I don't think Baja is that bad really. Sure, there is corruption everywhere -a fact of life in MX but fairly easily avoided- and the occasional nasty situation, the latter being probably not that uncommon in Tijuana, maybe Ensenada, but I don't think the rest of Baja is anything like cartel country in the East. Yes, you can't count on police. And, sure, the laws may be more suggestions than cast in stone sometimes but that's true of many other places.

But altogether it's likely pretty safe overall I think. If I had to put a number on this -for what that's worth but to put things in perspective- I'd say that with a bit of common sense, the odds you'd encounter an injury or serious theft-threatening situation outside of nasty areas of the big cities are what, maybe 1 in 1000? I doubt it is 1:100. I'm basing this on the ultra low frequency of horror stories in the US media about Baja travellers. Pure guess of course. But after all, if you're in the boonies, the chances of having to deal with some hardened criminals are remote, since they'd make a better living in the cities. I'm guessing it'd be fine to take some good kitchen knives and a machete for cutting firewood since everybody has those down South...

Would I hesitate going down to Baja today? I'd read about current issues, take some precautions, but would go. I would skip Tijuana for sure and likely also Ensenada, basically skip the border area.

 

[Rockets2000]

Nogales is a good crossing. Cross in the morning and head down M-15 through Hermosillo and Guaymas. Just west of Guyamas is one of the world's best kept secrets - San Carlos. In the winter months, San Carlos is about 50% gringos and the locals protect their meal ticket. In the summer they have tournament fishing. Sonora, in general is a bit safer than some of the other states, and San Carlos is an expat mecca. My sister has been living there for 5 years and feels very safe.

 

[SR.GRINGO]

i had heard to stay away from the baja, that would be my first choice. hopefully beat up old 40 series cruisers are stealthy... thanks for the advice, i had even considered shipping my truck south, by train and meeting well below the boarder, but feel that is going overboard...
eric

Another option would be to drive down to Los Mochis(Topolobampo) and take the ferry across to the Baja. As long as you don't drive in the dark and take the Nogales border crossing early you should do fine. In the 40 it would be an easy 2 day run.

Also don't bring any guns!

The Northern Baja including Tijuana is scary...Southern Baja is one of the safest places in Mexico right now.
http://www.bajaferries.com/

 

[cruisernerd]

nogales would be my perfered crossing. as it is due south from me and i have been there before. but i have heard chihuahua is one of the danger zones. also i would like to get south of the border on a toll highway as i have heard they are safer. then head to belize.

 

[Brandon Heat]

The toll roads are safer but do not come cheap. Also as long as you drive during the day you will be fine.

 

[e9999]

this thing about "must take" toll roads is puzzling to me. Yes, the traffic is a little hectic on mexican roads and there are big trucks and often no shoulder. Fine. Not that big a deal. It's not like you are sure to die on the road or that you will be stopped by armed bandits on regular roads.
If you want to save time or avoid getting lost in a sketchy part of town, fine, take the toll road but otherwise the regular roads are just fine. Hardly a death sentence.

 

[cruisernerd]

these are the type of opinions i wanna hear, as i don't know what to expect. i have no love affair with super highways and would prefer to drive 1000 miles of dirt roads than pavement. and really, i suspect there is no amount of preparing that i could do to be ready. i just need to start driving, some work to do to the truck first. hoping to leave in the fall, when it starts to get cooler... gonna rebuild my axles before going. gotta a friend with a bmw 1200 gs that wants to go as well. i will be the mule. thanks guys

 

[Manuelsv]

Last 3 year in a row I've taken my cruiser to Puerto Vallarta

Last 3 years in a row I've taken my cruiser to Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, and Michoacan.

Never had any problem.. Even had a major mechanical issue along the way in the alleged worse part of Mexico "sinaloa" https://forum.ih8mud.com/az-copper-state-cruisers/601702-replace-spindle.html

Have been down 3 times in the Cruiser! And just went down for the Xmass break, on my motorcycle! BMW K12RS... Everyone told me don't take a flashy bike like that: "you'll get raped, killed, run-over, kidnapped etc.. etc... and not necessarily in that order " someone even told me they'll steal my liver for black market organs!

Well besides having a weaker liver due to the excessive beach drinking.. I HAD A BLAST !!! 1,400miles in 3 weeks
Again no problem even on the bike! Am I lucky??? Who knows.. but I never had even a hint of a problem I even got a flat on the bike.. and after being snubbed at the local Harley dealer.. the Yamaha dealer patched and balanced my tire for $5 dollars (tip for the mechanic) after the owner of the Yamaha dealer ooogled over my beemer and offered me $13,000 Pesos for it.. $10K U.S. and refused to charge me for the repair saying.. It's free but you can tip my mechanic!
I have only meet helpful nice and very very cool people along the way.. (Except for those Harley Shop guys I guess they are just trying to be like their American colleagues.. )
Best advice I can give you is talk to people .. Be nice.. and have a beer or margarita..
I personally prefer the tollways vs the free highways, just because they are generally shorter and faster, but I have nothing against the small roads especially if you are not in a hurry and want to see the countryside, stop in picturesque villages and towns and or sample local street food
BTW: your buddy with the GS will have an absolute blast.. the only BMW bikes I saw down there where all the 650GS's or 1200GS.. The GS is made for Mexico tell your buddy to watch out for TOPES!!! I went unsupported this last time on my bike, but with a support vehicle it should be easy!

Here's some pictures of my other addiction!

 

[Manuelsv]

Forgot to say.. If you pass by Phoenix, AZ. Stop on by and we can do some local wheeling!

 

[robertaleon]

We went to Baja Sur to prerun the Baja Mil (1000 for you Gringos). We all felt safer in Ensenada than we did in El Cajon, CA before the border crossing. Our group crossed in Tecate and was a very good experience. Take it from me - there are bathrooms on the Mexico side; don't wonder around and have them tell you it's on the US side - makes for a s***ty morning. We were in a caravan of 4 3/4Ton pickups with prerunners, buggies, and enclosed trailer plastered with KTM stickers and never once did we have a negative experience. Ok - one truck/trailer got shook down for $40 because he went through the auto lane versus around the commercial lane with a 30ft trailer and two cars. A lot of kids asking for stickers and candy, Yes! Sure the Federales always pull me out of my truck to examine the contents of my trailer, every time, at every checkpoint but made some conversation such as they all prefer Hondas over KTM and whether 450CC is adequate for desert racing - no big deal and got to use some Spanish. For Diaz de la muerte in San Ignacio we danced with the police chief's daughter and friends (all 18 for sure), 4 hybrid mexican-americans in shorts and flip-flops dancing in the town square of San Ignacio; the local guys didn't like it but we all had a good time and were treated great.

Leave the guns, ammo, and narcotics at home. Try not to travel at night but we did do plenty of that down in Loreto and Mulegé and were fine. Use common sense and you shouldn't have any problems. And if you try to cross the pedestrian bridge in Mulegé with your vehicle be prepared to get stuck but the tow truck service is only $40, $50 for my father-in-law because they found out he was a doctor.

 

[jonharis]

this thing about "must take" toll roads is puzzling to me. Yes, the traffic is a little hectic on mexican roads and there are big trucks and often no shoulder. Fine. Not that big a deal. It's not like you are sure to die on the road or that you will be stopped by armed bandits on regular roads.
If you want to save time or avoid getting lost in a sketchy part of town, fine, take the toll road but otherwise the regular roads are just fine. Hardly a death sentence.

THe "Regular"roads are the best part of a Mexico driving experience for me. I much prefer driving through the countryside and seeing the real mexico. It takes longer, and sure can be adventerous, but I've never felt unsafe. You get to see a little of the culture that most people never do.

 

[Mxndrnks]

I live in San Diego and head down in to Baja a few times a year. The only problem I have ever had over the past few years is getting BACK into the US. For whatever reason, I always end up in secondary inspections. My buddy believes it is because my truck weighs so much more than factory...Who knows.

Depending on how far you want to go, I always head south of Ensenada. Since I live here in San Diego, I always cross at TJ. I try to cross as early as possible and head south. There is no gas stations between El Rosario and Vila Jesus Maria. You may find people selling gas out of 55 gal drums along the road side though. My recommendation is to fill up in El Rosario. If you plan to do ANY and I mean ANY exploring between there and VIla Jesus Maria, take a minimum of 10 extra gals of gas. You will need it.

When I had my German Shepherd and she would go with me the military was always scared to search my truck. Dogs bring an amazing amount of security if you have one.

Maps - Baja Almanac is pretty Bomb Proof. If you have a Garmin GPS and want to spend the extra coin, these are the most comprehensive maps I have found: http://www.cartografiagps.com/

Most other sources out there are geared more for the race crowd and dont really have much more than the Baja Almanac. But, look around and see what meets your needs.

Go, Have fun, be safe. I never drive at night. Watch the tight turns on the hwy south of Ensenada. I have almost been run off the road more than once by big trucks riding the middle of both lanes. If you have any questions, let me know.

 

[cruiserpilot]

Wow, I've heard all the bad stories up here in BC. Thanks to you guys for clarifying a lot of questions I had on going down there with my 60. I know where to get info just before I go now.

 

[80t0ylc]

Just curious, and please consider that I've not traveled South of the border, yet. What's the big deal about not traveling at night? The bad guys get bolder, they got vampire blood or what ? I've heard you can't rely on the police, but if you're trying to make up for lost time for some reason, stretching your driving hours into the night sometimes helps, but it sounds like maybe something to avoid down there.

 

[MANUCHAO]

Nothing wrong with driving at night.. but just like here in the U.S., there is a higher chance there is people out there to cause trouble, the risk of getting mugged goes up and perhaps a few more drunks on the road...

Cruiser Pilot when are you thinking of heading down ?

We are planning on heading down for 5 weeks over the summer .
No set destination but hope to make it all the way down to Yucatan if not Tikal in Guatemala...
Just started to plan & map out our route....

 

[e9999]

Just curious, and please consider that I've not traveled South of the border, yet. What's the big deal about not traveling at night? The bad guys get bolder, they got vampire blood or what ? I've heard you can't rely on the police, but if you're trying to make up for lost time for some reason, stretching your driving hours into the night sometimes helps, but it sounds like maybe something to avoid down there.

as mentioned above (and is also well-known among travellers in MX), it's trucks, and also the common lack of side berms, that will do you in. It's only after you're bleeding in the resulting car wreck that the vampires do come for a snack. And the Chupacabras too...

 

[cruiserpilot]

Nothing wrong with driving at night.. but just like here in the U.S., there is a higher chance there is people out there to cause trouble, the risk of getting mugged goes up and perhaps a few more drunks on the road...

Cruiser Pilot when are you thinking of heading down ?

We are planning on heading down for 5 weeks over the summer .
No set destination but hope to make it all the way down to Yucatan if not Tikal in Guatemala...
Just started to plan & map out our route....

I was thinking between Dec and Feb. I have a coworker with a place on the inner Baja. I understand it's mostly undeveloped and lots of open camping. I was thinking of 2 - 3 weeks down there, maybe longer. I thought of going further one day, would be curious as to how far you're going and how long you will be travelling.

I have 5 weeks in Aug/Sept and I'm heading to the Yukon!!!