I need some advice on driving from az to cancun please help me will proper directions thank you?

Question

I need some advice on driving from az to cancun please help me will proper directions thank you?

Answer 1

Why would you drive instead of fly???  You can get a round trip flight on sale for less than $200.  You could always rent a car when you get there.  I think that would be a lost less expensive.

Answer 2

The best thing to do is drive in the U.S. on the great roads...to McAllen , Tx . and cross there.  Then see map below for recommended route.  I have driven this route and it is "ok" to Tampico, very good from Tampico to Veracruz, ...then I have not driven the part to Cancun, but know people who have who say the roads are good.  You will also need a Guia Roji...the Mexican road atlas.  Can buy it at big book stores or order from Amazon.com.  Driving in Mexico can be challenging, but you can do it.  See 2nd site below for info on the  car permit you will need and 3rd site for my favoritie car ins.place.  The map site is always too shot on the time allowance...add at least 4 or 5 hrs to what it says.  You will find it is better to take the coastal route.

Answer 3

When my husband and I drove down we crossed at Brownsville , TX into Matamoros, MX where we purchased our Mexican car insurance, vehicle importation sticker and immigrations. You will need a credit card for these payments.

Please note that the road and signage in Matamoros is very confusing after leaving immigration. If you are uncertain about the road stop and ask.

Take MX Rt 180 and you want to take the rapido not libre. All of the rapidos are toll roads. The road is mountainous and you do go thru some small towns with GIANT topas (speed bumps). Watch your speed!!!!

MX 180 will take you all of the way to Merida but that is a bit out of the way. We didn't go to Merida we drove over to Chetmel and then down directly to Cancun.

You will be going close to Tampico, Vera Cruz, Minatitlan, Villahermosa, Escaroega, Chetmel, Playa del Carmen, and tah dah Cancun.

PLEASE don't drive after dark. Not because there are banditos but because the roads are being worked on and you don't know if the road is still there or not...no warning.

Purchase a map.

Have pesos for the tolls, gas and food.

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

We drove to Cancun last October and came through Matamoros from Brownsville.

We went through Victoria to Tampico To Veracruz to Villahermosa to Campeche to Cancun.  Our return trip we went directly Tampico to US as roads were fine and didn't need the detour to Victoria.

The only rough roads and still not that bad was from Tampico to Tuxpan.. about 100 miles..slower going.. then it opens up and it was wonderful!!  Roads - take toll roads only - are as good or better than US roads.  I would not drive after dark either because there are animals by the roads.. horses, cows, sheep, etc... in the daylight you see them.

You will drive through several small towns, although often not big enough to be what we think as a town.. but, I quarentee, they will have the speed bumps!  They are usually ALOT larger than what we have here, you hit one going to fast you'll wreck your car.  The bumps are usually marked by signage, but, we did hit a few unmarked ones.

Also, driving there is a bit different than here.  On a 2 lane here, thats what it is.  In Mexico you drive half on the shoulder so those who want to pass you can (on hills, curves, etc) so they make it a 3 to 4 lane.  Watch the traffic behind you.  Scared me at first, but by the end of the trip made sense?  Also, if you want to make a LEFT hand turn, you pull over to the shoulder on your right, wait for traffic to pass then make your turn.

You will have several stops by the Military.. to some it could be intimidating.. they are very nice, bring your dictionary with you so you can hand it to them and they can point out what they want.  A word of warning - don't let them catch you taking pics of them.. they get very upset!! One stop threatened to take our cameras, but then let us go.. just smile big and wave as you approach..

We learned the hard way on this.. know the directions IN the city you are stopping in for the hotel you want.  We seriously drove in circles for 1 - 3 hours trying to find our hotel - it was worse than the drive to the city!!  No one spoke English and dictionary didn't help.. played alot of charades!!

We skipped Campeche on the return trip and stayed in Merida instead.  Sorry, guess I forgot that.

Cancun was nice, but didn't compare to the journey we had on our drive there. Enjoy it!!

We had the adventure of a lifetime in October on our return trip!! We outran the flood that made Mexican history!! Driving along the coast on our way back to Villahermosa the Gulf waves were huge!  The shore was about 200 feet from us with a stone wall between.. out of the blue a wave hit our car with the sea wall!!  Ahead of us the road was being washed out!! We had to turn around as water was rising fast.. a local couple told us to follow them inland as a detour.. we got to Villahermosa and the Mgr at Holiday Inn was very helpful in calling ahead for us.. there were some mudslides to be careful of and recommended staying there another day.. we left anyhow and good thing we did, as Villehermosa was under 12 ft of water the next day!!  There was no storm, no warnings, no one knew what was happening.. so just be aware around you.

Also, we drove a convertible with the top down the entire trip.. at NO time did we feel unsafe, even through getting lost in some grundgy areas of town.  Again, just be aware.  When in the towns, at the street lights you will be "attacked" by street vendors.. the worst was in Matamoros.. so be ready!! You will have the cleanest windshield in the world!!  They work for meager tips.

We pretty much stayed at Holiday Inns or Holiday Inn Expresses .. very clean and nice.  In Veracruz we stayed on the beach going down, and downtown coming back.  The history was amazing dwtn!! The dwtn square with the outdoor restaurants was so pretty!

Our biggest lesson? DON'T forget to turn in your vehicle permit when you return!! No one will ask for it when you drive through, and we forgot until we were half way back to Mn.  We have to drive back down (going next week) just so we can return permit and show we are bringing the car out of Mexico!  Looks like we have to all the same paperwork to cross over and turn around as we did for the trip - so DON'T FORGET!!

email me back if you want more info.. I kept pretty good records.

Answer 5

The best route is to head for Del Rio and head for saltillo and then on to Mexico city

Check out mapquest.com

The maps may show a better route but the roads are full of speed bumps and potholes and can indeed cost you two extra days.

Refer to the site from Mexico to Cancun the rads are all driveable.

Answer 6

Stay away from Mexico City. For the best advice call 1-888-862-3806. The Mexico Experts