Need any advise on driving from Regina, Sask. Canada to Playa del Carmen,Mexico?

Question

Never done it before so any advise would be welcome. How are the roads, best routing, how long does it take, do's and don't's, insurance, must have's , etc.,etc.

Answer 1

My suggestion for an easy drive From Brownsville Texas is to stop in Tampico for the first night Tampico is about 6 hours drive. Yoiu have to get through the border, inport your vehicle  and this can take time. So stay close to the border in the US and cross the border early. You will have a relaxed drive for your first day in Mexico and encounter your first makor city in the afternoon as you find your hotel.  There is a bypass around Tampico with a Best Western in Altamera shortly before the turn. You will recognise this bypass which has a large blue boat just after the turn. The other alternative is to go over the Tampico bridge from downtown that we actually find easier.

2nd Day drive to Veracruz as this is the most difficult part of the journey as it is 2 lane most of the way a bit over 400kms but allow all day. Stay in Veracruz Suggest Holiday Inn in the old town

After Tampico you will arrive in Tuxpan. On the out skirts of Tuxpan just after a closed Pemex gas station on your left look for a little sign that says Poza Rica this is a left turn. Follow this narrow road for some time until you see the sign to turn right for Posa Rica that takes you over the Tuxpan bridge. this leads you to the new road that will bypassPoza Rica.

After that it is easy all the way to Veracruz

Day 3 drive to Cd Del Carmen. Divided highway all the way to Villahermosa then 2 lanes through Frontera but good surface if no hurricane damage. Bridges give great views of the water.

Day 4 reach Merida which is a beautiful colonial city and stay in the down town hotels of which there are many. nice drive along the coast from Cd del Carment to Champoton and then inland to Merida

Day 5 take the highway Merida to Cancun and exit before Cancun Airport and head south to your destination.

I have driven from Merida to Veracruz and then Veracruz to Brownsville but this is only possible if you know the roads and in the Spring when there is lots of daylight.

My suggestion gives you lots of daylight to complete the days drive, allows you to not take chances and is an enjoyable trip. Make sure that you arrive in daylight as Mexican towns are difficult in the dark. Do not drive on the highways at night. People walk lighting is poor animals are on the street etc etc so it is dangerous.  We say at the Holiday Inns Tampico and CD del Carmen. There is also a good HI in Villahermosa. Villashermosa is a 7 hr drive from Merida If you ar lost you can count on people to assist you. If you have a breakdown help will materilaize for you.

Enjoy the trip

Answer 2

Go to:

http://www.mapquest.com/

Under Directions, plug in Regina, SK for the Starting Location and Brownsville, TX for the Ending Location.  It will show you every twist and turn you need to take to get to the Mexico border.  Total Est. Time: 32 hours, 58 minutes     Total Est. Distance: 2119.90 miles

Next go to this site:

http://www.sct.gob.mx/

Click on the TRAZA TU RUTA button on the left (bottom of the gray box).  On the next page next to Estado origen:, select Tamaulipas (it will take a second to generate the cities).  Next to Ciudad origen:  Matamoros.  Then next to   Estado destino:, select Quintana Roo (it will take a second to generate the cities).   Next to Ciudad destino: select Playa del Carmen.  Then click the button at the bottom that says:  Consultar.  This will give you a map and all the twists and turns in Mexico.  2,313 kilometers   25:09 hours drive time   and 854.0 pesos in tolls (about 85 US dollars).

Their directions have you coming out of Villahermosa and heading north to Frontera to hug the Gulf Coast and save some kilometers.  But if you have some time, take Mex 186 out of Villahermosa and look for the turn-off for the Maya ruins at Palenque.  It's worth the stop.  Also worth the time are the Maya ruins at Chichen Itza, but I don't know what kind of schedule you are on.  If you have time, pick up a guide book at the book store, because there's many great things to see along this route.

Two rules of driving in Mexico:

1.  Never drive at night (you may hit a cow, burro or a Mexican driving with his lights off).

2.  Assume there are speed bumps before and after every town and village you pass through.  You do not want to hit them at high speed.  There should be signs where they are (usually a thick black bar with two bumps on it), but sometimes someone needs a piece of metal that size, and it disappears.  They are called TOPES (or sleeping policemen), and they're designed to keep your speed down so you don't hit a kid chasing a ball onto the road.

If you break down, raise your hood and a Green Angel may stop to help you.  There are about one thousand Green Angel trucks in Mexico dispatched by the government to help tourists with car problems.

See the mexonline link below for the regulations for crossing the border with your car.

Answer 3

Wow, that will be quite a road trip!  Sounds like a great challenge.  I think your best bet will be to cross the US/Mexico border in El Paso.  It's pretty much a straight shot south for you from Saskatchewan, at least according to google maps.  I have mapped from Regina to El Paso, and will include the link below.  The drive time is about 24 hours from Regina to El Paso.

I wasn't able to find driving maps from El Paso to Playa del Carmen, but I am including a link to a great site called Maps-Of-Mexico and I think you can buy maps from them that would be very detailed and show you the highways to take if you are driving all the way through mainland Mex.  Playa del Carmen is about 68? km from Cancun.

I've heard that it takes a good 24 hours to get from El Paso to Cancun by car, so depending on if you wanted to break that drive up over a few days, I'd say you are looking at a total drive of around 50 hours each way, which you'd break into several days.  If you could take a few weeks off for the road trip, you could probably drive four 12 hour shifts down, and four 12 hour shifts back.

One big piece of advice is try never to drive in Mexico after dark because the roads are often winding and not well lit at night, and most serious accidents in Mexico happen at night.  

We drive through Mexico a lot and our one rule is: Never drive at night.

As for insurance, definitely get it.  Your Canadian coverage may work for you in the US (call your provider to make sure) but you will definitely need Mexican insurance when driving in Mexico.  It is mandatory and not only that, you'll be so glad you have it if something happens.  In Mexico, the law considers you guilty until proven innocent... so it helps to be insured.  Just remember that you have to report any claims right away (while you are in Mexico) in order for the coverage to work.

A ton of companies sell the mexican insurance - some at the border, others online.  They're all pretty good.  We usually get ours online cuz it's one less thing you have to do at the border crossing.  My husband and I use bajabound.com, and have had a good experience.  

Safe journeys.  We love Mexico... you'll be so glad you went.