Driving through Mexico

I do not know for sure but I read a blog from a person doing just that.  From what he said, Just don't do it!  You will need a fist full of dollars to pay the bribes needed to get your stuff through and you will lucky if you don't get robbed when you stop to sleep.  After I read the blog I decided to ship my stuff down in a container.  And fly in to meet it.  You will need all kinds of permits for your stuff.  Google driving to Belize and I think you will find it

Here it is.  Just read this and take if for what ever it is worth.
http://www.belizeforum.com/belize/ubbth … ber=191455

Unfortunately ,I believe that is true but others may correct me.
Travelling as a transmigrante you are limited to the Coastal Route ....i.e crappy roads ,corrupt cops, slow truck traffic,hundreds of speed bumps (usually unmarked) and a whole lot of frustration.
I have done that route up and down 5 times and would never take it again.
Crossing at Laredo and down thru SanLuis de Potosi,then Puebla ,Cordoba  and then Villahermosa is waaay less stressful and almost 4 lane toll road all the way !
My advice leave the trailer at home and buy what you need Belize or Chetumal

Hello,
I just want to share with you the advice I've been given in reference to a trip I had planned to drive down to Belize in October. I have flown to Belize for dive trips several times however I wanted to drive down for an extended stay. I was urged by both Americans and Mexican nationals not to take this trip. My neighbors who are from Mexico do not drive in their own country due to the possibility of violence towards them. If relatives visit the states they only drive with a caravan of other relatives. I also contacted a dive shop owner in Cozumel who concurred, her local national friends at this point in time do not drive through the mainland. My understanding is that bot bandits and police do not hesitate to stop you, search your vehicle for valuables and in some instances demand money. I have travelled extensively thoughout Europe and Africa, often hitchhiking but I have taken this advice from a whole array of different people quite seriously and cancelled my trip. Please speak to as many people as you can and ask their opinion and experiences prior to making your decision.

Regards,
Marcie

Does the word wussy come to mind lmao. There are a number of threads here about driving through Mexico. I myself with my killer 7 IB dog drove from California to Belize.

Just stay on the toll roads and out of the big cities you should have no problems at all. I was charged with BS tickets in Mexico city, my fault for venturing there. Other than that it was a great drive, hell a diver should never be afraid.

Wussy is a little extreme.
The poster sounds like a single woman and even I would not suggest the SOLO trip for her.....ESPECIALLY via the coastal route!
While the central route ,because of it's 4 lane format, is a much less stressful route ,sooner or later some out for the buck weasel cop will try to make your life difficult by coming up with a major infraction and a demand for some mordida.
Hide your cash,ATM and credit cards well ....very well  ....maybe have a few traveller checks to prove that you have some funds and as I have discovered recently have a supply of US one dollar bills. Cops won't take traveller checks ....or little US bills!
Last time we got stopped outside Escarcega for the BIG  infraction of the driver smoking a cigarette while driving.....the invented fine demand started out at 3000 Pesos!
Because of prior advice neither I nor the driver had any volume of cash visible....he had $24 US and I had two 50 peso billsand I told "el porco" we used only American Express travellers checks.
The corrupt cop took the $24 and then motioned for the two 50 peso bills......then sneered  and handed the driver back the 4 US singles ! Apparently nobody in Mexico wants the little bills because nobody anywhere will take them.....kind of like American Express traveller checks !
You hear contradictory reports of people's experiences travelling thru the country ,some good and some frightening and the drive can be a crap-shoot
Where the more expensive corruption issue occurred was at the BELIZE  border where the driver was screwed for $80US for a temporary Import Permit on the vehicle......they ARE SUPPOSED to be FREE !

BTW - I am heading back north by road at the beginning of April.....so anyone wanting to tag along is welcome......just message me!

Thanks for your response rangedriver.  There's a great facebook page that balances the info you've heard..... from people who actually travel through Mexico all the time.  You might want to check it out.  facebook.com/groups/167187996679894/ 

We are definitely driving through Mexico and we're honestly not that worried about it.  We just won't be stupid about it either.  If I was by myself, I wouldn't do it, but I'll be with my husband and two dogs.  And we have decided to ship all of our belongings and just drive our truck through.

Remember the hide your cash and cards advice ,carry a few travellers checks and $1 bills and that'll cut down on the mordida.
Avoid the coastal Route !
Avoid Mex. City  by using Arco Norte autopista which takes you down to almost Puebla.
Use this link to plan your trip ....it has an English version !
http://aplicaciones4.sct.gob.mx/sibuac_ … EscogeRuta
Lastly, good luck.

Thanks EastCoastDave,

Great link!  I hadn't found that one yet, and I've been researching this move for about a year now!  I especially like the tips about carrying travellers checks and $1 bills.  And I hadn't thought about hiding CCs and debit cards, but that makes sense too!  I've also heard to not carry all your money in one place, i.e., have multiple wallets or stashes of cash.  And we had heard about avoiding the coastal route.... but didn't know about avoiding Mexico city!

Thanks again for all your help!

Cheryl

Yup....Frankly I have used a money belt ,slung low inside my pants and shoved cc's and atm's in my shoes.
I have had a state police search my wallet in Tampico looking for a credit card or ATM card so we could go to a bank machine so he could get his bribe. Despite a pretty serious pat down , pocket s turned inside out and truck rifled thru....he never felt the moneybelt or my crotch.
That incident started out at 8000pesos ,jail and a threat to shoot my dogs and was settled for 300 pesos ...the only cash I had visible ! I had finally called him on his threats and said OK let's go to the "officina", I WANT the ticket and I WANT to talk THEM !
Upon hearing that he jumped at the 300 Pesos !
Another suggestion might be to print government corruption number and poster and keep it with your vehicle registration or on the drivers side dashboard...... a great scare tactic.
Last suggestion is that if you are asked for your licence or registration ,let them see it up close so they can read it but hold on tightly ! Once they have it in their hands they have power and may not be willing to give it back unless you pay!
My personal experience is the State and Municipal porcos  who are the thieves......Federales seem more professional but like all. in Mexico - there are no guarantees.
I simply say avoid Mex City because the traffic and local cops could prove to be a nightmare

The word wussy was just a joke, but I should mention try and spend your nights off the road, as in get a hotel before the sun goes down. Hiding your money is very good advice, but again stay out of the big cities and you should not have trouble.

If you are coming to Corozal give me a yell, I know where the best pizza is at

You're obviously NOT a diver or certainly NOT a good one to make such an ignorant statement concerning bravery!  Prudence and exercising good common sense..take a look in a dictionary if they're not a part of your vocabulary..My comments are based on sound advice from multiple people who have either had bad experiences or known those who have. Note : this includes local nationals  ( in one instance , our friends' wife was raped at gunpoint and  the entire contents of their vehicle was confiscated. I have lived and worked in the bush in Africa for a yr. with a 12 yr. old dog and hitchhiked through Europe for 2 1/2 yrs so I think my comments are  qualified.

renegadediver wrote:

You're obviously NOT a diver or certainly NOT a good one to make such an ignorant statement concerning bravery!  Prudence and exercising good common sense..take a look in a dictionary if they're not a part of your vocabulary..My comments are based on sound advice from multiple people who have either had bad experiences or known those who have. Note : this includes local nationals  ( in one instance , our friends' wife was raped at gunpoint and  the entire contents of their vehicle was confiscated. I have lived and worked in the bush in Africa for a yr. with a 12 yr. old dog and hitchhiked through Europe for 2 1/2 yrs so I think my comments are  qualified.

I obviously hit a real sore spot....I said I was joking. I got my Master Divers Card in 1979 from Naui, not Padi. When you arrive give me a yell , I was also and instructor for a couple years

Exercising common sense, would be taking my advice when driving through Mexico. If you still want to rant at me please go private.

I have driven many times. Yes, you should declare yourself a tranmigrante, then no duty will be charged on the items you bring through Mexico.. We have not brought a trailer, but have hauled a pickup load several times. No problems. We cross at Pharr, Texas. You can't cross at Reynosa as a transmigrante as they will turn you around to Pharr. Get yourself a GPS and use it to stay at hotels in the larger cities. We stay at Holiday Inns at Tampico, Veracruz, Villahermosa and depending on how early we arrive to Chetumal we may stay there overnight, before crossing the border. All have secure parking and are very nice. Stay on the main Highway and don't be in a hurry and you will be fine. It is a beautiful and fun trip and if you use common sense you shouldn't encounter any trouble. As for money for bribes, we paid a bribe once to the immigration guy at Reynosa, because we didn't want to turn around, recross into the US and drive to Pharr to cross. That is the only bribe I have ever paid in six trips driving to Belize.

I went back and read everything over again. That one link those people lived a nightmare.

So even though I encountered some problems in Mexico it was far from being a nightmare.
I crossed the border at 6am in Nogales, went to port of customs was there for about ten minutes.
I had my trailer and car parked in a big empty lot at that time. He simply asked me where I was going. I said to Belize, he asked how long would it take me to cross Mexico, I said 7 days max. He even filled out the permit for me, ran my passport through a check machine. I was on my way pulling the trailer.

My biggest surprise was the tolls, they charge you double if pulling a trailer it was way more expensive than what I had estimated. Plus every town has a toll and I drove 2400 miles, only getting lost twice lol.

My trailer or car was not searched one time in Mexico, even though I was stopped at several military check points. I simply showed them my passport and was sent on. But my biggest problem was stopping for the night, most places will not allow you to park a trailer. I drove all the way to Mexico City to find a place, which took me til about 2 in the morning. This is where I made my big mistake, the cops got me twice before I could get out of the city.

Plus someone advised you to stay in the big cities if you are pulling a trailer forget it. They have signs and streets posted at what times trailers are allowed to be on them. So unless you read Spanish you will run into a nightmare trying to leave these cities.

My last encounter with Mexico was leaving to drive to the Belize port of entry or customs if you prefer. They charged me a small fee for the trailer and car, and he did check my paperwork closely. I paid him he put my change in my passport sticking out the top. It looked like the change was there, so I drove on, only to find he had folded it in half making it look right.

I also found I drove as fast as I wanted to, but I always stayed on the toll roads. They are constantly working on these roads and that sometimes slows you down. But beware like somebody else said of the monster speed bumps. (topes) You hit one of those things at a high rate of speed and you and the trailer are going to have a lot of damage.

Last thing money, what ever you do notify your bank and tell them your plans, I found every gas station in a 2400
trip would accept American money, however I kept stopping at atms to get peso's for the tolls. I also used my credit card at several gas stations, no problem.

Now entering Belize is a whole other story, like I said after reading others, maybe I was lucky. But I have heard nightmares about Brownville many times. I think most people leaving Texas now go through Laredo.

I entered through Arizona

Who did you ship your belongings with or which company? I am moving my stuff down in October and need a reliable moving company.
Thanks,

I'm looking into this too!  (re: shipping a container of equipment to Belize).  Any info. would be useful!   Thanx

You are correct Dave, I am a single woman who was planning on driving back down to Belize along the coast of Mexico with valuable dive gear and an even more valuable service animal with me. I'm sure there would be little regard shown for his health and safety.  I had actually purchased my insurance and prepared my dogs passport when I was seriously discouraged from taking this trip. Those who were adamant with me consisted of very well educated and informed local nationals and one attorney who owns and operates a dive shop in Mexico, all of whom have had nightmarish experiences. So, the question I had to ask myself is why would I want to travel under such stress,  when there are other options. Of course, I'm certain many people have made this journey without any violent incident occurring;  perhaps paid bribes along the way; or been delayed and inconvenienced by corrupt police , however I don't find this appealing under any circumstances. My decision to drive through Baja to La Paz,  diving the Sea of Cortez, followed by flying down to Belize, for me is a wise decision.
In response to my comments by the" alleged" diving instructor who dismissed my comments as a "rant" well , myonly comment to that is,  it's a frightening thought  that he may have a license to teach anything with that attitude.

Safe travels to all!