To Get Off Mexico’s Beaten Track, Drive There

By Mexico Mike

This is the first of a series of guest posts by Mexico Mike about driving, insurance and documentation requirements in Mexico. During his tenure with Sanborn’s Mexico Insurance Service, Mike acquired an encyclopedic knowledge of Mexico’s highways. His familiarity with the nation’s roadways  and unique perspective on why he believes the country is safer than the U.S. was the subject this New York Times story. On his Web site, Mike offers driving tips, maps, and information on insurance requirements. He is also an expert on spas and hot springs in Mexico.

I’ve been driving Mexico since the sixties (nineteen, not eighteen). In that time driving has gotten easier, while I’ve just gotten older. There are toll roads that are as good as (and sometimes better than) Interstates or toll roads in the USA. For toll road rates, go to http://www.capufe.gob.mx, click on “Servicios,” then “Traza tu Ruta.” (Plan your trip). This will give you a route, distances and most of the tolls.

Safety in General. This will be on a lot of your minds and I will address it in detail. The take-away is that what you hear and read about drug violence is unlikely to have anything to do with you.

What happens in Cd. Juarez has nothing to do with Lake Chapala or Pto. Vallarta. If you ask expats who live in Mexico, they will tell you that they feel safer there than in the U.S. Just as an example – small children play unsupervised except by an older brother or sister, maybe, in the city parks at night (except in big cities). You cannot say that about the USA.

Your chances getting hurt in a car wreck in the USA (or anywhere really) are greater than your chances of encountering any violence in Mexico. We react to the dramatic news stories with our gut, not our head.

Stuff happens anywhere, but people who actually live in Mexico will tell you that stuff doesn’t happen there like here – drive-by shootings, ex-employee rampages etc. However, Mexicans often take a perverse pride in repeating stories of violence and danger. Everything is blown out of proportion.

Bottom line is that I (and most people who actually travel Mexico) feel safer there than here. Why? People are really quite helpful, there is less random violence and people are just nicer overall.

Photo by Alex Steffler (Via Creative Commons)

Driving is Best Way to See Mexico. Driving Mexico is still, in my opinion, the best way to see the country. There are thousands of fascinating little towns, hot springs and things you would never think of if you get off the beaten track.

Take a good guidebook like Lonely Planet which still has some of the neat places in it. Better yet, get a copy of the old (pre-1950) Terry’s Guide To Mexico which was written before the toll roads were a gleam in some bureaucrat’s eye. This is a literary work of art and has insights into Mexican culture that (while occasionally old-fashioned) are intriguing.

Periodically, I put up off-the-beaten-track destinations on www.mexicomike.com under “Cool Places.” There are other web sites with good stuff too, so surf, but be skeptical. There are just so many sites that exist for no reason other than to sell you something or display Google ads.

There is a lot of outdated, useless or even false content on the Internet. While I am not the only guy in the world who knows anything about driving Mexico, and I do make mistakes, you can almost always take what I say to the bank. You can tell by the tone of an Internet author whether he really drives Mexico or if he is just out to make a buck and is copying old content, or if he drove there twenty years ago. Take your time and experience Mexico. You’ll be glad you did.