driving to cancun

[kldub1]

Can anyone tell me how safe it is driving your vehicle from Laredo to Cancun? I am moving next month and would like to take my car, but am concerned with all the uprisings in Mexico. Is the route to take by way of toll roads?? If anyone can give me specifics it would help with the decision

[mixz1]

Originally Posted by kldub1

Can anyone tell me how safe it is driving your vehicle from Laredo to Cancun? I am moving next month and would like to take my car, but am concerned with all the uprisings in Mexico. Is the route to take by way of toll roads?? If anyone can give me specifics it would help with the decision

We made the drive from Brownsville to Cancun three years ago with no problems other than a night encounter with an unmarked speed bump that broke a motor mount. The toll road (190 or 191?) is excellent where it's open, if expensive. I expect that many more sections are open now.

The roads are signed well, fuel is readily available with distances to the next stop posted. My only real advice would be to avoid driving at night. Once you're off the toll road there is little illumination, lots of double and triple tankers filled with explosive stuff like gasoline and LPG, and lots of animals that you don't want to hit. The truck drivers are incredibly helpful and will tell you when it's safe to pass. The problem is that there are long stretches where it's not safe to pass.

In terms of politcal problems, I think the east coast route avoids all of it.

Obvoiusly have drinking water, coolant for the car and some snacks with you if you're going to do long hauls, and a concealed radar detector couldn't hurt. The Federales now have them, as well as many local departments. Make sure your insurance and registration papers are bullet-proof, i.e. spelled correctly and all in agreement. For the entire trip down, we passed the borders of every state without being stopped until we got to the entrance to Quintana Roo, where they went over our papers, but didn't look at anything else.

Good luck and happy motoring.

[T.J.]

My main concerns would be what the hell would you do if you had a mechanical problem along the way and to a lesser extent, would you want to put that many miles on a Lamborghini Gallardo. But the trip would not take you long at the speeds you could hit with that baby.

[Drewbert]

I see you've arrived.

I assume that's your Lamborghini Gallardo I saw rocking backwards and forwards on the speed bump on Chichen, just west of Kabah.

Damn expensive see-saw.