Laredo to Puerto Vallarta

I recently posted an inquiry about driving from Laredo to Mazatlan. On the
advice of several posters, we have decided to travel to Puerto Vallarta
instead.

I would greatly appreciate recommendations on a driving route from Laredo,
TX to Puerto Vallarta. On the map I have, it appears that the most direct
route involves a long stretch (Saltillo to Guadaljara) that is not on toll
roads (I believe it is MX 54, through Zacatecas). There are toll roads from
Monterrey to Guadalajara, but they seem to go pretty far out of the way, to
Torreon for instance.

My question boils down to this: is it quicker to take the direct route from
Saltillo to Guadalajara (no toll roads) or the circuitous toll road that
goes further West through Torreon? Also, has anybody taken the direct route
from Saltillo to Guadalajara? What is the road like?

Thanks!

R. Duke

Hello,
I've made the trip at least half way from Saltillo to Zacatecas, but be
warned its a long, long ride on a two-lane, very twisty road. We got
discouraged at the slow progress that we were making and aborted about
midway to Zacatecas and headed due south to San Luis Potosi. I definately
wouldn't drive this route at night. Bring extra supplies just in case

"Raoul Duke" wrote in message
.. .
I recently posted an inquiry about driving from Laredo to Mazatlan. On
the
advice of several posters, we have decided to travel to Puerto Vallarta
instead.

I would greatly appreciate recommendations on a driving route from Laredo,
TX to Puerto Vallarta. On the map I have, it appears that the most direct
route involves a long stretch (Saltillo to Guadaljara) that is not on toll
roads (I believe it is MX 54, through Zacatecas). There are toll roads
from
Monterrey to Guadalajara, but they seem to go pretty far out of the way,
to
Torreon for instance.

My question boils down to this: is it quicker to take the direct route
from
Saltillo to Guadalajara (no toll roads) or the circuitous toll road that
goes further West through Torreon? Also, has anybody taken the direct
route
from Saltillo to Guadalajara? What is the road like?

Thanks!

R. Duke

I think you'll find it easier, and faster, to take US hwys to
Nogales, and drive down Mex 15 to Mazatlan...
No matter how you cut it, you'll be crossing the Sierra Madres,
which will make for slow going. You can drive 80 mph on US roads. In
Mexico your average speed will be about half that....
There's no way you can reduce a three week trip into one week.........
Don

"Guess Who?" wrote in message
...
I think you'll find it easier, and faster, to take US hwys to
Nogales, and drive down Mex 15 to Mazatlan...
No matter how you cut it, you'll be crossing the Sierra Madres,
which will make for slow going. You can drive 80 mph on US roads. In
Mexico your average speed will be about half that....
There's no way you can reduce a three week trip into one week.........

Wow, that seems like a long way around from east Texas, particularly
when you consider that he can drive toll roads all the way from Laredo,
except for the small stretches between Durango and Mazatlan and Tepic to
Puerto Vallarta. Unless there is storm damage or other problems I usually
drive the Mexican toll roads at 65 to 70 mph and get passed regularly.

If I get an early start I can drive from here in Tucson, through
Nogales and to Los Mochis by dark (including the stop for visas and the
temporary import permit for the vehicle). I can overnight in Los Mochis and
be in Mazatlan early the next afternoon. (By mid-afternoon I can be well
south of Mazatlan and have the bar-b-que set up on the beach.) Some of the
younger people will drive overnight from here and be in Mazatlan in less
than 24 hours. How you figure he needs 3 weeks escapes me, unless it
includes that long detour north and west of where he wants to go.


Dennis

Dennis
You're a lot more savy about Mexican roads than I am, but counting
tolls,higher gas, and reduced driving time, do you think he can get
from Dallas to to Mazatlan "easier" taking I10, to Mex 15, than
Mexican roads, all the way through Mexico, to PV, and then North
to the surfing beaches?
How much closer is it? Maybe I'm wrong about how I'd go?
Don
PS
I figured three weeks is about right for a decent surfin' safari.
For a ten day trip, how much time will he spend driving either way?

"Guess Who?" wrote in message
...
Dennis
You're a lot more savy about Mexican roads than I am, but counting
tolls,higher gas, and reduced driving time, do you think he can get
from Dallas to to Mazatlan "easier" taking I10, to Mex 15, than
Mexican roads, all the way through Mexico, to PV, and then North
to the surfing beaches?
How much closer is it? Maybe I'm wrong about how I'd go?
Don
PS
I figured three weeks is about right for a decent surfin' safari.
For a ten day trip, how much time will he spend driving either way?

The tolls are probably about the same for either Mex 40 from Nuevo
Laredo to Puerto Vallarta or Mex 15 from Nogales to Puerto Vallarta. If
anything it should be a bit cheaper from Nuevo Laredo because of the section
of non-toll road. According to the Guia Roji road atlas it's 742 miles from
Nogales to Mazatlan and 716 from Nuevo Laredo to Mazatlan. From there to
Puerto Vallarta is roughly 200 more. Add in that looooong drive from Dallas
to Nogales and even at over $2.15 a gallon for gas in Mexico he's not going
to save any money by driving to Nogales. Driving time will depend a lot on
stamina and tolerance for night driving in Mexico. Personally my comfortable
limit is about 350 miles a day in either country, with almost all of that
being during the day in Mexico. Anything more than that and it's not much
fun for me. With rare exceptions, during the day, I find the toll roads in
Mexico just as easy as the freeways in the States. I like Mex 15, but over
the years as they re-pave the pavement is getting a high sharp edge in many
places that can be just as nasty as having no shoulder at all. I've seen
numerous accidents that look like they were caused by losing concentration
and wandering over that edge.

Sooooo, for you or me I'd quess about three days each way from Nuevo
Laredo to Puerto Vallarta if we were pushing it. For a bunch of young guys
sharing the driving and staying on the road at night--probably two. What's a
decent trip will of course vary with the individual. I would certainly agree
that 3 weeks sounds a lot better than say one week, with over half of that
spent driving. But then if they had 3 weeks, depending on their skill level,
I might suggest they head further south to Puerto Escondido, which seems to
be where the hardcore surfers head. (It's a hoot to see surfers meet in the
middle of nowhere as they migrate from one country to another and one coast
to another. You can be a long way from water and all you'll hear from those
guys is waves, breaks and boards.)


Dennis

Dennis
It's a guy & gal, driving from Dallas. I agree with your milage
figure, but I've driven from Portland, OR, to SLO, CA, in one day,
and I'd never do 800 miles in Mexico..... YMMV
I guess when you're young enough, everything is different.........
Don

Driving at night in Mexico, my strategy has been to get behind an 18 wheeler
and follow him at a safe distance. This helps guarantee that anything in
from of me will be pushed out of the way or crushed before I run over it.
During night driving I have run into some nasty piles of dead dog meat, but
usually I avoided them by being some distance behind the truck that I was
following.

My max distance in Mexico at night was driving from Mex. City starting
around midnight, to Laredo TX. I almost stopped in San Luis Potosi around
4:00 AM or so, but persisted and finally did make it to the border around 11
or 12 that morning. The sunrise was really pretty in Matehuela, but there
were a lot of people going to work by bicycle, so I had to be careful.




"Guess Who?" wrote in message
...
Dennis
It's a guy & gal, driving from Dallas. I agree with your milage
figure, but I've driven from Portland, OR, to SLO, CA, in one day,
and I'd never do 800 miles in Mexico..... YMMV
I guess when you're young enough, everything is different.........
Don
.

I think you'll find it easier, and faster, to take US hwys to
Nogales, and drive down Mex 15 to Mazatlan...

I think that's pretty far out of the way. I live in South Texas (the part
that sticks down into Northern Mexico). Puerto Vallarta is actually quite a
bit closer to South Texas than San Diego is, on account of the way the
Mexican coast curves toward the east the further south you go.

No matter how you cut it, you'll be crossing the Sierra Madres,
which will make for slow going. You can drive 80 mph on US roads. In
Mexico your average speed will be about half that....
There's no way you can reduce a three week trip into one week.........


Time. If only I had more time . . . Thanks for the info!

It's a guy & gal, driving from Dallas. I agree with your milage
figure, but I've driven from Portland, OR, to SLO, CA, in one day,
and I'd never do 800 miles in Mexico..... YMMV
I guess when you're young enough, everything is different.........
Don


Thanks to all of you for the info.

Actually, it will be 4-5 guys, late 20s to early 30s, packed into an SUV.
All of us have a great deal of experience doing marathon road trips. I know
this is crazy, but our plan is as follows:

Leave our respective homes in So. Tex. and meet up in Laredo in the early
evening. Have the truck "pre-registered" so as to facillitate an easy
border crossing. Go balls out to Monterrey, and push on toward Guadalajara
through the night, switching drivers, and consuming massive amounts of "Toro
Rojo" (Red Bull energy drink--I swear by the stuff for long drives) and
Coffee along the way. Hopefully arrive Guadalajara by mid morning to early
afternoon, and then push on toward Puerto Vallarta (and onto our surf
destination) by sometime in the evening. Total distance from Laredo is
about 600 miles, I believe.

My concern was, since we have resigned ourselves to driving at night, should
we go a bit out of the way West and stay on toll roads, or should we go
straight from Saltillo to Zacatecas and onto Guadalajara on the non toll
roads?

RD