Currently viewing the tag: "border"
The USA Border to Puerto Morelos, Mexico
We have complied our stats from our latest drive from the US border, crossing at Columbia near Laredo,Texas to Puerto Morelos, Mexico and here is how it breaks down. You can compare these to our trip north in the spring of 2014.
Distance Covered: 3124 km or 1941 Miles
Hours behind the wheel: 39.5 (Google Maps is a little optimistic)
Number of Days Driving: 6.5 days
Camping at Mayabell
We took a total of 9 days to do this trip, taking an extra night in San Miguel de Allende and Cholua, Puebla. Our prices in gas and tolls are based on driving a truck and pulling a twenty-five foot trailer.
Cost of Gas: $10,490 pesos or $771 usd
Cost of Tolls: $4328 pesos or $318usd
Cost of Camping: $1614 pesos or $119 usd for 7 nights.
Cost of Repairs: $650 pesos or $48 usd
Road Side Service
While on the Arco Norte around Mexico city we heard a strange noise coming from the back of the trailer. We pulled over at the nearest Pemex to find that we had a broken trailer spring. This happens to us often, so we always carry spare springs. All we really needed was a mechanic who could change out the broken one. There was a mechanic where we stopped, but he was on the wrong side of the toll fence and he couldn’t cross over. We then went to a tire repair shop, they couldn’t help us, but they did have a buddy who was a mechanic. Within twenty minutes he was there replacing our broken spring. Forty-five minutes later we were all set to go…. but as we pulled out of the parking lot, we heard this terrible grinding sound. So back to the mechanic, only to discover that one of our brake assembly had fallen apart. All of the pieces were still inside the wheel so he was able to fix it and we were back on the road after only an hour and a half delay.
This is the route we take from Laredo, Texas to Puerto Morelos, Mexico. Pulling a 25′ travel trailer it takes us about 40 hours behind the wheel. Our average speed is about 70km/hour or 44 miles/hour. In the USA we easily roll 100km/hour. The difference between driving in Mexico and the USA is the road quality and those unexpected delays that you are bound to come across.
We recently crossed from the USA into Mexico at the Colombia Solidarity International Bridge. This crossing is a bit out of the way, but Bridge 2 in downtown Laredo is a bit tight for RV’s and the permit process is easier at Colombia. The Colombia crossing is 26 miles to the west of downtown, off of a toll road (if you are coming from the north). There are no toll booths on this road. We have used it twice and happily waited for the state of Texas to charge us. They never have.
This year we stayed at Vaquero Village & RV Park, just off of the I-35 and Highway 285 the night before we crossed. We had never heard of this place, but it worked our very well as a jumping off point for crossing at Colombia. The owner is a very nice Mexican who couldn’t understand why we would want to cross the border. This place has good Wi-Fi if you park at the back of the campground near the office. One tip make sure you get gas before you leave the I-35.
There is a toll to cross the Solidarity International Bridge, it can be paid in pesos or dollars. Once you cross the bridge you are at the Mexican border. Keep to your left and go through the gates where you will get a red light or a green light. We suspect this is done on weight as we are heavy and usually get a red light. It doesn’t seem to matter, which colour we get, they always stop us. This year to our surprise, after getting a red light, they sent us to the x-ray machine. This crossing now has a new vehicle x-ray, large enough to fit our truck and trailer into easily. Once you drive into the x-ray you are asked to to remove any pets and yourselves from the vehicle and stand behind a cement wall under a shade cover while they scan the vehicle. This takes about 5 minutes.
Once you are cleared to go, you can move on to getting your visa and car permit. The entire adventure took us about 40 minutes. The 25km check point that was always a big hassle seems to have been made redundant for Aduana. They only checked our immigration papers and waved us on. Then it was off to Saltillo.
On our last day we drive from Saltillo to the border of the USA. It takes us just over 3 hours to get to the crossing at Colombia, just west of Nuevo Laredo. We cross here, instead of in Laredo because the crossing has more room for RVs.
People ask us all the time how long it takes and what it costs. So here are the states from our trip from Puerto Morelos to the US border.
Hours: 41 behind the wheel
Kilometers/Miles: 2901/1803
Average Speed: 71km/hour or 44 miles/hour
Tolls: $3484mxn ($271 USD)
Gas: $9079mxn ($706 USD)
Camping: $2028mxn ($158 USD)
Total Cost: $14591mxn ($1135 USD)
Tolls for a truck and travel trailer are about double what you would pay for a car. If you were not towing an RV you could do this trip much faster and much cheaper. Flying would be cheaper and fast again, but not as fun.
We took 11 days to do this drive in so that we could stop and visit friends and some of our favourite places along the way. Temperatures ranged from 37C (99F) to 7c (45F). We were as low as -6meters (-20feet) below sea level to as high as 2616 meters (8523feet), all in a five hour drive. This completes our 12th round trip from the US border to Puerto Morelos and back. It may be time to start flying.
We still have 3,494km (2171 miles) to go. We’re not even half way there!
