Road Trips in Mexico: The Best Routes

Thinking about taking a number of roads journey in Mexico? There’s no higher method to fall in love with a spot than heading on a highway journey and driving the route your self.

If you’ve by no means been to Mexico earlier than, chances are you’ll be questioning if it’s secure to drive in Mexico. We spent six months touring throughout all of Mexico from Baja California to the Yucatán Peninsula and had a beautiful time on our journey!

It is way safer to journey in Mexico than most individuals count on, however there are some issues to bear in mind to have a secure and gratifying time.

When it involves planning out your excellent Mexico highway journey itinerary, now we have you coated! In this put up, we share a few of the greatest routes for highway journeys in Mexico.

See additionally: Tips for Planning the Ultimate Trip to Mexico

Road journeys in Mexico: The greatest routes to discover

Baja California

The Baja California Peninsula spans 760 miles from Tijuana all the way down to Cabo San Lucas. Living in Southern California, I’ve traveled to Baja California on a number of events, together with spending a number of weeks driving throughout your complete peninsula.

Baja California is a well-liked area to go to within the winter when the climate begins getting colder within the US and Canada.

There is plenty of floor to cowl in Baja California so I like to recommend setting apart two weeks in case you plan to drive your complete route. If you’re brief on time, focus your journey planning on sure areas like northern Baja or southern Baja.

See additionally: Where to Stop Along a California Coast Road Trip

Here are a few of the high locations to go to at Baja California:

Valle De Guadalupe

Valle De Guadalupe is commonly known as the ‘Napa’ of Mexico. This area produces 90% of the wine bought in all of Mexico and is greatest identified for upscale, boutique lodges and wine-tasting.

See additionally: Guadalupe Canyon: A Hot Spring Oasis in Mexico

Ensenada

Ensenada is a well-liked getaway vacation spot for Southern California locals. This can be a stopover on the 3-day cruise from Long Beach that I’ve taken a number of instances. Top points of interest in Ensenada embrace the oceanfront La Bufadora, off-roading adventures, and native markets the place you will get superb offers on handcrafted items.

Todos Santos

Todos Santos is a hidden little gem that many individuals don’t learn about. In this small, however welcoming city guests can take pleasure in browsing, yoga retreats, galleries, and leisure at laid-back boutique lodges.

La Paz

La Paz was one in all my favourite stops alongside our Baja California highway journey. Here guests can spend the day lounging at Playa Balandra which is legendary for its blue, clear water.

Cabo San Lucas

While Cabo San Lucas has a fame for being a ‘Party Town’, there’s a lot extra to this metropolis than nightclubs and bars! Cabo is dwelling to distinctive pure rock formations similar to The Arch of Cabo San Lucas, together with gorgeous white sand seashores and enjoyable outside adventures.

Read the full Baja California itinerary on FunLifeCrisis.com!

Yucatán Peninsula

For a relaxed Mexico highway journey, begin with Cancún after which head south alongside the 200-mile shoreline towards Bacalar. The complete Yucatán coast is so attractive that you simply’re sure to have a good time!

Check out the ruins in Tulum, discover underground cenotes, and keep in top-rated lodges alongside the best way.

See additionally: Where to Stay in Tulum: Budget Beachfront Accommodation

Here are a few of the greatest places to go to on the Yucatán Peninsula:

Cancún

Cancún is without doubt one of the hottest trip locations in Mexico and the start line for these heading on highway journeys within the Yucatán and Quintana Roo states. From Cancún, you may as well hop on a ferry over to the tropical Isla Mujeres Island which is understood for world-class snorkeling and scuba diving.

See additionally: Cancun Historical Sights and Attractions

Playa Del Carmen

If you’ve obtained time, I like to recommend stopping at Playa Del Carmen whereas driving between Cancún and Tulum. Playa Del Carmen is a relaxed coastal resort city that has a fame for having world-class seashores and superb coral reefs full of colourful fish.

Tulum

When it involves Tulum, individuals both find it irresistible or hate it. We spent a number of days visiting Tulum on our Yucatan highway journey and actually loved our time right here. But this metropolis is a bit commercialized so it’s not as genuine as visiting different locations in Mexico.

Tulum is greatest identified for boutique lodges, top-rated eating places, eclectic outlets, beachfront bars, and the historic Tulum Archaeological Zone.

See additionally: Reasons to Travel To Tulum, Mexico

Bacalar

Bacalar is a bit beneath the radar for worldwide guests, however it’s really one of the attractive locations in Mexico. Bacalar just isn’t straightforward to succeed in– it’s positioned close to the Belize border, about 2.5 hours south of Tulum. But if you may make it out right here, you can be amazed by Bacalar Lagoon which is understood for its mesmerizing turquoise hues.

Highway 307

Looking for a Mexico highway journey route that’s a bit extra off the grid? Highway 307 is without doubt one of the most rugged however stunning routes in Mexico that’s identified for gorgeous waterfalls, blue lakes, historic ruins, and turquoise rivers surrounded by a lush, dense jungle. The additional you’ll drive on this route, the extra you’ll fall in love with the pure surroundings right here!

Route 307 begins in San Cristobal de las Casas and travels down in direction of Guatemala in a loop earlier than ending in Palenque. If you’re up for it, you possibly can even cross into Guatemala for a day or two earlier than persevering with your highway journey by means of Mexico.

Here are a few of the high locations to go to on the Highway 307:

Parque Nacional Lagunas de Montebello

This National Park is without doubt one of the most stunning points of interest in Southern Mexico that’s located on the border with Guatemala. Here you possibly can go to 59 lakes which might be identified for his or her gorgeous, deep blue shade.

At this location, you possibly can go on mountain climbing trails that overlook colourful lakes or join a ship tour that may take you to distant islands on the middle of those lakes. There are a number of primary lakes that you would be able to go to right here with various facilities and accessibility.

Yaxchilán

One of my favourite stops alongside route 307 was the Yaxchilán ruins which might be hidden deep within the jungle. You can solely go to these historic Mayan ruins by signing up for a guided river tour that may take you to this distant location – e book a tour right here.

This complete journey will make you’re feeling such as you’re in an Indiana Jones film! During this tour, you’ll get to see crocodiles, howler monkeys, large lizards, and varied hen species that reside within the jungle.

Agua Azul

The Agua Azul waterfall is without doubt one of the most attractive locations that you would be able to go to in Mexico. This attraction consists of a shocking blue river, waterfalls, and swimming areas.

At this location, guests also can camp in a single day, seize meals at one of many many meals stalls and flick through the memento stands. There are a number of breathtaking viewing platforms for having fun with views of this blue river and waterfalls.

Frequently requested questions on driving in Mexico

We hope this put up has impressed you to plan extra highway journeys in Mexico! Mexico is actually one of the stunning international locations in North America and an unimaginable place to go to in case you take pleasure in distinctive outside adventures. Whether you’re searching for a seashore, jungle or mountain journey, Mexico has all of it!

Before you head out in your journey, listed below are a number of regularly requested questions on security and driving in Mexico.

Is it secure to journey by highway in Mexico?

We spent 6 months touring in Mexico and for essentially the most half, we felt secure throughout our journey. We tried to keep away from massive cities and caught to seashore or jungle locations that have been extra laid again and quite a bit much less crowded.

Here are a number of ideas for driving in Mexico:

• Don’t drive at night time. It is way safer to journey throughout the day for a lot of causes. The roads in Mexico should not within the best circumstances so driving at night time places you prone to hitting a pothole, topes (velocity bumps), or getting caught within the sand (which occurred to us on a number of events).
• Keep a duplicate of your driver’s license, passport, automotive insurance coverage, and automotive registration saved on a cloud in case they get misplaced or stolen.
• Pay for toll roads as an alternative of taking the free roads. Yes, it will likely be so value it! The toll roads are in significantly better form and are quicker than the free variations.
• Get native insurance coverage. It is required to have native Mexico insurance coverage in case you plan to drive there which you’ll be able to simply get on-line.

See additionally: Reasons to Plan a Vacation to Mexico

Is driving in Mexico troublesome?

While driving in Mexico just isn’t as harmful as chances are you’ll suppose, it’s nonetheless very troublesome, particularly in case you’re overlaying plenty of floor in a brief period of time.

The hardest half about driving in Mexico is that you want to continuously take note of the environment as a result of there’s at all times quite a bit occurring. Even in case you comply with all of the driving guidelines and legal guidelines, it doesn’t imply others will. It’s a little bit of a ‘wild west’ in terms of driving so most worldwide guests really feel intimidated to drive there themselves.

While driving in Mexico, others will lower you off, honk, and velocity round you. You might want to be careful for bikes, bikers, children operating on the road, individuals crossing with out discover, animals, canines, cats, chickens… you identify it. Needless to say, driving in Mexico takes plenty of power so we at all times favor to journey slowly and benefit from the drive whereas taking within the unimaginable highway journeys in Mexico.