Bajafun777 - 2-2-2007 at 12:44 AM
Ok, I need to see if anyone has traveled down from Nogales to Mazatlan lately?? Going to use the toll road all the way down and have been told it
will run me about $80 dollars one way down and another $80 dollars on the way back. I know I could drive down to La Paz and take the ferry across but
I only have enough time to take two days driving down and two days coming back to El Centro California by the Mexican Border next to Mexicali. I
think the toll road will be my quickest route. I am going to spend a week but only have the two days down and two days back. I drove this route
about 17 years ago and there was no toll road then and it took us 17 hours of hard driving. We drove at night but we had hooked up landing lights to
use on the long dark roads and turned them off when cars we seen. Had a lot of trucks, horse and wagons on the dark roads and of course no lights so
the landing lights were great. This time I plan to just drive down to Los Mochis the first day and then on to Mazatlan the next. On the way back I
plan to drive only 450 miles on the first day and not sure where that will get me or if there will be a good hotel to stay at. I know most of writing
here are on Baja but I bet that a number of the Nomads go mainland Mexico at times. Any input will be great and yes I took care of the paperwork on
my truck and got my tourista paperwork also. I also have my insurance so no problems. Next time when I have more time I will go through La Paz,
maybe when I retire in 18 months
.
JZ - 2-2-2007 at 01:03 AM
I drove it two years ago. There is a 4 lane divided highway the whole way. Hook just did it. Some of the tolls can be by passed.
Post your message on the San Carlos, Sonora board for lots of info. http://sancarlosmx.mywowbb.com.
San Carlos would be one place to stop. Somewhere around Los Mochis would be another. SC is about 250 miles south of Tucson. Los Mochis is a 4-5hour
drive from SC and Mazatlan is about another 4-5hours.
You would need a lot more time to do the ferry route and it would cost you a lot more.
Nogales to Mazatlan-----Reply Thanks
Bajafun777 - 2-2-2007 at 01:20 AM
Thanks JZ for the information. I think that the website will be just the thing to assist me.
Hook - 2-2-2007 at 01:45 AM
Here's a reprint of my short description of the bypasses on that other site:
On the question of tolls between SC and Mazatlan, there are a couple that are easy to avoid and really are very easy driving.
The first is to bypass the one east of Guaymas. Just take the route into town past the Ley and stay on it. It really is not much of a delay and I
wouldn't even hesitate taking if towing something large. But I am used to towing on Baja so much of the mainland seems a breeze to me.
The second bypass is to simply take the free road betweeen Culiacan and Mazatlan. This alone will save you approximately 20.00 US. And it is a good
road, too. There are trucks on it but many places to pass them. Actually, they are hauling ass pretty good, for the most part.
With a good map (which we didnt have) you can get off the free road a few miles north of Maz and take a good paved road directly towards the Los
Cerritos (or is it called El Cerrito?) area of Maz. If you're destination is the Zona Dorado area or anywhere north of there, this is a much preferred
route. You dont have to deal with any of the traffic in Maz proper.We accidently discovered this on our way back north.
There are other free routes that are in proximity other cities but we did not take them. One that looked promising was one that was either south of
Obregon or south of Navajoa; cant remember. It actually headed west from the toll road. Many semis were taking this one, which means it must be
decent.
It will not be 80 bucks down and 80 bucks back unless you have maybe 3-5 axles. For two axles, it ran less than 50 bucks down. On the way back, that
Culican libre bypass saved almost half of that alone.
Yeah, still "highway robbery" but when you compare the cost per mile driven, the TJ-Ensenada road is WAY more expensive.
One interesting place to overnight is the mountain community of Alamos. It is east of Navajoa and is reached by an incredibly good, 4-lane (for the
most part) road. Starts out rough as it leaves Navajoa but it improves dramatically after you leave city limits. Colonial mining town with dirt and
cobble streets. Maybe about the size of Santa Rosalia but pretty quiet really. Large number of ex-pats. We simply parked our camper on a side street
very close to the cathedral. But there are 2-3 developed RV parks nearby as well as hotel accommodations. Town feels as safe as any I've been in, in
Mexico.
[Edited on 2-2-2007 by Hook]
Nogales to Mazatlan-----Reply
Bajafun777 - 2-2-2007 at 01:53 AM
Hook, thanks for the information. This will definately be helpful
.
Hook - 2-2-2007 at 01:58 AM
I did an edit and added a little more info. Re-read about Alamos.
Capt. George - 2-2-2007 at 03:05 AM
anyone know the routes/fees for the Ferry out of la Paz???
Capt. George - 2-2-2007 at 05:51 AM
thanks Pompano, hope to finally see you this spring
guess we been saying that for years now, man the time flys.
george
osoflojo - 2-2-2007 at 06:34 AM
For driving south from Nogales remember that when you hit Hermosillo the "bypass" is not what you might expect. Just to be sure I remembered where to
turn etc I Googled the whole route last Christmas and had no problem other than heavy traffic at midday.
Re: La Paz ferrys try: bajaferries.com.mx
bajalou - 2-2-2007 at 08:27 AM
If you're leaving from El Centro, why go to Nogales? Take Mex 2 to where it connects with Mex 15 neat Lutesville Az - seems like that would save some
time/miles. (or at least return that way to El Centro. Went that way a couple years ago - about $50 in tolls each way.
JZ - 2-2-2007 at 08:52 AM
You "might" save an hour that way Lou, but you are forced to drive a 2 lane road with trucks, busses and no shoulder. It is much better to take the 8
across in the US and then head down. 4-lane divided hwy the whole way.