driving Nogales to Ajijic

Any information regarding this drive is appreciated.
Is the location where you get car permit still at km 21?
If trying to make drive in two days leaving Nogales 6:00am, any recommendation where to stay first night? I do not want to drive after dark.
I will be driving toll roads

Driving down in February

Any help much appreciated!

Thank you

Easy drive via the Cuota. Km21 for Immigration and TIP. It's still dark at 6:00AM! I've done it in 3 easy days so I have no recommendation for overnight but others will.

We have made the trip several times in two days.
Going south we left Tucson at 5:00 A.M. and arrived in Mazatlan at 6:30 P.M.
Leaving Mazatlan at 6:00 A.M. we arrived at Lakeside at 1:30 P.M.
You must minimize your stops and pack sandwiches and drinks etc. to eat while you drive.

Thank you Canmex87 & David

We stay in Los Mochis on our way back here at the no tell motel it is before you get to town right before the Pemex gas station, rooms are huge with garages and $600p a night. The name of it is Motel Escar. We just stayed there in August.

Don't stay at the ZAR there it was horrible!!

I think it is the Hotel Esgar..... fairly new. Just north of Los Mochis.

I have done this trip more times then i can count. You could call me a road warrior..... doing trips such as leaving chiapas at 7am and arriving in gdl at 230am

Over the years i heard typical comments such as "he fell asleep in hermosillo on the highway" plenty of mexican families had similar stories.. one day i decided i would not be a road warrior and try to make the trip in 2 days. Very dangerous.

What happened was after passing hermosillo i came to a rolled over rav4 with 2 asian persons.. the male was from usc and he drove to u. Of arizona to pick up his girlfriend... he left phoenix 8am and by hermosillo he fell asleep.

They were ok and not injured..... their suv total loss. We packed their things in my suv and dealt with insurance agent and i drove them back to az

Dont try to make the trip in 2 days... its too much for the body (young or old)

I think the first thing to check on are the hours of daylight in that area in February,. That will give you the parameters you want.

I wouldn't do the trip in more than 2 days, what a waste of time. I drive the entire distance, once we hit the border and cross we change, I don't trust myself to drive in the US. I drive like a MX anymore.

Driving through mexico is not like driving at a national park in the usa. There are plenty of road hazards, drivers passing on blind areas, truckers etc

Its a very demanding drive from nogales to ajijic

We used to drive this route from our home in Scottsdale to Mazatlan in one long day , but only in the long days of summer. During the period of short days, we took a day and half. Then it's only 6 hours to Ajijic..pretty easy actually. The road from the border to Mazatlan can be problematic if they are working on it. You can go to the Yahoo group called: mazinfo and ask for the most current information.
Have a good trip.

We just arrived in November coming from Spokane WA. We cleared immigration at the border and got our car permit at 21k. Our first Mexican stop was in Hermosillo and second night in Mazatlan...  We drove 8 to 9 hours a day which I found doable considering the amount of construction and traffic.

I'd suggest taking your expected daily driving time and figure 50 mi/hr average to schedule your stops... We had 2 cats and a large dog with us so we needed pet friendly accommodations. We found our hotel in Hermosillo was not pet friendly as advertised which threw a wrench in our travels.

If travelling with pets I would suggest calling the hotels before using a booking agency... Saves time and aggravation.

We just arrived in November coming from Spokane WA. We cleared immigration at the border and got our car permit at 21k. Our first Mexican stop was in Hermosillo and second night in Mazatlan...  We drove 8 to 9 hours a day which I found doable considering the amount of construction and traffic.

I'd suggest taking your expected daily driving time and figure 50 mi/hr average to schedule your stops... We had 2 cats and a large dog with us so we needed pet friendly accommodations. We found our hotel in Hermosillo was not pet friendly as advertised which threw a wrench in our travels.

If travelling with pets I would suggest calling the hotels before using a booking agency... Saves time and aggravation.

Thank you all....no pets

gvprod wrote:Thank you all....no pets

Traveling with no pets will simplify finding a hotel a bunch.. We drove down from Seattle in September and crossed at Nogales.  We pulled a small trailer so that did slow us a bit but not that much.  First night we wanted to see the beach and stayed in San Carlos, Sonora. Stunning beauty and awesome sunsets. Next night we stayed at Hotel Doux, Los Mochis. Nice room, good rate, and decent restaurant. Sections of the quota road between Guaymas and Los Mochis had numerous construction areas which made for some slow going. Next day we pushed on and thought we would check out Mazatlan but had trouble finding any pet friendly hotels. Decided to make it a long day and spent our last road night in Tepic at the Best Western. Staff was great and restaurant was excellent. Next day into Lakeside was easy from there.  Good Luck and keep your eyes peeled for the thousands of potholes and unmarked topes !  

indijones wrote:  Dont try to make the trip in 2 days...  its too much for the body (young or old)

Agreed, I consider myself a road warrior as well and doing this route in two days is punishing. Unless you're really in a hurry then relax a little and make it a three day ride.  Just my opinion..