driving in Mexico
 

My finacee and I are going on our honeymoon to Shangri-la caribe in Playa del Carmen, Mayan riviera.. renting a jeep in Cancun and driving the hour down, anyone have advice or expierence driving? sounds fun, but is it dangerous? any info would be appreciated. thanks

The drive is easy ... nice four lane hiway with NO problems!! Road is excellent and new ... continues down to Tulum ... also an easy ride!

Oppps! Just thought of it ... go to cancunmaps.com (I think that's the address) and order the appropriate maps. Really fantastic tour guide and great maps for a moderate $7. They were incredibly great! Also, if you post under the "Latin America" board, I am sure you will get more info than posting here!

<BR>Never driven from CUN to PDC, but we've had problems on several trips to Mexico. We live in a major metropolitan area, so crazy driving is not foreign to us, but most Mexicans drive like maniacs (esp taxi & bus drivers), & you have to "go with the flow" in order not to get smashed. It was esp. scary in the interior. <BR> <BR>On Coz, we were cheated at the gas station at twilight & decided it was not worth the risk of standing up to the intimidation of the clerks. Also on Coz, the Federales pulled us over on the main road & asked for i.d., where we were staying & if we'd left valuables at the hotel. No other reason given for detaining us, & tho nothing happened, it was unnerving to say the least. <BR> <BR>Apparently most people experience little or no problems in the tourist areas (or at least don't talk about it). We've been traveling the Caribbean for 35 yrs, so maybe it's just a case of sooner or later, if you travel a lot, things happen to everyone on one island or another. A fender bender is one thing, but being stopped by a group of men asking for money (on another island) is quite another. <BR> <BR>Chances are 99+% you'll have no problems. If you do, keep your cool & odds are you'll be fine, even if shaken.

A question of my own here...I read in the travel(Pittsburgh Post) section a month or so ago that if you don't get the Mexican liability insurance, and you have an accident, you are assured a night or two in a Mexican jail. The author strongly advised getting it despite the cost. <BR> <BR>I am going in a couple weeks and wanted to drive from Coz to Akumal. We have rented cars on many islands and never had a problem,our own liability insurance plus a gold Visa covered us but I have never heard about the jail time before. Anyone had any experience here?

<BR>Drive from Coz to Akumal? <BR>Coz is an island. Is there a car ferry?

No problem, we do it twice a year. Further south you end up on 2 lane road but still easy traveling. <BR>Do purchase their insurance, thats a must.

Don't be silly....driving in Mexico is great as long as there is no accident...you have no idea what kind of legal problems you could have if you had some misfortune...probably not worth the risk...seriously!

Driving "as long as you don't have an accident" is a risk tho. I gues I mis wrote the first post, we are going to Coz and going to the mainland and rent a car and drive to Akumal. Happy now? <BR> <BR>Thanks Jim, we'll be sure to get the insurance.

Hi - my husband and I drove from Puerto Vallarta to Guadalajara a couple of years ago without any problems, except for not being able to read the road signs!! :) It was an adventure and I'm glad we did it. Just don't be stupid; ie; eating anything from roadside stands, etc. One other thing to watch for!!! When you return the car, have someone inspect it WITH YOU STANDING THERE and get a receipt indicating that there is no damage. We got a phone call at our hotel a couple days after we returned the car and they said there was damage to it (there wasn't, but it was a hassle to work it out.) Don't get ripped off; cover your butt. Good luck! Have fun - Joan