Driving Toronto to Ajijic - tips and advice pls

Hi, folks,

We're driving down in early January. I'm wondering if you out there have tips and advice. We are two with a dog, and it's a one-way trip. Any info from seasoned travelers appreciated.

Cheers,

Canada Mike

Not sure what it is like now but when I came down 6 years ago the one tip I found that works well is to cross at Laredo early on Saturday morning. The customs are so busy with Mexicans crossing with 1/2 tons full of goods that they pay little attention to expats.

After a few years of planning and organizing our move down here three years ago, we learned a lot from this forum, (and TOB), reading many blogs, along with advice from friends when we vacationed here before retirement (we asked everybody we met what they did and learned), the best piece of advice about crossing the US/MEX border was; "take the nothing to declare lane". We had our "manaja de casa" stamped with a cover letter from the Consulate in Calgary, along with our temporary stickers in our passports. Also, we had a letter from ICBC stating our vehicle registration was proof of ownership because provincial registration/insurance from Canada do not use the term "title". We nationalized our Dodge Durango in Nogales shortly after we moved here and sold our cargo trailer in Tuscon at the same time.

Bring a cooler and visit a grocery store to buy the foods and drinks you like to eat, especially if you like fruits, veggies or anything healthy. Unless you enjoy a daily diet of heavy junk food at every mealtime, the endless fast food chains, all the same at each exit or pit stop, can get tiresome really fast.
That said, if this is a one way trip, why not look at a map and plan the long route. Consider spending some extra days exploring the USA along the way. Lots of options out there and you may not do a cross country trek like this one again. Think New York City, Nashville, the blue mountain trail etc etc. Lots of possibilities.

Purchase 80,000 mile tires, replace engine belt, new windshield wipers, xm plug and play radio from myradiostore.com

On your drive down, use cruise control to rotate your feet once in a while.

Get donut seat cushion to avoid hemroids

Get your pesos at currency exchange in texas

Get chevron injector cleaner for the long drive to clean your injectors...

Ac system charge

Thanks all! Tips are appreciated.

I carry the hand-wipes that you can buy at the check out in Walmart and carry them in my purse and use them after I get off the bus, or if I have been in a public place and before eating at a restaurant. Nevertheless, I seem to get sick every December when the hoards arrive.

Mike, How did the trip go? I have a 2015 Honda Fit so mechanics and tires are good. Any advice you can provide will be appreciated. No pets, just me. Thanks, BB

Hi, BB,
I''ve done the trip twice now - once south and once north. The worst was coning south in January. The first 2.5 days were awful white knuckle driving. Going to avoid that in the future. Otherwise it was pretty straightforward, just boring. I did it going south in 5 days, but took 6 going home. I'm not one of these drive till I drop folks.

My GPS was pretty reliable, but remember in Mexico you need to know what towns are in the direction you want. They'll have signs with their names rather than north, south, etc. InMexico, pretty sure it's south of Metehulea, you go through a mountain town which can be confusing. It's about the size of Chapala, so pay close attention to your GPS. Theother thing is to make sure you catch the Austin bypass. Saves a lot of time.

AQQre you going to have to stop at imagro?

It's not Matehuela that's where I always stay. It might be Saltillo, but I think its Lago de Mor4eno. And there certainly are mountains on that route. I had to crawl in mountain fog for two hours until I got back down.