Navajoa to Mazatlan

Yep anywhere near the vehicle verification drive through at the state line is a wayback machine taking a person back to what the road was like in the 1970's.

Two guys were standing outside the shed as I used the bypass because I have placas nacioanales. I guess they had binoculares because a few miles into Sinaloa I had an SSP federal highway patrolman crawl to within 15 feet of me then drop back and make a u-turn. The vigilance impressed me.

Might be interesting to some how the condition of the road is around Sta Cruz -- Matanchen Bay to Las Varas if they take that route.

I chose the Tepic route because there usually is a lady selling superb tamales at the gasolinera near the entronque with Mex 200. Quicksilver has a jake brake and the toad has disc brakes for the downhill run past Campostela.

Some people like the Tepic route, others the coast route.

Our friends are traveling in a US plated pickup truck and hold temporary residency papers, with a year to go. They are coming from the Pacific Northwest. They live in Zihuatanejo 6 months a year and have for a number of years and are traveling with an older pet.

The stretch north of the state line between Sinaloa and Sonora really really sucks but fortunately is short, even shorter than last year. They are in the process of replacing it but it's BAD. It'a been that way for a long time, but in June, we were ready for it, and kept track. We ran 10 MPH through that stretch. They are replacing it, but not in a manner that allows them to switch from one side to another.

We have always found that if there is going to be a bad stretch of road, it's going to be at or near a state line. Our theory is that they don't really want to claim the "line" so leave a several kilometer stretch on each side untouched. We have seen absolutely HORRIBLE stretches like that.

It is just my personal experience but south of Mochis including Culiacan has never been convenient for me*.Getting something decent to eat at a decent price, hotel rooms, even semi accurate fuel dispensers has always given me a headache. Mazatlan is easier and so is Cd Obregon. And any type of answer has eluded me. They're trying to make Mex 15 all toll road from Noglaes to Guadalajara and it will be a blessing when the work is finished.

*To the point where I have nicknamed the city "Culiacan't"

I have used 57-D as a commute route back and forth from Michoacan and now that the missing element between Queretaro across 15-D to Moelia is finished I doubt I will see much of Mex 15 in the future.

Of course that does not help vacationistas who wish to travel down the west coast visiting Guaymas, Mazatlan and San Blas.

I sort of compare Mex 15 and 57 like traveling down the California coast from SF to Los Angelss. Hwy 101 versus I-5.

From Tucson AZ ro the Junction of Mex 14-D and Mex 200, the interior route for me is a full 3-days faster and seventy dollars cheaper in tolls.

This absolutely does not mean I somehow recommend "Eagle Pass" over "Nogales" but merely makes a statement about travel time and cost. I blast eastward across Arizona, New Mexico and Texas burning a buck fifty per gallon cheaper fuel. Drive until 9 or 10 on interstate highways, use utterly secure rest areas, then head south on a mostly free multi-lane Mexican freeway. The real time eater on the Paific coast is Tepic to Barra de Navidad (Cihuatlan) and then from Tecoman south on Mex 200.

The price paid for the inland route is missing all the attractions of the
Pacific Coast.No beaches no resorts at all. This is a straight logistics money and time question. In fact for folks who have San Cristobal de Las Casas or
guatemala as a goal bypassing the Pacific coast entirely is an excellent idea.

Detour around Mexico, head for Puebla then Villahermosa, to Mex 190 and suffer the 190 topes to San Cristobal. a left turn there takes a person to Guatemala.