Travel in Baja Peninsula or Chihuahua State

[craig_evans]

I've always wanted to do a drive through Copper Canyon in Chihuahua State of Mexico, but my wife is very nervous. Does anyone have any (preferably reassuring) story about travel there? Or, alternately, how about Baja Peninsula?

[ohhell10339]

CharlesinGA wrote:
How did this wind up in Tech Issues?

The State Department has issued new travel advisories for Mexico.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/01/10/us-slaps-highest-level-do-not-travel-warning-on-five-mexican-states.html

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Mexico.html

Charles

If it's on Fox News, it must not be true 🙂

The State Department did NOT issue travel advisories "for Mexico." It issued advisories for FIVE MEXICAN STATES. Of those, only Tamaulipas borders the US (far northeast, bordering the Gulf and Texas). The vast majority of American tourists travel to Baja, Sonora, Chihuahua, and the Yucatan peninsula. There are 31 states in Mexico, and the travel advisory states are some of the smaller ones.

Nobody should buy in to the "fear and hate the Mexicans" narrative. Maybe some guy with weird orange hair is afraid of them, but I'd rather travel in Mexico for a month than walk down the streets of some US cities for five minutes.

[Almot]

Traveling Baja OR Chihuahua don't belong in the same sentence, IMO.

The only problem with Baja is too many gringos (= expensive everything).

Another problem - only one and not very easy highway Mex 1 that goes down the spine of the peninsula. Too far to deliver everything, fresh produce costs double and triple. Difficult terrain and regular floods make road maintenance difficult, they are fixing it now and then, but some sections are really bad. And it is barely 9 feet wide lane in some places, with 2 lanes total, i.e. 18 feet from ravine on the left to rock wall on the right, no shoulders in many places. It gets better closer to Cabo, but those areas are more friendly for hotel stay than RV camping.

Can't say about La Paz ferry, but ferry from Sta Rosalia to Guaymas is ridiculously, prohibitively, unbelievably expensive with RV. Triple prices of fresh produce (yes, triple) will fade in comparison.

Absolutely don't travel in the night. No, no bandidos - cattle on the road. Cows like sitting on warm concrete after dark. And potholes that you won't see.

Can't say about La Paz ferry, but ferry from Sta Rosalia to Guaymas is unbelievably expensive with RV.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

No driving THROUGH the Copper Canyon. The train route and the motor vehicle route are far far distant from each other. Yes there is a canyon on the toll road but it does not compare to the railroad trip.

I drove...

El Paso to Chihuahua city, then WEST toward CREEL and Ciudad Cuauhtemoc (where the Mennonite farmers live) About six miles or so west of Chihuahua city is a huge RV park right next to an equally huge gaolinera (Pemex station).

Next day drive to Durango, then overnight there in an RV park.

Descend on the new toll to the coast. Go to Mazatlan and stay.

[CharlesinGA]

How did this wind up in Tech Issues?

The State Department has issued new travel advisories for Mexico.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/01/10/us-slaps-highest-level-do-not-travel-warning-on-five-mexican-states.html

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Mexico.html

Charles

[Chum_lee]

I agree with fitznj completely. Been there many times. A few cautions based on my experiences. Avoid driving at night, if possible. If you think 65 mph is a safe driving speed, go 55. Start looking to fill your tank when it gets down to half full. Don't be in a hurry.

In 1992 we took the train through Copper Canyon from Los Mochis to Chihuahua and back. Spectacular and very economical but if you decide to go that route only take the 1st class train. Back then it was truly a step back in time. I don't know about now. You'll view scenery that simply isn't accessible by road and you'll miss a lot if you have to pay attention to driving.

Chum lee

[_1Flyboy]

Check out bajanomads.com & post your concerns there....I’m not a total expert, but, I go down once a year & have yet to feel threatened...YMMV... May & October are best for no wind & mild temps...

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Might want to check out the bottom of the list of forums for TravelIn Mexico

-Written From Mexico

[fitznj]

I just got back from a 10 day trip in the Baja Peninsula; All those stories you hear on the news about how unsafe it is - well they are a bunch of rot. I've traveled 3 times through Baja and never came close to feeling unsafe.

Just use common sense - don't flash money about, wear jewelry, expensive watches etc, etc (not uncommon what you would do in the USA);

I traveled from Tijuana to Ensenda to San Felipe on a motorcycle and felt totally at ease. The people are super friendly (speaking Spanish is a huge bonus); 99.99 % of the people are regular folks trying to make a living and enjoy time with their families.

We walked around the major towns at night with no issues but you do have to he aware of the seedy parts of town (like any other);

Go for it - Cooper Canyon is on my list for next year