Is anyone driving to Coz?

[DandyDon]

Can you get me a brand new Jetta for $3,500 from your local VW dealership - in red?

Jim route from Brownsville TX and hugging the bay would probly be a lot safer than the one Mapquest suggested crossing at El Paso - into infamous Juarez! Mapquest can count the miles for that route and claims it's the same 2400 from Alamogordo? It'd be doable anyway, and he gave you some great info.

I don't know about driving non-stop, thru the nights, at least the first time. I think I'd plan on overnights in Brownsville and Vera Cruz at least, and that's pushing it for many. I'd want the 4 nights each way.

Hope you're still flying tho...!!

 

[Jim Baldwin]

Hey Don,

That $3,500 is just for a new transmission. I can probably get the work done cheaper with just a rebuild but I wanted to compare apples to apples. Didn't pay but just over $20,000 for the car new in 2006. Just couldn't swallow that pill.

I also could not see buying a brand new Jetta and leaving it on Cozumel while Donna was driving a 5 year old car back home.

Driving at night is not for the timid. There are no shoulders and the smaller the town the more topes, speed bumps. Ideally we get behind an ADO bus and try and keep up. The drivers know the highways and where all the topes are located.

I drive a lot, around 5,000 miles a month so don't mind sitting in the saddle. And with only a week off at a time we don't have the option of really taking our time.

If we stop and spend the night we're up at 4 on the road at 4:30 and drive till about 9 p.m. Then depending on how I'm feeling as to whether or not I keep on driving. On a couple of trips we stopped for one or two nights.

About a year and half ago I had a couple from Baton Rouge drive down with me. They have a place off 30th and wanted to take their vehicle down. They were in a Bronco pulling a trailer so we drove little slower. We crossed at Brownsville had supper at Popeye's Chicken and got a great room for $20 with AC and security.

The next morning we were on the road and drove for 17 hours and they wanted to stop in Vera Cruz. Had a good meal in the restaurant and sacked out. The next morning we were on the road at 4:30 and made it to Playa about 11 pm.

My buddy and I drove on down to the car ferry and took the 4 a.m. ride over. They opted for a hotel room and a little later departure. On the return trip from Cozumel to Brownsville, 32 hours.

Skirting the coast there are a lot of good roads and a steady flow of traffic with no long deserted roads. There are no dive through fast food restaurants but we do stop for a good roasted chicken usually in Chapaton or Campeche.

 

[STwill]

Thanks for the info Jim! Not sure if my GF and I are going to be able to travel down together, so we are probably going to end up flying.