I travelled this route about a month ago, although in the opposite direction. The west-bound lanes were great, but there was still construction being done on portions of the east-bound lanes. There is one area where you had to travel about 2 or 3 kms in the ditch on a dusty dirt track.
Delfin,
I came thru there again the other way about 3 weeks ago. The first 25% of the road is 2 lane and goes well, There is then 25% Mexican three lane with construction. The last 50% is a very nice four lane divided road. You will find construction and widening of the road but very doable.
Can we overnight at the toll both, or at a Pemex or at the immigration booth between Lukeville & Santa Anna? We plan on leaving Yuma in the early morning and but would like a place to overnight without hookups. Thanks for the updates on the road, as this route seems a lot better than going to Nogales, as we would avoid the traffic and even get better fuel prices in Mexico.
jimlouisesophie wrote: Can we overnight at the toll both, or at a Pemex or at the immigration booth between Lukeville & Santa Anna? We plan on leaving Yuma in the early morning and but would like a place to overnight without hookups. Thanks for the updates on the road, as this route seems a lot better than going to Nogales, as we would avoid the traffic and even get better fuel prices in Mexico.
The immigration booth area is very small so I doubt that is a viable option for an overnight. There are a couple Pemexs along the route that looked like they had truck parking so that would work, or you could do as we did and drive the whole way and stay in Santa Anna. It's about 600 kms but the road is fine and not much traffic.
Incidentally, I was warned to be cautious about the crazy truck drivers (crazy even by Mexico standards) on the road west of Santa Anna. That warning was well founded. There is a wide shoulder on both sides of the hwy so the truckers seem to think they can pass anywhere they like and force you over onto the shoulder. Drive with extra caution!
I'm not sure why you wish to cross at Sonoyta if you are not going to go to Puerto Penasco. The road from Gila Bend to Lukeville is two lane and although scenic is slower than taking Hwy 8 to Casa Grande and then south thru Tuscon and onto Nogales. You would then have a 4 lane all the way to the border.
I usually go this way when going to Kino Bay but return thru Sonoyta on the way home as the border crossing there going north typically takes me less time.
Thanks for the info. I prefer the Lukeville crossing, as its less crowded, the sooner you get to Mexico, the cheaper the fuel will be compared to USA, and the slower you go, the better mileage you get, so less of freeway traffic, the better, at least for me. I am not in a hurry to get to Mazatlan, but for the first leg of the trip from Yuma, if we can make it to Santa Anna the first night, then all the best, otherwise I will just take it easy and get there in 3 days.
We usually stop short of the border, then cross in the morning. Going through Nogales we stop at the Desert Diamond Casino. When heading for the Lukeville crossing we stop overnight near Why, AZ. and camp in BLM lands about 30 minutes short of the border.
From either crossing we can make it as far as San Carlos the next day. Then Los Mochis, and then Mazatlan. That's 4 days, but three days in Mexico. In our experience we are no farther ahead trying to get to Santa Ana the first day, and would be pushing it, in my opinion, if we wanted to get to Mazatlan in two more days from Santa Ana. But then maybe, just maybe, we're too slow.
Thanks, daveB110. Your post is most informative. I never thought of staying in Why overnight. Do you stay at the 14 day area on the west side at Why? Where do you stay in San Carlos and is the free area still open across from the RV parks. When in San Carlos, I assume you bypass the toll road there as well. Also where do you stay in Los Mochis? I actually stayed at the Desert Diamond Casino (the one farest south, close to I 19) for several days at one point and they have a great buffet and snack bars. There were numerous rigs there and a free pass is available from security.
We are set in our ways, to a degree. We do most of our exploring in Mexico in February and March, but when going south in early November leaving winter far behind is a priority. One of our favourite BLM landing spots lies just south of Why, on the right going south, near the northern edge of Organ Pipe Park.
Once in San Carlos we camp for the night near the beach within sight of Condominiums Pilar, which is usually very quiet mid-week; if we stay more than a night there are lots of birds to watch for, many are within listening range. Heading out we do take the toll road, although we have been told the free road through Guaymas is much improved since the year we took a wrong turn and gave our rig a good beating driving through town.
Los Mochis sees us biting the dust at the big Pemex lot to the left of the highway, Pilarica, I think its called. At night we have dozens of semis rolling in and out. We have never been parked "alone" here, soon other RVers will appear and often we will all dine together at the restaurant located in the complex.
We pull out just after sunrise and about 5.5 hours later we are in Mazatlan with plenty of time left to check out some of the city, once we are parked. Next morning Rincon de Guyabitos is usually in our sights. Or maybe Teacapan, or Villa Corona.
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