Scenic route- Puebla to Antigua?

[sohrakoff]

Any advice on the most scenic/interesting route (mountain route preferred... it's hot down here!!) from Puebla to Oaxaca and then on to Guatemala? thanks

[Sjoerd Bakker]

With your route description desires you are pretty well giving yourself all the routing, not much alternative roads running in those same directions.
From Puebla you can either go to Oaxaca directly on Mex 190 via Atlixco and Izucar de Matamorros then the mountain route to Oaxaca and beyond through Tehuantepec and Juchitan on the isthmus of Tehuantepec then back into the cool highlands through Tuxtla Gutierrez, San Cristobal and Comitan and on through Guatemala's highlands.Very scenic all along , though a bit warm in the low section of the isthmus.
Alternates from Puebla to Oaxaca are Mex 150 to Tehuacan and then Mex 135 south to Oaxaca- this is also quite scenic but in dry season rather warm in the valley south of Tehuacan. Toll highway to Oaxaca follows similar route . All nice once you get into the mountain stretch again
Any other route would put you on the coast ,north or south side and not hit Oaxaca city.
You say "hot" --- but that is relative to ......? Just checked Welcome to The Weather Underground : Weather Underground site and temp readings for all reporting stations seem no higher than Ontario the last few days, Puebla is only at 13C this morning. All in all sounds like great motorcycle weather if you can miss the heavy afternoon thundershowers.

[Mike Stone]

Mexico 190 is the most awesome twisty mountain road. I hope your bike has lots of cornering clearance. Also mind your fuel because there is not much in the way of gas stations on 190 south of Puebla until you get to Tehuantepec.

From there you can stay on 190 to Tuxtla (even tighter twisties after Tapanetepec) or take Mexico 200 to Tapachula (much easier riding including some 4 lane sections). Keep in mind this whole area, and the adjoining area in Guatemala, was severely wrecked by Hurricane Stan around the same time as Katrina, and all the bridges have been rebuilt. I rode through a week after Stan and the damage was unbelieveable. Route 200 was closed after Mastapec and I had to backtrack to Tuxtla to enter Guatemala.

CA1 is gorgeous from the border to Antigua with light traffic. Temperatures can get cool in the mountains!

Best of luck!

[Sjoerd Bakker]

Not wanting to seem like a nit picker Mike but your warning about feul scarcity along Mex 190 is a bit misleading. There is actually a good supply of PEMEX stations in all the larger towns so that from Puebla to Oaxaca one can hit one of them just about every 60km to 70km. South of Oaxaca they may be spaced a bit farther apart , and even then the small towns without PEMEX have a private source if you are really desperate. Also on the mountain route Mex 200 from Tapanatepec -Tuxtla Gutierrez -Comitan to Guatemala border gas is plentiful. So ,any bike with any reasonable size gas tank should have no problem. Mind you , if you like dodging into a lot of side roads to explore you can rack up a lot of kilometers between PEMEX stations. But there is no need for concern.
As to road condition , this too has all been well taken care of since Stan . This past I winter rode through the area Mex 200 Tehuantepec to Tapachula and all was in good shape, washouts rebuilt, no delays, even on the sinuous Mex 211 from Huixtla up into the mountains where complete new sections were just being given the final paving layer.
Great roads , great scenery. Enjoy.

[Mike Stone]

Yes, I agree that both Mexico and Guatemala have done a great job repairing the roads and bridges after Hurricane Stan. The damage from that Hurricane was immense.

Yes, the problem area for gas on Mexico 190 is south of Oaxaca. Strangely, I last rode it on my Ducati 900-powered Cagiva Gran Canyon and arrived in Tehuantepec with fuel to spare. But the two times before that, in a Dodge Stratus Coupe (Mitsubishi Eclipse V6 drivetrain) and in an '03 SVT Cobra, I limped into Tehuantepec on fumes. Perhaps all those full throttle 2nd and 3rd gear corner exits take a bigger toll on the heavy metal artillery than on the bike.