North east coast of Mexico via Texas
 

Any info on crossings, routes & sights for the east coast of Mexico coming down from Texas? I could probably spend 3 or 4 days in Mexico then I would have to head back to the northeast U.S.

We crossed at Brownsville in January on our way to the Yucatan. It was a very easy crossing, just watch for the customs office just as you cross the border. Most people must not need to stop, we were the only ones. The area wasn’t the greatest riding we’ve had in Mexico, although the people and the food were great.


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Good question , but would be nice if you provided some personal travel back ground .Have you ever visited Mexico on a bike ,done any travel in the country at all, speak any Spanish, how many days do you really have available ???




https://www.google.ca/maps/search/Ma...5,13.99z?hl=en

STUDY the above map and you can easily plot an interesting route through town to get you onto the highway Mex 101 which is the route you will want to follow south for a a few hours .

Look at this link to the google map of downtown Matamoros and Brownsville
There are several crossings to choose from .
If you like exploring the city centers then cross on the International Blv bridge in downtown Brownsville .
If you aim to get out of town as quickly as possible (which is a practice I do not recommend ) then just follow US 83 to its end and cross on that bridge .
In both cases you will find a building with the services to get the FMM (tourist card and stamp in your passport) and in the same buildings the Banjercito desk where you will need to get the TVIP and pay the REFUNDABLE TVIP security deposit.
Do not think you are done after pushing the button which gives you a green light to GO or a red light for a short inspection .
YOU MUST stop to get these documents on your own volition. The Mexican officials will not come running out to stop you and babysit you through this processing .
It is a very relaxed approach to border security. As has already been mentioned ,you may be the only persons you see getting these documents .

Your plan to go south for a few days and then head back is totally fine but do take the effort to retreat by way of a different set of roads .Don't go south, buy a tee shirt and then ride back the same way you came.

If you head south on the 101 it will eventually south of San Fernando bring
you to the junction where Mex 180 splits off to the south and to Tampico .
You will nowhere see any coast , the road is far inland until you hit Tampico
After the Rio Grande Valley farmlands it is mostly flattish , slightly rolling chaparral country which changes to more agricultural , some distant
mountains to see.
If you want a more mountain scenery then stick to 101 as far as Victoria
From there start the trek back north along the mountain front on Mex 85
Lots of side trips possible into the mountains if you have time
This route has plenty to see and slow you down to fill all available time

Thank you. I have been to Mexico four times but never by motorcycle. I speak very little Spanish but know some of the basics. Four days is looking like a good estimate but of course it depends how long it takes me to get to the border and how much time I’ll need to get home. Tampico was immediately on my radar but it will all depend how far south I can get. I appreciate the info.

You can get very far south in four days if you ride like a
maniac but that would not be very smart if your total time available is only four days. You would never get back to the border within that time , would you ?


Tampico is a good enough destination and it is a good day of riding south from the Matamoros border . Any other border crossing will be farther west AND farther north . You do need to take the time to see some of that city and remember NO RIDING THE HIGHWAYS AFTER DARK , so that city will be the first overnight .
Where have you been before in Mexico ? ... So .... go somewhere different .

From Tampico you can go west on Mex 70 to CD VALLES and begin travelling north again for 3 days to get back to Texas at Laredo or at Piedras Negras
Or you could follow 70 west all the way to San Luis Potosí and head north on Mex 57, but that would really add a lot of km and some very steady riding .
Believe me there is plenty entertainment along the way .
Don't be greedy and try to cover thousands of km .
It's about quality of travel not just covering a lot of distance .

Thank you very much, lots of good information and I appreciate you taking the time to put it all down here.

Any input on lodging or camping?

I may be able to get an extra day or two in Mexico, we’ll see. I will be slabbing a lot of the journey from home only because I’ve seen most of that route and would rather have extra time to slow down in new places. My only real plans on the way down include a ride through the Ozarks and a visit with a friend outside of Dallas.

Just getting from Penn. all the way South through Texas to the border is a fairly major cross country ride. Maybe 2 or 3 days? Depending if you ride at night and do 10 hour riding days or longer.

If rushed, I would not bother with Mexico. You'll be tired and more liable to **** up and get dead. You cross that border, well, that's another country over there. (old movie line) :smartass:

But Mexico is a JOY if you have the time to relax and enjoy it. You'll need minimum a week to even scratch the surface, IMHO.

I would stay away from crowded highways and take smaller roads. In that area of Mexico, my favorite town is Real De Catorce, a historical former Silver mining Ghost town. Neat town, lots of cool easy dirt roads all around it.

If you have more time, from there, head WEST towards Zacatecas. Another town worth seeing.

I guess you could do a Pub Crawl in whatever border town you cross at. Be careful, lots of drunk Gringos end up in jail in those border towns.

We ran into some Gringoes who lost their near new truck ... worth about $40K usd. GONE!

Policia got it, apparently. :innocent: They were such redneck assholes, we figured they deserved it ... we, left, just let them stew. :oops2:

It’s looking like I’ll have around 12-14 days to make my way to Texas, drop into Mexico then head home. I hear what you are all saying about needing more time in Mexico. I’m not trying to rush and see it all, the reality is I’ll only have 4 days or so to visit a few towns and get a taste of a part of Mexico I haven’t seen. I have family and work obligations and can only do so much. It would be great to have no responsibilities and have all the time and funds in the world but it’s just not reality for me. I enjoy the 2-3 long trips I get to take each year and it is certainly better than not going at all in my opinion.

With that being said, I really appreciate the detailed information, thank you and keep it coming.

Sjoerd, I just came across the link to your lodging recommendations. I will be reading up on that and looking into your book. I would definitely be interested in staying on the beach near Tampico if there is a reasonable, decent place available.

Tampico is most assuredly not a beach destination.It is an old city and a well established sea port on the Rio Panuco and the Thames River estuary swamps . ( Okay it is written as Rio Tamesi ) Tampico the old city lies about 6km from the sea on a high portion of land . If there are any beach hotels in the area they would be in the twin city of Cd Madero , but I am not a particular beach denizen and did not actually investigate for those . The stretch of coast is not very resort oriented , more into the mud flats and mangrove habitat. North of this city it is a long stretch of new port and industrial development.

If you want to really visit Mexico then it would pay on this trip to dedicate it to that country .The USA bits ,I'm sure, you must have done before , or can easily fit them in on shorter vacation rides .

You live about the same distance from Mexico as I do and it will be a four day ride ,3000km , at a normal pace to get to the border.So the ride through the Ozarks and a stop at the friend's place in TX should be easily fit into one week .
That then gives you an added week available for Mexico and once back in the US the ride home could also fit into four days .

Thank you. I saw that there were a few hotels on the beach in between Ciudad Madero and Miramar, but it sounds like you’re not too familiar with them. Don’t really care about resorts or fancy beaches, just thought it would be a nice break in the ride to stay on the coast one night.

You are doing great with your research . I knew that the Playa Miramar was the resort zone for Cd Madero and you kicked me into gear and search mode on googlemaps

The hotel Dona Juana Cecilia is a fancy looking waterfront hotel and advertises an attractive price It appears there are about seven other fancier hotels along that stretch of developed tourist beach . All you need to do now is ride there

Thanks. I got in touch with a fellow HUBB rider from Veracruz. He gave me some good info and put me in touch with a rider from Texas who does many trips a year across the border, just recently returning from a two week trip last week. Invaluable info, really put my mind at ease.