"Brett" wrote in message
news:TOednUKnlOp85BfeRVn-hQ@comcast.com...
> To get to some of these smaller places, I'll need a car. What's your
> opinion on renting a car in Mexico, especially if you speak no Spanish.
>
> Thanks for all of the info.
I'm all in favor of it. When I first started traveling extensively in
Mexico my Spanish was almost non-existent. It's still not very good. Take
along your patience and a good attitude and it will get you a long ways. I
carry guidebooks, dictionaries and an electronic dictionary. They're no good
for conversation, but they're great in restaurants or when you're shopping
and can't find the item you're looking for. With the Roji road atlas, enough
time, and the phrase "lleno por favor" (lleno is pronounced ya-no with a
long a)--it means fill it up please--you can get just about anywhere. Please
and thank you--in Spanish--are a must. The numbers are very helpful, but I
can tell you from personal experience that you can get by with just that
little bit of Spanish.
Mexico's public transportation system is far superior to what we have
in the States. All of the places we've been talking about are served by
buses on a very regurlar basis--even Oxchuc and Becan. In Oxchuc you'll see
young Mayan women waiting for the second class bus with a small piglet on a
leash. Taxis are cheap and pleantiful in most places. It's gone up, but a
couple of years ago you could get anywhere in San Cristobal by taxi for 10
pesos (around a buck). Passenger vans, called combis, run regular routes in
many places. Cities of any size will have very good bus service. In Merida,
for example, most buses run about 5 minutes apart. In many places you can
rent a taxi for a very reasonable price.
I've driven my car in Mexico many times. I've taken long motorhome
trips and I've even flown in and rented a car. With the motorhome
particularly, but sometimes even when I have my own car, I'll leave the
vehicle somewhere safe and use public transportation in the bigger cities.
In many places it's a lot easier on the nerves and saves figuring out where
to park.
My one big warning is that driving customs in Mexico are a bit
different than what we're used to in the States. Defensive driving is a
must. In Mexico I use a modified version of the way the locals drive, but I
do not advise going completely native. Many motorists in Mexico regard road
signs as merely a suggestion--mainly intended for someone else. A small but
very noticable segment of Mexican motorists are very aggressive
drivers--especially the inter-city bus drivers. Some drivers will pass in
amazing places--particularly the buses. On the plus side Mexican motorists
generally pay better attention to their mirrors than Americans. I advise you
to do the same. Staying off the highway at night is a bit of standard advise
you will hear over and over. With a few exceptions it's good advice because
of: road hazards, topes (speed bumps) they're all over the place, livestock
in the roads, drivers without their headlights on and drunks. I can probably
count the number of places that I'm comfortable driving at night in Mexico
on the fingers of one hand.
I don't agree with this guy 100%--his assessment of road conditions is
overly pessimistic, for example--but here's a good article on driving in
Mexico: http://www.rversonline.org/ArtMexDrive.html
I haven't had time to read all of this one, but what I've skimmed through
has all been good info: http://www.ontheroadin.com/plansandinfo.htm
www.mexconnect.com and www.peoplesguide.com are couple more good sites. Carl
Franz's book The People's Guide to Mexico is an excellent introduction.
TB
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