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Route advice for drive back to Canada


feewee

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Hi everyone -  you were all very helpful in getting me safely from Canada to Ajijic in Dec.  Very grateful for your super advice.  Except for when we got a bit lost, I followed it to the tee.   I am now hoping you might have some good advice for me on the route back - specifically...

1) route 54D or 57D northbound?  We came down via 54D but that it was because we got a bit turned around in Saltillo.  I think I read that 57D is safer but a bit longer?  

2) I am targeting Nuevo Laredo as the border crossing point rather than Reynosa or Piedras Negras.  Any thoughts on safer or more efficient of the three?

3) I will want to get my TIP money back  -  can anyone share what they know about this process? Is it at the same place on the Mexican side as on the way down?

Cheers and thank you for your help, again!

Feewee

 

 

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The best and fastest route is San Luis Potosí, Matehuala Saltillo, Monterrey cross at Colombia, the booth to get your TIP back is very easy to find, As you drive through the complex you will see a small white building on your left, there is an area to pull off the road in front of the building, that is where you return your TIP.

After you exit the US customs head north on the 225 it will take you to I-35

or you can go right on the 1472 which will take you into Laredo, as you enter Laredo there are lots of hotels right along I-35. I usually stay at the Days Inn which just about the first motel you come across.

 

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As usual, the details are as important...

There are two ways to get thru San Luis Potosi up to Matehuala... the old way and the newer way. Take the latter.

Leaving Lakeside, and on the Chapala highway to Guad, take the Macrolibramiento 15D right, signed as  to Zapotlanjo. This gets you heading north on 80D and skirts Guadalajara. Later after going through/around Lagos de Marino and when approaching Villa de Arriaga, go straight... not to the right. The sign at the intersection will say SLP 20 and Saltillo/San Luis Potosi straight. Don't go right which says 80D Queretaro. This road (straight) skirts SLP to the west/nw, becomes highway 49D and exits out north of SLP onto highway 57 north to Mathuala. For many, Mathuala is a good place to spend the night before heading to Laredo.

From Mathuala stay on 57 north to the outskirts of Saltillo. Take 40D right towards Monterrey; just prior to Monterrey, and at a toll booth, be in the right lane only to take the Periferico Nuevo Laredo Cuota (40). This skirts Monterrey to the west/north. At the north side one will take highway 85 north to Nuevo Laredo.

As you approach N. Laredo others have suggested taking the Colombia crossing. It is well to the west of Laredo and is signed off of 85 well. That crossing is easy but, crossing the border going north, I find the 'normal' N. Laredo crossing just fine... they separate trucks from autos. This route will dump you off right downtown Laredo Tx on I35 and not out in the boonies.  Your choice of course.

P.S.  This route uses 57 and NOT 54. Also, there is no 54D as "D" designates a toll road/cuota. 54 us not a toll. Also, you surely do NOT want to take highway 54 out of the north side of Guadalajara to Zacatecas!  Slow, slow 2-lane going through curves uphill behind trucks and buses.

 

 

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If you are going to try for the border in one day, the shorter and faster way to Saltillo is through Aguascalientes.  Then loop around Zacatecas and head to Saltillo and whichever crossing is closest and fastest.  That is the Columbia crossing.  If you are going to spend a night and cross the next day you can take the route already mentioned in order to spend a night in Matehuala.  Or if you plan to do the run to the border in two days you could plan to spend a night outside Saltillo and then head farther north to Piedras Negras or Ciudad Acuna. Both easy and faster crossings than Columbia but would require a couple more hours of driving in Mexico.  No matter which way you go, watch for guys trying to cause a small wreck or crooked cops.  Both will cost you money.

We used to drive to Colorado and so we crossed in Ciudad Acuna which we did in one 13 hour day of 770 miles or about 1200km.  Couldn't do it these days...knees are older and bladder is smaller.

Alan

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We drive north frequently; prefer the San Luis Potosi route; take the west bypass (49D). We stay at the Sheraton 4 points hotel in Saltillo; nice hotel with restaurant and it is pet friendly.

There are 3 crossings at Laredo; Bridge 1 is usually the shortest wait time but it is Sentri lane only, Bridge 2 (the busiest), and Columbia. Get the CBP Border Wait Time app for your phone and check the wait times before you get to the Columbia cutoff and make a decision. I have used all 3; Bridge 1 and 2 are both accessible without going through the center of Nuevo Laredo, use the road along the river to the east. Columbia is a reasonable crossing if you are going directly north without visiting Laredo.

Google maps has good routing to all 3 bridges.

Just a note that you can use Global Entry in the Sentri lane as long as the vehicle is registered in Global Entry; I doubt that you can use Nexus.

 

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I have, in the past, used these crossings into Texas to return my TIP and get the deposit back. These have always been on a credit card, not cash. 

+ Nuevo Laredo Bridge 2

+ Colombia (outside of N. Laredo)

+ Piedras Negras/Eagle Pass TX  (My most frequent route) 

+ Ciudad Acuna/Del Rio TX

+ Ojinaga/Presidio TX

+ Juarez at Santa Teresa NM/ El Paso TX

( and: Agua Perita/Douglas AZ plus Nogales/Nogales AZ )

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Yes all 3 ports have TIP removal; Bridge 1 and 2 at the CIIV/Banjercito building on the south side of the river road between the 2 bridges; Bridge 2 keep in the far left lane at the toll booths; Columbia there is a little Banjercito booth on the left just before the toll booth.

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I can't say for sure but it all depends on how many of the roads are toll roads. Worth every peso because they are rarely just two lane (one lane in each direction) highways. Even what looks like going miles out of your way on a toll road is faster. Haven't driven to the border in over twenty years but have done lots of driving within Mexico and the toll roads get my vote.

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56 minutes ago, Mainecoons said:

Matamoros should be avoided.  Lots of problems there at the moment.  

...and if it were me I'd also stay away from anything around Reynosa/PharrTx at the moment. Too much traveling in Tamaulipas State for me.

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6 hours ago, chapalence said:

Does anyone ever cross at Brownsville?

It seems a shorter route, and for those who can't do 13 hours straight through, 11 hours sounds better.

Opinions?

IF and when things are seemingly 'settled down' in that area, consider crossing not at Matamoros/Brownsville but rather at Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge. No need to go over east to Brownsville and then have to veer west when back into Texas. Unless of course one is actually going to South Padre Island then Brownsville might make sense.... just not at the moment!

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On 3/20/2023 at 5:13 PM, Out1 said:

We drive north frequently; prefer the San Luis Potosi route; take the west bypass (49D). We stay at the Sheraton 4 points hotel in Saltillo; nice hotel with restaurant and it is pet friendly.

Thank you for the hotel recommendation. It certainly looks like a better option than the dismal Las Palmas and it appears easy enough to get to.

 

 

 

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I too use/have used the Sheraton 4 Points hotel in Saltillo. 2nd the recommendation. ~$60 US includes breakfast. "Secure" parking. Several hotels in the vicinity as is close to the airport.  It IS a bit out of the way.... in Ramos Arizpe actually.... but there just aren't any hotels out on the cuotas around Saltillo. Matehuala is OK but just not far enough along the way for me when going north.

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When we make the drive, we stay at the City Express - Monterrey North.  It is at the north end of Monterrey on the main highway to Nuevo Laredo - Columbia.

There is a Carl's Jr. and another restaurant in the same parking lot

There is a free American breakfast and it's nice to be past the Monterrey traffic for a fresh start of the day.  3 1/2 hours to Colombia crossing.

City Express Monterrey North

 

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