Is It Safe To Drive In Mexico?

POSTED JUNE 14, 2017

If you’re planning to travel to Mexico and are wondering whether driving is safe, well the easiest answer is: it depends where in Mexico you are traveling.

 

Just like any other country, it can be challenging to drive in big crowded cities like Mexico City.  Traffic jams, crowded streets, and crazy taxi drivers can make it difficult for visitors to operate a vehicle,  especially if you are not used to driving in the city.

 

Beach towns and the countryside is a different story as you can drive without any worry and you’ll feel safe most of the time. Roads and signs are easy to follow and you’ll usually see other travelers driving as well.

 

We have driven in different areas of Mexico and have never had any issues. The only thing we’ve really had to worry about are potholes from time to time. We prefer to rent cars at the airport as it is more convenient to visit the different places on our list when traveling to Mexico. We like having the freedom to choose when and where to drive to.

 

The following are the places we’ve driven in when we’ve traveled to Mexico:

 

Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur

Cancun, Quintana Roo

Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco

Yucatan Peninsula

Cocula, Jalisco

Oaxaca City, Oaxaca

 

Three of these destinations are beach towns where you can drive at your own pace, stop at any beach you want, enjoy the views, and be worry free.

 

The only place where we had a bit of a challenge at first was in Oaxaca City. It was a bit difficult finding our hotel with the directions we had. Please note we did not have GPS to follow, we were using our own paper maps of the city. Asking locals helps a lot so we eventually found our way around. Once we got familiar with the main highways, we had no issues driving in the city and the towns surrounding the city.

 

We recommend driving in Mexico as well as getting insurance. Insurance is not expensive and it is worth getting it just in case. Have fun driving!