Estado de Campeche Travel Forum

Don't know Spanish, any problem?

Safe on the way?

Thanks for any input.

We haven't been in those areas but we are planning for (western part of Yocatan peninsula) next winter.
Last december we rented a car in Cancun and drove on eastern side of Yucatan Peninsula quite a lot.
We never worried about anything while driving.
We also had very pleasant experience with local car rental company www.econocarrental.com
They were young, professional, friendly and speak english.
See my Mexico transportation tips for photos from our road trips.

good maps will lessen your necessity to speak spanish. and when you need to ask directions, good gesturing, pointing and a small understanding of:
Right - Derecha
Left - Izquierda
Straight - Derecho

could help, also some numbers to know how far to go. a notepad so someone can write would help w/ this.

Decided to rent a car for Campeche tour. Thanks for both of you.

If you make it to Campeche, consider going to Edzna. It is another Mayan ruin similar to Uxmal. It's worth the drive (about an hour out of Campeche).

When driving around, if you don't take the main highways - even with the good map, there is a good chance you will get lost -- at least we did -- the roads are just not marked that well. It didn't bother us much as even getting lost is fun on a vacation.

Another tip, try not to drive at night. Too many unmarked topes (speed bumps).

Also if you are turning left off a highway (say into your hotel), don't blink left on your turn signal. In Mexico, blinking left tells the car behind you that it is OK to pass. Not knowing that almost got us into an accident.

Is it ok if I leave Merida around 6pm heading Uxmal?

I don't remember what time it got dark, and we did that drive in February. It might be a different sunset time between Feb. and now. It was on that drive (Merida to Uxmal to see the light show then back to the Rancho Motel) that we almost got creamed turning left.

The other reason for not driving much at night is that there are no lights anywhere on the highways, so it is easier to miss the few road signs that there are. If you are not limited by time, maybe it would be better to spend a night in Merida and leave first thing in the morning.

Have a nice trip whatever you decide. Redlats

In December was getting dark between 6 and 7 PM. The last time to catch the sun on the beach was 3 pm....after that it was going down (really long evening).
We did not have any problem driving at night (we did drove at night 3 times).
We never drove at night to new and unknown place. We were just coming back on the same road we took on the morning, so we were familiar with it....and we marked few unexpected "bumps" on the map.
Comparing to USA, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Poland - Mexico is not more danger to drive. Really no difference for us.
However it is not as easy to drive like in Germany, but hey....I wish people in USA would learn how to drive like Germans.
In Mexico:
1. always expect 'bump' at front of you (see my transportation tips for photos of different bumps)
2. always watch your mirror for 'high speed cars' they will approach you very fast, so stay to the right and let them pass.
3. If you want to make a left turn, plan ahead, and let go all the speeding cars.
4. tip the guy on gas station 6-10 pessos for washing your window.
5. tip kids 6 pessos for "watching" your car on the parking lot (it is worth to see their smile)
6. Always fill up your car when you see gas station. Never go below half of the tank.
7. Buy a good map 1:1'100,000 scale because the dirt roads are changing into asphalt roads more and more often. We got Maya World- Mundo Maya by Quimera (www.Quimeramx.com) after we landed in Mexico - in local book store. When we were looking in Barnes and Noble in New York, all they had were some general "touristy" maps....god for nothing.