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Need hotel rec halfway to Pharr


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I would like to try the Pharr route heading back from lakeside but I cannot leave here until about 10:30. As a result I will need to break the trip into 2 parts. SLP is too soon to stop and C. Victoria is too far, can anyone recommend a place somewhere between SLP and C. Victoria?

TIA

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There really isn't much in the way of towns between SLP and Cd Victoria. You might find something in Cerritos but that isn't much further than SLP. It should take 7 1/2 - 8 hours to get to Cd Victoria and there are several decent motels turning left off Hwy 126 onto Hwy 85 toward the city. Leaving at 10:30 should get you there before dark.

Same problem taking the Aguascalientes route to Laredo. It's only about 4 hours to Zacatecas and then another 4 to Saltillo where there are overnight choices.

The Pharr route is interesting but unless you're heading towards Houston after crossing the border it no longer is the fastest route. Destinations up IH35 are better served by the Laredo crossing and with the new cuotas added to the Aguascalientes-Zacatecas-Saltillo route I think that now is the easiest and quickest, even with the slowdown getting around Ags.

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Thanks John.

Guess I will revert to my standby option of stopping in Matuhuala at 6hrs and then cross at Columbia the next day.

When I drove down in October I came the S-Z-AG route and missed my turn in AG and ended up in the midle of town during rush hour. I don't wish this on anyone. Won't make that mistake again.

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Thanks John.

Guess I will revert to my standby option of stopping in Matuhuala at 6hrs and then cross at Columbia the next day.

When I drove down in October I came the S-Z-AG route and missed my turn in AG and ended up in the midle of town during rush hour. I don't wish this on anyone. Won't make that mistake again.

There are three "perifericos" around AG. The outer one is Siglo XX1. It is the longest one but the fastest one.

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Using the Pharr route is simple, has fewer tolls, avoids having to drive through or around any city after Lagos de Moreno (common to all routes). Plus, on the return trip your chance of being hassled by Aduana and held up for paying duty is very, very low.

When you get to the border, your selection of places to stay is a lot cheaper and broader in McAllen/Pharr/Edinburg. If your reason for going to TX in the first place is shopping, Laredo has almost none and McAllen/Pharr/Edinburg has basically everything including a great Costco. For shopping, there's no need to go further.

We'll continue to go that way. I've heard too many bad reports about wading through Aguascalientes to want to take that on.

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i drive the gdl, ags, zac, saltillo route 4 times a year and have for the last 5 years. i believe this is the best way to austin, shorter, cheaper, good roads and less traffic. from saltillo to zacatecas, 3/4ths of the route is 4 lane divided and i bypass zacatecas unless im staying there which i do often. i drove from austin to zacatecas yesterday, no problems.zac. is a very nice city. ags is no problem. i take the middle ring road around the western side south bound and the inner ring road around the western side northbound. the lights are timed to 60 kph so with luck you will not stop at most of them. it takes me approx. 21 to 22 minutes on the ring road to go thru. i also drive straight thru saltillo, big expressway, no lights, no topes.

i dont get near lagos de moreno on this route.

north bound straight thru ags isnt too bad if you want but south bound is no good, many twists and turns and very difficult without a good GPS. from ajijic to the columbia bridge is about 850 pesos in tolls and many pemex stations. maybe 4 police and army checkpoints, rarely been stopped.

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One thing I found very helpful on my first try to navigate through Ags is to pull up the city on Google maps. It becomes very obvious where the rings are located. Then drill down to the intersection you're interested in looking at and switch to street view. The photos are pretty recent and seeing it this way helps you recognize it in person.

Even a Garmin isn't all that useful except to tell you what street you're on. It doesn't always send you the way you'd like to go but once you commit to a path it will normally catch up and correctly tell you the next turn.

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i cross northbound at colombia. i only stop for fuel and tolls, i have food to eat in the car and i never drive over 75 and can be at the colombia bridge barring traffic issues in 11 hours. the problem is a place to stay if im not going all the way to austin, thats 16.5 total. long day.

so if i dont plan to drive all the way with the US part at night i stop at hotel pereferico just north of monterrey. instead of turning north toward laredo i stay on the pereferico eastbound for about 1.5 miles and theres the hotel pereferico on the right. 300 pesos for a nice room with garage. 350 for a suite with stage, dance pole and jacuzzi in #3. i also take a small bolt or piece of metal that will prevent the garage door from being raised from the outside while im in there.

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Wanderer thank you for sharing your excellent alternative routes through Ags. Brilliant!! We had pretty much given up on this route because of the mess that is Siglo XXI these days. But we just followed your north bound route today and it was oh so much better. Ajijic to Laredo in 11.5 hours including a half hour detour and stop for a new battery in Saltillo. The route through Ags with all the traffic lights coordinated was a pleasure. I would recommend this route above the others to Laredo...less traffic, better scenery.

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I have another option to get through Aguascalientes that the locals there showed me. After the Nissan plant, exit east at University Bonaterra. This road will curve around to the North becoming Balaquer, then Julio Diaz Torre. Continuing north it becomes Heroe de Nacozari which you will continue through the city with only one traffic circle at Lopez Mateos. Heroe de Nacozari will blend into the highway Northbound to Zacatecas shortly after the railroad tracks. Pretty much a straight shot.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Last Saturday I took lloyd520's route through Aguascalientes. Note, there are 2 Nissan plants, one on your left and one on your right. The one you want is on your right. I did not find (missed) the turnoff at University Bonaterra, however, I was forced east from the lateral and the first light I came to was Heroe de Nacozari. Turning left the road was very good with only a few stop lights and the mentioned glorietta. Traffic was OK but it was Saturday of Easter weekend. Pretty much a straight run back onto the highway to Zacateas. I can recommend it to anyone taking this route.

If anyone does take this route and finds the turnoff at University Bonaterra please advise where it is.

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"If anyone does take this route and finds the turnoff at University Bonaterra please advise where it is."

Haven't taken it but..... it is marked as "U. Panamericana". Upon exiting, take a hard immediate right (curving back), almost backtracking. Follow this divided 4-lane around as lloyd520 suggested.

Another option to achieve the same thing is to not exit here, but wait until SIGLO XXI, turning right there. Once on SIGLO, take the first left at a signal light (5 blocks?) onto the road (Julio Diaz Torre) that lloyd520 suggested and follow his directions. That road seems to be signed often with "Zacatecas". 4-lane divided but/and right through the city.

Google maps, utilizing 'street view', shows all of this quite clearly.

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