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A Short Guide to Mexican Roads

How to Identify and Evaluate Mexican "Caminos"

Dec 7, 2008 John Pint

A guide describing the various kinds, conditions, advantages and dangers of Mexican roads, with a Spanish translation of important terms.

The best roads in Mexico are known as autopistas. Most of these are deluxe, limited-access, multi-lane, divided highways, which rival any in the world and come with clean rest rooms, snack bars, mechanics and, of course, cuotas (tolls).

They even include automatic accident insurance in the toll fee, a detail non-Spanish-speaking visitors to Mexico might easily overlook. Of course, it is important to keep the receipt issued at the toll booth.

Mexican Toll Roads

Many Mexican tolls are high by U.S. standards and truly exorbitant from the point of view of the local economy, but the reason is easy to understand. The most modern of these motorways were built by private enterprise and the investors want their money back.

The toll roads are normally divided highways, but not always. For example, the toll road from Guadalajara to the city of Colima is, for most of its distance, a simple, two-lane highway, although it does offer drivers the “luxury” of shoulders. “Why pay a toll for such an ordinary road?” one might ask.

The answer is that this highway crosses several of the deepest barrancas (canyons) in western Mexico and most of the investment money went into constructing the truly impressive bridges that span them. In this case, the motorist is paying for a significant reduction in driving time instead of the safety and convenience of four lanes.

Highways or Carreteras

A big step down from the autopista is the common, everyday carretera (highway) whose condition can vary from excelente (excellent) to pobre (poor), usually due to baches (potholes). These roads often have no shoulders whatsoever and may be barely wide enough for two buses to pass each other.

Domestic animals like burros and bulls may wander about carreteras at any given moment, for which reason it is recommended not to drive at night in Mexico, except on autopistas.

Another danger visitors to Mexico may not be prepared for are topes (speed bumps). These often come without warning signs or zebra stripes and may be high enough to cause serious damage to a sedan car that doesn’t negotiate them slowly. This is a further reason why one should stay off Mexican highways at night.

Ordinary Roads or Caminos

Just a step below the carretera comes the camino (road or way), a vague word referring to anything wide enough for a car to drive on. When local people refer to a camino going somewhere, the wise motorist might refer to this Guide and ask if the road is asfaltado (blacktopped), empedrado (paved with cobblestones, often the most durable road to be found), revestido (thinly blacktopped) or terracería (graded dirt).

If an informant shakes his or her head "no" to all of these, the camino is probably a brecha (simple dirt road) which could be lisa (smooth) or en malas condiciones (in bad shape). Having heard the description of a particular dirt road, a driver should ask, "¿Mi coche puede pasar?" (Can my car make it?). If the reply is yes, it means the car could make it, but not necessarily with you at the wheel.

Finally, check to see if the camino in question is a vereda. If so, it means it’s not a road at all, but a footpath and not even a local rancher could get a vehicle on it. If this is the case, it may be time to step out of the car and go for a walk.

The copyright of the article A Short Guide to Mexican Roads in Latin Am/Caribbean Travel is owned by John Pint. Permission to republish A Short Guide to Mexican Roads in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

A Terracería (Graded-Dirt Road) in Fine Shape	A Brecha (Dirt Road) “en Malas Condiciones”	The Worst Camino may Lead to Great Beauty.
Always Ask, “Can my Car Make it?”