Driving across border & into central Mexico

A Complete Guide - Maps, locations, insider tips & info

A few weeks ago we drove from Canada to Puebla in Central Mexico.

It was the trip of a lifetime.

We’ve put together a comprehensive guide to help you plan your drive to this amazing country. We’ve detailed our firsthand experience, including tips, important reminders, and specific locations like hotels, restaurants, gas stations, INM offices, and much more.

Our goal is for you to use this guide as a resource on your journey. For those making this trip, please share any updated information with us so we can keep this guide relevant and helpful for future travellers.

Travelling on a Regular Visa:

You have up to 180 days in Mexico on a regular tourist visa. If you are driving in with your foreign-plated vehicle, you will need to apply for a TIP (Temporary Importation Permit) at a Banjercito office or online— see below.

You need an FMM in order to obtain a TIP. To get an FFM (Forma Migratoria Multiple) you need to show up to an INM office (Instituto Nacional de Migración).

INM office in Piedras Negras

Banjercito office in Piedras Negras

Banjercito Online TIP Application (recommended)

If for any reason you miss the INM or Banjercito offices at the border (like we almost did), 45 minutes down highway 57, just before entering the toll road 57D, after the village of Allende, Coah, you will find a small government complex with both INM & Banjercito offices.

There’s also a good convenience (Oxxo) store with bathrooms there if you need.

If you’re a resident, you don’t need an FFM, but you need to register your entry. And even if you obtained your TIP online, you need to validate or activate it at the border before proceeding in the Mexican interior.

For more information on moving to Mexico, we strongly recommend using the Mexico Relocation Guide. We use it, and it helped us enormously in our journey.

WISE travel Credit Card:

We opened a Wise account and then applied for a physical card to be sent to our Canadian address months before going to Mexico. This allows you to transfer money from your existing bank account(s) into Mexican Pesos (or any other currency) and use it as a prepaid credit card. For any merchant, it is processed as a credit card. This is also how we pull out cash in Mexico, since we cannot do so with our Canadian debit cards in most Mexican banks. This is where you will get the best exchange rates and lowest fees. This card works in many countries, and is very convenient.

Open an account here.

Car Insurance:

You will need to apply for car insurance before entering Mexico. We did some research and went with Novamar Insurance. They have a good reputation online when it comes to claims.

Whatsapp:

Download Whatsapp before leaving your country. Everybody is using this in Mexico, including government agencies.

Cell Phone Data:

Depending who your service provider is, you probably have an option to choose a plan where you can keep the same service that you have in your home country. We have that with Telus in Canada. Our plan is valid in Canada-US-Mex at no extra cost. We also have a Mexican phone number with a SIM card from Mexico. Telcel, At&T, Movistar and Virgin are all big players in Mexico. You can get a sim card at an Oxxo or in one of their ubiquitous locations.

Download Offline Maps on Google Maps:

Another app that pretty much indispensable when driving in Mexico. The cellphone coverage is generally good in Mexico, but in some part in can spotty and slow. So downloading the maps in your phone ahead of time is strongly advised.

To download the map, you select a location in the middle of the area you wish to download (any location). On the top right hand corner, select the 3 dots. A menu will appear below.

Select: Download Offline map.

You can select the area you wish to download by sliding (pinching) your fingers on the screen. You can download multiple maps.

Getting your Temporary Importation Permit (TIP):

I would suggest getting your TIP in advance. You can find the information for what you need and how to apply here. You will need at least a two week window to apply beforehand if you apply online. You can also go in person, at an office at the border crossing of your choice, on the day of your entry into Mexico. Note that even if you obtained your TIP online, you need to activate it at the border before proceeding in the Mexican interior. The point of doing it online beforehand is that you’ll know that it has been approved and you won’t be at the mercy of a picky bureaucrat like we experienced. We lost almost 2 hours at the border dealing with that.

Deciding Where to Cross:

Find the most up-to-date, local knowledge possible. Decide close to your day of departure. As mentioned in our video, we decided the day before leaving— between Puento Columbia (Laredo) and Eagle Pass. We went with Eagle Pass.

Many recommended using Puente Colombia about 20 miles north of Laredo, but we don’t have first hand experience there. The northern part of the State of Tamaulipas was turbulent when we crossed the border so we chose to avoid the state entirely.

We used a Facebook group (Driving in Mexico) to check around the days we were crossing, but unfortunately it is no longer active. You can search for groups on Facebook, join as many as you would like, and try to get good scoop there. Here is another one I found that might be useful: Travel Buddies on the Road in Mexico.

You should also get information from anyone you know and trust who has done it.

The night before crossing the border, we stayed in Eagle Pass. The hotel was Comfort Inn & Suites Lakeside. The hotel was clean and comfortable, and the neighbourhood safe. But most of all, it was 5 minutes from the border crossing.

Photocopies at Eagle Pass Border Crossing

As discussed above and in the video, we had issues with the Banjercito employee when we tried to obtain our TIP. Mexican bureaucracy is notoriously terrible, and banjercito has the reputation of being among the worst of the government agencies.

So we were initially denied the temporary importation permit because our documents’ photocopies were not to the liking of the bureaucrat. We had to find a place with a photocopier we could use. There is none in the government building where the Banjercito office is located. After talking with maintenance employees, we were pointed to a small passage way out of the customs complex and into the town of Piedras Negras. We walked to the right of the Banjercito office, through a little pathway into the town of Piedras Negras. It was a 3 minute walk, and there was a photocopy place (which was closed). So instead, we had our TIP photocopies done at Hotel Torreon, just beside an Oxxo convenience store. We paid cash— maybe about 20 pesos? And then headed back to the Banjercito office.

Great place to go in case you need it. But it’s for that reason we recommend doing it online ahead of time.

INM office in Allende:

As mentioned in our video, the INM immigration office was closed at the border, so we drove about half an hour further on our route and stopped here. This was to have our passports stamped for entry into Mexico— a must for temporary/permanent residents, or as a visitor to get your FMM in order to obtain your TIP.

There is also a Banjercito here (office for your TIP), just in case you need it.

Our Route Through Mexico: