Accommodation and Route Review
Hotel Huasteca, Matlapa , San Luis Potosi
This is a great roadside hotel if you are simply looking for a quick overnight stay on the way to Xilitla or elsewhere. The hotel is modern in style and amenities. Comfortable beds with nice linens. Excellent hot water showers. Small simple continental breakfast included in price. 400 pesos.
Posada Ave de Paraiso, Atezca Lake, Molango de Escamilla, Hidalgo
This 8+ room hotel sits off Atezca Lake below the town of Molango. Being in transit, we spent very little time in this hotel, but it is clean and reasonable for the price. There is a nice shared patio on top of the rooms for lake viewing. This lake is green with algae but the surrounding hills are lush and beautiful. Lukewarm shower. Decent linens and beds. 200 pesos.
Atezca Lake
Teotihuacan Trailer Park, San Juan Teotihuacan, Estado de Mexico
The location of this trailer park can’t be beat, with collectivos going to ruins for only 6 pesos and busses to Mexico City for 23 pesos. Unfortunately they were re-doing the town square and possibly the sewers so the streets were very torn up in this otherwise very likeable town. We had excellent food from the market, a local restaurant serving the meal of the day for 30 pesos and an Italian place named Tute Benne. For some local flavor and a good 2x1 happy hour, check out Taco Beer near the main square.
The owner of this RV park is the most helpful and accommodating person we have met in Mexico. Mina lives in an A-Frame house on the property and speaks excellent English. She can provide you with recommendations, maps and directions to all the local attractions plus wherever your next destination might be. For better or worse, this trailer park also accepts caravans, which fill up most of the park on the days they are there. While this provides entertainment and opportunity to meet lots of people, it can also be crowded and cramped depending on the size of the caravan. The rates at this park are extremely reasonable; Mina even charged a lesser fee for the days we simply left the van there and were staying in Mexico City. 100-150 pesos.
Ocampo, Posada del Bosque, Michoacan
Posada del Bosque is located in the town of Ocampo, just north of where you catch the entrance road to El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Preserve. With this prime location, one would think the hotel would be busy, but we were the only customers which made it feel like The Shining. Even the town of Ocampo was lackluster and even difficult to find a good meal. However there is a good taco stand (and the cleanest we’ve ever seen) on the north side of the square on Calle Independencia. The rooms in the hotel are big, but dusty and somewhat run down. We had to get the water turned on, which came out cold and at a low pressure after a lot of coaxing. We didn’t even brave the cold shower in those temperatures. Poor linens, marginal beds. 380 pesos.
Hwy 120 Jalpan to Xilitla
This is a gorgeous mountain road, which passes through many towns with many topes. The road conditions deteriorate in the change from Queretaro to San Luis Potosi. The red dirt and bricks are in stark contrast to all the greenery. Xilitla is a nightmare to drive in – perched on a hill with few one way thoroughfares, it is an exercise in frustration. Avoid driving in town if at all possible.
Hwy 120
Xilitla main street
Hwy 105 Huejutla to Pachuca
This road is an amazing mountainous route, with jungle waterfalls, rolling green hills dotted with sheep, strange rock formations and multiple peak vistas. Huejutla is a bit hectic to drive in, but is well worth the detour from the main road for the old building structures, excellent landscaped town square and a myriad of woodwork vendors – mostly chairs and tables. This road also passes through Barranca de Metztitlan Biosphere Reserve, which is renowned for large cacti. Average speed 45km/hr.
Hwy 14, 15, 51 Ocampo to Ciudad Altamirano
Hwy 134 Ciudad Altamirano to Zihuatanejo
The combination of these two routes is 240 miles from Ocampo to Zihuatanejo. It took us nine hours.
Catching Hwy 51 in Zitacauro is very difficult due to lack of signage. Turn south at the monument on the east side of town, after the bus stop on the curve – it forms somewhat of a glorieta to the side of the road. This turn is only marked when driving from the east on Mex 15 – follow the signs to Huetamo. I got my directions from a pre-teen window washer.
Mex 134 makes the road to Hana seem like a picnic. Crossing the Sierra Madre del Sur is a formidable task. While the road is thankfully without many topes, it makes up for it in hairpin turns and constant elevation changes.. Be prepared to avoid cows, burros, pigs, goats, sheep and even a snake or two. The road is in poor condition with fallen rocks, gravel piles, lane-eating potholes, overhanging vegetation and unpruned trees. Most posted speeds are 30 or 40 km maximums. There are very few towns to quench any hunger or thirst so stock up on the snacks and drinks. However there are several Mexcal stands in the mountains which are probably quite reasonable in price. This is a very scenic route, but the road conditions make for a long and exhausting drive.
Sierra Madre del Sur
This is a great roadside hotel if you are simply looking for a quick overnight stay on the way to Xilitla or elsewhere. The hotel is modern in style and amenities. Comfortable beds with nice linens. Excellent hot water showers. Small simple continental breakfast included in price. 400 pesos.
Posada Ave de Paraiso, Atezca Lake, Molango de Escamilla, Hidalgo
This 8+ room hotel sits off Atezca Lake below the town of Molango. Being in transit, we spent very little time in this hotel, but it is clean and reasonable for the price. There is a nice shared patio on top of the rooms for lake viewing. This lake is green with algae but the surrounding hills are lush and beautiful. Lukewarm shower. Decent linens and beds. 200 pesos.
Atezca Lake
Teotihuacan Trailer Park, San Juan Teotihuacan, Estado de Mexico
The location of this trailer park can’t be beat, with collectivos going to ruins for only 6 pesos and busses to Mexico City for 23 pesos. Unfortunately they were re-doing the town square and possibly the sewers so the streets were very torn up in this otherwise very likeable town. We had excellent food from the market, a local restaurant serving the meal of the day for 30 pesos and an Italian place named Tute Benne. For some local flavor and a good 2x1 happy hour, check out Taco Beer near the main square.
The owner of this RV park is the most helpful and accommodating person we have met in Mexico. Mina lives in an A-Frame house on the property and speaks excellent English. She can provide you with recommendations, maps and directions to all the local attractions plus wherever your next destination might be. For better or worse, this trailer park also accepts caravans, which fill up most of the park on the days they are there. While this provides entertainment and opportunity to meet lots of people, it can also be crowded and cramped depending on the size of the caravan. The rates at this park are extremely reasonable; Mina even charged a lesser fee for the days we simply left the van there and were staying in Mexico City. 100-150 pesos.
Ocampo, Posada del Bosque, Michoacan
Posada del Bosque is located in the town of Ocampo, just north of where you catch the entrance road to El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Preserve. With this prime location, one would think the hotel would be busy, but we were the only customers which made it feel like The Shining. Even the town of Ocampo was lackluster and even difficult to find a good meal. However there is a good taco stand (and the cleanest we’ve ever seen) on the north side of the square on Calle Independencia. The rooms in the hotel are big, but dusty and somewhat run down. We had to get the water turned on, which came out cold and at a low pressure after a lot of coaxing. We didn’t even brave the cold shower in those temperatures. Poor linens, marginal beds. 380 pesos.
Hwy 120 Jalpan to Xilitla
This is a gorgeous mountain road, which passes through many towns with many topes. The road conditions deteriorate in the change from Queretaro to San Luis Potosi. The red dirt and bricks are in stark contrast to all the greenery. Xilitla is a nightmare to drive in – perched on a hill with few one way thoroughfares, it is an exercise in frustration. Avoid driving in town if at all possible.
Hwy 120
Xilitla main street
Hwy 105 Huejutla to Pachuca
This road is an amazing mountainous route, with jungle waterfalls, rolling green hills dotted with sheep, strange rock formations and multiple peak vistas. Huejutla is a bit hectic to drive in, but is well worth the detour from the main road for the old building structures, excellent landscaped town square and a myriad of woodwork vendors – mostly chairs and tables. This road also passes through Barranca de Metztitlan Biosphere Reserve, which is renowned for large cacti. Average speed 45km/hr.
Hwy 14, 15, 51 Ocampo to Ciudad Altamirano
Hwy 134 Ciudad Altamirano to Zihuatanejo
The combination of these two routes is 240 miles from Ocampo to Zihuatanejo. It took us nine hours.
Catching Hwy 51 in Zitacauro is very difficult due to lack of signage. Turn south at the monument on the east side of town, after the bus stop on the curve – it forms somewhat of a glorieta to the side of the road. This turn is only marked when driving from the east on Mex 15 – follow the signs to Huetamo. I got my directions from a pre-teen window washer.
Mex 134 makes the road to Hana seem like a picnic. Crossing the Sierra Madre del Sur is a formidable task. While the road is thankfully without many topes, it makes up for it in hairpin turns and constant elevation changes.. Be prepared to avoid cows, burros, pigs, goats, sheep and even a snake or two. The road is in poor condition with fallen rocks, gravel piles, lane-eating potholes, overhanging vegetation and unpruned trees. Most posted speeds are 30 or 40 km maximums. There are very few towns to quench any hunger or thirst so stock up on the snacks and drinks. However there are several Mexcal stands in the mountains which are probably quite reasonable in price. This is a very scenic route, but the road conditions make for a long and exhausting drive.
Sierra Madre del Sur
rebekah,
your writing skills are impeccable! i love reading your updates. you could easily be employed by the finest of travel guides. so, how are you gals? it sounds like an amazing trip. where to next?
whit
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