Finding your bearings in Mexico

If I'm traveling in an unknown area and trying to find somewhere or someone I ask the locals

Priscilla wrote:

Hello,

While technology has definitely helped us navigate ourselves more easily in most countries, it's not the case everywhere.

How do you get to your destinations and navigate yourself in Mexico? Do you use gps systems such as google/apple maps?

Are the gps navigational systems updated enough that they provide accurate information and directions?

Is it enough to simply follow road signs in Mexico?

Is talking to locals and asking them directions the best way to get around? Are they generally friendly and helpful?

Are there any online resources or other types of resources to help you better understand the road systems, transportation, etc., in order to find your bearings?

What are the steps to take if you get lost?

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Priscilla

So, this is a complex issue it took me a while to solve.
does GPS work? well, I can say yes and then no. The better GPS systems adjust and do ok, but they cannot actually keep up. Things change often here depending on who is in power. I have a GPS in my car but rarely use it, but then I also have a bilingual friend and I have lived here over 6 years as of June. Google can help and Waze is ok.

Road signs are an indication of where you sort of are at the moment, and often don't say anything about your destination until you passed it. Also, they might have a sign that mentions your destination. One sign once and you see it or you don't until you have driven miles in the wrong direction. Their priority is to feature what seems to need to be promoted. A good example is Cancun where you will see literally dozens of signs for Isla Mujeres, but nothing noteworthy about the Cancun hotel zone. And then there is the main mall in Merida Altabriza which has one-footnote on a sign about somewhere else. Look quick.

Locals are very friendly and they feel they need to be polite so they try to help. Sometimes that works, but often it is a gamble not worth taking. I have gone blocks and asked 4-5 people and each has a had a polite different response. They mean well, they want to help but sometimes they really don't know. So I go to a taxi driver, or a business that is in the area. The taxi drivers never fail.

If you get lost look for a taxi or bus driver to ask. See where Google thinks you are. Gas stations and OXXO's may be of some help at least they know what town they are in and what the name of the next town is.

It's an adventure after all.

The answer above is right about the locals. They will try to offer help as best they can and sometimes they lead you the wrong way accidentally. Other than that I actually think google maps and the driving directions are very accurate. The taxi drivers work like 12 hour shifts so they know the city better than their cousins. Most Mexicans are bilingual readers and just hate trying to speak English because the accent and vowels are so different.  If you point something out, or show an image on your phone, or the name of the place there won't be much of a language barrier. The places where it is harder to find quality internet and accurate GPS would probably be near the mountains or in the south east of Mexico as this is one of the more under developed regions and traditionally they have a lot less globalism in that area ex: No McDonalds, Starbucks, Walmarts and other major corporations in that area. They call this area " Mexico Profundo" or "deep Mexico" because time has changed it very little. If you're going to the State or Yucatan or Quintana Roo then theres absolutely no problem. Everything is great in those areas and there is a ton of bilinguals due to the tourism in the area. Cancun, Guadalajara, Merida, Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Tijuana, Nuevo Leon, are all cities with accurate gps systems and a large bilingual population. Even if you ride the train the annoucer's voice calling out all the stops will speak in Spanish and then in English.

Jesús Arellano, me gusta su respuesta. Puedas decirme más sobre Mexico profunda, por ejemplo lugares favoritos o lugares para evitar. Eso es lo que me gusta más en Mexico, visitando al pasado donde el tiempo moderno no ha llegado. Translated roughly, I like your answer. Please tell me more about deep Mexico, for example favorite places or ones to avoid. That is what I enjoy most about Mexico, visiting in the past where modern times have not intruded.

You have probably given me the title of my book. Once in Oaxaca I was 20 miles from the City near the Tule tree showing the place to my 16 year old son when a huge ox cart crossed the road with two men on foot controlling the ox. It was like a scene from a hundred years ago or perhaps 200 years. Without the phones at hand in those days I could not get a shot with my camera before they disappeared.

All of the comments are good. I usually travel with three GPS devices, (2 cell and one satellite), but until I get back to Oaxaca, I will not know if I have good coverage or not, so I usually have a map for backup.

As to the invaluable or misleading advice you may receive from local people, I recall a trip to Florida when I was 10. A heavy rain in the night had closed the major roads out of a small town in Tennessee. My father asked a local person about a road on higher ground that we might try. The gentleman scratched his head and said, “you kin go this way ... or you kin go that way.” We tried one and barely got through with the water up to the bottom of the doors on the 55 Chevy. But the lesson about the wisdom of local geographers remains the same, while it is often invaluable, do you have the skill to tell the worth?

Definitely go with the taxi solution. As everyone commented, the locals try to help, but by asking them even my native Mexican friend couldn’t get us where we wanted to go! I once wanted to visit a local archeological site. I tried three times to get there using both hard maps, phone apps and directions from locals, and never made it—and I’m good with maps! Finally, I bit the bullet and hired a taxi. In three minutes I was there. Don’t waste your time, just pay the fare and enjoy the journey. It’s all part of the experience and we get a little smarter with every lesson.

best way to get around is with GPS. POINT A TO POINT B. SIMPLE

My wife and I travel a lot throughout Mexico. She is a Mexicana I am gringo puro. When our  app gets us lost we either ask someone directions which usually doesn’t give us any better results or worst case my wife jumps in a taxi and he gets us where we need to go while I shadow him.  Sometimes if we’re traveling  near big tractor trailers always best to get directions from these guys. They’re accurate. Buenas suerte

We asked a guy on a bicycle one time outside of villa purification how far it was to punta Perula. Our map showed 1 hr max. He said 6 hrs. We made it in 1 hr 15 mins then realized wow he travels by bicycle.  Go figure.

Yeah, Troy, I fully understand this story about seeking directions in Latin America.  A few years ago we were driving to Guatemala´s Lake Atitlan from Santa Cruz del Quiche  and found ourselves lost in nearby Solola driving about town streets seemingly in endless  circles so we finally decided that, in order to get out of Solola and find our way to the shores of the lake  we had to inquire of locals passing in the street on foot as to how to get out of town.  We kept asking directions on how to drive to the lake and kept subsequently, upon following given directions unhesitatingly proffered ,  running into impossible traffic obstacles trying to get out of town.  Finally we realized that the pedestrians of whom we were requesting directions were folks who either had no personal vehicles themselves and thus were unacquainted with practical driving tips or were folks who had, themselves, never even been out of town in the first place - even to venture to the nearby famous lake.  We finally found our way out of Solola by sheer luck and ended up at the  lake which turned out to be a fine destination.

I could talk for days on this subject but I’ll just post once more. After being lost numerous times in Mexico I realized I had to figure out how to get correct directions in the most effective way. Told my wife never get directions from just one individual instead let’s get 3. Keep the 2 that match and throw out the rest if any. Since we’ve been using this method every time I ask 3 people for directions I unanimously get three different answers!   This tells me Mexicans in general have a difficult time telling a complete stranger they have no idea instead they just want to help and give you some kind of hope or answer even if it’s not correct. So now I just look for the truckers or delivery trucks. Usually a sure bet on getting you Unlost!