The Driving to Mexico Checklist: What We Pack, Pay and Carry Every Year

Every year my husband Chuck and I drive from our home in Puerto Vallarta to Austin, Texas and back, with our two old dogs in the back seat. People ask us all the time what you actually need to do it. This is the list we use, with what everything cost us on the October 2026 trip.

1. Your own paperwork

• A valid passport for everyone in the car. A driver's license alone will not get you across.
• If you live in Mexico, your residency card. Coming home, the officer looked at ours, asked where we live and waved us on.
• If you are visiting, an FMM tourist permit. At a land border you stop at the immigration office for it, because customs agents do not check immigration papers. It is free for stays under seven days and about $54 USD for longer.¹
• Your vehicle registration, and the title if the registration is not in your name. A borrowed or financed car needs a notarized letter of permission.¹

2. Your car

• Driving a US or Canadian car into Mexico: a Temporary Import Permit (TIP) from Banjercito if you are going beyond the border zone, which you are if you are driving to Vallarta. It runs about $51 USD plus tax, with a refundable deposit of $200 to $400. You can apply online ahead of time, and you cancel it at the border on the way out to get your deposit back.^1,2
• Mexican auto insurance. Mexico does not recognize a US liability policy, so a US car needs a Mexican policy.¹
• Driving a Mexican-plated car into the US (that's us): our regular Mexican policy did not give us the coverage we needed in the US, so we bought a separate US and Canada policy from Qualitas for the dates we were there. It cost us US$155.28 for three weeks.
• A toll tag, loaded before you leave. We use one, and it saves digging for cash at 35 booths.

3. Your health

• Check where your health plan actually works. Ours covers us everywhere in the world except the United States.
• If yours has the same gap, buy travel medical insurance for the dates you are away. We used IMG: US$5 million of coverage each, a US$5,000 deductible each, about US$400 for the two of us for a month.
• Prescriptions in their original bottles, plus a copy of each one.

4. The dogs

• The screwworm certificate. Because of the New World screwworm (gusano barrenador in Spanish), both the US and Mexico now want a vet's certificate saying your dog was inspected and is clear, and it is only good for five days.^3,4
• Going north, the certificate comes from a vet in Mexico. Ours cost 1,200 pesos. Coming home, it comes from a US vet and runs about $65 to $100.
• Time the vet visit. Ours were dated four days before we crossed, which was day four of five.
• Keep the certificates in the glove box. Nobody asked for them at either land border this year, but if they do ask and you don't have one, you can be turned around or end up paying border vet prices. Airlines definitely check.
• Rabies certificates and vaccination records.
• Book pet-friendly hotels ahead of time for every night of the drive.

5. Money on the road

• Budget for tolls. Ours were 6,021 pesos round trip, about US$322, across 35 booths. The most expensive day is Vallarta to Guanajuato at 1,876 pesos.
• Budget for gas. We spent about US$720 round trip.
• Pesos in small bills, plus 10 peso coins. Most bathrooms on the highway charge to use them.
• Some cash for the toll booths too, just in case.

Pesos converted at 18.72 to the dollar. Hotels and food not included.

6. Our rules for the road

• Stay on the toll highways, the cuotas.
• Never drive at night. Speed bumps are often unmarked, and there are animals, potholes and the occasional cow on the road.
• Plan three or four days instead of pushing it in two. We leave around eight and are done by three or four, which leaves time to find dinner and walk around town.
• Do not let the tank drop below half. Some stretches have nothing for a long way, so when you see a clean station, stop.
• Keep your stops short, and on a lonely stretch stay with a group of cars.
• Share your location with a friend. Ours still ask us to.

7. The route we drive

We cross at the Colombia bridge outside Nuevo Laredo because it is usually quiet and quick. This year there were no checkpoints at all on the way home.

8. A few Spanish road signs worth knowing

We have done this drive for years and never once felt unsafe. It takes planning, and now you have our list. If you are thinking about making the move to Puerto Vallarta or Riviera Nayarit, this is what Hannah and I do every day, and we are happy to talk it through with you.

Disclaimer: This checklist is our own experience from the October 2026 drive and general practical information. It is not legal, customs, immigration or insurance advice. Border, pet and permit rules change, so confirm them with CBP, SENASICA, Banjercito, your insurer and your vet before you go.

Written October 2026.