Mainland Mexico Road Trip with a Dog: Sayulita to San Miguel, Oaxaca and Chiapas

After our second Baja winter, we didn’t turn around. We put the van on the ferry in La Paz and spent seven more weeks driving mainland Mexico with Jack: beach towns on the Pacific, colonial cities in the highlands, pyramids, Mexico City, Oaxaca and all the way down to Chiapas. It was the most varied, delicious and surprising trip we’ve ever done.

Route: La Paz ferry → Riviera Nayarit → Tequila → Lake Chapala → Guanajuato → San Miguel de Allende → Teotihuacán → Mexico City → Oaxaca → Puerto Escondido and the Oaxaca coast → Chiapas → north through Monterrey
How long: About 7 weeks
Who came: Colin, me and Jack, our German Shepherd
Getting around: Our van, with a temporary vehicle import permit for the mainland
Best for: Food, culture and variety: beach, mountains and cities in one trip

Getting the van to the mainland

To take your vehicle off the Baja peninsula, you need a temporary vehicle import permit (TIP). You’ll need it before you board the ferry from La Paz. Get your Mexican auto insurance in order too, if you haven’t already.

Riviera Nayarit

Our first stop off the ferry was the Riviera Nayarit north of Puerto Vallarta, and we stayed almost two weeks. Long palm-lined beaches, umbrellas in the sand, books, orange sunsets, and Jack napping in the shade made it the perfect landing.

Jack, our German Shepherd, sitting on the sand with palm trees and beachgoers behind — Riviera Nayarit beach dog

Angela kneeling on the beach with Jack, our German Shepherd, under colorful umbrellas

Waves washing onto a sandy beach framed by palm trees

Sun setting into the ocean under an orange sky

Tequila and Lake Chapala

Next we drove inland to Tequila and Amatitán to see where it all comes from, and yes, we tasted it. Then we went to Ajijic on Lake Chapala, a colorful lakeside town with bougainvillea on every wall. It’s very dog friendly, and Jack posed for a lot of pictures.

Colin and Angela taking a selfie holding drinks in Amatitán

Colin and Jack, our German Shepherd, standing by a purple painted building on a cobblestone street

Cobblestone street with pink bougainvillea spilling over walls

Horses grazing in a grassy field with trees and hills

Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende

Guanajuato is a city of brightly painted houses stacked up a canyon. We walked up to an overlook with Jack and looked down over the whole thing.

Colin and Angela with Jack, our German Shepherd, at a stone overlook above Guanajuato — Above Guanajuato

San Miguel de Allende stole my heart. The pink Parroquia, cobblestone streets, bougainvillea, and rooftop drinks at sunset over the jacarandas make it feel like a movie set. Jack walked every cobblestone with us. We had a beautiful cocktail at Posada Carmina, right by the Parroquia.

The pink Gothic spires of the Parroquia in San Miguel de Allende with palm trees

Jack, our German Shepherd, walking down a sunlit cobblestone alley

Jack, our German Shepherd, on a sidewalk under purple bougainvillea

Green cocktail held up in front of the Parroquia's spires

Teotihuacán and Mexico City

We climbed around the pyramids at Teotihuacán outside Mexico City, then spent a few days in the city itself. We timed it perfectly for jacaranda season: purple trees on every street. Colin and Jack found every park bench, and I found every bakery.

The Pyramid of the Sun under a clear blue sky

Angela and Colin taking a selfie in front of a pyramid at Teotihuacán

Colin sitting on a park bench with Jack, our German Shepherd, in Mexico City

Purple jacaranda branches against a building and blue sky

Hand holding a glazed pastry on a Mexico City street

Oaxaca

The drive south into Oaxaca through the mountains is gorgeous. Oaxaca City was all about the food. It’s the best we ate in Mexico, and I’d go back just for that. We saw Santo Domingo, walked the streets strung with lights, and ate everything.

Oaxaca street at night with string lights and bougainvillea

Heaping plate topped with red salsa, cream, and onions on a blue plate

Puerto Escondido and the Oaxaca coast

Then we went down to the coast. Puerto Escondido has famous surf at Zicatela, beach restaurants where Jack lay under the table eyeing our tacos, and red sunsets with surfers in the waves. From there we drifted along the coast through Zipolite, Mazunte, Puerto Ángel and Huatulco, with small towns, palm beaches and turquoise coves.

Jack, our German Shepherd, sitting in a beachside restaurant with diners behind — Dinner date

Jack, our German Shepherd, staring at a plate of tacos held in front of him

Turquoise cove with a small beach seen from a green cliff

Red sun setting over the ocean with a surfer in the water

Chiapas

Our last stop before heading north was Chiapas. We took a boat through the Sumidero Canyon from Chiapa de Corzo, with Jack on board, walked the misty streets of San Cristóbal, and finished at the turquoise waterfalls of El Chiflón.

Tall waterfall pouring into a turquoise pool surrounded by jungle — El Chiflón falls

Colin in an orange life jacket on a boat with Jack, our German Shepherd

Turquoise river flowing through green forest

Cobblestone street of old buildings in San Cristóbal de las Casas

From Chiapas we drove north for a few long days through Monterrey and back into the US.

Mainland Mexico with a dog: what worked

Dog-friendly towns everywhere. Jack was welcome on the patios, plazas and beaches of almost every town we visited.
Pick breaks in the heat. The coast in April is hot. We kept Jack’s walks to the morning and evening and set up shade by day.
Bring his vet records for the border and the drive home, and check the US dog import rules before you cross back.
Toll roads (cuotas) are worth it. They’re faster, smoother and better maintained for long driving days.

Start with Baja

This trip started on the Baja peninsula. Read our Baja California by van with a dog guide.