Our family loves to vacation on the Mexican beaches, but was floored by the high airfares to Mexico. So, we opted for a low-fly vacation this year. We flew into Phoenix, Az., then rented a car and drove to Rocky Point, Mexico. It’s only 200 miles, and the road is easy. Almost all of the major rental agencies offered rentals to drive in the “free-trade” zone of Sonora for a very reasonable additional insurance fee of around $30 per day. That was only $210 for our whole weeks’ vacation in Rocky Point – an amazing savings over paying airfare.
- Rocky Point, Mexicoteejabeen / Beach Photos / CC BY-NC-SA
Directions are easy and safe. From the Phoenix airport, we drove west on I-10 until the State Route 85 exit. We continued driving south on SR 85 all the way to the Mexican border. Once we’d crossed the border, we stayed on the main drag until we came to the Highway 8 exit, well-marked on our right. This took us all the way into Rocky Point. Our one tip is to make sure you time your drive so you don’t miss the Border station, which closes daily from midnight to 6:00am.
Once we were there, Rocky Point proved to be the tropical paradise we had read about so many times. The beaches were pristine and there were tons of restaurants that served authentic Mexican cuisine. There was plenty of golf for my husband and fun activities that kept the kids busy and happy. For myself, I have to say the best part was our accommodations. We went through FMIrentals.com and found an unbelievable deal on a gorgeous 4-bedroom villa just steps from the beach. That meant each of our kids got their own room, which cut down on the in-fighting that happens when they have to share too much of everything. I can’t begin to tell you how much we enjoyed our time in Rocky Point, and all for a fraction of what it would have cost us to fly into Cabo or Cancun.
