This is a popular crossing with RV'ers. Mexico's ferryboat system in the Gulf uses Danish built craft, from the early '70's. Daily crossings occur, except for twice a week when "Carga Negra" (Black Cargo) is exclusive. You wouldn't want to cross with a boat load of dynamite, butane, or cattle, anyway, right?
The crossing takes an average of twelve to fifteen hours and departs La Paz in late afternoon. The boat (actually ship) has a dining room, restaurant, and a bar disco aboard. Passengers may elect to pay for SALON class, which has group seating in selected spaces, and a communal restroom; or TURISTA, or CABINA cabins. The TURISTA cabin has a sink, two beds (double occupancy per room) and a small desk. Restroom facilities are exterior to the room and have six cabins sharing one toilet. The top-of-the-line CABINA cabin, has all of the amenities of the turista cabin, but with a shower and flush toilet in each room.
The La Paz to Mazatlan crossing is unique in that it is the most "complicated" of the three routes (the other two being: Santa Rosalia - Guaymas, La Paz - Topolobampo). Little has been written about it in a "How To Do It" manner. The following is a complete step-by-step guide.
CAR PERMIT PAPERS
Please read the following carefully: Your motor vehicle must have a valid US registration in your own name. If financed, a notorized letter of consent (to bring your vehicle into Mexico) by your bank, must be in your possession. No borrowed cars! Your license plate tags must be current for the entire time you wish to stay on the mainland (180 days maximum). Your driver license must be valid and not expire during the entire time that you wish to stay on the mainland. Your tourist card (FMT) must be valid and not expire for the entire time that you wish to remain in Mexico.
The destination written on your tourist card must agree with your destination point on the mainland (Tourist Cards listing "La Paz" as your destination will be rejected; to play it safe state your destination as "Mexico City"). With these documents in correct operating order, you will need to find a copy machine and Xerox five copies each: Your Tourist Card, Your current automobile registration, and your Driver License. Doubling up is not allowed. You must have fifteen Xerox pages flapping in the wind when you apply for your car permit. You must pay the twelve dollar fee, with a valid credit card: VISA, MASTER CARD, AMERICAN EXPRESS. Cash or check is not allowed, only a credit card issued in your name, is accepted.
The Mexican government started the bonding process in 1990 to thwart stolen autos from entering mainland Mexico. Your first stop, after obtaining 15 Xerox pages of your personal documents, is the office of "Hacienda" (Mexican Treasury) which is located in the parking lot of the Ferry Terminal building, north of La Paz, on the Pichilingue peninsula (12 miles). Enter the parking lot of the terminal and make a ninety degree right turn and proceed past the scales to an isolated set of small single story offices located in the middle of the parking lot on the north end of the complex. The offices are normally surrounded by diesel cargo trucks. The left hand building has two windows. You'll show the attendent your credit card, and he'll pass two pages of forms to be filled out.
Complete these and then pass them back along with your 15 Xerox copies. He'll ask to see the original three instruments (Registration, Driver License, Tourist Card). From here, you'll step to the next window (to your right) and present your credit card to the officer of the "Banjercito" (Army Bank) where a standard credit card form is used to debit your account twelve dollars. He'll tear up the carbons in front of you. Put away your credit card, and do an about-face. Just behind you is another window. This is the ferry boat reservation window. Show them your completed car permit papers, and they'll write down your auto transit reservation. An official will affix a dated holografic decal to the inside of your vehicle windshield.
Note: Only one motor vehicle is allowed to be bonded by any one individual in any given calendar year. Towed motor vehicles (including tiny mopeds) must be bonded seperately (perhaps by your spouse). The second step is to obtain your passage tickets for yourself, and your vehicle from the ferry office ticket window in downtown La Paz. The terminal doesn't have an office because it's too far for foot traffic to journey from La Paz! Be certain that you have the originals to your documents as well as the "new" 180 day vehicle permit, before you leave the terminal yard.
Few tourists are knowledgable of La Paz, so I'll give generic directions to the office of the ferry boat company. You'll need to turn off of the main boardwalk boulevard onto another main street called CINCO DE MAYO. This is signed with directions to Cabo San Lucas or San Jose del Cabo. The ferry office terminal is located five blocks down Cinco de Mayo, on the far left hand corner. Parking is crowded. You'll be better off coming here early in the morning. The ferry office personnel will want to measure your rig (or verify that your rig fits a certain catagory of passage). It would be best to "take turns" in getting your tickets, and leave someone in the rig at all times.
Drivers will pay for passage of the rig, and for themselves (cabina, turista class or salon). The first thing that they'll ask for is your vehicle permit (aren't you glad that you did it first?). They'll follow you to your parking spot and measure your rig (sometimes), and then return and process your two tickets. Payments must be in Mexican Peso cash, or by Visa or Master Card (subject to change). Your passengers must show the ticket agent their valid tourist card, before their tickets will be issued. On the date of your passage, you must return to the ferry terminal office window (where you made your car reservation after getting the vehicle permit and bond), and show them your vehicle and passenger tickets (for everyone in your rig as well). This is your final boarding notification.
Three O'Clock in the afternoon is the standard assembly time to wait for the ferry to start boarding. Your ferry boat may NOT be the one nearest the terminal parking lot buildings. The vessels MAZATLAN, or PUERTO VALLARTA are the two most likely choices, but when you make your boarding notification, ask the name of your particular ferry ["Por favor, cual es el nombre del barco?"]. If you're lazy like me, you'll turn around and suggest a direction that you'll find the boat by pointing, and they'll correct you by pointing elsewhere. This is useful if your boat is a half-mile down the waterfront. I always have time to scout around the area near the vessel, and park my rig accordingly.
When they start loading, it comes with a lot of whistles and shouts and the roar of diesel trucks as they crank up. One individual, in line with the boarding ramp, will motion you to join the line. A customs officer will appear (like magic) and ask to look inside your rig. The loading lane here is two lane and other traffic will roar around you for the two minutes the cursory "inspection" will take. Driving up the ramp is (for me) a time of minor celebration. Ahead in the vast bowels of the ship, you'll be directed to a specific parking spot. If you're towing a trailer, make exaggerated jockey motions well ahead of time in order to enter your parking space parallel to other traffic and the sides of the ship.
Space is at a premium, so you'll not have more than six inches to spare. Have someone man your door when in a motorhome, to ensure adequate room to exit your rig before you shut off the key (the ferry crews are getting better and better at spotting RV's in easy places aboard ship. Watch your spotter carefully! If he motions you to stop, do so quickly! Sometimes warped deck plates will tip the top of a rig into the wall of the ship. If the crew sees this happening, they're ready to place wooden boards under your wheels to level your rig out. This all sounds a bit intimidating, but it isn't. Just drive slowly, and watch your "spotter" carefully.
Grab your passenger tickets, water your pets, and take an overnight bag, with personal bathing gear, maybe a paperback novel, and your camera. You cannot return to your rig for any reason during the voyage, so lock it up. The doorway leading "upstairs" is sometimes not easy to find, so follow another passenger, or get directions from one of the crew (they'll point). Keep walking up the stairway and you'll blunder into the main service window, where a ship's porter will look at your tickets and lead the way to your cabin. When you leave your cabin, note the number and lock it up! The maze of decks and cabins can be frustrating if you lose your cabin number.
The restaurant has fair quality meals, while the outside dining room is definetly a 'pass'. The "Disco Bar" is a fun gathering place, but I always limit my drinks to just a few ('cause I'm driving). The tap water in the cabins is not considered potable, so I always carry a liter in my overnight bag. Wandering the outiside decks during the night passage is always fun, and is completely safe. The long passage allows for a comfortable night's sleep.
About half a hour before docking in Mazatlan, a garbled call will go out over the loudspeakers, for all drivers to assemble near to where you got your room key (passenger service office). You'll be led downstairs to your vehicle where you'll sit until your turn comes to drive off the boat. Because the ferry loads from rear to front, you'll never have to back up or back off.
Passengers will exit using a gangplank, and you can meet up a few dozen yards away from the departure lanes. The yard in Mazatlan is huge, you may want to follow one of the other vehicles long enough to determine where the exit gate is. Large RV's may wish to make a right onto the street outside the gate. This leads to highway 15, and may be an easier route to follow to get to Mazatlan's RV parks. It is the primary route to use when exiting Mazatlan as well. You'll find a gasoline station about 2 miles on your left.