Drive from Puerto Vallarta to Guadalajara. How much will you pay?

Alan drove his own car from Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta last week. He drove along the short Las Varas – Puerto Vallarta road’s second section, the La Florida-Entronque La Cruz de Huanacaxtle junction, for the first time after it had been under construction for years.

Enjoying the benefits of the new infrastructure was not free. Apart from the cost of gasoline, he paid a total of 942 pesos for six toll booths: El Arenal, Plan de Barrancas, Amado Nervo, Compostela, La Peñita and Bucerías.

Alan pointed out that the toll at the La Florida-La Cruz de Huanacaxtle junction is 223 pesos.

Users have complained that the cost of each toll booth is extremely high, but Alan disagreed and said that the new highway was worthwhile. He said:

I notice that many people complain about the cost of the toll booths, but I think that if you put it on a scale, it is not so unreasonable; you save time, and it is also worth it for your safety.

Currently, the cost of the six toll booths is as follows:

• El Arenal booth: $193
• Plan de Barrancas booth: $288
• Amado Nervo booth: $138
• Compostela booth: $38
• La Peñita booth: $62
• Bucerías booth: $223

This means that if you drive round trip on the route Puerto Vallarta – Guadalajara – Puerto Vallarta, you will pay 1,884 pesos for toll booths on the new highway sections open so far.

The new section is 30.8 kilometers long; the work will allow travelers to cut 40 minutes off their travel time. The total investment to benefit nine communities was 4,900 million pesos.

Once the work is completed, the highway will have 45 bridges, seven junctions, three tunnels and three viaducts. The estimated traffic load is six thousand vehicles daily, saving between 60 and 80 minutes in travel time.