The Ferry Docks are located at Pichilingue Dock Terminal, just 10 minutes from downtown Las Paz. Two Ferry companies use this Dock, Baja Ferry, and TMC Ferry. Both ferry companies ship to and from Mazatlan and Topolobampo in mainland Mexico. TMC predominately carries commercial trucks (semis, cargo trucks), and Baja Ferries is geared towards passengers and passenger vehicles. Both Ferries travel overnight. TMC allows you to stay in your vehicle with your pets. Baja Ferry doesn’t allow you or your pets to stay in your vehicle during travel but does have a designated pet area. Check websites for details.
We booked tickets to take a TMC ferry from Pichilingue to Topolobampo instead of returning to the US via Baja highways. On March 11, 2022, approx. At 9:20 pm, we boarded our motorhome and Jeep onto the top floor of a two-story Ferry for the overnight ride. Being able to stay in our motorhome with our dog Gus is a significant benefit to us.
The 9-hour ferry ride with rough seas rocked our motorhome back and forth, side to side with the tide. We expected some rocking but were surprised by how large and wild the Sea of Cortez is. Rick and I enjoyed our time playing cards and eating lots of snacks. It is a good thing neither of us get sea sick easily!
The blue arrow shows our Motorhome’s location; the Jeep is parked to the left.
It was about 4:00 am, and the sun was rising over the horizon. Looking out the motorhome window, I noticed the metal saw horse-like stands rolling back and forth with the waves. Rick and I jumped out of the motorhome and saw that the stands had gotten loose; the rope that held them broke, damaging our motorhome’s back panel. Rick held them back, which was difficult because they were heavy and the ship was rocking. I squeezed between Semi-truck up to the front of the vessel to flag someone down for help. A guy was standing on the balcony and saw me waving. He ran down the stairs. I told him we needed some rope. We both returned to the motorhome; the guy used the new rope to tie stands to the ship again.
After docking at Topolobampo, we found a place to hook up our tow Jeep.
Our next adventure is Sonora, Mexico. Time to hit the road!