Sonoran Coastal Highway - La Costera

The newly constructed Sonoran Coastal Highway gives quicker access to the coast of Sonora for people driving from California, Baja, and Western Arizona

Rocky Point has long been a favorite Mexican destination for folks driving from Phoenix and Tucson in Arizona. Now with the new Sonoran Coastal Highway, folks from Yuma and from California have a much quicker and safer route to reach the beaches of the Sonoran Coast. Eventually plans call to extend the highway all the way to San Carlos and Guaymas, giving folks a direct route to expand their exploration territory. The new highway is known as La Costera to the Sonoran natives and is the culmination of an approximately $200 million dollar project taken on by the Mexican government to inject much needed US tourist dollars into the local economy. The project was initiated back in 2006 and the 83 mile northern section from El Golfo to Rocky Point was officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on December 17, 2008.

Prior to the completion of this highway, there was only one way to reach Puerto Penasco and that was by taking Highway 8 from the border town of Sonoyta. This is still the quickest way for people coming from Tucson or Phoenix. For Californians and folks from all points west of central AZ, the only way to get to Rocky Point was along Highway 2 which runs parallel to the US-Mexico border all the way until it intersects with Highway 8 in Sonoyta. The new highway starts in San Luis Rio Colorado just south of Yuma and heads south to Gulfo de Santa Clara (El Golfo) before heading east along the Sonoran coastline to Puerto Penasco. This new route cuts the travel time down by more than 2 hours and makes Rocky Point a much more appealing destination for Californians.

You can save even more time by purchasing and printing your Mexican auto insurance online from our website before you go!

Here are some actual expected travel times using this new route:

Yuma to El Golfo: 1 1/4 hours

El Golfo to Rocky Point: 1 1/4 hours

Yuma to Rocky Point: 2 1/2 hours

San Diego to Rocky Point: 5 1/4 hours