El Golfo Easter Weekend

El Golfo de Santa Clara, Son., is expecting larger crowds than usual this weekend since the Easter holiday falls on the calendar at the same time as spring break for many schools and colleges.
Alonso Montes, tourism development director for San Luis Rio Colorado, said more than 6,000 visitors are expected to pack the beach at El Golfo, a Mexican fishing village that has become a popular destination for vacationers in recent decades.
While Mexicans traditionally visit El Golfo for Easter, a larger percentage of this weekend's visitors could come from the Yuma area and other U.S. communities along the border, given that the holiday coincides with spring break, he said.
“This isn't typical, and that raises our expectations of a jump in visitors,” Montes said.
The city of San Luis Rio Colorado will have extra police officers, firefighters and Red Cross workers on duty in and around El Golfo to ensure safe travel by visitors, he added.
With the exception of one stretch of roadway, the highway that extends from San Luis to Riito and on to El Golfo has been refurbished, providing motorists with generally smooth traveling conditions, Montes said.
The unimproved portion is located at Kilometro 68, about 40 miles south of the border, he said. “That's a stretch that didn't get finished, so we are asking motorists to drive carefully.”
Montes added that visitors have the option of taking the toll road that starts on Highway 2 on the east side of San Luis and extends in a straight line to El Golfo, unlike the other highway that winds through the farming valley south of the border city.
The toll road is in better shape and will cut visitors' travel time by nearly half, said Montes, who noted, however, that the Mexican government recently hiked the one-way toll to 105 pesos, or a little more than $8.
On their return from Easter weekend visits to Mexico, travelers should expect longer than typical waits in car lines at U.S. ports of entry, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.
CBP says travelers can help speed up the wait by making sure they have required border crossing documents ready in advance to present to CBP officers. They are required to present a passport, passport card or other document allowed under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.
All passengers in a vehicle returning from Mexico should be awake at the time they reach the port of entry, CBP says, and all cell phone conversation should be concluded.