Planes, Trains, and Automobiles -- the Straight Skinny on Getting Around in Mexico
Mar 14 '01
The Bottom Line Getting around in Mexico is EASY if you know the potential pitfalls -- here's some straight talk about getting around this big beautiful country!
I absolutely love bumming around in Mexico, and I find the country very easy to get around in. While I often call myself the World's Cheapest Traveler, the truth is that I also like travel to be fast and comfortable. This review will help you find not just the cheapest way to get around in Mexico, but to find the best way!
Most major travel books tell you that the best way to travel in Mexico is by bus. This is usually true, but for long distances (more than 500 miles or so), I almost always prefer to shell out a couple hundred bucks rather than sit in a bus for 8 or more hours. If you're a typical middle-class American -- like me -- I bet you feel the same way.
Let's cut to the chase. The very best way to get around depends on where you are and where you're going:
* Air for trips longer than about 500 miles
* Bus for distances less than about 300 miles
* Train almost never (but there are exceptions)
* Car if you plan to be off the beaten path and don't mind possible headaches
* Taxis within major cities other than Mexico City
* Subway within Mexico City
* Local buses in beach resort towns
Air
Mexico has two major airlines, each with an associated commuter airline, plus there are several regional carriers.
I find getting around by air to be easier in Mexico than in the U.S. Flights are less crowded, service is usually better than on U.S. carriers, and there is less of a tendency to concentrate flights through huge hub airports. Mexico is also a warm weather climate and so flights are more often on-time than in the U.S. (In fact, Aeromexico is the world's number one on-time airline.)
Major airports in Mexico include Mexico City (MEX), Guadalajara (GDL), and Monterrey (MTY), as well as all of the major beach resorts (Acapulco, Cancun, Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, etc.)
Almost all international flights to countries other than the United States will arrive and depart from Mexico City. Some airlines serving Mexico City include British Airways, Iberia, Air France, Lufthansa, KLM, TACA, Copa, and Cubana. (Mexico City is also a pretty good airport to have a longer layover in, since it is directly served by the Metro subway system, so you could easily zip out of the airport for a little while.)
From the U.S. to Mexico...
The U.S. carriers with the best service to Mexico are Continental and American -- fly these guys and there's a good chance you won't have to switch planes in Mexico City (or MTY or GDL). Both serve around 20 destinations within Mexico. Alaska Airlines is quite good from the U.S. west coast to most Mexican Pacific coast resort areas. I don't recommend other U.S. carriers because they offer limited service to a handful of destinations, or their "flights" are really code-share agreements with Mexican carriers. Delta code-shares with Aeromexico, United code-shares with Mexicana.
Aeromexico and Mexicana are both top-notch airlines and both offer dozens of daily non-stops to many U.S. destinations. Given equal fares and comparable schedules, I will almost always opt for a Mexican carrier over a U.S. carrier because I get better service and better reliability on the Mexican carrier.
Some of Mexico's regional carriers, notably Aviacsa and Aerocalifornia, also serve a limited number of U.S. destinations in the southwest.
Within Mexico...
Aeromexico and Mexicana are usually your best bet for service between major destinations in Mexico, however, it's always wise to consider Aerocalifornia and Aviacsa, if possible, since they often offer the best fares. Aerocalifornia seems to do best on the west coast while Aviacsa does well in the southeast.
If you really want to save money on your domestic air travel, always make sure you include Aerocalifornia and Aviacsa in your price comparisons. Many U.S. travel agents and online ticketing services do not know about these carriers, or choose not do do business with them. It can sometimes be pay to seek out those who do. For example, the current best roundtrip fare I can get on a major carrier from Houston to Mexico City is over $300 -- the price I got from Aviacsa was $199.
Aeroliterol is the commuter arm of Aeromexico. They offer numerous daily flights to smaller cities throughout the republic. Most flights originate in Monterrey, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, or Chihuahua. Planes are usually Saab 340 turboprops (seating around 40 people), or smaller Fairchilds seating around 20. Aeroliterol is probably the best commuter airline I've ever flown with. They are extremely service-oriented and they cater to business travelers. While waiting for an Aerolitoral flight out of Monterrey, I found a small, quiet waiting room that seemed almost like the big airline "clubs". Comfortable chairs, free newspapers, free coffee, free peanuts, free juice and a clean bathroom that's inaccessible to general airport traffic. Very civilized!
Mexicana's commuter arm is Aerocaribe, and they seem to offer more flights via Mexico City than does Aeroliterol. Aerocaribe flies mostly Fokker F-27s (seats around 40) and Jetstream J-32s. I have never flown Aerocaribe, so can't say anything more about 'em.
Aeromar is another small commuter airline. I don't know where most of their routes are, but I know they fly out of Monterrey, where I've seen their ATR turboprops parked at the terminal.
If you're reading a travel guide that mentions other airlines, it might be out of date. Aerocozumel is now part of Aerocaribe, Taesa got permanently grounded by Mexican aviation authorities about a year ago, and Ejecutivos is Aviacsa.
A great option for getting from larger inland cities to coastal resorts (or even to certain popular U.S. resorts) is to look into charter flights. Two larger operators that I know of are Allegro and Magnicharters. You can find out about these flights by looking for their ads in the sunday newspapers. I flew with Magnicharters twice from Monterrey, once to Cancun and once to Mazatlan. I was extremely pleased with the value they represented since not only did the price include airfare, but they also picked me up before and after the trip, saving the cost of taxis or airport parking!
Bus
Every guidebook to Mexico tells you that buses are the best way to get around in Mexico. Sometimes, I agree. Sometimes I don't. Less well known is that the bus is also one of the best ways to get from the U.S. to Mexico.
Within Mexico...
Competition is fierce in Mexico's bus transportation industry, and every town of any consequence is served by at least one of the luxury first-class bus lines. For a few dollars, you can ride in air-conditioned comfort in a brand new luxury motor coach with reclining seats, bathrooms, and often video TVs. The windows usually have heavy blackout curtains that you can use if you want to get a little shut-eye.
As I said, there are a lot of these bus lines, and the best way to find out about them is to simply go to the local bus station and find the one with the next bus going where you want to be. For major cities within 8 hours or so driving distance, you probably won't have to wait more than 15 minutes to catch the next bus. If you're going to a smaller town, don't waste time looking for a line with a direct bus, just take the next bus to the nearest big city to where you want to go, then catch another bus from there.
Some of the companies I'm familiar with include ADO, Omnibuses de Mexico, Estrella de Oro, Estrella Blanca, and Grupo Senda. Some of these concentrate in certain regions, for example, Grupo Senda is just in northern Mexico.
Second class buses
Some travel books talk about buying tickets on 2nd class buses (usually old school-bus type vehicles that are painted garishly, have no air conditioning, and that stop every time someone waves a hat). I don't know any gringo who would ride these just to save the few dollars it would cost for a first-class bus. Leave these to the paisanos!
To and From the U.S.
Up until a couple years ago, people who wanted to take a bus to any place in Mexico had to change buses in one of the border towns. Greyhound didn't go into Mexico and Mexican companies didn't come into the U.S. That was then, this is now...
Greyhound does offer service from some cities in the southwest U.S. to some cities in northern Mexico. They're competing against dozens of smaller Mexican bus lines that offer daily (or even hourly) service between many U.S. cities and many Mexican cities. There is no need to change buses anywhere, although you will often need to get off the bus at the border to take care of any customs or immigration requirements.
The trick is to find out about all these companies. I live in Houston, and there are probably a dozen or more carriers offerring daily buses to Monterrey, San Luis Potosi, Torreon, Chihuahua, Tampico, and all of the border cities. One of the companies (El Expresso) has a terminal in downtown Houston right next door to the Greyhound terminal. The first time I noticed it, I was shocked. The terminal is as big as Greyhound's and there were more people milling about.
Other carriers have smaller terminals in hispanic neighborhoods, sometimes operating out of converted gas stations or other lower-rent properties. They have names like Americanos, Amigos, Adame, and El Conejo. Some go as far as Chicago, Atlanta, or Charlotte. Fares are often cheap (sometimes under $25 each way from Houston to Monterrey -- a 7 hour trip.) The only way I know of to find most of these bus companies is to read spanish language newspapers (especially the free ones).
Train
Rail service is available between most major cities, and is run by the federal government. Train travel is generally not regarded as very convenient (either by most Mexicans or by myself) since the first-class bus companies have such good, reliable, cheap service.
The exceptions are two tourist trains that are more than worth seeking out:
* Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad
* Tequila Express
Every rail enthusiast in the world can tell you about the Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad, which is always ranked as one of the world's top train trips. While it's official nickname is "Chepe," most Americans call it the Copper Canyon Train. This 14-hour ride takes you through some of the most rugged and beautiful landscape anywhere in the world. The Copper Canyon is actually a series of canyons, the largest of which are several times wider and deeper than the Grand Canyon. The train runs between Chihuahua and Los Mochis, leaving each city at 6am each day and arriving at the other end at about 8pm. During much of the year it is better to start in Los Mochis than Chihuahua since the first 2-3 hours of the trip west from Chihuahua are through unimpressive scrubland, while the train heading eastward from Los Mochis quickly climbs into the heights of the Sierra Madre mountains, offerring some stunning early morning vistas. More info about the train is available from Ferromex by calling +52 (1) 4-39-72-10.
The Tequila Express is a fairly recent addition to the Guadalajara area sightseeing list. It's a "must" for any serious party animal! The train leaves Guadalajara every Saturday and Sunday morning at 11am and heads to the town of Tequila. Tour a tequila distillery, watch demonstrations of tequila making, listen to mariachi bands, and of course, sample plenty of that elixir that is the town's most famous export.
Car
Driving in Mexico can either be smart and convenient or incredibly stupid. Lots of Californians drive down the Baja peninsula without a care in the world. Lots of Texans drive around the sparse northlands.
On the other hand, lots of families and retired folks have stories about their mobile home getting broken into when they left it parked in a poor city. Others don't take the time to learn about local laws that will get them into trouble (like driving in the Mexico City area on a day of the week that your license plate number is banned).
If you do it right though, driving can be no big deal. A few ways to make it painless:
* You have to get a temporary import permit. This is done at a customs office near the border. You need a bunch of documents (vehicle title, drivers license, major credit card....more); find out what to bring before you're there and they turn you down. Don't plan to get past the border fast. The line can be three hours long on a summer Friday afternoon, or it can be 5 minutes on a cold January evening. Permits are good for 180 days. If you don't cancel it on your way out of Mexico, you can never get another permit (and your credit card may be charged 1% of your vehicle's blue book value).
* You need to get auto insurance. If you have an accident and can't show that you hold insurance with a Mexican company, you can be jailed until all accident claims are settled.
* Get a good map. Nothing produced in the U.S. is worthwhile once you cross the border. My favorite maps are the Guia Roji maps.
* Be more alert than usual. Lots of towns have big road bumps, low speed limites, and lots of local cops. Lots of outlying areas have rough roads, unmarked obstacles, and people or animals walking where you wouldn't expect.
* Never drive anywhere near Mexico City. If you do, remember that every car is banned from the roads at least one day a week, depending on your license plate. The law applies to both domestic and foreign plated vehicles. Find out what license plate numbers are banned on what days before you go.
* Watch out for aggressive drivers. Some places (like Acapulco) seem especially bad.
Taxi
The best way to get around almost every place in Mexico is by relying on local taxis. The exception is Mexico City, which has a lot of taxis, but that has a reputation for taxi passengers getting robbed or kidnapped. In Mexico City, I use taxis only from known sitios -- never from off the street. Taxis are great in most other places (but sometimes expensive in Guadalajara).
Metro
Mexico City has a very extensive Metro subway system. It's cheap, modern, reliable, safe, and goes everywhere, but it's crowded during rush hour. I could write about this great subway system for pages -- oh wait, I already have an epinion article about it online...
Monterrey also has a small subway system, but it's only one line and except for the stop at the Macroplaza, it doesn't go anywhere a tourist would want to go.
Local Buses
City buses are sometimes a great way to get around. Except in Mexico City, where the subway is so far superior that the bus is a waste of time (if you could ever figure out transfers and routes anyway). Buses are a good option for day-to-day transportation in most other cities though. Almost all of the beach resorts have small mini-buses that will take you around town for fares ranging from about 2 to 5 pesos (20 to 50 cents). Cheaper than taxis, and easier in many cases. In some places -- like Cancun -- I can't imagine why anyone would not use the local buses...
GET ON OUT!
I hope I've given you some ideas for ways to get around, and that you find it as easy to bum around in Mexico as I do. If you've got some better ideas for traveling around, send me a note -- I'd love to hear from you. See you on the bus!
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