Job Discussion Forums

[carolynne]

How safe is the bus in Mexico?

I'm flying to Mexico City next month, need to go South - any advice?
Thanks.

[Samantha]

Buses are THE way to travel in Mexico since airfares are outrageous. Bus terminals are well kept. Make sure to take a first class or executive class bus and you should be very comfortable. Take a sweater or a jacket since drivers really seem to favor a cool climate.

[ls650]

The Exec and 1st class buses are superb in quality with comfy seats. Mechanically, the buses are in good condition. The cost is usually an fraction of what you might pay for the equivalent domestic plane flight. Pack a sweater, though; the air conditioning is usually on full blast.

[carolynne]

Harumph!
It can't be colder than Yorkshire (North England) right now. I swear I've got frostbite on one toe! Snow is only pretty in postcards.
Just needed to express my frustration about the bl**dy weather!

Anyway, does anyone know how far the bus terminal is from the airport in Mexico city - could I do it in a day with severe jetlag or should I arrive a day or two before I want to leave?

Please humour me - I'm just starting to get a little nervous about this trip...
Thanks

[thelmadatter]

Ditto what was said about inter-city buses. You'll have NO TROUBLE at all getting around by bus in Mexico. Buses are safe, clean (OK Ive had one or two exceptions in almost 3 years here but I didnt make sure it was a first-class bus) and inexpensive. Another plus is that you can make short trips, staying a night or two in an intermediate city and it really wont cost you more than if you bought a ticket straight to your destination. (a good thing if you have trouble sitting for very long periods of time.) Ticket prices are almost strictly by the km to your destination. Except for Xmas and Semana Santa, there is absolutely no problem getting bus tickets. Not having a reservation is almost always no problem.

I dont know how buses are in South Africa, but I found Mexican buses to be pleasantly different from those in the US. The last time I had to take a bus in the US, I had to listen to two guys talk about some drug deal *shiver* On Mexican buses, you have mostly families and folks visiting families - a much more wholesome lot.

One thing I will encourage you to do as a first-timer is to bring a basic map of Mexico. If your starting point does not offer service to your final destination, you have to figure out where to transfer on your own. Dont worry... you can get a bus from just about anywhere to anywhere... meaning you wont get stuck at a dead end, but with a map youll feel more oriented. I went to the border from Toluca on my first trip. There was a bus that went from Toluca to the border (Agua Prieta/Nogales) but none that went directly to Toluca. I didnt know at the time that the major transfer point for destinations north was Queretaro (and I didnt know how convenient the system was), so I felt really lost for a bit.

Another good thing... buses tend to arrive and leave on time... maybe the ONLY thing here that does!

Ditto the sweater, small blanket. I dont know what fascination the drivers have with the A/C. It may not seem cold at first but just sitting for hours with the A/C blasting on you will freeze you.

Food is expensive in the terminals, tho not ridiculously so (tho often it sucks). Often on long runs buses will stop to let people on to sell food. Ive never had a problem with the food I ate this way.

[lozwich]

Don't forget about the Ticketbus website, although its been a bit odd lately, it usually has excellent information about bus schedules and prices in Mexico.

[MELEE]

No one has mentioned yet that there are 4 bus terminals in Mexico City, depending on whether you want to go north south east or west. The east one is called TAPO (which also serves the south east) is very close to the airport.

I recommend picking up a Mexico Guide book such as the Lonely Planet, Moon, or Footprints ones. It will give you all you need to know to get started getting around.

Oh and as you said you are heading south...
...if you get motion sick at all, take the appropriate percautions before boarding the bus.

[ls650]

[carolynne]

In S.A. the passengers are okay, poor but inoffensive. However the bus companies tend not to bother with repairing things like breaks/tyres, you know - miscellaneous stuff really.

(In fairness there was a large state vs. bus company case and the state won - but there are just a few too many accidents for my liking...)

Thanks for the advice - I got myself a Lonely Planet this morning... Feeling much more relaxed now.

[M@tt]

I'm not sure where you're going in the south, but chances are you will need to leave from TAPO.
If you arrive in Mexico at a decent hour, your decision will probably be based on how much luggage you have.

If you're travelling light:
There's a metro station outside the airport. Just ask someone which direction and start walking. A ticket will cost you two pesos. Take the direction "Politecnico". Get out at Oceania and transfer to the brown line, direction Tacubaya. Get out at San Lazaro. TAPO is on top of San Lazaro. Go to the ADO desk in the TAPO and buy your ticket. Have fun sitting on some crappy metal chairs while you wait. If you're lucky, they will be playing a telenovela on the TV.

If you're travelling heavy:
Get your luggage and go to the taxi stand to buy a taxi ticket for TAPO. DO NOT ACCEPT RIDES FROM ANY TAXI DRIVER WHO WANTS YOU TO PAY HIM DIRECTLY!!!!!!!!! You will either be mugged or you will pay at least double the normal rate. The first time I actually bothered to have a conversation with one of these idiots, he wanted to take me to the centro for about 350 pesos. I think the ticket price is 110.
Okay, so you get your ticket. Ride to TAPO and follow the directions above.

If you arrive at a bad hour (late at night):
This is always fun. Travelling light, go ahead and take the metro but instead of getting off at San Lazaro, ummm, get off somewhere like Isabel La Catolica and run north several blocks until you get to Hotel Isabel (on your right). Singles are about 200 pesos/night with shared bathroom. It's clean and quiet. There are cheap hotels like this all over the center. Another I can recommend is Hotel Principal, 29 Bolivar (intersection 16 de Septiembre, metro Allende, Bellas Artes, or San Juan de Letran). It's two blocks east and one block south of Torre LatinoAmerica, about 100 pesos/night for shared bathroom, 200/night for private bathroom. Can be noisy on weekends, but clean and simple. As before, if you are travelling heavy, you're better off buying a taxi ticket to the centro and staying the night. Either way, keep your wits about you (never thought I would use that phrase before living here) when you're in the centro at night. Or you know, you could stay somewhere entirely different, but more expensive. It's up to you. I'm used to the centro and nothing has ever happened to me there, but some people are afraid of it.

I should also add that everyone else is dead on about the intracity buses. They're great, cheap, and reliable. I've been on ADO buses about 80 times and have almost never had a bad ride. Yes, it will be cold on the bus. If the trip is long, they will stop for short breaks in other cities or at rest stops. You have a chance to buy really awful food and use the bathroom (though the bathroom in the bus itslef is almost guaranteed to be cleaner).

Good luck, welcome to Mexico.

[snorklequeen]

And they show movies! i took a bus from Cuernavaca to Mexico City a couple of years ago and even saw a movie on that short of a trip

the northern terminal is in a less than great neighborhood, it seemed to me, but my family was there to meet me when i arrived so it didn't matter

i traveled on the Mexican bus system from Houston, Texas, to Mexico City and back by myself once, and the food in the terminals does suck; we stopped at wonderful little restaurants along the way, tipico with delicious food; traveling from Houston to MCity, they showed 3 movies in English with Spanish subtitles; on the way from MCity to Houston, they showed 3 movies all in Spanish with English subtitles; the bus drivers translated their little informational speeches into English, but not their jokes -- an incentive to learn more Spanish!

i discovered that at C'mas time, the Mexican bus company i used in Houston sold a ticket to everyone who wanted to buy one, so be warned -- i've heard this is typical in Mexico; i left Houston on 12/21 in the evening and arrived in Nuevo Laredo at 2 a.m., and there were absolutely NO connecting buses available there; i waited 14 hours til ours arrived; one family from New York City, with 3 small children, had waited 48 hours and were still there when i left

it's worth it to pay a little extra for the business class [rather than use the tourist class] if you are on a long bus trip if you want to sleep comfortably; in the business class, there is a wooden footrest that looked like a slab of plywood that ran from under the seat in front to under my seat, on a slant; your legs can relax completely, so you can drop off to sleep more quickly

i'm bringing my car to Tepo when i move, and i've seen the DF traffic and just dread it, but i'm going to use the buses as much as possible; i've used the Metro around DF with the city bus system and it's a wonderful way to get around

Queenie

[carolynne]

Well, if they show movies it's settled then .
No seriously, thanks everyone, I really, really appreciate it.
Carolynne

BTW Queenie, does the slab fold away?
I'm almost 6ft and I have to be honest a slab doesn't sound comfortable .
(Not that my finances give me much option of being a princess.)

[snorklequeen]

hi, Carolynne,



i assumed [did not look to see] the slab was attached to the back of the seat in front of me and also attached to me seat; it felt very secure and did not move; i think it was about as wide as the seat itself; i fell asleep lying on my right side, with my legs tucked up a bit; since you're that tall, you might have to do that; you can just completely let your legs relax onto it

i only rode the bus in business class once, from MCity to Houston, Texas, so i don't know what the other buses have

where in Yorkshire are you now? i've been to York, just passing thru to rent a car at the train terminal, and drove to the Dales, for a self-tour of the James Herriott country in a rental car; it was the same weekend as the Beamish motor rally, so that was an adventure in itself, all those London-style taxis driving around on the curvy, narrow Yorkshire roads, and a few couldn't make the hills; i stayed in Askrigg for 2 nights at a B&B [in the home of a couple whose children were grown]; it was in July

cheers!

Queenie

[carolynne]

Thanks for the concern about my legs! When I'm in England, live in York, 5 min from the minister (which happens to be the 2nd/3rd biggest in Europe)... Lovely in summer, part of the north pole ice pack in winter .

Anyway, I have another question - how easy is it to pick up medication in Mexico? I'm presuming my stomach will give me trouble within 24 hrs of arriving...

[Ben Round de Bloc]