Taking Long Distance Buses in Mexico

If you've ever endured a long distance bus ride in the United States, you may not be inclined to think that taking one in Mexico could be a much nicer experience. But it really can be.

While Americans will typically fly or drive their own cars in the US for long trips, Mexicans are much more apt to take buses. Not necessarily the "chicken buses" of so many stereotypes, either... a long-distance Mexican bus ride in first class or luxury class can be very pleasant, with comfortable reclining seats, a reasonably clean bathroom, movies, and so on.

In any city of any size, you just go to the large bus station and it's like an airport, typically with local buses going from one part and long-distance ones from another. (In Guadalajara, local and long-distance buses have separate stations a taxi ride away.) You will see a variety of companies competing for your business, wherever it is you want to go. Chances are a bus is leaving pretty soon for that city. It can all be a bit overwhelming! I favor the higher class companies, in the perhaps erroneous assumption that they are likely to have better drivers.

Catching a bus from a smaller town can be a matter of going to a bus station or you may just ask around and find out where to get on the bus. When our friend Peter came to visit recently, he took the bus from Zamora, where he teaches English, to a highway intersection just outside of Jocotepec, a small city near us. Then he took a cab to our place. This was a second class bus route, no bathrooms and lots of stops, but he said it went fine. When his visit ended, Kelly took him back to that same highway intersection just beyond Jocotepec, and someone else was already standing there waiting for a bus. Peter had learned that one would come by about every half hour.

There are dozens upon dozens of Mexican bus companies. Here's an example of the website of one that does a lot of Guadalajara routes. You can play around with possible routes and see the times and costs:

 www.etn.com.mx

I know travelers who particularly like this company. Check out, for example, Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta.