Transport in Mexico

Getting There
The majority of visitors visiting Mexico will probably do so via the US flying into one of the three international ports which serve the country. The Benito Juarez is located 13km outside Mexico city and has buses which travel to and from city centre every thirty five minutes. There is also a metro connection and an efficient taxi service. The Miguel Hidalgo airport is 20km outside Guadalajara and the General Juan Alvarez is situated about 26km outside Acapulco. Coaches and taxis are available from both airports to their respective city centres.
There are also several cruise ports which also serve the country and these are located at Acapulco, Cozumel, Manzanillo, Tampico and Zihuatenejo. Those entering Mexico via these ports are usually travelling from the US, South America or Australia. The country is also served by rail connections with the US and Canada.

Finally anyone entering by road will probably enter by one of the following border crossings Mexicali/San Diego, Nogales/Phoenix, El Paso/Tuscon, Eagle Pass/San Angelo and El Paso, Laredo/Huston and San Antonio, Brownsville/Houston and Galveston. If you are driving yourself try to use one of the smaller crossings as the formalities are usually much easier to deal with than at larger crossings.

Getting Around
Bus - The bus service in Mexico is well developed in most of the country. With the exception of areas like the Baja and Yucatan peninsulas, buses are frequent, efficient and will take you to almost anywhere you wish to travel to in the country. Furthermore they are usually the only way to get to where you want to go. You should try to book your ticket at least one day in advance, particularly for longer journeys or during Mexican holiday periods.

Several companies operate the different bus connections and the class of travel is usually clearly labelled as either deluxe, first (primera) or second (Segunda). While you will pay a few more dollars for the deluxe service, these buses usually offer an express service which is well worth the extra.

Train - Mexico also has a somewhat less developed train service which is usually safer and more enjoyable than taking the bus. It is also a little less expensive than bus service in the country. But, the downside is that the train service is slow, unreliable and infrequent. Some services only have three trains a week on most lines. The only places where you can travel by train in comfort are in the northern and central parts of the country. You should also note that you can only buy your ticket on the day of travel, sometimes only an hour beforehand, and during holiday periods you may well have to queue for most of the day in order to purchase your ticket. In short, if at all possible, it is usually better to avoid rail travel during your stay.

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