Advice on Mexican Travel?
 

Looking for advice on how to get around in Mexico. We are accustomed to doing a lot of driving on our vacations, but have heard that it is not the thing to do in Mexico. I have not seen any tours that incorporate what we'd like to see - Mexico City, archeological parts of the Yucatan, colonial cities, etc. Would prefer not to be on a tour. Has anyone done much interior traveling in the country?

Get "Let's Go: Mexico" and if you can find an old book about travel in Mexico called "The People's Guide to Mexico" by Carl Franz I highly recommend it as a general guide to Mexico, its people, food, customs, etc. Both books are geared more to the student/hippie/budget traveler, but both discuss driving in more realistic terms than the more upscale-oriented guides. They also discuss the busses, which is really the way to get around on a self-guided trip. The first class busses are like first class on an airline.

We have driven in Mexico on two vacations some time ago, starting in Zihuatenejo & going up to Playa Azul one year, and again from Zihua to Taxco and back. We had no problems but we did not drive at night. All advice I have seen emphasizes not driving at night.

BTW I found a copy of Franz' book listed on abebooks.com for $2.15 plus shipping.

Buen viaje!

We've travelled a lot in Mexico and rented cars in the Yucatan, but not in other parts of the country. I would definitely not rent a car in Mexico City - traffic is crazy and it's much easier to take taxis around the city. We've taken buses from Mexico City to some of the cities north of Mexico City (San Miguel de Allende, Morelia, etc.) - buses are good, not very expensive and comfortable. As I said, though, we have rented cars in the Yucatan - roads are generally flat and straight.

I travel in Mexico on buses on a regular basis and find it a good way to get around. Some first class, ejecutivo, and de lujo service are excellent. Basically you can travel wherever you like in Mexico via bus. For instance, if you flew into Mexico City you could go to the right bus terminal and take a bus to Guanjuato, San Miguel, Taxco, Oaxaca City where ever you wanted. One thing- If you don't speak Spanish, I think busing would be a lot more confusing, although not impossible. Lonley Planet travel guide has a lot of information about bus schedules, treminals, etc. that would help you.

I just came across a tour company that has a 14 day package that covers most of the areas you are interested in visiting in the 40 top deals in the magazine Budget Travel Feb 04 issue. I will repond with the name of the company at a later time. It is expensivie $1400.00. Tours in Mexico are expensive just because the demand is not high. Using the buses to travel in Mexico is excellent. The ETN bus line offers excellent service in a First Class bus. Yes, definitely do not drive. It gets expensive with the price of gasoline, rental car rates, and the high cost of toll roads. Mexico has the highest cost on toll road charges in the world. Bus fares are inexpensive in my opinion and once you are in Mexico City, you can take a bus almost anywhere in Mexico you want to go. Have fun and I will post the name of the tour company tomorrow.

Thanks for all the replies. I also get the Frommer travel mag and will recheck this issue. Any particularly good websites anyone has come across?

There use to be just what your asking for with a company out of Texas called Sanborn Tours. Do a net search and see what you come up with!

We have done 5-6 driving trips in various parts of Mexico with friends from TX (their car). Never had any major problems, but I would offer a few words of advice:

1. Do NOT drive in Mexico City. Not only is a traffic nightmare, but we were immediately pulled over and had to pay a bribe. I think this is pretty common.

2. If you are going to travel lonely stretches of road, plan your trip carefully so you are not driving at night. Sometimes there is nowhere to eat so you might need to have some snacks in the car.

3. The Sanborn driving guides are priceless. They escort you mile by mile along every major road, telling you where you can get food and gas and what sights to be on the lookout for.

4. Depending on where you are going and in what vehicle, you may need to carry some extra parts (if it's your vehicle). There's a lot to check into (insurance, etc) before doing this, but as in most places outside of major cities, you will be able to have a much more varied trip and see things you would otherwise miss if you are driving.

(skeptic54, what did you think of Playa Azul?!)

Hi, I just topped my trip report for you, because I think parts of this may be informative for you. (Trip Report: Merida, Chichen Itza, Playa). In short, we just got back from the Yucatan and used drivers (private vans) to get around; however, the Yucatan is very flat and seems quite safe to drive (of course, Mexico City is very different).

We did a ton of archaeological Mayan sites, as well as the colonial city of Merida, which was great. From Merida we visited Uxmal and the other Puuc sites, then also saw Chichen Itza and over near Playa del Carmen, the ruins at Coba.

We booked through MayaTours and they were very good (www.mayatour.com). They can arrange whatever part of your trip you like (customize itinerary, hotels, private archaeological guides for certain days, transfers and/or a car... etc.) They also have group tours, but it sounds like that's not your thing.

Also, many people on say they use the first class bus to travel around the Yucatan, but that just isn't the way we wanted to go.

Let me know if I can offer any other advice on this. :-)