Daniel_Williams

I noticed looking at my map of Monterrey that the Central Camionera where my bus would arrive is right near the Cuauhtemoc subway station. I'd be arriving in daylight; as a Gringo, do you think it would be OK to wheel my luggage and take the subway to Zaragoza stop near my hotel? I hear the area by the bus station is not the best, but I have pretty good street smarts.

Dude

I have been through the bus station several times. I certainly would not hesitate to walk somewhere there in daylight. I think the train is elevated above ground in that area. One thing though- I have only used buses in Monterrey, but I wonder if they will let you in the subway with luggage. I was in the subway in Mexico City last month and even if it were allowed things were so crowded it would have been impossible on some of the trains. If things look like you can't take the train, cabs aren't too expensive anyway. Good luck.

Daniel_Williams

Thanks a lot, er, Dude!

So I'll ask this question in turn...If I do end up taking a cab to my hotel, are there any reputable taxi companies people would recommend in Monterrey?

Dude

With the exception of Mexico City where there are all sorts of precautions regarding taxis, I just take any Taxi that comes along. Normally there are a bunch of them by the bus station in Monterrey. I've never paid attention to company names. Usuaully, anywhere there's a taxi stand you get the first one in line regardless of company. Or if you wanted to call one, you could ask for info. in the bus station. Maybe someone else knows the names of the companies in Monterrey?

Cate22

Hi Daniel,
I have been living in Monterrey since January, and have my own car, but use taxis otherwise. They are the quickest, and cheapest way to get around. In fact, they are the cheapest in Monterrey than in any other part of Mexico. It shouldn't cost more than $5 to get anywhere in the city.

Also, Monterrey is relatively safe and being a Gringo won't necessarily make you stand out (there are many Americans who live and work here)

The one thing that does make gringos stand out is that we wear shorts! Even in 100 degree weather here, no one wears shorts. It's crazy. So, make sure that in the evening you do wear long pants, or else, some restaurants/bars might not allow you to enter.

Have fun! Sounds like you have a lot on your itinerary.

Daniel_Williams

Thanks a lot...I'm really looking forward to going; the more I hear, the more I'm excited to go! You've completely allayed my worries about security...I just didn't want to do something stupid. BTW, I've lived in Montreal for quite a number of years, so I'm used to dressing up more on the town.

Dude wasn't sure, so I'm curious if one can bring luggage on the Metro...

Cate22

I'm not sure about the luggage either since I have never taken the metro here. It is a very simple system (just two lines running I think), and I don't live near any of its stops.

I will try and ask some friends tomorrow. But seriously, why not a cab? Then you get to your hotel quickly without having to lug your things around. Do you speak any Spanish?

Downtown, you won't find much English, but in the more well-to-do parts of town everyone speaks English.

Daniel_Williams

Buenos dias Cate 22

Si, he estudiado espanol un ano y me gustaria mucho practicar con el gente en el Centro de Monterrey! Parece que va a ser muchas oportunidades!

Muchas gracias Cate 22 de todas tus suggeciones! Me disculpo si hay los errores .

Cate22

Tu espagnol es mejor que el mio! Unfortunately, I haven't learned as much Spanish as I have wanted to here...since so many people speak English.

About the metro, if you really want to take it, my friends tell me there is room for luggage, but I still recommend cabs, and especially with your level of Spanish, you should have absolutely no problem.

Have fun!

RobertSDF

I would also use a taxi from the bus station, especially where luggage is involved. You don't need to worry about a particular taxi company and you now purchase tickets at the bus station (as in Mexico City) for the taxis and once outside will be directed to the next available taxi.
At other times, I would not hesitate to use the Metro system.
Enjoy!

Dude

Creo que tendra un buen oportunidad praticar la idioma durante su viaje en Monterrey. Escribe bien el espanol, en particular, despues solo un ano de las clases. Si tenga interes, hay mas lugares interesantes visitar cuando esta cerca de la cuidad de Monterrey. Saltillo no es muy lejos y el centro esta bonita. Tambien Parras de la Fuente esta 3-4 horas de Monterrey. Parras es un oasis muy tranquillo y bonito situado en el desierto. !BUEN VIAJE!

Daniel_Williams

One more thing...are there ATM machines in the bus station in Monterrey? I probably won't have so many pesos arriving from the States; or would you recommend buying a fair amount of pesos before crossing the border?

Muchas gracias!

Dude

There are ATM's in the bus stations. In my experience you will get a better exchange rate in Mexico. Where are you crossing the border- if its Laredo/Nuevo Laredo I can tell you a lot about that. Also, are you riding a bus across or walking across then taking a cab to the bus station. If you walk across I would stop by a Casa de cambio in Mexico, get some pesos, then taxi to the bus station.

melissaharris81

I lived in Monterrey for 6 months and I always took taxis when I was carrying lugguage otherwise I took the bus. One thing to always do is check to see if the taxi has a meter before getting in. If it doesn't have a meter discuss with the driver beforehand how much it will cost to get to your destination so you don't get ripped off. Be suspicious if the driver says anything over 60 pesos. Most places should be no more than $5 or around 55 pesos. I lived there in 2001 and even as a 20 year old girl I always felt safe.

sandy_b

I'm considering flying into McAllen, Texas and then going by bus to Monterrey (I posted over on the US forum, too).

Does anyone have any info on how easy this would be? Any clean, safe, cheap hotels in both places you can recommend for two senior ladies? We'd like to keep the price down under $75.

Would we have to walk across the border at McAllen to take a bus to Monterrey? We only have a long weekend . . . would it be worth it?

Thanks a million,
Sandy (in Denton)

TioGringo

This is doable. A bit of a pain in the tookus, but doable.

If you arrive during the day, and you're traveling light, you can take the city bus from near the McAllen airport (the closest stop is in front of the mall, next to the FourEyes) direct to the Reynosa bus station. Late at night, or with a lot of baggage, I'd take a taxi to Reynosa -- the cost *USED* to be about $20 to do the cross-border trip ($10 to the bridge), but with the U.S. federal gov't screwing over travelers at the border recently, I wouldn't be surprised if cabbies were now refusing altogether to do it.

Once in Reynosa, it's trivial to catch buses to Monterrey. A bus leaves about every 15 minutes, with most frequent buses being for Noreste and Transportes del Norte. The cost should be about $12 for the 2-hour trip.

There are *LOTS* of hotels in both McAllen and Monterrey.

In Monterrey, I *highly* recommend the Howard Johnson Gran Plaza Monterrey if you're on a budget. I've never paid more than about $65/night there, and the rooms are very comfortable and the rate includes *full* hot breakfast. Alternatively, the Plaza de Oro is quite a reliable value, though it's not smack dab on the Macroplaza. If you don't care about location, the Ibis has had good rates lately at both their Aeropuerto and Valle locations, though they're not convenient to anything. Sometimes you can snag good weekend deals at the Radisson Ancira (an *excellent* historic property) and the Sheraton Ambassador. (See radisson.com or starwood.com for current rates).

In McAllen, I like the Doubletree when price is no concern, or the Holiday Inn Express when I want an airport location. On the bottom end of the price scale, there are Motel 6, Microtel and the like, with rates always under $50, but McAllen is kind of spread out and a pain to get around in if you don't have a car.

Hope this helps! Send email if you want even more opinions about this...

Good luck!
Mark
www.tiogringo.com

sandy_b

Thanks Mark,

You are a font of information and are gracious to share.

We're rethinking our weekend trip.

Thanks again,
Sandy

Daniel_Williams

I'll say this. I just came back from Monterrey (trip report to come) and the border was absolutely insane. I had a paid bus ticket from Monterrey to Houston and ended up waiting at the border at Nuevo Laredo for 7 hours and there were still about 25 buses ahead of me on the bridge. I asked the bus driver to remove my luggage from the boot and walked; I wheeled it through Nuevo Laredo and across Puente Internacional #1 (which went rather rapidly and smoothly) and caught a bus out of Laredo,TX luckily about half an hour later to Houston(Greyhound bus station is close to the bridge).

All this to say: My recommendation if anybody were to take a bus from Monterrey into inside Texas, is to take bus to the Central Camionera in Nuevo Laredo (away from the bridge), have a taxi driver take you to as close to the bridge as possible and then walk across...time it to catch an ongoing bus from Laredo.

While the experience at the border was KIND OF fun in some ways; lots of vendors, interesting... I wouldn't want to wait so long again.