kleroux

Our hotel in Mexico City's the Zona Rosa does not provide airport transfers on Sunday. We are two older women and need a safe ride to and from the airport. Both travel days are on Sunday. Any suggestions?

baldone

From the airport the authorized taxis are fine. Just pay in advance at one of the kiosks. If the hotel doesn't provide transport themselves, surely they know a driver? Uber is a good option to the airport if you'll have a smartphone. You can request a driver via their app with the hotel WiFi. We also recently used a private driver from our hotel to the airport, Fernando Gutiérrez. [email protected]. I imagine he'd pick you up at MEX as well. His English is passable, I think, but we speak Spanish so that wasn't an issue for us. Picked us up wearing a coat & tie. If you can't make your own arrangements, I'm can't believe the hotel wouldn't. His cell is 553 120 1036.

baldone

I should mention that what makes Uber a safe (or at least safer) option is that you're provided with the driver's name, picture, and license plate on your phone before you're picked up. However, technically Uber is not permitted to do pick-ups at MEX.

SambaChula

There are official taxis at the airport. There is a cluster of booths just before the exit, and perhaps another cluster before that as you walk toward the exit after claiming your baggage. The fares are fixed, set by neighborhood (distance from airport), and all companies have similar fares.
You say the name of the neighborhood, pay, and are given a receipt to take to the company's booth at the exit door. The company rep there takes the receipt, escorts you to the taxi line for that company, and gives you over to the driver of the designated taxi.

For the return trip, the hotel or posada should be able to call and schedule a timed pickup from a known, trusted, reliable company or driver. You should pay quite a bit less for the same distance return trip however.

Christina

From the airport, I can see maybe they can't do that but it is unbelievable a hotel refuses to call a taxi for you to go to the airport because it is Sunday. I wouldn't stay in such a place. Now if you are asking for some private limo or something and their service doesn't work that day, okay, but I wouldn't stay in a place that refuses to call you a taxi ever.

kleroux

No, it's not that they refuse to call a taxi, it's that their free airport pick up is only Monday through Saturday. They did offer to send a car, but the charge is $40. dollars, and we thought that was a bit steep. We'd be happy with a private car service that might also be a guide we could hire to tour the city. But our first priority is getting into the city safely. The hotel is well reviewed but not a Luxury hotel or hotel chain.

SambaChula

You should probably be paying about 300 pesos max.(about U$16 currently) for an official airport taxi, less for the return, Sunday or not. I haven't stayed in that neighborhood recently, so I can't say exactly.

For examples of fares:
I recently paid 250 pesos (or 225, can't remember) to the historic center by official taxi and 180 pesos back to the airport with a regular taxi the lodging called.
To the Coyoacan neighborhood from the airport, it was 275 pesos by official taxi and about 200 on the way back by regular taxi that lodging called.
You can see both these neighborhoods on a map and roughly compare distances with the Zona Rosa.

And with the current exchange rate, don't get bothered by the lack of free Sunday shuttle service.

You can get around the city to the sights quite well by metro, or by regular taxis.
Don't let yourselves get freaked out before the trip even starts by little details. Just do the research and prepare well.

baldone

Shoot off an email to Fernando whom I mentioned in my first post. His card says "transporte turistico" so he may offer guide services as well as driver.