Two couples, experienced Mexico travelers--want to see Palenque and surrounding areas. Should we fly from Mexico City to Villahermosa, then bus to Palenque with side trips to Aqua Azul and San Cristobal ending up in Tuxtla Gutierrez for flight back to MEX? We have driven in Mexico and used drivers--any recommendations?

We're just starting to plan something similar, but we're also planning to go to Puerto Morelos for a week at the beach. My initial thinking is that your itinerary looks pretty good, but I'd like to hear from others as well. We'd be doing the opposite of you - flying to Tuxtla Gutierrez to start off in San Cristobal, then going to Palenque and then onto Villahermosa to get a flight out. If anyone knows if there is an airline that flies from Villahermosa to Cancun without going through Mexico City, I'd like to hear about it.

There are other airlines that currently are offering services to Tuxtla Gutierrez . Interjet (www.interjet.com.mx) flies from Toluca directly to Tuxtla Gutierrez everyday and is really cheap (around 40 dollars one way). Click (www.click.com.mx) flies from Mexico City to Villahermosa every day (is also low cost).

From Villahermosa to Cancun you can take a first class bus that leaves close to midnight and takes 8 hours to arrive to Cancun, it cost around 65 dollars per person (www.ticketbus.com.mx).

Maya Kaab has some really good tours around Chiapas that include transportation and lodging (www.mayakaab.com) starting in Tuxtla Gutierrez and ending on Villa Hermosa.

Hopefully this will be of some help to you.

Saludos desde Mexico

Hi Isela,

I didn't ask the original Q - but your response has been of great help to me, and have filed away the links for future reference.

Thx.

Thanks for the info Isela. I had looked at the TicketBus site, but it's a bit confusing - the so called 'local' bus take anywhere from just over 10 hours to over 14 hours. But then the buses with only 1 or 3 stops show a journey time of 0 hours. A bit confusing!