Looking travel and tour advice for the El Chepe or Copper train from Los Mochis to Chihuahua

I travelled independently with the “El Chepe Regional” and “El Chepe Express” in late April 2023 (low season). The traditional Chepe Regional still runs from Chihuahua to Los Mochis twice a week in both directions. El Chepe Express only runs between Creel and Los Mochis three times a week in both directions.

I flew into Chihuahua from Mexico City and bought the train tickets from Chihuahua to Creel and Creel to Los Mochis in the morning at the train station in Chihuahua the day before the departure.

I stayed in Creel three days and used a local driver to visit the Lake Arareko, the rock formations and a waterfall. I also went by bus and a local driver from Creel to Divisadero and Copper Canyon Adventure Park. The Canyon view is spectacular! From Creel I continued with El Chepe Express to Los Mochis and flew out of Los Mochis to Mexico City.

You can travel independently like I did or choose one of the tour packages offered by El Chepe Express or any tour agency. There are a lot of options!

I took this trip on my own but planned by FONATUR. I thought it was great, and showed me a part of Mexico that I did not know before. My trip was long go but I still have great memories.

Thank you, Jodah73 very much for this helpful information. I will be travelling to the Copper Canyon from Mexico City but was thinking of starting the journey in Los Mochis or El Fuerte, then making my way by train to Creel and finishing the trip in Chihuahua. My next destination after the Copper Canyon is Puerto Vallarta where I will be meeting up with friends.

Is there a reason to start the trip in Chihuahua vs. Los Mochis or El Fuerte ?

Thank you, ekscrunchy. I will try to contact FONATOUR to help me with the planning of my travel in the Copper Canyon. I see some travelers start and end their tours of the Copper Canyon either in Los Mochis or in Chihuahua. I was thinking of starting in Los Mochis and ending in Chihuahua. The only reason for that is I am flying on to Puerto Vallarta after my travels in the Copper Canyon. There are direct flights from Chihuahua to Puerto Vallarta (PV), whereas the flights from Los Mochis to PV have a quite a long layover.

FONATUR is the govt travel corporation; I was a travel writer at the time so I was invited. They won't plan a trip for you, but there are many agencies that will do so. But I'm sure you can do this yourself. I think your plan is a good one. We stayed overnight midway, at a hotel in Creel, and took trips by car from there, so look into that. I will see if I can dig up more info for you.

The most scenic part of the trip is between El Furte and Creel. To be sure to see this part during daylight hours it is probably better to start in Los Mochis. In 2023 Chihuahua and Los Mochis were the only train stations selling tickets.

Thank you for the very helpful information.