Brownsville to PdC -- By Bus

Hello all,

I was so taken by Playa Del Carmen, that I have to go back, and soon.
My
first opportunity will be the first two weeks of May, which happily
coincides with the off season.

Since I'm a student with a limited budget, I can't afford airfare. So
I
thought, why not take a bus from Texas to PdC? Has anyone ever done
this?

I read in a travel book that one should buy a ticket all the way
through
to PdC from Greyhound, and they will take you across the border and
put
you on the right bus in Mexico (my Spanish is limited to ordering
breakfast). Does this sound like a good idea?

I searched this newsgroup and there was some info from an anonymous
poster...they said to go through DF and then on to Cancun, etc, rather
than to go through Tampico/Veracruz.

How can I check the bus fare for a "best" class bus if I don't know
Spanish? Would it be worth trying to save money and getting a 1st or
2nd class bus?

This seems like a long bus ride...maybe it would be better to beg,
borrow,
or steal an airline ticket?

Thanks a bunch,

Drew
Waco, TX

It is a very long ride. You can do it, no problem. I would never
consider such a trip unless I planned to stop a few times along the way.

A few general comments:

Mexican first class buses cost around $5 US per hour, or around $0.10 US
per mile. On long trips, it often doesn't cost much more to fly,
especially if you can get a good deal. My bus book says around $175 one
way from Matamoros (Brownsville TX) to Cancun, so not cheap.

Forget 2nd class buses for long trips, no bathroom, too many stops, too
slow, etc.

I tend to roll my own trips, so I would probably just get the the bus
station on the Mexican side of the border, and then choose whatever
looks good.

You did not say where you were starting from, but Mexico City is
probably not that far out of the way, and the roads tend to run in that
direction. You can get direct buses to Mexico City from almost anywhere
in Mexico. so sometimes it is just more convenient to go via Mexico
City. If you do go to Mexico City, you may need to change bus stations
in Mexico City.

If you do the trip, be sure to carry a map of Mexico with you, it will
help you make good decisions about buses. There is always more than one
way to get anywhere, usually several ways, so don't freak out if you
can't get the bus you want to the destination you want. Usually, one
travels from large city to large city. For your trip, the minimum
changes of bus will probably be Border to Mexico City, Mexico city to
Cancun, Cancun to PdC.

For those who are interested in information about the Mexican bus
system, I suggest that you read my article. You will find a practical
article on how to use the Mexican bus system, which is an excellent
system. The article is somewhat dated, first class bus rides now
cost around $5 US per hour, or $0.10 US per mile. At that price,
the bus often costs more than half the cost of airfare, so buses
are not necessarily a great bargain for long distances

The last time I checked, they (www.mexconnect.com) had my article at

http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/trave...son/rfbus.html

Although this is a commercial site, they did not pay me for the
article, and I have no business relationship with them. Like a lot of
authors, I would like to be read.

The English-language source for bus schedules is the book
Bus Across Mexico by Robert Berryhill, Bengi Publishing.
It also has useful advice on how to use the bus system.
Schedules change, and the book is not 100% complete and accurate,
but it may be worth it for those who need to know
in advance what their options will be. I tend to travel
by the seat of my pants, but that is easier to do with
experience. The 2003 edition has been updated and enlarged.
http://www.geocities.com/busacrossmexico/

The Lonely Planet guidebooks usually provide useful bus info.

A frequent question that I receive is how to travel by
bus to Mexico from the USA. There are a couple of choices.
Greyhound offers buses to the border, including transfers
to the Mexican bus station on the other side of the border.
There are many bus lines catering to Mexican residents of
the USA. Many of them are not in the phone book. The best
way to find out about them is to ask at a local business
catering to Mexicans, look for the signs in Spanish in the
window. You may be able to buy a ticket to a location
in the interior of Mexico, but if not, these buses
connect to shuttle buses that take you to the Mexican
bus station on the other side of the border. An FMT (tourist
visa) is required if you go more than 50 miles into Mexico.
You get one at the immigration office at the border.
The FMT costs around $20 US. Just tell the bus driver to
wait while you complete the paperwork and pay the fee.
The bus will stop for a luggage check in any event.

Keep in mind that many of the websites are not actively
maintained, so may contain out of date schedules and other
information.


General Bus Information

http://www.magic-bus.com/ Probably the most complete list of web
sites for Mexican bus lines, but the webmaster quit
maintaining the website in October 2002.

http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/mex...nks/mxbus.html
A general article on the Mexican bus stystem.
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/trave...er/rmbus1.html (same
article as link above)

http://www.differentworld.com/mexico...s/bus_info.htm
Good list of links to specific bus lines.

http://www.mts.net/~dcdonahu/bus.html Page of links.

http://www.geocities.com/busacrossmexico/ Selling bus book,
some other info



Specific Bus line web pages

Some web sites that link to Mexico Bus websites are below, but
remember that most of the first class bus lines do not have
websites with schedules. However, most of the luxury bus lines do
have schedules on the web. First class buses have more departures
per day than luxury buses, and go to more places.
In other words, you can spend hours web searching, but do not
assume that since you cannot find it on the web, it does not
exist. There probably is a first or second class bus,
but no web site. Sometimes websites disappear for no apparent
reason. There are lots of opportunities for frustration.

http://www.ticketbus.com.mx Info on ADO (first class & luxury),
and Christobol Colon, among others, with schedule info. Appears
to cover mostly destinations south and east of Mexico City,
including the Yucatan.

http://www.cristobalcolon.com.mx for Christobal Colon bus line,
southern Mexico. I did not have any luck getting a schedule off
the web site the last time I tried.

http://www.adogl.com.mx ADO BusLine, Grand Luxury Division
ADO GL serves destinations south and east of Mexico City, including
the Yucatan.

http://www.flecha-amarilla.com/eindex.htm Flecha Amarilla
bus line, including Primera Plus, a very good first class
bus line, covers central Mexico. I was unable to get a schedule
off of their web site, but you may have better luck.

http://www.autobus.com.mx/ Estrella de Oro bus line.
Mostly serves Mexico City south to Acapulco and Ixtapa,
but also Leon, Queretero, and Aguascalientes. Includes
schedules. Alternate URL
http://www.estrelladeoro.com.mx/

http://www.uno.com.mx UNO Bus Line, luxury line that
services destinations east of Mexico City, including the Yucatan.
Web page had accessable schedules when I checked.

http://www.gruposenda.com Several bus lines in northeastern
Mexico, the online schedule did not work when I checked it.


If you do not have WWW access, or if you have questions, drop me a
line and I will try to help.

Richard Ferguson


Links checked 21 September 2003
(Note, the ETN website was down on that date and a few days later).



The following sites have been useful in the past, but were
down in September 2003.

Site down in September 2003.

http://www.etn.com.mx (Website down in September 2003)
This is one of the luxury bus lines, very
nice, covers central Mexico. English side of web page not working
when I checked it, but Spanish side of site works, try Compra de
Boletos to get schedule. I have not bought tickets on line, but
they offer that service. We have traveled on their buses,
three seats across instead of the usual 4 across, excellent.



Drew wrote:

Hello all,

I was so taken by Playa Del Carmen, that I have to go back, and soon.
My
first opportunity will be the first two weeks of May, which happily
coincides with the off season.

Since I'm a student with a limited budget, I can't afford airfare. So
I
thought, why not take a bus from Texas to PdC? Has anyone ever done
this?

I read in a travel book that one should buy a ticket all the way
through
to PdC from Greyhound, and they will take you across the border and
put
you on the right bus in Mexico (my Spanish is limited to ordering
breakfast). Does this sound like a good idea?

I searched this newsgroup and there was some info from an anonymous
poster...they said to go through DF and then on to Cancun, etc, rather
than to go through Tampico/Veracruz.

How can I check the bus fare for a "best" class bus if I don't know
Spanish? Would it be worth trying to save money and getting a 1st or
2nd class bus?

This seems like a long bus ride...maybe it would be better to beg,
borrow,
or steal an airline ticket?

Thanks a bunch,

Drew
Waco, TX

Wow, a long ride, or series of rides.Go major city to city -
BorderTampicoVera CruzVillahermosaChetumalPDC
Not necessary to go to Cancun.

Considering the time and added expense of food, maybe room, enroute(both ways),
you would do well to look at airfares.
Two other things the route above. If you go, you should see Palenque and when
you get to Chetumal, you should go into Belize.

(Drew) wrote in message . com...

Well, i haven't done exactly this route by bus but i have driven it.
Also have done similar routes by train and bus. I don't see any
advantage taking the bus. You won't save any money and you'll spend
half of the two weeks eiher on the bus or recovering from it. Also it
is almost always cheaper when going by land to take a bus to the
border, walk across and get a bus from the other side. This is
usually easy to do, just follow the locals, they know how to save a
buck. Depending upon where you are starting from this may work for the
airlines too.

And May June and July is the off season on the Yucatan Penn. for a
good reason. The sun is directly overhead and it's hotter than heck.
Inland is sizzling and on the coast the cooling onshore trades
sometimes reverse so you don't get those either. With only two weeks
I'd pick a closer and cooler destination or fly.

mike


I was so taken by Playa Del Carmen, that I have to go back, and soon.
My
first opportunity will be the first two weeks of May, which happily
coincides with the off season.

Since I'm a student with a limited budget, I can't afford airfare. So
I
thought, why not take a bus from Texas to PdC? Has anyone ever done
this?

I read in a travel book that one should buy a ticket all the way
through
to PdC from Greyhound, and they will take you across the border and
put
you on the right bus in Mexico (my Spanish is limited to ordering
breakfast). Does this sound like a good idea?

I searched this newsgroup and there was some info from an anonymous
poster...they said to go through DF and then on to Cancun, etc, rather
than to go through Tampico/Veracruz.

How can I check the bus fare for a "best" class bus if I don't know
Spanish? Would it be worth trying to save money and getting a 1st or
2nd class bus?

This seems like a long bus ride...maybe it would be better to beg,
borrow,
or steal an airline ticket?

Thanks a bunch,

Drew
Waco, TX