# Ground Transportation Central Mexico



## hadnuf (Jun 27, 2009)

I'm only an occasional visitor to the forum, so forgive me if this topic has already been thoroughly discussed...

My wife and I are interested in eventually settling in Mexico's Central Highlands. To that end, we would like to do some touring to look at places like Guadalajara, Chapala, Patzcuaro, Morelia, Queretaro, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, etc.

Flying probably into Guadalajara, my original thought was simply to rent a car from an American-brand company like Hertz or Avis. From a convenience and economy point of view, is there a better choice? E.g., a different rental car provider, or maybe bus instead of car?

We're talking whirlwind; we would only have time to spend something like two days in each city, and the whole adventure may require more than one trip.

All advice much appreciated!


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## tepetapan (Sep 30, 2010)

Part of this depends on how much time you will be spending in Mexico. If I knew when I started traveling Mexico what I know now I would have used bus travel to do my exploring. Driving in Mexico means paying 100% attention to the road meaning the driver really does not see much of the surroundings.


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## Guest (Oct 8, 2011)

What part of Colorado are you from? We just moved from Loveland but have lived in Colorado Springs, Woodland Park, Estes Park and Highlands Ranch! Wew! Now we live in Taxco and plan on staying put! LOL


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## hadnuf (Jun 27, 2009)

Hi there. We have lived in Pagosa Springs for the past five years. Before that Castle Rock, Park Meadows, Parker, Aurora, Denver, etc.

How are you liking Taxco?


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## Guest (Oct 8, 2011)

I would agree that taking a bus would be easier and that you would see more from a bus. Bus service in MX is excellent, and reasonably priced. You can travel by bus without needing a great deal of Spanish. Dealing with city traffic, bad drivers, typically Spanish streets that go in broad circles instead of on N-S, E-W grids, finding parking, lack of good signs, etc makes driving yourselves a tougher choice. Add in an accident and the fall-out could quickly derail a whirlwind tour.

For the local travel portions, if you decide on a hotel and don't speak Spanish, just print out the hotel details with the hotel name and address from their website in Spanish and hand it to the taxi driver at each bus station, he'll get you there. The larger bus stations sell taxi tickets inside at an official kiosk at a fixed cost, so passengers don't get ripped off on the taxi fare once they leave the bus stations. 

Local taxis in MX are cheap - on the order of 20 to 60 pesos for a ride within a city. You can use taxis during your stays to explore, and either take different ones, or find one who will charge you by the hour at a fixed rate to show you around. Or, find a real estate agent who wants to show you around their city as a potential customer - buy them lunch afterwards as a thank you for their time.

I recommend the ETN bus line. As a large, older, grumpy man ETN makes my traveling life easier. 3 seats across instead of 4, normally half empty between Mondays and Thursdays, nice clean buses with a bathroom, movies and a lunch. They run express buses between the destinations that don't make local stops along the way - this saves time and makes the trip safer. There won't be any chickens or goats aboard, and the other passengers will have probably bathed the same day. 

Looking at their schedules (for their website just Google "ETN Mexico") , you could try this:

Guadalajara and Chapala for a few days. Then take ETN from Guadalajara to Morelia, trip is 3 hours and cost is MX$345 per ticket.

There must be other local lines that go from Morelia to Patzcuaro and back. (chime in here locals)

Next leg - take ETN from Morelia to Queretaro. Trip takes 3 hours and cost is MX$210 per ticket.

Next leg - Queretaro to San Miguel de Allende. Trip takes 1 hour and cost is MX$75.

Next leg - San Miguel to Guanajuato, trip is 1 hour and cost is MX$115.

Return leg from Guanajuato to Guadalajara is 4 hours and cost is MX$350.

(I did check other routes, but as an example, ETN doesn't go from Guadalajara to Guanajuato. With ETN, you would first need to go to Queretaro and then on to San Miguel or Guanajuato.)

Enjoy your exploration.


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## hadnuf (Jun 27, 2009)

Now that's what I'm looking for! Thank you so much, Carlos, for the great advice!


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## Guest (Oct 8, 2011)

If it were I landing in GDL, I would take a cab to Chapala and rent a car from there if that is what you are going to do. The bus suggeston is a good one. There is a person who rents used but reliable cars close to Ajijic or Chapala and it would be less expensive than an agency. Then you could get your feet wet touring the North side of the lake and venture to GDL by bus if the urge strikes you. Get around in GDL via taxi which is reasonably priced. Or if you like adventure, by busses but a good grasp of Spanish would sure be a help there. Let me know if you decide on this and I will put you in touch with the car guy via email if interested. He is a English speaker expat as well. [email protected]


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## hadnuf (Jun 27, 2009)

Chapala Payaso said:


> If it were I landing in GDL, I would take a cab to Chapala and rent a car from there if that is what you are going to do. The bus suggeston is a good one. There is a person who rents used but reliable cars close to Ajijic or Chapala and it would be less expensive than an agency. Then you could get your feet wet touring the North side of the lake and venture to GDL by bus if the urge strikes you. Get around in GDL via taxi which is reasonably priced. Or if you like adventure, by busses but a good grasp of Spanish would sure be a help there. Let me know if you decide on this and I will put you in touch with the car guy via email if interested. He is a English speaker expat as well. [email protected]


Thanks Payaso. Sounds like a good plan and I will email you. I have a secret weapon in that my wife is fairly fluent in Spanish. Me not so much. ;-)


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

I think you are either a car person or a bus person. The loop described is certainly a very good route that will give you a pretty good feel for the bajio. 
I'm a car person so I would probably rent a car but for the stops listed, really not necessary and without experience in Mexico, probably a hindrance.
Not sure what you hope to accomplish but these cities a real mix of options from manageable to get a feel in a couple days to basically impossible.
Guadalajara, Morelia and Queretaro are really big cities with all the associated pros/cons.
Lake Chapala, Patzcuaro, San Miguel and Guanajuato are much more manageable and I expect more like the towns that you listed in Colorado. Nice thing is that all of them are within 45min of a large city if you couple Guanjuato to Leon.


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## Guest (Oct 8, 2011)

hadnuf said:


> Hi there. We have lived in Pagosa Springs for the past five years. Before that Castle Rock, Park Meadows, Parker, Aurora, Denver, etc.
> 
> How are you liking Taxco?


Hi! Park Meadows would have been really close to Highlands Ranch. We were there about 7 years ago. 
We love Taxco. The Saturday silver market can be quite a headache but if you ignore that the rest of the town is wonderful. We live outside of town in a small barrio so we feel very much out of the hustle and bustle of Taxco. We haven't met or seen any expats so other than the tourists its pretty much solidly a Mexican town. Also, you don't find typical American products here but that's fine! We love it that way!


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## hadnuf (Jun 27, 2009)

conklinwh said:


> I think you are either a car person or a bus person. The loop described is certainly a very good route that will give you a pretty good feel for the bajio.
> I'm a car person so I would probably rent a car but for the stops listed, really not necessary and without experience in Mexico, probably a hindrance.
> Not sure what you hope to accomplish but these cities a real mix of options from manageable to get a feel in a couple days to basically impossible.
> Guadalajara, Morelia and Queretaro are really big cities with all the associated pros/cons.
> Lake Chapala, Patzcuaro, San Miguel and Guanajuato are much more manageable and I expect more like the towns that you listed in Colorado. Nice thing is that all of them are within 45min of a large city if you couple Guanjuato to Leon.


I think based on everyone's input plus some additional research. our strategy will be to employ a combination of bus, taxi, and occasionally a local rental car, depending on where we are and what places we're trying to see. 

The objective is simply to identify a few areas that most appeal to us on the surface. We'll have to come back later and spend more time in each before making any real decisions.

Thanks!


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## Snoopy1Can (Jan 4, 2011)

*Snoopy1Can*

Please provide E m ail or phone etc for the fellow who will rent us a car in Chapala area. We will probalby be done in Dec. Thanks.
JIm








Chapala Payaso said:


> If it were I landing in GDL, I would take a cab to Chapala and rent a car from there if that is what you are going to do. The bus suggeston is a good one. There is a person who rents used but reliable cars close to Ajijic or Chapala and it would be less expensive than an agency. Then you could get your feet wet touring the North side of the lake and venture to GDL by bus if the urge strikes you. Get around in GDL via taxi which is reasonably priced. Or if you like adventure, by busses but a good grasp of Spanish would sure be a help there. Let me know if you decide on this and I will put you in touch with the car guy via email if interested. He is a English speaker expat as well. [email protected]


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