# bus to border



## mexicogirl38 (Dec 11, 2010)

Hi, Live in ajijic and since airfare is so expensive was wondering about taking first class bus to border. Going to Dallas and used to drive but things not safe now. Does anyone know the best bus to take? We get different answers so thought would throw it open. Do want first class or whatever is best bus. Thanks for the information. mexicogirl


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

I drove from Hidalgo to San Antonio just before Thanksgiving, there was no problems either way...

bus form GDL to Dallas, OH my aching Aztec............


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## ReefHound (Aug 9, 2010)

Buses get stopped and robbed as much as if not more so than cars.


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## circle110 (Jul 20, 2009)

We just returned to Guanajuato by car from San Antonio one week later than chicois8 and all was without incident for us as well. It is my also understanding that what ReefHound says is true - buses aren't any safer than going by car and probably less so.

Most of the border bound buses from this part of the country are overnighters, wheres driving you can do by day. We have some friends here in Guanajuato that drive back and forth to Dallas regularly without problems. If you stay on the cuotas during the day the odds of avoiding trouble are heavily on your side.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

If you are alone, the bus will be less expensive.
If you are two or more, driving will be much more convenient, comfortable and allow more baggage.
There is little difference in risk either way.
Another option would be a regional airline, like Interjet, from Guadalajara to Monterrey, etc. Then taxi to the bus station and take a bus to McAllen, etc. and onward.


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## ReefHound (Aug 9, 2010)

RVGRINGO said:


> If you are alone, the bus will be less expensive.
> If you are two or more, driving will be much more convenient, comfortable and allow more baggage.
> There is little difference in risk either way.
> Another option would be a regional airline, like Interjet, from Guadalajara to Monterrey, etc. Then taxi to the bus station and take a bus to McAllen, etc. and onward.


Her concern was safety, that option puts you on the road through the most dangerous part of the journey. Kinda defeats the purpose to incur the expense and hassle of flying only to drive through the border zone, in my opinion.

Laredo or Eagle Pass is the best crossing for one who is Dallas bound.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

I take the buses a lot and they are very comfortable. As already noted there is probably not much difference in danger bus versus car. If you go the bus route it is definitely worth the extra cost to go with the first class or premier class buses. Besides the added comfort and the bathroom, the better classes of buses have fewer stops. 2nd class can sometimes double the length of the trip. Incidentally, if you are over 60 and have a no-imigrante (FM-3) or imigrante (FM-2) visa, you can ride the buses for half price by getting an INAPAM credencial. Sometimes the discount seats are sold out because they limit it the number on each bus, so it is worth buying ahead or being flexible about which bus you want to take. Buses run frequently between major cities, often every hour or every few hours. When the discount seats are sold out at my preferred time, I have sometimes just waited an hour for the next bus. Once I decided to take Flecha Amarillo (2nd class) from Gdl to Queretaro because both ETN and Primera Plus were sold out on the discount tickets. Bad idea. The trip took 8 hours instead of the usual 4-1/2.

Memo


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

We have talked with a number of people that have taken Autobuses Americanos directly from major US cities, like Dallas, to larger cities in Mexico. Only problem was this summer with flooding along the Rio Bravo and that was on the US side trying to find a crossing that would allow a non-scheduled crossing when Laredo closed.
For one person, this a lot more reasonable and very comfortable from all I've heard.


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## ReefHound (Aug 9, 2010)

I believe Americanos is affiliated/owned by Greyhound. Another one my wife tells me is popular in Dallas is Sendera. I think Tornado is there, too. We have used them from Houston.


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## txtomx (Jan 25, 2009)

*Bus from Mexico to Dallas*



mexicogirl38 said:


> Hi, Live in ajijic and since airfare is so expensive was wondering about taking first class bus to border. Going to Dallas and used to drive but things not safe now. Does anyone know the best bus to take? We get different answers so thought would throw it open. Do want first class or whatever is best bus. Thanks for the information. mexicogirl


In Feb. 2010, my husband and I took Autobuses Americanos from Monterrey to Dallas. All was well until San Antonio. That's where the Autobuses Americanos bus didn't have a driver to continue the trip north. So, we were dumped into the Greyhound system. The trip from that point on was truly awful. After spending 8 weeks in Mexico and using the excellent buses there for all of our travel, we were on a smelly, dirty, awful bathroom, Greyhound. The ONLY frightening part of our 8 week trip from Dallas to Guadalajara to Mexico City to Guadalajara to Dallas was the Greyhound trip from San Antonio to Austin to Dallas. We had delays in San Antonio and Austin, so we didn't arrive in downtown Dallas 'til 1:00 AM. Not pleasant; downright scary. The worst part of the bus ride was from Austin to Dallas with drunks sitting behind us and a fellow smoking cigarettes in the bathroom. Never, never, never again!!

If we take a bus again, we're pretty sure it will be Turimex or maybe Tornado. Not Autobuses Americanos due to our scary Greyhound experience!


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

txtomx said:


> In Feb. 2010, my husband and I took Autobuses Americanos from Monterrey to Dallas. All was well until San Antonio. That's where the Autobuses Americanos bus didn't have a driver to continue the trip north. So, we were dumped into the Greyhound system. The trip from that point on was truly awful. After spending 8 weeks in Mexico and using the excellent buses there for all of our travel, we were on a smelly, dirty, awful bathroom, Greyhound. The ONLY frightening part of our 8 week trip from Dallas to Guadalajara to Mexico City to Guadalajara to Dallas was the Greyhound trip from San Antonio to Austin to Dallas. We had delays in San Antonio and Austin, so we didn't arrive in downtown Dallas 'til 1:00 AM. Not pleasant; downright scary. The worst part of the bus ride was from Austin to Dallas with drunks sitting behind us and a fellow smoking cigarettes in the bathroom. Never, never, never again!!
> 
> If we take a bus again, we're pretty sure it will be Turimex or maybe Tornado. Not Autobuses Americanos due to our scary Greyhound experience!


Your experience doesn't surprise me. I recently spent a night in the Durango bus station when I missed a 10:30 pm connection and the next bus was in the morning. I would be afraid to spend the night in a US bus station. From what I hear and read, the US had good public transit before World War II and made a conscious decision to abandon it. It is sad and one of the reasons I live in Mexico instead of the US.


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## tepetapan (Sep 30, 2010)

People joke about the "chicken buses" of Mexico but I never experienced anything like that until I took Greyhound fron San Antonio to Brownsville. I was very happy to cross in to Matemores and get on ADO for the ride to Veracruz.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

I've taken a "chicken bus" but that was in Guatemala, I do not remember them in Mexico...


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

chicois8 said:


> I've taken a "chicken bus" but that was in Guatemala, I do not remember them in Mexico...


My image of a 'chicken bus' probably comes from a book cover for John Steinbook's novel, The Wayward Bus.


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## tepetapan (Sep 30, 2010)

that was the point chico, I said I never experencied it in Mexico.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

tepetapan said:


> that was the point chico, I said I never experencied it in Mexico.


I don't think Chico was implying that you did. He was agreeing with your comment about US buses being closer to 'Chicken buses' than any in Mexico.


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## circle110 (Jul 20, 2009)

Chicken buses indeed exist in Mexico but I've only ridden in them for pueblo to pueblo service in rural areas. I've traveled on them with chickens, goats and even a piglet. One time we we pulled up to a stop and there was a family waiting there with a cow! However, only the young girl got on the bus -- the family had come to see her off and brought the cow along. Maybe it was the girl's special cow or something... in any case, I was worried for a minute there.

All the buses that serve city to city are indeed top notch.


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