Transportation

If you are planning a trip to Mexico any time soon, you'll likely be wondering how to get around your destination once you arrive. Mexico transportation is surprisingly convenient for a developing country and travelers will find that getting from place to place is quite inexpensive.

Bus travel in Mexico, along with rental cars, is by far the most popular choices when looking for transportation in Mexico. The train is a great choice for those looking to find a new way to see beautiful countryside, or for those needing to travel safely through the difficult Copper Canyon terrain. While bus travel is the most inexpensive option, there are plenty of great ways to combine fun and beautiful scenery with your transportation in Mexico.

Rental Car

A good choice to discover Mexico is to rent a car. Mexico has the largest infrastructure of paved highways of any country in Latin America and travelers can easily obtain a driver's license. More than 4,000 kilometers of four-lane highway have been built through government concessions to private sector contractors since 1989, of which 3,500 kilometers have been constructed since 1994. The vast majority of these expressways are toll roads, like in most other developing countries.

If you hold an international license, you will not be required to take any additional exams. Even if you have never had a driver's license in your life, you can readily get a license from various government offices throughout major cities. As you might expect, the more lax rules of license requirements mean that driving rules in Mexico are more relaxed and drivers will do well to drive cautiously and be ready for anything.

Bus

Mexico is a country that runs by bus.They are everywhere and very inexpensive to ride. You can get literally anywhere by bus in Mexico, and if you travel the back country. There are three classes of buses: luxury, first-class and second-class.

The luxury buses are a joy to ride; they come with bathrooms, assigned seats and air-conditioning. These buses run between cities and make infrequent stops. First-class buses make more frequent stops but also often offer air-conditioning and assigned seats.

Second-class buses are the buses that you have heard about whenever anyone talks about Mexico. They sometimes look the same as first-class buses, but more often than not they look like someone's idea of Bus Hell. These buses stop for anyone, anywhere and all the time.

They are crowded (you will stand if you don't fight for a seat). The ride can be wild, but this is how most Mexicans get around. Even if the idea of riding in a crowded, brightly colored vehicle with poultry is not your idea of fun, everyone should ride on one of these buses at least once.

Train

In the 1950's, the public train system in Mexico was abandoned to the care of private companies, making train travel an exceedingly expensive option for locals. It was a good train service linking all major cities, using restaurant cars, sleeping-cars and observation cars, many inherited from the USA. Sadly, the Mexican government discontinued almost all long-distance passenger train service just a few years ago, and buses and planes are now the only way to get around Mexico.

The one train system that still offers a sensible alternative transportation in Mexico is the Chihuahua Pacific Railway. Winding through difficult terrain, this is just about the only way to see the sites along the Copper Canyon, and can be a lovely way to take advantage of Mexico transportation.

Air Travel

Air transportation in Mexico has developed rapidly. In 2001 there were an estimated 1,852 airports and airfields, 231 with permanent-surface runways. Principal airports include Juan N. Alvarez at Acapulco, Cancun International at Cancun, Cozumel International at Cozumel, Miguel Hidalgo at Guadalajara, Gen. R. Buelna at Mazatlan, Manuel C. Rejon at Merida, Benito Juarez at Mexico City, Gral. Escobedo at Monterey, and G. Diaz Ordaz at Puerto Vallarta. Mexican commercial aircraft carried 20,043,200 passengers on scheduled domestic and international flights in 2001. The main airline company is the newly privatized Aeromexico.

A number of international airlines serve Mexico, with direct or connecting flights from most major cities in the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan and Latin America. Most Mexican regional capitals and resorts have direct air services to Mexico City or the United States. Airport privatization, based on Mexico's successful experience with seaports, is nearly complete.

Taxi

The more than 250,000 registered cabs are one of the most efficient ways to get around, especially outside of rush hours, and prices are low, a fixed fee of about 6 pesos to get into the cab, and about 0.7 pesos per half kilometer or 45 seconds thereafter, for the normal taxis (taxi libre).

Mexican taxi The night rates, supposedly between 11 at night and 6 in the morning, but this may vary with the cab driver's mood, are about 20% higher. Some taxis "adjust" their meters to run more quickly, but in general, cab fare is cheap, and it's usually easy to find a taxi.

At night, and in areas where there are few taxis, cab drivers will often not use the meter, but rather quote you a price before you get in. This price will often be high, however, you can haggle. If you don't agree on the price, don't worry, another cab will come along.

Catching cabs in the street can be dangerous, since free-range cabs are not accountable to anyone. Taxi robberies, so-called "express kidnappings", where the victim is robbed and then taken on a trip to various ATMs to max out their credit cards, do occur, but there are some general precautions that will minimize the risk:

Taxis have special license plates. The registration number starts with "L" for free-roaming taxis, and with "S" for site taxis (registered taxis based on a certain spot, called "sitios"). Site taxis are safer.
The taxi license should be displayed inside the taxi, usually it is mounted somewhere above the windshield. Check that the photo of the driver on the license is of the actual driver. Make a point of looking at it.
If you are nervous, take site taxis only. These are more expensive, however (2-3 times the rate of free taxis).
If you are safety-concious or require additional comfort, consider radio taxis, which can be called by phone, and are extremely reliable and safe, although a bit pricier than other taxis. Most restaurants, hotels, etc. have the number for radio taxis. Radio taxis will usually give you the price for the trip on the phone when you order them. Expect rates of 5-10 times that of free taxis, however.
As with everything else, risks are greater at night.

Metro

Mexico City has a very efficient subway system which is clean and modern. The fare is inexpensive and transferring from one line to another can be done at no extra cost. The metro is currently undergoing extensive expansion. At this time, there are two Airport Metro stations.