Transportation

Another pitfall may be encountered when traveling in busy periods such as Easter, Christmas/New Years, Spring Break, Fiestas de Noviembre, etc. Airlines frequently overbook and some passengers will have to give up their seats either voluntarily or compulsory while standing in line at the ticket counter. The airline will first offer incentives such as future tickets or hotel packages. If you decline the offer and then get bumped off of the flight anyway, you lose both your scheduled flight and the incentives. The airline will put you up in a hotel until the next available flight though. Getting to the airport very early and being at the front of the line will help to avoid this problem but is no guarantee since there may be many passengers on special tours or with some other "preferred" status that will offer them some protection over other customers.

Veracrz:

There are airports at Veracruz (VER), Xalapa (JAL), and Coatzacoalcos (MTT).

Airlines on the Web:  Aeromexico   Mexicana   Continental   Aero Caribe/Aero Cozumel

Airlines flying into Veracruz include* Aerocaribe, Aeromexico, Mexicana, and Continental, Many of the flights are chartered by tour companies and these are the best deals if you can find them.Sometimes a hotel/airfare package can be priced below airfare alone. Offerings change so frequency that it is difficult to keep track. You can contact Vista World Travel in San Antonio, who helps us find the best fares and packages to this area. Canadians might also try http://www.selloffvacations.com for locating airfare deals for flights originating in Canada.

Toll free (U.S.) information and reservation numbers are:

• Aeromexico (800) 237-6639
• Continental (800) 525-0280
• Mexicana (800) 531-7921

  Aerocaribe/Aerocancun are subsidiaries of Mexicana and use the same reservation system for their short hops. ]

  Continental Airlines (800) 231-0856, (800) 932-2732. Continental offers direct service between Houston, TX and Veracruz daily. Vista World Travel in San Antonio, for tickets. Mexicana Airlines has one-stop service from the U.S. to Veracruz with departures from Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Newark, and San Antonio.

  Mexicana overbooks their flights, so arriving early especially during busy seasons may help ensure you have a seat. However, they also give preferential treatment to some tour groups, allowing those passengers to move to the front of the line ahead of those who arrived earlier. Incentives may be offered for those who voluntarily give up their seats on overbooked flights, but if you decline and are bumped from the flight anyway, you don't get any incentives--it happened to us.

  One reader reports, "Do not think that just because Mexicana does not fly on a route ( for instance from 0axaca to PE ) that you cannot therefore use a Mexi or Maya Pass .. you can. Get it before you go from Mexicana. Visitors from the UK can book their baggage in from the UK to the regional airport they are traveling to. This saved us bags (sorry about the pun) of time getting through customs at Mexico City as we had our own little channel to go through and just our hand luggage searched. Plus when we got to Oaxaca we were the only international arrival, ... our own personal customs man." (3/02)

  For private aircraft, the Veracruz airport has tiedowns and 100/130 fuel.

  The Jalapa Airport has daily flights to Mexico City by Aeromar.

  The Coatzacoalcos-Minititlán Airport offers daily flights from Mexico City by Mexicana.

  The Poza Rica Airport offers flights from Mexico City via Aerolitoral, a subsidiary of Aeromexico.

  Help keep this information current. Email mailto:john@johnzap.com?subject=Air Travel with updates.

  Ayúdenme a mantener ésta información al día. Envía tus actualizaciones por e-mail a mailto:john@johnzap.com?subject=Viaje del Avión.

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By Bus

Most major destinations have consolidated their bus terminals into a central location, usually called a Centro de Camioneras. In some smaller towns, you may find separate stations in small store-front operations. In such locations, it may be necessary to ask if there is another bus terminal. Usually, they are quite close to one another.

Mexican busses are differentiated by class of service and by number of stops. The top class is known as "Ejecutivo" and is available on only limited routes. These busses are configured with two seats on one side of the central aisle and only one on the other and with legroom comparable to first-class air service. Because of this, there are only around twenty-five spaces per bus and the ticket price reflects it. Most of the Ejecutivo-class service on the Gulf coast is provided by ADO-GL. ADO has a website exclusively for the "GL" class service at ADOGL .


But very close to "Ejecutivo" is the "De Lujo" class, which differs primarily in having two seats on each side of the aisle - but still more spacious than first class airline seating. Grupo Senda offers most of their service in this class.


The next most preferrable class of service is "Primera Classe Directo", followed by Primera Classe followed by "Segundo Classe" and so forth. Fortunately, most major lines and most major routes have had their information consolidated by a A remarkably handy service has been established for motorcoach travelers in the eastern half of Mexico called . Ticketbus. From their handy website, you can check the buslines traveling your route; you can check the class of service and number of stops; you can check the price; and you can even make your reservations on-line. It's a good idea to jot their url down on a piece of paper if you plan to travel by motorcoach. That way, you can visit an internet cafe in Mexico when you need to make a change in plans or timing. The url is https://www.ticketbus.com.mx/ticketbus/inicio.jsp.
Unfortunately, Ticketbus provides its multi-line service primarily for the east coast carriers. If you're needing to go through the central part of the country, such as Monterrey, you may need to use Grupo Senda for your information and ticketing needs. The good news is that their Turistar line is one of the carriers offering service from a number of cities in the United States with no change of busses at the border. The bad news? I can't seem to make their reservation service work from this side of the border and will probably have to make my Christmas reservations by phone.




Help keep this information current. Email mailto:john@johnzap.com?subject=Bus Travel with updates.

Ayúdenme a mantener ésta información al día. Envía tus actualizaciones por e-mail a mailto:john@johnzap.com?subject=Viaje del autobús.

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By Car

Foreign tourists driving their cars into Mexico should purchase Mexican car insurance before crossing the border. I use Sanborn's (1-800-222-0158, http://www.sanbornsinsurance.com/). They also provide a nice travelog free with your insurance. You tell them what route you will take and they pull out stacks of pages with mile by mile information on the route, city maps, hotel information, etc. and bind it into a custom book for you. Sanborn's and other Mexican insurance agents are located near border crossings on the U.S. side. You can also get Mexican car insurance from AAA.

If you want to get your Mexican insurance online, there is drivemex.com. I have not tried them.

When you cross the border you will need to obtain a car permit if you plan to drive past the border zone. You'll need a registration card and proof of ownership. If someone else owns the car, like the bank, you'll need an authorization by them to take the car into Mexico. You'll need a credit card--to assure that you'll bring the car back out of Mexico--and proof of citizenship.

Driving at night in Mexico is not recommended due to livestock on the roads, vehicles without lights, piles of rocks in the road to warn of a broken down vehicle ahead (the rocks are often left in place after the vehicle is removed), washed out areas that appear as shadows at night, and other hazards. Besides, you'll make poor time and you won't get to see the scenery.