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In Mexico, private ownership of motor vehicles is the exception rather than the
rule. Public transportation is most assuredly not limited to the lower stratum of
Mexican society, unlike intercity busses in the US. EVERYBODY rides the bus in
Mexico! And they just plain do it better. A first-class intercity bus in Mexico
can be a very pleasant experience indeed. Long-haul trips are often done at
night in busses comfortable enough to promote sleeping through the trip.
My guiding principle for this site is to tell what I know and talk about what
I've experienced. This is why I solicit stories, recomendations, and critiques
from you, the reader, since I can't experience everything no matter how hard I
try. But it would be especially hypocritical to recommend an unfamiliar form of
vacation travel without trying it myself. So late this past September, I walked
down to the corner of St Johns and North Lamar in North Austin, entering a
business called Calentano's. They are the primary agents in Austin for
a busline known as Transportes Bejucos and proved more than happy
to sell me a ticket from Austin to Linares.
By the way, there's an interesting border crossing story from this trip. Click
here to enjoy this first in a series...
Since I was the only passenger boarding in Austin, I was asked to meet the bus
at a gas station up on I-35. I didn't mind, but might have objected had I
suspected that a thunderstorm was going to erupt right about the time of my
11:00 pm rendezvous. That experience might push me to use Autobuses Americanos
or Autobuses Tornado next time around as both have dedicated indoor waiting
rooms in Austin.
The only bad part of the trip down was the wait to cross the international bridge
in Laredo. There were at least a hundred busses waiting to get across, the bunching
no doubt a result of the storms across Texas overnight.
Passing through Monterrey, I got just a little concerned when I noted that Bejucos
did not use the Centro de Camionetas, the main bus station, but rather a small
station down the street. This got me fretting about connections on the way home,
but I've always found these things sort themselves out.
When the Buceros bus dropped me off in Linares, I found that I was at one of the
major Centros de Camioneta but that the bus to Tampico left from the other. Not
knowing schedules and with no knowledge of Linares' local busses, I had to take
the only taxi ride of the whole trip. Good thing, too: when I got to the
terminal, I was within ten minutes of departure. The Linares to Tampico leg
introduced me to what may be my favorite line now: Grupo Senda.
Grupo Senda seems to primarily use Volvo busses. Theres a cabin in the rear of
most of these with separate mens and womens restrooms; the passenger seats are
among the most comfortable I've ridden.
Once in Tampico, the choices narrowed. For first class busses, it's pretty well ADO
or AU. Some of the longer runs offer ADO-GL, which is pretty much ADO's Ejecutivo
class service. Next bus heading south was an ADO, so that's what I took.
While in Veracruz/Boca del Rio, I used the city buses extensively. I made trips
to buy coffeebeans downtown; I took the bus to Wal-Mart to replace an inflatable
bed I damaged; I used the intracity lines to visit a couple more hotels. I also
used the second class busses for multiple trips out to Anton Lizardo. Like the
local busses, the intercity second class busses pick you up at designated stops
on the streets.
When the time came to visit the Costa Tuxtla coastline for a few days, I caught
the second class Veracruz-Catemaco bus in Boca del Rio. It passed through
Alvarado, and I have promissed myself a couple of days in the near future to
explore this fascinating city. The bus stopped in a tiny hamlet named El Tropico
just long enough for me and my bags to get off.
There's a perfectly nice second class bus making the loop from El Tropico along
the Costa Tuxtlas and on through Sontecomopan to Catemaco. But the route is also
serviced by camionetas
and I have a hard time passing up a ride in the back of a pick-up, so the next
few segments were semi-open-air with a great view. If there are any little hamlets
not serviced by camioneta, I sure don't know about them. But don't expect express
service, either!
On my return to Boca del Rio, I got to the ADO station too late to catch the
first class bus out of Catemaco. The second class station is across town, but
they service Catemaco - Veracruz all night long.
Timing with ADO out of Veracruz can be a bit touchy. On a Sunday evening, I had
a reservation for the 6:00 pm bus to Tampico. My ride got me to the bus station
ten minutes too late for my bus. There was not another empty seat until late
Monday afternoon! Well, that would have gotten me back too late to make my next
scheduled shift at my government loaf, so I had to come up with an alternative.
I waited six hours in the Veracruz bus station and grabbed an ADO-GL superbus
to Mexico City. The bus stations in Mexico City are pretty amazing places,
part transportation hub, part shopping mall. Shrines abound:
So here I was in the pre-dawn hours, tired from the travel done so far and perhaps
a bit disoriented from an anti-stress compound given me by a kind doctor in Boca del
Rio, when I find a Grupo Senda ticket counter and a bus that'll take me all the way
from Mexico City to Austin, Texas without a change of busses and in Ejecutivo class
seating.
The trip back was about as painless as a ground trip from DF to Austin could possibly
be. Recent rains had brought out the marrigolds, and it seemed like solid yellow
flowers for hundreds of miles.
Did I mention that I didn't even have to get off the bus for Customs and Immigration
at the border? Eat THAT, Lou Dobbs! Grupo Senda/Turistar/Transportes del Norte busses
let you off at the Todd Lane-Bannister Lane-Hwy 71 intersection, the second major
interchange east of I-35 on Ben White Boulevard in Austin.
Grupo Senda
Now, for those of you who do not fly and sometimes use Intercity bus lines such as
Greyhound, I'd like to point out that most of these Mexican bus companies stop in
places like San Antonio and Dallas. Depending on the line, they also go places like
Tulas; Kansas City; Chicago; and even Raliegh-Durham, North Carolina. As I've been
pointing out, these Mexican lines are more comfortable and cheaper than the domestic
busses. So give it some thought, dudes and dudettes.
Some friends of the pages are involved with travel to places other than Mexico.
For example, there are people promoting travel to places like the coastal region
of the United States. So to give some equal time:
Coastal Vacations
Looking to go on a nice vacation
to the coast? Check out what a relaxing
summer vacation can offer! If your looking for beautiful
scenery take a vacation
to Mexico. Check us out before you travel!