Learn Spanish Travel Spanish Blog

Here’s a brief report on how to get from SMA to Mexico City for those of you wondering how to do it. As you probably know, it’s one of those “you can’t get there from here” situations. Well, you can, but not without either some expense or difficulty.

You CAN go directly to the airport from SMA, but it would mean hiring a service, like a van or a cab or something, and we were told it runs about $80 a person. Not bad, but it’s a lot cheaper to take the bus from SMA to Queretaro and then the bus from there to the DF (Mexico City) airport. The good news is that it goes right to the airport and not to Central Autobus Norte, which requires a $240 peso taxi ride to the airport (and adds 1/2 an hour). The bad news is that a lot of the flights to the U.S. (certainly our flights on USAir) are in the middle of the day, so the 4 1/2 hour trip from SMA means getting up early early in the morning.

We compromised. We hired a service to Queretaro - a taxi. It was right on it’s scheduled time (6 a.m.) and got us to the bus station by 7 for a 7:30 bus (we already had bus tickets).

The bus goes to a stop directly underneath the airport. Go up the stairs and right there (at the top of the stairs or elevators) are the counters to buy bus tickets to other places. Sherry bought her round trip ticket to Cuernavaca there.

For flights, go into the airport section (the way is obvious) and then follow the signs that say Passenger Check-in. You’ll pass a food court, and then section after section of airlines. Watch for yours, go in, get your boarding pass. When you’re finished, GO BACK to the food area. That’s Security Check. When you first walk out of getting your boarding pass, you’re going to see all these areas that say salle J 25-34 or something like that. F, J, G, etc. IGNORE THEM. Even if your ticket says salle 25. You have to go through Security first and your gate is on the other side of Security. Once you get past security, it’s a lot less confusing.

SUPER BIG HINT FOR NOT MISSING YOUR BUS OR PLANE. >>>>ASK<<<<< Whether we’re getting on a bus or plane, we always ask at the counter. THEN we ask at the boarding area. At the Queretaro bus station, our ticket said gate 17. The counter agent confirmed it. The bus was at gate 25. If we (Sherry) hadn’t asked (AT THE GATE), we would have missed our bus (and my flight). This is something we learned the hard way a long time ago. ASK AT THE GATE. Ask at the counter, etc, too, but always always always ASK AT THE GATE. If you don’t speak the language, show them your ticked and point, as if to say “here?”.

When I saw Sherry off to Cuernavaca from the airport, I took my boarding pass and headed to my USAir gate. My pass, which I had gotten only an hour before, said gate 25. The big board listed my flight number as being at gate 35. Know what I did? Yep, I asked at the gate. It was gate 35. So class, what do we do when we get to the bus or plane station? That’s right. Ask at the gate.

Worried about riding on a Mexican bus for 4 hours to your destination. Don’t be. It’s a little confusing at the bus station, but Mexicans are very friendly and helpful (if you’re nice). And the buses are great. The seat are wider and more comfortable than U.S. planes, and they recline further, and most even have pull down support to put your legs on. They usually show movies. Two if it’s a long trip. When you get on, they had you at least a drink (free). Sometimes you get a packaged sandwich as well (also free). This time we got a drink, a sandwich and a set of headphones. All free. On my USAir flight, I paid $2 for a bottle of water and had to suffice with an inflight magazine. Not bad-mouthing USAir, you understand. I like USAir. But I’m trying to allay your concerns about Mexican long distance buses (like ETN and PrimeraPlus). By the way, when there’s a choice, always spring for the highest class. It’s only a few dollars more.

Now, local buses…. they’re all over the map. It depends on where you are and where you’re going. I’ve only ridden local CITY buses, and they were all fine. Like…. buses. Some were better than others, but none were awful. I know there are chicken buses out there, but I’ve never been on one. But then I’ve only seen city buses in Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende.

 

Tags:   Mexican Buses · Mexico · Queretaro Mexico · San Miguel de Allende · Travel SpanishNo Comments