MX Mexico: how to get around

Tourists are often warned about travelling on roads at night. Although bandidos are rare in more metropolitan areas, err on the side of caution in more rural areas. The best bet is to drive during only daylight hours. Cattle, dogs, and other animals also can appear on the roadway unexpectedly, so if you do have to drive at night, be very cautious. If possible, follow a bus or truck that seems to be driving safely.

Foreign drivers' licenses are recognized and recommended. Speeding tickets are common, and to ensure your presence at the hearing, the officer may choose to keep your license. He is within his rights to do so. Beware though, police officers are known to keep driver's licenses until they are given a bribe.

At petrol (gas) stations, make sure the pump is zeroed out before the attendant begins pumping your gas so that you don't end up paying more than you should.

Good maps are invaluable and the Mexico maps included in "North American Road Atlas" books are worse than useless. The Guia Roji maps are particularly good.

If you arrive in Mexico by airplane but would like to drive around the country, all major car rental companies are present in Mexico. However, you must know that they operate under a franchise scheme, and therefore their policies and the overall way to do business are very different than those in other countries. Most of the times they will publish prices that may look very attractive, but may not include insurance, taxes and other mandatory fees, the best thing to do is call in advance to find out the final price to pay. There are some local companies which do include all bells and whistles in their rates, Veico Car Rental. City Car Rental offers good prices and have rental offices as most major cities in Mexico.

Throughout the mainland of North America including the Mexico, traffic moves on the right with most cars being left-hand-drive (as in Belize, Guatemala, and the United States). The only areas of North America that do not drive on the right are on some Caribbean Islands.

Major airlines hubs for all or several of the airlines are in Mexico City-Benito Juarez Airport, Mexico City-Santa Lucia Airport (NLU), Guadalajara, Cancún International Airport, and Monterrey. There are additional point to point services from several other cities. Budget airlines offer competitive fares that rival bus travel over long distances. The low-cost airlines are VivaAerobus and Volaris.

The main airlines providing service to over 60 cities within Mexico are:

• Aeromexico/Aeromexico Connect, ☏ +52 55 5133-4000 (MX), toll-free: +1-800-237-6639 (US). It is the 'national' and 'legacy' carrier with hubs in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. It is also a member of the SkyTeam Alliance. (updated Apr 2016)
• Mexicana. In 2023, the Mexican government resurrected the formerly bankrupt carrier and will operate it as a state airline. Mexicana will initially focus on domestic routes only, serving all major cities and resort areas in Mexico. The airline operates on a hub and spoke model with all flights originating or ending at Mexico City - Aeropuerto Internacional Felipe Angeles (AIFA) (NLU) in the northern suburb of Santa Lucia. The airline uses Boeing 737 aircraft and Embraer E195-E2 aircraft. (updated Nov 2023)
• VivaAerobus. Low-cost, Ryanair-like airline with hubs in Cancun, Monterrey, Mexico City and Guadalajara and new focus cities in Merida and Puebla, and service from the USA. On the Viva Aerobus fares "Zero" and "Light", you cannot check in earlier than 4 hours and 8 hours before departure respectively. As of Nov 2021, the website and app won't tell you that if you try it earlier. Instead giving you a random error message or telling you to check-in at the airport for additional cost, which is not needed. (updated Apr 2016)
• Volaris, ☏ +52 55 1102-8000, toll-free: +1 855 865-2747 (US). Hubs are in Mexico City, Tijuana and Guadalajara with focus cities in Cancun, Monterrey and Leon. They also have an additional hub in San Jose Costa Rica and a focus city in Los Angeles, outside of Mexico. They have services to cities in the U.S., Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua. (updated Apr 2016)

There are also small regional airlines operating within limited geographic areas. Regional airlines include:

• Aerus, ☏ +52 811 495 5340 (only WhatsApp). Regional airline based in Monterrey serving Northern Mexico and the Gulf Coast, including destinations in Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, and Yucatan. The airline also provides international service to Texas border cities, including McAllen, Laredo and Brownsville. Operates Cessna Caravan aircraft. (updated Jul 2026)
• Calafia Airlines, ☏ +1 619 489-1439 (US), toll-free: 01 800 5603949 (MX). Operates scheduled flights between cities in the Baja California Peninsula and from the Baja California Peninsula to Chihuahua, Jalisco, Sonora and Sinaloa states. It connects the Baja California Peninsula to Leon (Guanajuato), Monterrey (Nuevo Leon), Mexico City and San Luis Potosi, all in the smaller aircraft. It connects Palenque and Tuxtla Gutierrez (Chiapas) to Mexico City and Cancun. It also offers charters and air taxi services. (updated Apr 2016)
• Aero Servicio Guerrero (ASG), toll-free: 01 800 82 33 153. Operates scheduled flights between cities in the Baja California Peninsula and to and from cities in the northwestern mainland states of Sonora and Sinaloa. Offers flights to some destinations not served by larger carriers. Flights are on Cessna Caravan or Embraer regional jet aircraft. (updated Aug 2026)
• Aerotucán, ☏ +52 951 502 0840, +52 951 187 6202 (WhatsApp), toll-free: 800 640-4140. Flies between Oaxaca City, Ciudad Ixtepec, Huatulco and Puerto Escondido in Oaxaca state in small planes like the Cessna Caravan. (updated Sep 2022)
• Cabo Flight Center. Formerly operated as Señor Air, the rebranded regional carrier is still based out of Los Cabos (SJD) and still operates a limited route map with service to mainland destinations in Chihuahua, Sonora, Sinaloa and Jalisco using Embraer aircraft. (updated Jul 2024)
• TAR, ☏ +52 55 2629-5272. Hub in Queretaro with focus cities in Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Puerto Vallarta to several destinations nationwide. Operates Embraer regional jets. (updated Sep 2022)

See main article, Bus travel in Mexico

Long-distance buses are an ideal way to experience Mexico. The executive and first-class buses are very modern, clean, and comfortable with bigger seats and more legroom than the first-class cabin of a modern aircraft. Costs are generally low, with first-class tickets costing only slightly more than a much slower second-class bus. All major cities and tourist destinations have good bus service.

Most larger cities have a mix of public bus services and privately run bus services. For example, in Mexico City there are several bus services that are part of the public Metro transportation including large, modern articulated buses that run in dedicated lanes on major arteries, as well as electric buses and traditional buses through most neighborhoods. In the city of Monterrey, there are Metrobuses that operate as part of the city's public transit network, often connecting to the Metrorrey subway/light rail stations. There are also more than a dozen private bus companies, usually providing services to a well-defined section of the city. Using the city buses can be complicated, involving various transfers and sometimes multiple providers. Information about these may be in individual destination articles here, but is more reliable in the Moovit app (available for iPhone or Android).

Many cities in Mexico have privately operated van or small bus services that run along popular routes. These go by various names including peseros, colectivos, urbanos, or combis. Whatever you call them, they are sometimes vans and sometimes small buses with varying color codes depending on the city you are in and often identifying the operator or route. Usually the route taken is written on cardboard attached to the windshield or with wet and then dried soap or chalk on the windshield listing the local colonias (neighborhoods) and points of interest (Allende, WalMart, Soriana, malls, hospitals, universities, etc.) the routes are not numbered and the schedules are often informal. When a combi gets full, it leaves and won't pick up passengers along the way until somebody gets off.

In some cities the pesero stops at marked bus stops while in others bus stops are uncommon and you are expect to signal the bus to pick you up (wave or hold out your hand) and drop you off when you want. If you don't find a stop button in a pesero; just shout the word bajo! for it to stop. Fares are cheap and vary from M$5-15 (Feb 2022) approximately.

You can check, if there are rides offered for your route on Blablacar. Especially between bigger cities the chances are good. In order to see the prices in pesos, you need to (re)install the app and choose Mexican pesos. Prices are about 30-50% less than taking an intercity bus.

Intercity trains are slowly making a comeback in Mexico, after a 25-year hiatus. The vast majority of cities are not served but as of 2025 a few lines have opened and there are plans for major expansions over the coming years.

• Tren Maya serves the Yucatán Peninsula and the Riviera Maya. The route goes along the Caribbean coast between Cancun and Chetumal at the Belize border. It provides access to Mérida and has stations at archaeological sites like Chichen Itza, Edzna, Tulum, and Palenque.

• Tren Interoceánico runs across the Tehuantepec isthmus between Salina Cruz on the Pacific Ocean and Coatzalcocos on the Gulf of Mexico coast. Tren Interoceanico also has a line that connects Coatzalcocos to Palenque where passengers can transfer to the Tren Maya.

• El Insurgente is an intercity train in Mexico State connecting to the Mexico City Metro at the Observatorio station.

The most famous tourist train in Mexico is the Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico (Chihuahua-Pacific Railway or El Chepe) between Los Mochis, Sinaloa, and the town of Creel, Chihuahua, through the gorgeous Copper Canyon.

In the state of Jalisco there are a couple of lines which travel from the state capital city of Guadalajara to the nearby tequila distilleries in the small town of Amatitlan on the Tequila Express and to the Jose Cuervo distilleries in the town of Tequila on the Jose Cuervo Express.

There is also a tourist train that runs from Tijuana to Tecate (and back again) on Saturdays.

Ride-hailing is available in Mexico and the following are the most anticipated providers. There may be destinations where the service is not available due to differences with local cab groups.

• Uber. Works in Mexico City and other cities. (updated May 2023)
• Cabify. (updated May 2023)
• Didi. (updated May 2023)
• Bolt. Includes three cities. (updated May 2023)

Many drivers in Mexico do not like payment by credit card. If you're having trouble hailing a ride, try switching to cash payment.

One upside of the high petroleum prices is that hitching is beginning to be more common in Mexico again, particularly the rural areas. In areas near big cities, hitching should be more difficult, and is not really advisable for security reasons.

However, in village areas, this will be really possible and most likely a nice experience. Since villagers have always had a hard time affording gas, and nowadays many are turning to picking up paying hitchhikers as a way to afford the next trip into town. Baja California, the Sierra Tarahumara and Oaxaca and Chiapas all have good possibilities for the hitchhiker.

Hitchhiking possibilities vary according to region. Mexican culture is often accepting of hitchhiking and it's a common practice among Mexican youngsters going to the beach in Easter vacations, though in some cases a money contribution is expected for gas because of its relatively high prices. You should make it clear that you have no money to offer before accepting the ride, if this is the case. If you're willing to pay, trucks will often provide lifts for about half the price of a bus ticket. Of course you may be able to negotiate a better deal. Hitchhiking is considered fairly safe and easy in the Yucatán Peninsula.