Recently a friend asked me, “How do you get to México?”
I’d never spent much time thinking about it before, but for those who’ve never been, of course, it’s a valid question. The answer depends a lot on why you are going, how much time you have, how adventuresome you feel, and any of a myriad of other considerations. Since I always have children with me these days, and my normal stomping grounds are deep in central México, I always fly to and from México. But let’s consider the options.
One is to drive. The border crossing at Tijuana is one of the busiest border crossings in the world, so for many folks, driving clearly is the preferred choice. There are some fantastic resources for driving in México. Here is a great article by fellow México Today ambassador Susie Albin-Najera to get you started if you are thinking about a road trip to, from or around México. In it, she features a wonderful couple who have traveled the roads of México extensively. She also writes about the Green Angels service, a free service of the Mexican government for road travelers. Make sure to read it, she includes great tips and resources.
A second option is to take a bus. Greyhound has routes between the United States and many cities in México. While less expensive than a plane flight, the time investment is greater. If you aren’t in a hurry, this could be a viable option for you. Just keep in mind, México is vast, much larger than a two dimensional map might lead one to believe. A bus ride from San Diego, CA to México City, for instance, takes almost 48 hours.
A third option is to go by boat. Of course, there are a number of major cruise lines with ports of call in México including Carnival, Crystal, Disney, HollandAmerica, Norwegian, Princess, and Royal Caribbean. Trips vary in price, duration, and destination. The season in which you cruise, your choice of room and occupancy, and other factors can affect prices, so keep these in mind when planning. Cruise ships set sail from places like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Diego for Pacific Coast destinations like La Paz, Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta, and Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo (Yep! you read it right, that’s the place Morgan Freeman’s character daydreams about in the Shawshank Redemption). Miami, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Port Canaveral, Florida are some of the ports for departing to places like Cozumel on the East Coast of México. The big benefit of a cruise is someone else navigates and you should only have to unpack your suitcase once.
As for train travel to México, there is no through service that I know of from the US to destinations in México. If a train experience is what you are craving, you can make your way via Amtrak to either San Diego or El Paso. The San Diego Trolley’s Blue Line will take you to the border stop San Ysidro, near Tijuana, from downtown San Diego. But at the border, whether at San Diego or El Paso, you will have to find another mode of transportation from that point. Having said that, as an aside, there is a quintessential train experience within México, a now private line which travels about 400 miles through the natural wonders of Copper Canyon (Barrancas del Cobre) from Los Mochis, Sinaloa to Chihuahua, Chihuahua. Here is a nice article about the Copper Canyon train written by another México Today Ambassador, Suzanne Barbezat.
As I mentioned at the start, flying has been my exclusive transportation to and from México since having children. Without a doubt, it’s the best combination of speed and economy for traveling deep into México from the United States and Canada. México has over fifty international airports. While a number of US carriers have flights to México, two Mexican airlines in particular, Aeromexico and Volaris have the advantage of extensive choices in destinations both to and from, as well as within, México.
Volaris has a long list of Mexican destinations including Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, Morelia, León/Guanajuato, Puebla, La Paz, Los Cabos, México City, Cancún, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Mazatlán, Colima, Hermosillo, Chihuahua, Monterrey, Los Mochis, Tijuana, Mexicali, Culiacán, Tepic, Querétaro, Uruapan, Acapulco, Cuernavaca, and Toluca. They have enjoyed large increases in ridership over the last year, due to new, innovative and flexible programs, like their “Tu decides...” program, and a partnership with Southwest Airlines, which means beyond Volaris’ USA destinations, including Orlando, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego, San José, Fresno, and Las Vegas, it now connect via Southwest to over 50 US destinations.
Aeromexico has flights originating from as far away as Europe and Asia. They, too, have an extensive list of destinations including Aguascalientes, Cabo San Lucas, Campeche, Cancún, Chetumal, Chihuahua, Ciudad de Carmen, Ciudad Juárez, Culiacán, Durango, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Huatulco, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, La Paz, León/Guanajuato, Los Mochis, Manzanillo, Matamoros, Mazatlán, Mérida, Mexicali, México City, Minatitlán, Monterrey, Morelia, Nuevo Laredo, Oaxaca, Obregón City, Poza Rica, Puerto Vallarta, Querétaro, Reynosa, Saltillo, San Luis Potosí, Tampico, Tapachula, Tijuana, Torreón, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Veracruz, Villahermosa, and Zacatecas.
[readon1 url="http://www.vallartatoday.com"]Source:www.vallartatoday.com - Translation by Suyapa Ajuria Nov. 8, 2012[/readon1]
