Airlines The main
ones are Aerocalifornia,
Reforma 332 at El Ángel (tel
5207-1392); Aerocaribe, Zola
535, 28th floor, Colonia del
Valle (tel 5448-3000);
Aerolitoral (see Aeroméxico);
Aeromar, at the airport (tel
5627-0207); Air Canada (see
Continental); Aeroméxico,
Reforma 445 (tel 5133-4000
or toll-free tel
1-800/021-4000); America
West, Rio Tiber 103, 6th
floor, Zona Rosa (tel
5514-0194); American,
Reforma 314 at Amberes (tel
5209-1400; reservations tel
1-800/904-6000); Aviacsa, at
the airport (tel 5716-9004);
British Airways, Polanco
Plaza, Calle Jaime Balmes 8
(tel 5387-0300 or toll-free
1-800/006-5700); Canadian,
Reforma 385, 15th floor (tel
5208-1883); Continental,
Andrés Bello 45, 18th
floor, Polanco (tel
5283-5500); Cubana, Temístocles
246, Polanco (tel
5250-5500); Delta, Reforma
381 near El Ángel, Zona
Rosa (tel 5279-0909);
Iberia, Reforma 24 (tel
5130-3030); LACSA, Reforma
509 (tel 5211-6604);
Mexicana, handiest office at
Juárez 82 and Balderas and
Reforma 312 at Amberes (tel
5448-0990 or toll-free
1-800/501-9900); Northwest,
Paseo de las Palmas 735, 7th
floor, Lomas de Chapultepec
(tel 5202-4444); Qantas,
Balmes 8, Col Los Morales (tel
5387-0300); United, Hamburgo
213 (tel 5627-0222). To get
to the airport, it's easiest
to take a regular taxi, but
you can also phone SETTA the
day before (tel 5571-9344)
to arrange to be picked up
from your hotel.
Airport enquiries
Dial 5571-3600. For
international arrivals and
departures ask for ext 2208;
for domestic flights, ext
2259.
American Express
Central office and clients'
mail service at Reforma 234
at Havre in the Zona Rosa
(Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat
9am-1pm; tel 5207-7282).
Several other offices
throughout the city.
Banks and exchange
ATMs are everywhere and with
the appropriate credit or
cash cards you can get money
throughout your stay without
ever visiting a bank.
Besides, many banks will
only change money in the
morning, and many are
unhelpful for currencies
other than US dollars:
Banamex is your best bet.
Most large hotels and shops
will change travellers'
cheques and cash dollars,
but the quickest and easiest
places to change money are
casas de cambio, scattered
all over town, particularly
where tourists congregate.
In the Centro Histórico try
Impulsora Cambiaria, Madero
27 at Bolivar (Mon-Fri
9am-5pm, Sat 10am-2.30pm) or
Cambios Exchange, on Madero
near Filomena Mata (daily
10am-7pm). You'll find
several in the Zona Rosa,
especially on Amberes and
Londres, and a couple on
Reforma by the Hotel
Crowne Plaza , just
south of the Monumento a la
Revolución.
Buses It's rare
not to be able to get on any
bus at very short notice,
but it can be worth booking
in advance for long-distance
journeys or for express
services to popular
destinations at busy times -
that way you'll have a
choice of seat and be sure
of getting the fastest
service. If you're uncertain
which bus station you should
be leaving from, simply get
into a taxi and tell the
driver what your ultimate
destination is - he'll know
where to take you. You'll
find places to eat, and
stalls selling food and
drink for the journey in all
the terminals along with
ATMs and news stands.
Car rental There
are thousands of agencies
throughout the city, and the
small local operations are
often cheaper than the big
chains. Either way, renting
a car isn't going to be
cheap, and a car can be more
of a liability than a help
while you're in the city.
Expect to pay US$60-80 per
day for a compact car with
the appropriate insurance
(definitely recommended).
Four people with luggage
will want something larger
and can expect to fork out
over US$100 a day. The major
operators all have offices
at the airport and in the
Zona Rosa, and some of the
smaller companies do too, a
major boon as it saves you
trawling around the city for
the best deals. The best
airport deals are with Kim
Kar (tel 2599-0267) who are
marginally cheaper than
either Gold Car Rental (tel
2599-0091, intgold@avantel.net
) or Royal Rent A Car (tel
5786 8092; www.royalrent.com
). The majors include: Alamo
(tel 5250-0055 or
1-800-849-8001, www.goalamo.com
); Budget (tel 5566-6800 or
1-800/700-1700, www.budget.com.mx
); Dollar (tel 5726-0591; www.dollar.com.mx
); Europecar (tel 5575-2279
or 1-800/003-9500, www.europecar.com.mx
); Hertz (tel 5546-7689 or
1-800/709-5000, www.hertz.com.mx
); and Thrifty (tel
1-800/021-2277, www.thrifty.com.mx
). Note that rental cars are
exempt from the one day a
week driving restriction.
Courier services
DHL (tel 5345-7000) at
Madero 70, Centro Histórico
(Mon-Fri 9am-6pm) and Niza
5, Zona Rosa (Mon-Fri
9am-6.30pm); FedEx (tel
5228-9904 or 1-800/900-1100)
at Reforma 308, Zona Rosa
(Mon-Fri 9am-7pm, Sat
9am-2pm) and other
locations.
Cultural institutes
Several countries maintain
cultural institutes and
libraries for their
nationals within Mexico
City, often allowing short
term-visitors to use some of
their facilities. They can
also be useful places for
contacts, and if you're
looking for work, long-term
accommodation or travelling
companions their notice
boards are good places to
start. The US has the
Biblioteca Benjamín
Franklin, Londres 16 at
Berlin (Mon & Fri
3-7.30pm, Tues-Thurs
10am-3pm tel 5211-0042;
Metro Cuauhtémoc); the UK
has the Consejo Británico,
Antonio Caso 127 (British
Council; Mon-Fri
8.30am-7.30pm, Sat 10am-1pm;
tel 5566-6144; Metro San
Cosme); Canadians can use
the Canadian Embassy Library
(see below; Mon-Fri
9am-12.30pm).
Embassies and
consulates Australia,
Ruben Dario 55, Polanco
(Mon-Thurs 8.30am-2pm &
3-5pm, Fri 8.30am-2.15pm;
tel 5531-5252, dfat@ozemb.org.mx
); Belize, Bernardo de
Galves 215, Lomas de
Chapultepec (tel 5520-1274);
Canada, Schiller 529,
Polanco (Mon-Fri 9am-1pm
& 2-5pm; tel 5724-7900,
toll-free for Canadians on
1-800/706-2900; Metro
Polanco); Costa Rica, Río
Po 113 at Río Lerma, Zona
Rosa (tel 5255-7764; Mon-Fri
10am-2pm & 4-6pm); Cuba,
Presidente Masaryk 554,
Polanco (Mon-Fri 10am-2pm;
tel 5280-8039; Metro Polanco);
Guatemala, Explanada 1025,
Lomas de Chapultepec (tel
5540-7520); Honduras, A
Reyes 220 at Ometusco
(Mon-Fri 9am-1.30pm; tel
5515-6689); New Zealand, J.L.
LeGrange 103, Col Polanco (tel
5281-5486); Panama, 8th
floor, Schiller 326, Polanco
(tel 5250-4229); UK, Río
Lerma 71 at Río Sena, Zona
Rosa (Mon-Fri 8.30am-3.30pm,
consular section Mon-Fri
9am-2pm; tel 5207-2089;
Metro Insurgentes); USA,
Reforma 305 at Danubio, Zona
Rosa (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; tel
5209-9100; Metro Insurgentes).
Emergencies All
emergency services dial 080;
Bomberos (fire) dial
5527-1571; Cruz Roja dial
5557-5757; Locatel, which
gives information on missing
persons and vehicles,
medical emergencies,
emotional crises and public
services (tel 5658-1111); Médica
Móvil (mobile paramedic
unit) dial 5598-6222; and
Police dial 5588-5100.
Hospital The
American British Cowdray
Hospital (ABC) is at C Sur
136 (tel 5230-8000).
Embassies should be able to
provide a list of
multilingual doctors if
necessary and American
Express cardholders can make
use of their Global Assist
medical referral service.
Internet access
Numerous cybercafés all
over the city generally
charge around US$2 per hour,
but shop around as there are
often special offers (two
hours for the price of one,
etc). In the centre try: Hostel
Catedral (see
"Accommodation";
Metro Catedral); Lafoel
Internet Service , 1st
floor, Doncelos 80 at Rep.
de Brasil (Mon-Fri 10am-8pm;
tel 5512-3584; Metro Allende);
or Dist@nte , 1st
floor, Tacuba 40 (daily
8.30am-8.30pm; tel
5518-8153; Metro Allende).
In the Zona Rosa try Java
Chat , Génova 44
(Mon-Fri 9am-11pm, Sat &
Sun 10am-11pm; Metro
Insurgentes).
Language schools
Many places run Spanish
courses in the city, though
most people prefer to study
away from the capital in
such places as Cuernavaca,
San Miguel de Allende and
Guanajuato. The Casa de
los Amigos , Av Ignacio
Mariscal 132 (see
"Accommodation")
keeps lists and details of
language schools in Mexico
and Central America, and it
is also worth checking out www.planeta.com
which has good links to
Mexican language schools.
Laundry
Self-service launderettes
are surprisingly rare in
Mexico City, but most hotels
should be able to point one
out for you. Options include
Lavandería Automática
Lavajet, Danubio 123b at
Lerma (Mon-Fri 8.15am-6pm,
Sat 8.15am-5pm), close to
the Zona Rosa; and Lavandería
Automática Edison, Edison
91 at Arriaga near the Plaza
de la República (Mon-Fri
10am-7pm, Sat 10am-6pm;
Metro Revolución).
Left luggage Most
hotels will hold your bags
for the rest of the day
after you've checked out,
and some will allow you to
leave excess luggage for
several days, sometimes for
a small charge. At the
airport there is left
luggage at two locations (Sala
A and Sala E3) for US$5.50 a
day. Terminal del Norte has
left luggage for US$1-2 a
day depending on the size of
your bag.
Opening hours
Hours for most businesses in
Mexico City are from 10am
until 7pm. Very few now
close for the traditional
2pm to 4pm siesta.
Pharmacies
Sanborn's offers a wide
range of products at most
branches (for addresses see
"Eating"), as well
as dispensing some
prescription drugs. Other
options include El Fenix
branches at Isabel la Católica
and 5 de Mayo, and at Madero
41 at Motolinia. There's a
homeopathic pharmacy at
Mesones 111-B.
Phones Local,
domestic long-distance and
international phone calls
can be made from any public
phone with a phonecard.
Otherwise, a number of shops
have public phones (for
international services look
for the blue "Larga
Distancia" signs). You
can dial direct from most
big hotels, but it will cost
much more. Useful casetas
de larga distancia
include those at: Madero 53
in the city centre (Mon-Fri
8am-8pm, Sat 8am-7pm);
Izazaga 10, near the Salto
de Agua Metro (Mon-Fri
10am-8pm); Terminal del
Norte (the one at the
southern end of the terminal
is open 24hr); TAPO at Local
#20 in the tunnel to the
Metro (daily 7am-11pm);
Terminal del Poniente (one
open 24hr); and two at the
airport (daily 7am-11pm).
Photographic supplies
Film is available almost
everywhere - pharmacies,
tourist locales and so on -
at reasonable prices, but
for specialist needs head to
one of several large shops
on Avenida Juárez, along
the south side of the
Alameda, such as Foto Imagen
at #56 (tel 5510-0240).
Post office The
main post office is at the
corner of Lázaro Cárdenas
and Tacuba, behind Bellas
Artes (Mon-Sat 8am-9pm, Sun
8am-7pm).
Tourist cards
Should you lose yours, or
want an extension,
officially you apply to the
Instituto de Migración,
Ejercito National 862
(Mon-Fri 9am-1.30pm; tel
5626-7200). Extensions are
only issued when your
original length of stay is
almost finished, and will
require proof that you have
sufficient funds to support
yourself.
Trains Mexico City
now only has train services
to Querétaro (Mon, Wed and
Fri at 9am), and Tlaxcala
and Apizaco (Tues, Thurs
& Sat at 8.45am); buy
your ticket on the train.
Travel agencies
The widest selection is in
the Zona Rosa, where you'll
find American Express;
Amparo, Río Sena 82, Col
Cuauhtémoc (tel 5207-2188),
who usually have the best
prices for international
flights; and Mundo Joven,
Havre 15 (tel 5525-0407),
particularly good for youth
and student fares.
Women's groups
La Casa de los Amigos
(see under "Language
schools" above) have
details of women's groups
and support general social
development projects.
Work Very hard to
come by - there's some
chance of finding a job
teaching English, or maybe
au pair-type work. Look in
the The News
classifieds, or advertise
your services to give
private lessons in one of
the Spanish papers.
