World travel guide Mexico: GETTING AROUND

Within Mexico, buses (long-distance buses are called camiones, rather than autobuses, in Mexican Spanish) are by far the most common and efficient form of public transport. There are an unbelievable number of them, run by a multitude of companies, and connecting even the smallest of villages. Long-distance services generally rely on very comfortable and dependable vehicles; remote villages are more commonly connected by what look like (and often are) recycled school buses from north of the border.

There are basically two classes of bus, first (primera) and second (segunda), though on major long-distance routes there's often little to differentiate the two. First-class vehicles have numbered, reserved seats, videos and air conditioning, though increasingly many second-class lines have all these, too. The main differences will be in the number of stops - second-class buses call at more places, and consequently take longer to get where they're going - and the fare, which is about ten percent higher on first-class services, and sometimes a lot more. You may be able to get a discount with a student card, though it's not, it must be said, especially likely. Most people choose first-class for any appreciably long distance, and second for short trips or if the destination is too small for first-class buses to stop, but you should certainly not be put off second-class if it seems more convenient - it may even prove less crowded. Air conditioning is not necessarily a boon - there's nothing more uncomfortable than a bus with sealed windows and a broken air-conditioner. The videos , by the way, are occasionally in English, and aren't necessarily tasteful family viewing - bad kung-fu movies are especially popular.

On important routes there are also deluxe or pullman buses, with names like Primera Plus or Turistar Plus and fares around thirty percent higher than those of first-class buses. They have few if any stops, and waitress service and free snacks and drinks over longer distances, extra-comfortable airline seating, and air conditioning that works - be sure to keep a sweater handy, as it can get very cold. They may also be emptier, which could mean more space to stretch out and sleep. Pullman services almost all have computerized reservation services and may accept credit cards in payment: these facilities are increasingly common with the larger regular bus lines, too.

Most towns of any size have a modern, centralized bus station, known as the Central Camionera or Central de Autobuses , often a long way from the town centre. Where there is no unified terminus you may find separate first- and second-class terminals, or individual ones for each company, sometimes little more than bus stops at the side of the road. In almost every bus station, there is some form of baggage deposit (left luggage) office - usually known as a guardería , consigna or simply equipaje , and costing about US$0.60/£0.40 per item per hour. Before leaving anything, make sure that the place will be open when you come to collect. If there's no formal facility, staff at the bus companies' baggage dispatching offices can often be persuaded to look after things for a short while.

Always check your route and arrival time , and whenever possible buy tickets from the bus station in advance to get the best (or any) seats; count on paying about US$4-6/£3-4 for every 100km covered. There is very rarely any problem getting a place on a bus from its point of origin or from really big towns. In smaller, mid-route places, however, you may have to wait for the bus to arrive (or at least to leave its last stop) before discovering if there are any seats - the increased prevalence of computerized ticketing is easing the problem. Often there are too few seats , and without fluent and loud Spanish you may lose out in the fight for the ticket clerk's attention. Alternatively, there's almost always a bus described as local, which means it originates from where you are (as opposed to a de paso bus, which started somewhere else), and tickets for these can be bought well in advance.

Weekends, holiday season, school holidays and fiestas can also overload services to certain destinations: again the only real answer is to buy tickets in advance, though you could also try the cheaper second-class lines, where they'll pack you in standing, or take whatever's going to the next town along the way and try for a local from there. A word with the driver and a small tip can also sometimes work wonders.

Terms to look out for on the timetable, besides local and de paso, include vía corta (by the short route) and directo or expresso (direct/nonstop - in theory at least). Salida is departure, llegada arrival. A decent road map will be extremely helpful in working out which buses are going to pass through your destination.

The legendary craziness of Mexican bus drivers is nowadays a thing of the past, and many bus companies have installed warning lights and buzzers to indicate when the driver is exceeding the speed limit (though these are often ignored by the driver). Mechanical breakdown, in fact, is a far more common cause of delay than accidents. In recent years the government has been trying to improve the safety record through regular mechanical checks and also by keeping tabs on the drivers.

Rail travel is generally less than half the price of the bus in Mexico, but it's also far less common, much slower and rarely on time - that's hours late, not minutes. The few services which do exist are infrequent, with only one a day or three a week on most lines. Most services have been cut since privatization in 1995. In general, train travel is only recommended in northern and central Mexico. The most popular journeys include those from the border to Mexico City (where sleeper services represent great value), Mexico City to Oaxaca, and the amazing Copper Canyon Railway.

There is now only one class of travel on Mexican trains (equivalent to the old first class), and there are no sleepers, though seats are comfortable and do recline. Tickets are sold only on the day of departure (in places with only one train a day, the taquilla may open for ticket sales just an hour or so before the scheduled departure time, which can of course be several hours before the train actually turns up). During holiday periods you may have to queue for the best part of a day in order to get your ticket. To be sure of a seat, it's an idea to turn up fairly early, since overbooking is normal.

Train schedules are hard to come by in Mexico, but are published each month internationally in Thomas Cook's Overseas Timetable (the blue volume), which can be consulted in most public reference libraries in North America, the British Isles, Australia and New Zealand.

There are more than fifty airports in Mexico with regular passenger flights run by local airlines, plus several smaller airports with feeder services. The two big companies, both formerly state-owned and with international as well as domestic flights, are Aeroméxico and Mexicana, which between them connect most places to Mexico City, usually several times a day. Their monopoly is being challenged by a handful of smaller airlines that are growing rapidly and offering greater numbers of destinations all the time. Of these, Aviacsa serves the Yucatán, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guadalajara, Acapulco, Cancún, Tijuana and Monterrey. Aerolineas Internacionales and Aero California also cover most major destinations while Aeromar operates mainly in the north. The stiff competition between these airlines serves to keep prices steady and relatively low. Information about them is not usually available in cities not served by them, nor from Aeroméxico and Mexicana offices, though a good travel agent should be able to help track down details.

Internal airfares reflect the popularity of the route: the more popular the trip, the lower the price. Thus the flight from Tijuana to Mexico City costs little more than the first-class bus, while the much shorter, but less popular flight from Tijuana to La Paz costs the same. Obviously, fares like the first are a real bargain, but even on more expensive routes they can be well worth it for the time they save. While the smaller airlines might be cheaper, the price of a ticket on a particular flight doesn't normally vary from agent to agent. There are few discounts, and it's usually twice as much for a round-trip as a one-way ticket.

Mexicana and Aeroméxico offer multi-flight airpasses, available only outside Mexico, valid for 2 to 45 days, and with different prices for 2- to 5-flight passes, depending on which region of the country is covered. They save you time spent buying air tickets in Mexico, but they're not a great bargain otherwise. In the US contact the airlines direct; in the UK, call a specialist agent or Mexicana.

Ferries connect Baja California with a trio of ports on the Pacific mainland: Santa Rosalía to Guaymas, and La Paz to Mazatlán and Topolobampo (for Los Mochis). For detailed information on fares and schedules see www.mexconnect.com/mex_/mexicoferryw.html . There are also smaller boats to islands off the Caribbean coast: from Chetumal to Xcalak, from Cancún to Isla Mujeres and from Playa del Carmen and Puerto Morelos to Cozumel (the ferry from Puerto Morelos is cars only and doesn't carry foot passengers). Though not as cheap as they once were, all these services are still pretty reasonable.

Getting your car into Mexico properly documented is just the start of your problems. Although most people who venture in by car enjoy it and get out again with no more than minor incidents, driving in Mexico does require a good deal of care and concentration, and almost inevitably involves at least one brush with bureaucracy or the law, although the police have eased up of late in response to pressure from above to stop putting the bite on tourists.

Renting a car in Mexico - especially if done with a specific itinerary in mind, just for a day or two - avoids many of the problems and is often an extremely good way of seeing quickly a small area that would take days to explore using public transport. In all the tourist resorts and major cities there are any number of competing agencies, with local operations usually charging less than the well-known chains. You should check rates carefully, though - the basic cost of renting a VW Beetle for the day may be as little as US$15/£10, but by the time you have added insurance, tax and mileage it can easily end up being three or four times that. Daily rates that include unlimited mileage start at around US$55/£35; weekly rates can be better, from about US$250/£160. For shorter distances, mopeds and motorbikes are also available in some resorts but most of the large, international companies don't deal with them because of the high frequency of accidents.

Drivers from the US, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand will find that their licences are valid in Mexico, though an international can be useful, especially if yours has no photo on it. It's important to remember you are required to have all your documents with you when driving. Insurance is not compulsory, but you'd be foolhardy not to take some out.

The government oil company, Pemex, has a monopoly and sells two types of fuel : Premio (leaded) and Magna Sin (unleaded), both of which cost slightly more than regular unleaded north of the border, at about US$2 per US gallon. Magna Sin is increasingly available, in response to howls of outrage from US motorists who have ruined their engines using Premio.

Mexican roads and traffic , however, are your chief worry. Traffic circulates on the right, and the normal speed limit is 40kph (25mph) in built-up areas, 70kph (43mph) in open country, and 110kph (68mph) on the freeway. Some of the new highways are excellent, and the toll (cuota) superhighways are better still, though extremely expensive to drive on. Away from the major population centres, however, roads are often narrow, winding and potholed, with livestock wandering across at unexpected moments. Get out of the way of Mexican bus and truck drivers (and remember that if you signal left to them on a stretch of open road, it means it's clear to overtake). Every town and village on the road, however tiny, limits the speed of through-traffic with a series of topes (concrete or metal speed bumps) across the road. Look out for the warning signs and take them seriously; the bumps are often huge. Most people suggest, too, that you should never drive at night (and not just for road safety reasons) - sound advice even if not always practical. Any good road map should provide details of the more common symbols used on Mexican road signs , and SECTUR have a pamphlet on driving in Mexico in which they're also featured. One convention to be aware of is that the first driver to flash their lights at a junction, or where only one vehicle can pass, has right of way: they're not inviting you to go first.

In most large towns you'll find extensive one-way systems . Traffic direction is often poorly marked (look for small arrows affixed to lampposts), though this is less of a problem than it sounds: simply note the directions in which the parked cars are facing.

Parking in cities is always going to be a hassle, too - the restrictions are complicated and foreigners are easy pickings for traffic police, who usually remove one or both plates in lieu of a ticket (retrieving them can be an expensive and time-consuming business). Since theft is also a real threat, you'll usually have to pay extra for a hotel with secure parking. You may well also have to fork over on-the-spot "fines" for traffic offences (real or imaginary). In the capital, residents' cars are banned from driving on one day of every week, determined by their licence number.

Unless your car is a basic model VW, Ford or Dodge (all of which are manufactured in Mexico), spare parts are expensive and hard to come by - bring a basic spares kit. Tires suffer particularly badly on burning-hot Mexican roads, and you should carry at least one good spare. Roadside vulcanizadoras and llanteros can do temporary repairs; new tires are expensive, but remoulds aren't a good idea on hot roads at high speed. If you have a breakdown, there is a free highway mechanic service known as the Ángeles Verdes (Green Angels). As well as patrolling all major routes looking for beleaguered motorists, they can be reached by phone via Mexico City on 5/250-0123 or 250-8221 (although they don't actually operate inside the capital, where you should call the Radar Service on 532-3700). The Ángeles Verdes speak English.

Should you have a minor accident , try to come to some arrangement with the other party - involving the police will only make matters worse, and Mexican drivers will be as anxious to avoid doing so as you will. Also, if you witness an accident, don't get involved - witnesses can be locked up along with those directly implicated to prevent them from leaving before the case comes up. In any more serious incident, contact your consulate and your Mexican insurance company as soon as possible.

It's possible to hitch your way around Mexico, but it can't be recommended - certainly not in the north. Lifts are relatively scarce, distances vast, risks high, and the roadside often a harsh environment if you get dropped at some obscure turn-off. You may also be harassed by the police. Many drivers - especially truck drivers - expect you to contribute to their expenses, which you may think rather defeats the object of hitching. In short, hitching is not safe: robbery is not uncommon, and women in particular (but also men) are advised not to hitch alone. You should wait to know where the driver is going before getting in, rather than stating your own destination first, sit by a door and keep your baggage to hand in case you need to leave in a hurry (feigned carsickness is one way to get a driver to stop). Particularly avoid areas frequented by bandidos.

That said, however, over short stretches, to get to villages where there's no bus or simply to while away the time spent waiting for one, you may find yourself hitching and you'll probably come across genuine friendliness and certainly meet people you wouldn't otherwise. It does help if your Spanish will stretch to a conversation.

Public transport within Mexican towns and cities is always plentiful and inexpensive, though also crowded and not very user-friendly. Mexico City has an extensive, excellent Metro system, and there are smaller metros in Guadalajara and Monterrey, but elsewhere you'll be reliant on buses , which pour out clouds of choking diesel fumes; often there's a flat-fare system, but this varies from place to place. Wherever possible we've indicated which bus to take and where to catch it, but often only a local will fully understand the intricacies of the system and you may well have to ask: the main destinations of the bus are usually marked on the windscreen, which helps.

In bigger places combis or colectivos offer a faster and perhaps less crowded alternative for only a little more money. These are minibuses, vans or large saloons that run along a fixed route to set destinations; they'll pick you up and drop you off wherever you like along the way, and you simply pay the driver for the distance travelled. In Mexico City, combis are known as peseros.

Regular taxis can also be good value, but be aware of rip-offs - unless you're confident that the meter is working, fix a price before you get in. In the big cities, there may be tables of fixed prices posted at prominent spots. At almost every airport and at some of the biggest bus stations you'll find a booth selling vouchers for taxis into town at a fixed price depending on the part of town you want to go to - sometimes there's a choice of paying more for a private car or less to share. This will invariably cost less than just hailing a cab outside the terminal, and will certainly offer extra security. In every case you should know the name of a hotel to head for, or they'll take you to the one that pays the biggest commission (they may try to do this anyway, saying that yours is full). Never accept a ride in any kind of unofficial or unmarked taxi.

You should be aware when driving in Mexico, especially in a foreign vehicle, of the danger of bandits . Robberies and even more serious assaults of motorists do occur, above all in the northwest and especially in the state of Sinaloa. Sometimes robbers pose as police, sometimes as hitchhikers or motorists in distress, so think twice about offering a lift or a helping hand. They may also try to make you stop by indicating there's something wrong with your vehicle. On the other hand, remember that there are plenty of legitimate police checkpoints along the main roads, where you must stop. Roads where there have been regular reports of problems, and where you should certainly try to avoid driving at night, include Hwy-15 (Los Mochis-Mazatlán) and express Hwy-1 in Sinaloa, Hwy-5 (Mexico City-Acapulco) in Guerrero, Hwy-75 (Oaxaca-Tuxtepec), Hwy-57 (San Luis Potosí-Matahuela), and near the border, in particular on Hwy-2 (Mexicali-Agua Prieta) and Hwy-40 (Matamoros-Monterrey). The US embassy in Mexico advises never driving after dark.