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sjcordova

Dec 12, 2009, 7:19 AM

Post #1 of 4 (5653 views)

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Mexico City airport to Angangueo

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We arrive in Mexico City airport on a Wednesday at noon. These are my questions.

What is my best route to Angangueo, (butterfly sanctuary)
What traffic can I expect through the city
Any recommendation on rental car company

We will spend two nights in Angangueo.

Any hotel recommendation

We then head for Puerto Vallarta. We would like to split this up into a 2 day drive. Any recommendation on a "don't miss" stop over.

Thanks for any input.

Hound Dog

Dec 15, 2009, 7:25 AM

Post #2 of 4 (5606 views)

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Re: [sjcordova] Mexico City airport to Angangueo

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You can cross the city in one to one and half hour if you take the Viaducto La Piedad, Viaducto Alaman and follow the signs to Toluca Morelia once you are in Santa Fe.
Once you find yourself on the viaducto it is easy and we have yet to encounter a traffic cop there. There are plenty of them on the periferico so watch out if you take that route.

Angangueo.
We went there by exiting the first sign we saw towards the Reserve around Tlajomulco it was about 4PM and I would not recommend that road at that time, we ended getting lost somewhere in the mountains, it was night by then very isolated and very dark with no signs to anywhere so we had absolutely no idea of our location. We came in to Angangueo from the reserve and the surroundings at first were not too inviting at night.

Right off the main road into town we found the Hotel Don Bruno( 52 715 60026) , we stayed there because they accepted to take us with our dogs (we had cages). The hotel has a nice garden (a very mediocre restaurant) and was comfortable. Get a room with a fireplace, it is cold in the evening. I believe we had no TV and had to ask them to turn on the hot water as there was no one in the hotel. After settling down we had a very nice evening there. I think we paid 600 or 700 pesos a night for 3 people and 3 dogs, out of season..They knew we were desperate.
The next morning we left and on the way to town and out of town we saw many hotels. It was in April so not during the season and all the places were either closed or deserted, I am sure it will not be our case so make reservations.
We left via Maravatio which was the easy way out of the area. We will redo the same road from Tlajomulco but during the day and I am sure the country side is breathtaking, beautiful pine forest and so on but not a place to get lost at night .

If you get in late stay in Toluca or DF, Tlajomulco is ok but the choice of hotels is not great. We sayed in one of the business hotel off the road there and we froze. I had a broken foot , no heat and no hot water that day that did not make me a happy camper . The place is very high and gets really cold at night in the winter.
Toluca gets cold too but the hotels are modern and comfortable.

The area is beautiful so I am sure you will enjoy driving around. Have a nice trip.

I see you get in at noon, won´t be out of there until 2 PM and unless you take the most diret route on the map. whatever it is you will have to travel at night. Stay in Toluca or Tlajomulco and leave early in the morning to explore the area on the way to the reserve. IMPORTANT get a Guia Roji Mexico Tourist road atlas. It has maps of all the States and major cities and is the best you can get to explore places. The map of DF in there is sufficient to get out of town.

sjcordova

Dec 15, 2009, 3:48 PM

Post #3 of 4 (5577 views)

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Re: [Hound Dog] Mexico City airport to Angangueo

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Thanks hound dog, a very informative answer. Does the route that you described take us on the toll road? And then we go south to Angangueo. We have booked the Don Ganbino and plan on a couple of nights there. We also decided to break our trip up to PV with a stop in Comala, Colima.

Hound Dog

Dec 15, 2009, 5:59 PM

Post #4 of 4 (5565 views)

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Re: [sjcordova] Mexico City airport to Angangueo

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sjcordova:

That was my darlin´ wife who wrote that response but in answer to your inquiry:

Once you exit the DF at Santa Fe and head toward Toluca you will be on toll roads as you head toward Morelia and Guadalajara until you exit the autopista for secondary roads that will take you to Angangueo. There is another way to drive this route to Angangueo but we have not driven it so cannot advise you on that.

The drive from the autopista at the exit described by my wife to Angangueo transits several rather poor towns and then takes you through some splendid and isolated pine forests. A pleasant and scenic drive to the picturesque and somewhat intimidating and poor mining town of Angangueo which is totally bereft of outsiders outside of the butterfly season. You will find some quite nice hotels there which will be deserted except during the brief butterfly season. The town is a lonely journey into Deliverance outside of that season and a lot of fun. Try, however, to find a safe haven before dark.

Driving from Angangueo to Puerto Vallarta via Colima State may not be the most direct route but it is a fun drive. Comala is a scenic and delightful town. Sounds like a fun trip. Before you arrive in Puerto Vallarta driving up Highway 200 you will pass our favorite village in that region known as Mismaloya.. That´s the best place to stay in that area in our judgment. This is where John Ford shot Night of The Iguana after he fell in love with Mismaloya in the 1960s when it was totally isolated and primitive. The best part of the Puerto Vallarta area.