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bournemouth

Jan 5, 2006, 12:53 PM

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Bus Maz-Guad

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Does any kind soul have an idea of the cost of travel Mazatlan to Guadalajara on an executive class bus? I have friends who can get a great fare to Mazatlan but want to come on to see us in the Guadalajara area. I tried the Turistar web site but nothing happens. Thanks in advance.

raferguson

Jan 5, 2006, 4:01 PM

Post #2 of 9 (1990 views)

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Re: [bournemouth] Bus Maz-Guad

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My bus book says 7.5 hours, $42 US, Elite Line, first class, seven buses per day. Luxury lines cost a little more. Given the bus cost and time, it would have to be a pretty good savings to get me to fly to Mazatlan instead of Guadalajara, but maybe they want to spend a few days on the beach.

Richard

http://www.fergusonsculpture.com

(This post was edited by raferguson on Jan 5, 2006, 4:02 PM)

bournemouth

Jan 5, 2006, 5:27 PM

Post #3 of 9 (1982 views)

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Re: [raferguson] Bus Maz-Guad

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Thanks Richard - I had already mentioned to them that I thought the cost of the bus and the time lost would equal the extra fare directly to Guadalajara and you've proven it for me. Your help is appreciated.

Marlene / Moderator

Jan 5, 2006, 8:37 PM

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Re: [raferguson] Bus Maz-Guad

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There are some great charter prices into Mazatlan this winter, which could be their reasoning...Plus we have beaches (and other stuff) to die for!

Bloviator

Jan 6, 2006, 5:21 AM

Post #5 of 9 (1962 views)

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Re: [bournemouth] Bus Maz-Guad

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Don't forget that the road between Mazatlan is one of the nastiest and most dangerous in Mexico. My wife counted 95 shrines beside the road in the 95 miles of non cuota road on that route. I guess you are safe in a bus, but it probably gets a little wearying standing around while they scrape the bodies off the bus from the head ons that are a real threat.

Marlene / Moderator

Jan 6, 2006, 7:06 AM

Post #6 of 9 (1954 views)

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Re: [dlyman6500] Bus Maz-Guad

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Quote

the road between Mazatlan is one of the nastiest and most dangerous in Mexico

If you mean between Mazatlan and Guadalajara this is news to me. Sure you need to drive defensively but that's a given on any highway. It is somewhat curvy and only two lanes at this time between Mazatlan and Tepic but surely can't be considered more dangerous than the "Devils Backbone" (the Mazatlan/Durango highway) or other heavily traveled two lane highways in Mexico where drivers tend to overtake each other without using much caution.

Bloviator

Jan 6, 2006, 8:15 AM

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Re: [Marlene] Bus Maz-Guad

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I Meant to say between Mazatlan and Tepic. The cuotas along the whole stretch are just fine. I said it is among the most dangerous because I haven't been on all Mexican hiways, but have been on a lot of them. If the Durango/Mazatlan hiway is worse, I'd just as soon stay off of it. Come late January, we will have driven from Ajijic to Playa del Carmen and back - two different routes - and from Ajijic to Tijuana within a month.

I agree that defensive driving is the answer, but still think the road is very dangerous as indicated by the multitude of shrines and the number of accidents we have seen in the brief time that we have been on this road.

That being said, travel midmorning, midweek over that stretch of road, as we intend to do in a couple of weeks, helps to relieve the problem of conjestion a great deal.

I also agree that most of the two lane roads in Mexico are quite dangerous, both because of the way people drive and because of the way roads are often built - very narrow, quite a ways above the surrounding landscape, and often without shoulders to use in emergencies. On our recent trip, we saw a number of people changing tires along the road barely - or not even - off the driving surface - usually with their backs to oncoming traffic and with passengers standing around not paying attention to traffic.

Of course none of this has to do with a bus trip over the route. Sorry.

Papirex

Jan 6, 2006, 8:39 AM

Post #8 of 9 (1947 views)

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Re: [dlyman6500] Bus Maz-Guad

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You are right about the road shoulders being very narrow or non-existent. The road shoulders or lack of them explain one of the strange signs you will see along many roads here. The signs are in Spanish, and a rough translation into English is: “Do not place stones on the road.”

Those signs used to puzzle me until I commented on them one day to my wife. She explained the purpose of them to me. Since not many Mexican drivers carry flares or warning reflectors in their cars, often when a car breaks down and it can’t be pulled completely off the road people will walk back a few meters and build a little pyramid of stones as a warning to other drivers that there is a disabled car ahead, especially at night.

Often, after the car is repaired the driver will drive off without removing the little stack of stones. I have never seen a pile of stones on the road on our trips, but it is just another unusual road hazard you should be aware of here.

Rex
"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

sfmacaws

Jan 7, 2006, 10:48 AM

Post #9 of 9 (1928 views)

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Re: [RexC] Bus Maz-Guad

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That sign was one that got me when we first started driving down here. I could translate it but still didn't understand it. I also had to ask a local and got the same explanation you did. I have seen them left on the road a few times along with piles of brush or tree limbs which are used the same way.

No deje piedras sobre el pavimento. I memorized that sign so I could ask someone about it. I'll never forget it now.

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán