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cookj5

Dec 12, 2010, 2:06 PM

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Traveling by bus from Guad to Mazatlan

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My wife and I are considering a trip to Mazatlan by long-distance bus from the Guadalajara area. We live in Ajijic. This will be our first venture on the bus system, although we have traveled fairly extensively in Mexico by car. We are addressing this post particularly to those who may have taken a bus on this route.

Questions:

1) Did you buy your tickets in advance? Where from? We are considering getting ours from the Charter Club Tours office.
2) What line did you take? Would you recommend this line to others? We have heard good things about ETN but are open to others.
3) Can you just show up at the terminal and buy your tickets there? Any reasons why this is, or is not, a good idea?
4) If you buy your tickets in advance, and miss your bus, are they good for the next one?
5) Is it better to purchase tickets round trip, or one way each way?
6) How much in advance should you show up prior to departure?
7) Anything you would suggest bringing along on the ride?
8) How long did your trip take? Any stops along the way?
9) Some friends recommended we take a taxi from the Lake Chapala area Zapopan terminal in Guad, rather than the main long-distance terminal in Tonala. They say this will cut about an hour off the trip. Would you advise this? Why or why not?
10) Any advice about bus transportation matters not addressed above?

tashby

Dec 12, 2010, 3:56 PM

Post #2 of 2 (1390 views)

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Re: [cookj5] Traveling by bus from Guad to Mazatlan

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I haven't taken the bus between Guadalajara and Mazatlan, but I've ridden a lot of busses, so these comments are in general.

On a major route, buying a ticket in advance isn't really necessary unless you're traveling during an extremely busy time of year (Christmas-New Years....Semana Santa-Pasqua, etc.) I'm guessing that there are a lot of busses (and different bus lines) that run between GDL and Mazatlan, so worst case scenario is the bus you want happens to be full and you just leave on another one on a different line or the next one on your line of choice. Of course, if you want a particular bus on a particular line then it wouldn't hurt to buy in advance. You'll probably pay a little surcharge for the convenience. ETN and Primera Plus tickets are sold at many travel agencies, as well as at the little counter inside Walmart in San Antonio Tlayacapan (take a look at TAP there, also). Primera Plus is a very good line, and ETN is a great line. PP has four seats across (think first class on an airplane) and ETN has three seats across.....single seats on one side of the aisle, and double on the other. They offer a little more leg room, and the seats recline almost fully for sleep. Given that it's probably close to a 7 hour (?) ride, it may be worth paying the slight premium for ETN or other de lujo line.

I'm sure there are other lines that run this route, too. I've never ridden TAP, for example, but from the looks of their busses I'd guess they're comparable to PP. PP and ETN both have good websites where you can check schedules and price. You can even buy tickets on-line.....sometimes. Essentially, if you're paying more you're getting a little more comfort and sometimes fewer stops. Number of stops are indicated on their sites.

Bring some extra food and beverages for the ride. You'll get something from the bus company, but better to have more so as to not be limited to grabbing something additional at a bus station en route. Ear plugs (or iPod or some such) aren't a bad idea either as it's quite possible they'll be playing a bad and/or loud movie on the bus. (Though I've seen good movies on busses, too.) A sweater or light jacket, too, in case the crank the a/c higher than you'd like.

I don't see much advantage to grabbing a bus from Zapopan. You'll have fewer choices, and while it makes the actual bus ride a little shorter, you still have to get from here to there.

Amount of time you need to arrive depends on whether or not you've bought your ticket in advance. Absolutely no reason to arrive more than 15 minutes before departure if you have ticket in hand. Once you have your ticket, you just make your way to the rear/exterior of the terminal and find your bus. The stall # will be indicated on your ticket.

Have a great trip!

http://secure.primeraplus.com.mx/...x/fapweb/primeraplus

*Was going to link the ETN website but to my surprise, it doesn't look like they run this route.