How to Bus in Mexico – Our Adventures on the Pacific Coast
If you’re in Mexico and looking for an adventure within an adventure? Take the bus! It will, without a doubt, provide some sort of exhilarating story whether it’s by the length, the stops, the people, or the outright disorganization of it all. I love Mexico and I love the sights so of course looking out the window while someone else deals with driving and navigation is a bit dreamy but after our experiences, I’d like to try something else next time.
Our Story
Getting to Tepic
Our bus to Tepic from Puerto Vallarta ended up being 2 hours longer than the planned time. Stopping in every small town and seemingly every stand on the highway to allow vendors on the bus, selling drinks and snacks. Which admittedly looked very tasty for hungry travellers. Some collisions also caused mild traffic but the scenery was beautiful and novel at the time so the four and a half hours went by fast. But this was only the beginning. Thought to be an easy 7-8 hours at most, the flattening of our bums was due to be pressed for longer before making it to our festival in Mazatlan.
Exploring Tepic
We had missed our transfer in Tepic from the delay. Which would have got us to Mazatlan 5 hours later, so instead of arriving at 2 pm, our new bus ticket got us there just after 5 pm. A Mexico trip to some means lounging in an all-inclusive resort with Desayuno (breakfast) handed to them under an umbrella, but ours was right off the bat an early 6 AM start. We were in for a long day of travel. Not knowing very much Spanish either wasn’t too helpful when we found ourselves somewhat stuck in Tepic.
On our short walk around Tepic to kill time we found this town quite beautiful even amidst the non-touristic zone. The bus station was surrounded by cute streets and small roadways, colourful paint and right across the street from a sugar cane mill, pumping out a putrid smell which sort of added to the wonder of how even this industrial area seemed sort of quaint.
Public Washrooms in Mexico
Tip for the unfamiliar – the public washroom system in Mexico is quite a bit different than most places. A lot of washrooms are barred shut with a coin slot to unlock and let you through. The one at Tepic cost 7 peso, the machine only accepted coins up to 10 peso. So be sure to always have some change on hand for emergencies. Also, the toilet paper roll is right after the entrance, grab what you need, do your business and dispose of the paper in the bin beside the toilet – do not flush!
Getting to Mazatlán
After boarding our second bus that will take us to Mazatlan, we quickly realized the A/C on this coach was not as good as the last. The day was getting hotter and the amount of people on board entering and exiting did not help our situation. The country-side viewing had to be postponed with a curtain to shade ourselves from the sun.
The bus was packed again after a few stops. We unfortunately saw a be-heading video from someones phone who was showing off from his personal gallery – unnerving to say the least. And someone did pick up my pack as they were looking for someone else’s who had forgotten theirs.
Change of Plans
After continued frequent stops our arrival time once again got further away from us.
The overall experience was a tad much so I did some research and found that this was normal for our “Econimico” choice. That often the Elite services have more direct routes, less pit stops, and comfier seats.
So scrapping our return journey I booked us a new bus. One that left later in the day so we could indulge in our first hotel after a couple nights of sleeping on the cement like sand of a mango orchard about 5 km’s away from Stone Island near Mazatlán.
Hopping Off EARLY for an Uber
We didn’t even make it to the Mazatlan bus station on that bus, we were so anxious to get off and stretch our legs that we departed the bus in Villa Union. Where we were immediately heckled as Gringo’s and asked if we were lost. We hopped in an Uber shortly after to have our driver question our sanity when we asked for him to drive us into the outback. Tent in tow. You can read about our eclipse experience here.
What we did was maybe unsafe but we had no plans of staying in Villa Union for more than 10 minutes. The cartel and violence surrounding Mazatlán has increased in the last couple years but we didn’t find it too concerning if we didn’t go around sticking our nose into places we shouldn’t. Like, don’t buy drugs off the streets, Mmkay?
Trouble in mazatlán
After the eclipse was over and our hotel enjoyed, we made our way to the Mazatlan bus station. The building was unique in that it’s modern station was attached to the remaining historical “central de autobusus”. Quite fitting for this old city, where the Centro of town is filled with historical building, restored and maintained for Mazatlán’s long history. Read about our Mazatlán experience here.
We were faced with more adversity in our bussing trip when we realized the departure time for our bus was delayed. Only finding out about this from a driver in one of the busses. The ticket booth had a line up out the door and their departures times were finicky in that what we thought was our newly planned departure disappeared 30 minutes before it’s planned time. Very poorly set up.
Curious about the changing schedule we decided to put ourselves in the midst of it all, out of the waiting area where everyone was boarding – or at least attempting to. It seemed no one was getting anywhere and after asking around we were directed to the man with the computer containing the location of all the busses in Mexico…please share this with us sometime. In the waiting line to talk to him, we spoke with a local of Mexico City trying to get home who said he was just as confused about the transit system as we were. Total madness.
Amidst the confusion of such a distorted system and our repeated scouring over articles on how to navigate it, we’ve found that this is simply the way things our done here. Our new saying about bus transit in Mexico is this:
It’s all very fluid
Two TIRED GRINGOS
On our turn to talk to the all knowing man behind the computer (who was impressively friendly despite the hectic atmosphere), we discovered that our bus had in fact arrived and left already… So our previous information about our bus being 2 hours late was either misinterpreted or some funny joke. Perhaps my anger of the whole situation was getting the best of me for the latter.
We sat down and assessed. Looked at booking another bus, car rental, or ride share and eventually settling for another hotel in Mazatlán. Which honestly, after our dingy stay the pervious night, this was probably the best choice. We were blessed the second time, at a hotel offering an ocean-view room with balcony, pool and room service. You can read all about our Mazatlán trip here.
Second Attempt at Leaving Mazatlán
The next day – oh man let me tell ya we were there early and READY. There was absolutely no way we were going to miss this bus. We questioned the ticketing man, the man behind the computer, a bus driver, even a man standing around at the terminal. We. Were. Crazy Gringos.
With our various answers we zeroed in on the prize and found our busses number in the standby waiting zone. I did not take my eyes off that bus. It pulled around eventually, following it till it was parked a couple inches from our toes. The bus driver then had the spotlight of my mind as he went about his business cleaning and prepping for the trip. He could tell. He was the apple in my eye, the sun to my planet, the proton to my electron.
Once he was finished he made a gesture for me to come forth and present my ticket. Our spot was secured. We boarded the bus and sighed relief that we were on our way to the rest of our adventure.
The Mexican Highway
A man in the terminal had taken a keenness to our determination, enjoying the spectacle enough to switch seats after our departure and sat next to us. Most of our conversation was lost in translation but we did manage to communicate our locations of origin and help each other out. He shared his almonds and we charged his phone. My partner assuming the role of secretary when his phone would ring every time we re-entered cell service.
I spent most of the trip to Tepic examining the Sinaloa landscape. Mango orchards and coconut trees row after row whizzing by in uniformity amidst the flowering Bougainvillea’s and cacti. Wells were dug in the orchards with old Honda pumps sucking the water from them to the trees. The fruit stands along the highway, seemingly in the middle of no where, around little towns had popped up for whatever reason.
One of these small towns had apparently been taken over by the cartel, or as the new’s post I later searched up said “armed civilians”. They had stopped the bus ahead of us as well as an SUV with about 5 women inside. I assume they were all getting robbed or paying the ‘toll’. As luck would have it, our bus was late leaving, gracing us with a moment to slide on past the criminal check point.
My attention from then on was on the road ahead, scanning what may be fore coming and practicing in my head what I’d do if we were on the other bus. It’s always best to have two or three wallets with you in Mexico, so I was told, confirmed this day as our fait danced a little too close to robbery for my liking.
Tepic 2.0
Once we arrived in Tepic we took our place in line at the ticket booth to purchase our connecting bus tickets to Puerto Vallarta. I had originally thought that one of the few ways to get to Sayulita was by the Compostella departing from Sayulita but of course, such a touristy town as that there was multiple ways that I just wasn’t aware of. Like the Pacifico bus that would have taken us to Puerto Vallarta? It passes through Sayulita.
The lady at the counter printed our tickets which had slightly more information on it than our electronic tickets purchased from BusBud. I wanted to try not buying tickets from BusBud just to see how different it was considering anyone that looked at our electronic passes seemed slightly confused… Turns out the tickets have no more information than our electronic ones, just are a lot more familiar to the locals.
The Pacifico bus from Tepic to Puerto Vallarta runs about every 20-30 minutes so we weren’t nervous about a last minute booking. We got the next departure time leaving in 20 minutes so we had to quickly use the Banyo’s (bathroom) and purchase some dinner. Outside of the Tepic bus station were a couple lovely stands, one with charcoal grilled corn and another with fruit cups. Both were generously doused in lime and hot sauce. Loved it.
We tried to make sense of our ticket in the terminal, scanning the busses for any indication that one might be going to Puerto Vallarta or Sayulita. No sign whatsoever. With our concern rising with the nearing departure time we began asking around. One person had directed us to one of the numbered pillars, so we assumed this was where the bus would stop. Lucky for us, our lost tourist vibes gave off enough of a hint for one kind bus-rider who spoke excellent English to come tell us that we were about to miss our bus and pointed us to one a couple pillars over.
It’s all very fluid.
Sayulita Bound
This ride from Tepic to Sayulita only took about two hours. With many stops to the smaller towns along the way we got the see the shops and stands, the flower nurseries being my favourite. I’ve been collecting some of our fallen floral friends on the sidewalk to press into my book. The colours of Mexico are abundant in the ditch weeds and cultivated shrubbery and trees. I’m envious of this climate to allow such beauty. But our Northern home has it’s own perks also.
The Pacifico bus dropped us off at the gas station along the main drag just outside of Sayulita. The sun had set but the glow of dusk still lit our path West to the ocean. I was amazed by how much had changed since I was last here two years ago as we walked into town, passing by all of the coffee shops and artisan amenities. You can read more about our time in Sayulita here.
to the airport
Our trip out of Sayulita to Puerto Vallarta was done by bus, the local Compostela. There is a town in Mexico called Compostela, I do not believe they are directly correlated but merely relate in that Compostela means “field of stars” in regards to the Milky Way which had been outlined by the apostle of St. James and followed by pilgrims to reach his tomb, a pilgrimage.
This bus ride was short only one hour long and if you are sitting in the back of the bus please insure you allow your spine to flow with the pot-holes, hopping of curbs and sudden stops. It’s a bumpy ride. No A/C on this bus either and the driver will often cruise with the doors open for more airflow.
We were dropped off at the International Airport in Puerto Vallarta. With plenty of time to spare we crossed over the highway using the pedestrian bridge and just a short walk on the other side we found “La Taquiriza”. Our best chance at getting nicely priced authentic tacos so close to the airport. With a little seating area inside and friendly staff, it was probably the best place to get a traditional Mexican meal before encountering the high prices of the airport. The cheapest meal we could find in the airport was a burger and fries for 390 peso, at the 12:1 exchange rate of our Canadian dollar, it was about 32 dollars.
Damn you Mexico, with love
Overall, our experience with the Mexican bus system was, shall we say, a learning experience in Fluidity. We had to accept the culture quick and got to see the country side intimately, but in the end I think we would have preferred our own vehicle to have more of the same experience, but on our own time. There is not enough rigidity and structure for our ‘punctual’ selves to fall in easily to the flow of the bus system. If you are on a budget than by all means it is a necessary and great way of travel. Lately our priorities have shifted, to allow more budgeted wiggle room for less-stressed escapades.
I hope you found some of our trip and experiences helpful to you in your own planning or just enjoyed the adventure. Thanks for reading!
[…] of Mexico (if traveling by bus in Mexico you should research and mentally prepare before-hand, here’s a link to read about our experience). We arrived early only to discover that our bus was late, and then […]