Taking a bus from TJ to DF for dia de los muertos?

Question

has anyone done this before?

do you think its a bad idea? i live in Southern CA and want to walk across the boarder then take a bus from TJ to DF. i thought it would be cheaper than flying and a fun senic route.

Im a young white lady, i speak enough spanish to get everything i need but im not fluent. i want to go to help improve my spanish, i've been to cancun for a couple months before so i'm aware of lots of mexican laws and the culture but im going to meet a mexican friend of mine in DF and get a hostel for dia de los muertos.

any ideas or tips? do you know of cool young hippy type places to visit like bars, discos or tourist attractions. what happens during Dia de los muertos? i have no idea what to expect. can i expect heavy partying/drinking?

Im planning on being in DF for about 3 weeks and in Jalapa, Veracruz for 4 more

Answer 1

that's a very long haul and if you were my kid sis, I'd strongly prohibit you doing this. But if your mind is set, don't  do the whole distance in one run. Break it up, in fact, you should avoid the bus entirely during the night...it just isn't safe for a young lady.

The other problem is, stopping over will increase your expenses. You are planning to do something that if it goes well, you'll pat yourself on the back, if it goes terribly wrong, you may not ever recover from it...if you were going with somone else ( a male) that would change everything, but please reconsider what you are planning to do.

If you can afford a travel book, it would provide you so much info about places to see, places to stay, and eat, enroute. Libraries usually  have a good selection of these books and t*t doesn't have to be the most current edition. You could select several places to stop and depending on bus scheduling, you could pick from more than one option. I always take taxi from the bus station to the "centro" or downtown. there, it is always clean, fairly safe, and there are many places to stay and eat in these areas, depending on the town. You can always ask a taxi driver if he knows of hotel that is safe , clean and economical. Do this well before dark.  and ask a cab for an earll pick up to catch a early bus. Find out what time the bus leaves the night before. Most bus stations have places  to eat, etc. So if you do arrive early, you can take care of this while waiting.  Be alert also, when it comes to selecting a cab.  good luck, stay safe...it's your choice.    gorilla

Answer 2

A bus from TJ to DF takes 41 hours. So, assuming your making a round trip, you are using up 4 days to go and come. The first half of the ride is very boring.

But if your interested, your best bet is TAP (Transportes Autobuses Pacifico). Don't confuse it within Pacifico, a different bus company.

Discount airlines are often priced about the same as a long distance bus, and sometimes is actually cheaper.

One of the companies, Volaris, flies from TJ to Toluca, near Mexico City. They have shuttle buses to Mexico City (to the Santa Fe area, a new modern area with interesting modern high rises.)

The idea of DOD is not to party (it's not Halloween, although Halloween is celebrated by many), but to honor those who have passed on. It also pokes fun at death. Graves are decorated (Especially colorful when it is done at night in small towns. http://www.pbase.com/morar/image/8846308... and altars are built in homes to honor the dead. The altars have photos and items that remind the family of the dearly departed. If grandpa like Tequila, a bottle of his favorite brand may be on the altar.

Usually, small traditional towns are the best, but some like Pátzcuaro are now overcrowded with visitors. Mexico City

Answer 3

well good luck with that, it is a really long trip about 15 hours in the bus, you should maybe try low cost airlines sometimes they cost as much as a bus or less, but it is an enjoyable trip.

If you would like to go to a hippy place you should try coyoacan, they are tons of bars and places to visit over there, also try downtown they always do some special things on DOD.

Answer 4

Since I noticed that the trip that you want to make from TJ to DF is 41 hours each way, it might make more sense to check the prices of airlines as well. Let's put it this way, think of all the time spent on the bus and expenses of stopping and going to reach your destination and then spending another 41 hours on the return venture.

One word of caution for women is dress appropriately when traveling by bus, since machisimo rules throughout Mexico.

On the other hand, going by bus to see Mexico could be a nice experience in which you can observe the countryside which a person who flies never sees.

Good Luck.