Bus, Douglas, AZ To Mexico City

Bus, Douglas, AZ To Mexico City

 Updated December 2013

Futura Bus runs bus routes from the US border to

 Mexico City Norte Station

Hi A.L. Thanks for your kind comments and question. I received your email query (below) about a first class bus trip from Douglas, Arizona to Mexico City and went on to investigate a straight shot, direct bus Douglas/Agua Prieta to Mexico City non-stop. 

Hello,

 I have been reading your Road Trip Mexico blog - I am trying to get from Agua Prieta, Sonora to Mexico City as quickly and cheaply as possible (comfort isn't really a priority in my student budget life :). I saw that you were able to do the entire trip by bus in 2010... do you think that this trip could be completed in a day? I was a little bit confused - did you have only two buses (one to Chihuahua and one to Mexico City) or additional buses between those? Thank you in advance for any help, and for the excellent blogging. Best wishes, A.L

 I happened to be in Tucson visiting family when I received your letter and I was on my way to Mexico City. I went ahead and made the trip myself within the week to see just how long a direct trip from Douglas to Mexico City would take. I hope this description of this first class bus trip from Tucson Arizona to Mexico City through the border station of Douglas, Arizona/Agua Prieta, Mexico will help.

Several first class bus lines run bus routes from the

 US border to Mexico City Norte Station, Omnibus, 

Futura, Tap, ETN, Chihuahuenses, and Tufesa 

among them 

Douglas Shuttle

The Douglas Shuttle makes many daily trips to Douglas, AZ from Tucson. Several shuttle services run shuttle vans from the area of the 4000^th block of South 6^th Street in Tucson.  I took the Sahuaro Shuttle, 4202 South 6^th , it is one of the ones I have used in the past. (520-573-1399 or 520-173-1355)

The shuttle cost $25 USD and takes about two hours to reach Douglas from Tucson.
 If you arrive in Tucson by air on your way to Douglas, call the Suhauro Shuttle for an airport pick-up. Cost $8.00 USD additional.

Bus Agua Prieta to Mexico CityOnce you reach Douglas, walk across the border at Douglas/Agua Prieta and stop at the Mexican Immigration office to get a Tourist Card (FMM, Forma Migration Multiple). You must carry this form with you if you will be in Mexico beyond 72 hours and if you travel beyond the border area. 

 The form is good for 180 days, a six month visit.  Cost is $25.00 USD or 295 pesos. If you are not a US or Canadian citizen check the web ahead of your trip for the visa requirements for citizens of your country.

The first class buses use the

 modern,  high-speed

 roads 

Pesos/Dollars

After passing through immigration, find an ATM machine just a block south at the bank building.  Then find the taxis on the corner and take one for 60 pesos to the Agua Prieta bus terminal. You can ask the taxi driver to stop at a different ATM  machine or at a money changer if you still need Pesos.   The bus terminal will take dollars but as you leave the border area, most places will not take dollars so it is best to get pesos before you leave Agua Prieta.

Aguascalientes is a good stop for sightseeing on 

an Agua Prieta to  Mexico City bus trip 

Bus Agua Prieta to Mexico City

This bus trip from Agua Prieta to Mexico City Norte Station  will take at least 28 hours so the short answer to your question is no, you can not make the trip in one day. The trip will take a bit more than a full day and, in fact all told, boarding the shuttle at 9 am and arriving at Mexico City around 5-8 pm will be more like a day and a half.
 Pack a little food and water but there will be many stops in cities along the way for water and snacks. Below find a list of stops on recent trips (July 2013) ( December 2014)

Paquime Ruin Site, Casas Grandes

I left Agua Prieta 1:45 pm on Chihuahuenses Bus. Ticket price, 1851 Pesos ($144.00 USD)

Arrivals:
Nuevo Casas Grandes, 5:00 pm  5 minute stop     (Paquime Ruin Site nearby)

Arrive, Rio Grande, Zacatecas State, 4:30 am 10-15 minute stop 

Fresnillo, 6:30 am  10-15 minute stop 

Zacatecas City, 7:30 am  10-15 minute stop      (On an extended trip, a good stop for  Sightseeing)

Aguascalientes, 9:00 am   10-15 minute stop    Aguascalientes-Sightseeing

Leon, 11:15 am  10-15 minute stop 

Irapuato 12:15 pm  10-15 minute stop 

Queretaro, 2:30 pm  5 minute stop 

Mexico Norte Station, Mexico City, 6:00 pm (8:00 pm local time)  end of trip

Note that there is a two hour time difference. (at certain times of the year depending on daylight savings )
The actual arrival time at Norte Station was 8:00 pm

Aguascalientes

From Norte Station, buses serve Mexico in all directions. (See Norte Station, Mexico, ) There are ATM machines in the stations, clean rest rooms, taxi service, and restaurants.  The station is under-lit  (dark as a cave) and this makes it difficult to use the ATM machines.  Taxis and transportation are just at the front of the station.

Trip km/Miles and Time

1994 Km, 1239 miles, 28 hours

Mexico City's Norte bus terminal, 28 hours from 

Agua Prieta/Douglas Arizona.

Notes

• This is a difficult trip unless you can sleep on the bus. 
•   Chihuahuenses Bus does not consistently stock paper in the lavatory.  Bring your own.  The other bus services serving similar routes, Omnibus, ETN, and Futura do put paper in the lavatories. (Find Omnibus just across from the Agua Prita bus station)

I usually stop in cities along the way for a tour and a hotel stay.  Colonial cities such as Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, and San Luis Potosi make great touring.

If you do make a direct trip to Mexico City, anticipate your arrival.  You are apt to be quite tired and will want a plan for lodging or have an onward bus in mind once you reach Norte Station in Mexico City.  

Wishing you a good trip.

Related LinksTeotihuacan Ruin Bus, Norte Station 

ADO Bus, service to Southern Mexico, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Yucatan

First Class Bus, Phoenix And Tucson Arizona to Mexico City

Bus routes follow high speed roads 

 Two routes are suitable to travel by bus from Phoenix and Tucson to the southern parts of Mexico.  One route follows the Pacific coast through Mazatlan and then swings inland to Guadalajara.  The other route is over the Alto Plano through Chihuahua and Zacatecas.
Both these routes will have a similar trip duration and cost, it will only depend on your desire to speed through or to stop along the way and visit some of the colonial cities or Pacific Coast beach towns.

Primera Plus Bus reaches Zihuatanejo (above) Mazatlan,
 and San Blas among other beach towns on the Pacific Coast

     I have made many trips on both routes and usually stop in various cities along the way. On the coast route, Mazatlan is a good beach stop. San Blas and Zihutanejo are other good beach stops although they require a detour. Guadalajara, Morelia, and Patscuaro are interesting colonial cities along this route.

The first class buses usually avoid the steep mountain roads when possible.

     On the Alto Plano route I have detoured to Copper Canyon from Chihuahua and also visited Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, Aguascalientes, (link for info)  and Guanajuato  among others. You can, however, do a straight, 28-hour run to Mexico City from Agua Prieta.

Tucson Schedule And Bus Fares
Tufesa Bus is one of the options if you travel the Pacific Coast route through Mazatlan and Guadalajara. The Tufesa buses run from Phoenix through Tucson and cross the border at Nogales to run south to Guadalajara, Mexico. They leave Tucson four times daily, 11:00 am, 2:30 pm, 6:30 pm, and 8:00 pm. Trip cost USD $147. 00. (2013 prices)  Tufesa Bus offers free WiFi aboard and in the stations.

Tufesa runs bus route as far north as Ontario. The Phoenix /Tucson route at times starts in Las Vegas. Tufesa buses leave from 16 locations in California and four in Arizona as well as Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and many other cities in the US. The Tucson route makes the border crossing at Nogales and reaches south to Guadalajara with several stops along the Pacific Coast including Mazatlan.

Futura Buses run direct from Agua Prieta to Mexico City

Guadalajara Bus Change
Tufesa Bus runs routes as far south as Guadalajara. Here you would change bus lines to continue south. Tufesa stops at two stations in Guadalajara, the second terminal (last stop in Guadalajara) is the most convenient for onward bus travel.

Guadalajara offers several bus terminals and is a major bus hub 

for Tufesa Bus and Primera Plus among many others.

Primera Plus Bus
Primera Plus Bus is a good option for continuing your trip to Mexico City. Cost of Primera Plus service to Mexico's Norte Bus Terminal will be around $50 USD  575-600 Pesos (half price for seniors) Primera Plus offers free WiFi with electrical outlets


Once in Mexico you will find that Mexico's Bus systems are extensive and modern.  Mexico's first Class buses have plush seat for sleeping, leg rests, air conditioning, (bring a sweater) lavatories, seat belts, deeply reclining seats, and video movies. (Bring ear plugs for sleeping)
First class buses use the larger hub cities to reach even the most distant cities for about 15 cents USD per mile. The first class buses use the modern, high-speed toll roads (quota) wherever possible.

Primera Plus runs route from a new station in Guadalajara

Alternate Bus Route Through Central Mexico
The other bus route mentioned here is the Alto Plano route through the highlands of Central Mexico.

On the high plains route from Douglas Arizona to Chihuahua

     Starting at Douglas, Arizona/Agua Prieta, Mexico at about 3000 feet above sea level you eventually reach 7,400 feet above sea level in Mexico City.
This trip from Phoenix or Tucson starts with a van shuttle to the border town of Agua Prieta. You walk across through customs and immigration and cab to the bus terminal. Chihuahuenses Buses and Futura Buses (Estrella Blanca) run bus routes south through Chihuahua, Zacatecas, and several other cities for the 28-hour run to Mexico City's Norte Terminal.  Bus ticket price here is about $150.00 USD.
Just across the street from the Futura station, the Omnibus starts its trips over the same bus routes to Mexico City's Norte Terminal.

Guadalajara offer much to see in its museums and colonial 

architecture

Mexico City Norte Terminal
For those interested in touring all the way to Central America by bus , you could go from Guadalajara on a Primera Plus bus to Mexico City’s Terminal Norte. Then take an ADO bus to Tapachula, Chiapas and then a Tica Bus to Panama City, Panama.
For travelers going to Cancun, Chichen Itza, or Belize and Guatamala through Chetumal, the ADO buses from Norte Terminal in Mexico City cover all of southern Mexico.

Related links

Tikal through Palenque
Merida Bus To Chichen Itza
 Oaxaca To Palenque
Primera Plus Flecha Amarilla
Bus to Cancun

Futura Bus runs north and west of Mexico City reaching the

 US border at Douglas/Agua Prieta, Nogales, and Tijuana and 

Aguascalientes

Aguascalientes

      I left the cab at the main plaza and could see the cathedral as its towers loomed in the distance across the plaza opposite a tall column in the center of the main square.  I headed for an outdoor coffee shop on the northeast corner of the plaza and looked over the brochures that the cab driver had given me.  I saw that the column dates from colonial times when at the top stood statue of the Spanish viceroy.  During the revolution of 1810, the country of Mexico won independence from Spain and the statue on the top was replaced with a symbol of Mexican independence.
        Road traffic goes into a tunnel at the west end of the plaza and this results in a huge area of open space in front of the cathedral.
     The tourist kiosk in the main plaza recommended the Hotel Imperial which was just across the plaza and I headed there to get some rest.  Not luxury digs but an old hotel nicely located on the main plaza and adequate with quiet interior rooms and WiFi.
     After a rest I walked the many pedestrian-only streets near the cathedral. Two blocks to the east I found the pedestrian-only Benito Juarez street with all its shopping and I followed it to the Templo de San Diego.  I then returned to the plaza to go west on Carranza, past the bullring and through the San Marcos Gardens.  At the west end of the garden another extensive pedestrian walkway opens near the Temple of San Marcos Church, built from 1655 to 1765 in the style called Spanish baroque churrigueresco.
I looked through the tourist info as I sat in an outdoor cafe and found that in the historic center of Aguascalientes I would find several museums including the Aguascalientes Museum, an art museum, and the Guadalupe Posada Museum.  These museums are located in elegant old colonial buildings.  The State History Museum on the other hand is located in a building of modern era. The Museum of Contemporary Art is listed as an important stop.
 
 In the modern section of the city, the Museo Descubre, Discovery Museum, offers an interactive experience in science and technology.  The Morelos Theater near the cathedral is an important stop for its history and small museum; the building was the site of a convention during the Mexican Revolution.
      The cab driver had mentioned the Ojocaliente, one of the original bathhouses that is still operating and offering spas with thermal springs.  He also mentioned the old train station and its railway museum.  Steam locomotives were manufactured in Aguascalientes and the city became a rail hub in the 1880s for all of Mexico.
 
  After two days in Aguascalientes I cabbed back to the bus terminal.  I had checked earlier about which lines reached San Luis Potosi and the bus departure times.  I always do this because booking a trip on the web is just about impossible with most of the bus lines except ADO and Primera Plus.  The bus company web sites, for the most part, don't work.  They have opted for style at the expense of function so even though they are pretty snazzy, they don't have full function.  With so many small bus terminal in widely scattered towns it is likely they are not all connected by computer.
 
 I caught an Omnibus bus to San Lois Potosi, about a hundred miles to the east.  San Luis Potosi was once a rich mining town where church altars are covered in gold leaf.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment below and giving us a  G+ thumbs up.

 Visit our travel photos on Pinterest and FB.