AAJetMan

Although an Executive Platinum on AA, and frequent flyer fanatic with over 2MM, I am finding Mexico's luxury bus travel more convenient, comfortable and affordable than planes for domestic travel.
Mexican Luxury Bus Travel Winning Over This Seasoned Frequent Flyer

Anybody else agree?
Disagree?
Tried Mexican luxury buses?

yauponaustin

I guess cnvenient is relative and depends on how long a journey, but i agree mexico busses in general are great

gomexico

Bus travel in Mexico is indeed less expensive, and, in this day and age, most often more convenient for short haul - but for long-haul, cross country journeys air travel in Mexico is probably the best mode of transport. Mexican busses aren't all created equally, and there are many crashes and loss of life annually because of driver error, equipment problems, etc. I travel by bus in Mexico more than I travel by air in-country - but I don't think a blanket statement can be made that bus is better than air. It's often an apples to oranges comparison, not only between bus and plane, but also between classes of service on a bus route.

mikew99

There is truly first class bus service in Mexco. I first had to shed my Greyhound-inspired revulsion to bus travel, though. The Mexican bus I took had cradle seating with 70-degree recline. They served food and showed American movies (with Spanish subtitles). It was like first class on an airplane but at 1/100th the cost!

Open Jaw

For me it all depends on how long the trip will be. Pullman de Morelos is a great way to get to Cuernavaca from MEX. They serve a snack and sodas during a movie.

NC_Girl

I have tried the luxury buses and agree that they are a really great way to get around the country. If we had bus service like that in the states I would certainly consider taking them for any trip for up to 8-10 hours.

AAJetMan

As US airfares continue to increase and airport security hassles remain, I hear more and more casual business travellers driving ever-increasing distances for meetings. Makes me wonder why bus companies haven't been more opportunistic.

wazzuFreddo

I agree, the first class Mexican busses are way more comfortable than air travel in the US even.

For $30 I got a big seat, a sandwich, drinks, movies and a quick 4 hour hour ride from Guadalajara to Guanajuato. ^

AAJetMan

And more comfortable than most of my short and mid-range US domestic first class flights!

That is a great example of a route (Guadalajara/Guanajuato) where bus service, in addition to being less expensive and more comfortable and convenient, is likely also quicker or just as quick as flying. Consider time waiting at the airport, transfer time from BJX to Guanajuato and, especially, any additional time if flying involves a stop (as it would on MX).

carlitos

As an AA Explat and a mexican (Mexico City), it has been a while since I was on a bus other than the ADO service between CUN airport and downtown or CUN airport and Playa del Carmen. To travel to close places like Cuernavaca, Acapulco, Oaxaca, Puebla, Guanajuato or Leon, I use my car and I do not do it very often, as I did it a lot in the past. Now I stick to the plane, as I love travelling to TIJ, CUN, PVR, and Los Cabos. Try doing that on a bus, and then let me know how it all went, LOL. I am schedule on many flights for this upcomming months on Volaris, TLC-CUN and TLC-TIJ on $80 USD round trip all in fares courtesy of their 4 year aniversary promo. Also, I fly AA to MIA once a month, and I love going to the airport and staying at the AAdmirals club for the two hours. So I would disagree with you...
Never ever on a bus to TIJ, SJD, PVR or CUN. Try 24 hours on a bus to CUN or TIJ. Not even if they had horizontal flat beds. Airplane any day!!!

gomexico

carlitos, I concur with just about all of what you've said. For long-haul service, unless someone has a lot of time to spend traveling the long distances and doesn't mind the eventual discomfort of such journeys, I think it would be foolish to take the bus instead of flying in the interior of Mexico. Bus travel can, in these instances, be more expensive - in money and time - than air travel.

For some of the shorter journeys bus travel is the only realistic option, because of the way air transport is organized and operated in Mexico. It's not always easy or possible to get from Point A to Point B without backtracking to someplace like Mexico City and connecting to another flight to your eventual destination.

From what I've experienced, service on the higher class busses in Mexico isn't something to rave about. Comfortable they are, when they aren't crowded or sold out. The "sandwiches" I never eat because they're so paper-thin and skimpy and I don't trust the food handling. The "drinks" aren't alcohol, they're soft drinks and water - in case someone misinterprets earlier comments in this discussion. On most of these busses, one can of pop or small bottle of water is all that's available (there have been exceptions, though) and passengers who've traveled on them before know to bring their own supplies.

I don't sleep well on busses, but for people who do travel on one of the luxury overnight busses (and those routes are limited relative to the vast array of other bus options) might be something I'd do if I was short on funds and wanted to save on hotel costs. These busses are often arctic-cold at night and drivers sometimes play loud music, and other passengers may be coughing, children crying, etc., which can make for a very unpleasant journey.

I travel to parts of Mexico where air service doesn't exist and, therefore, I'm most often on a bus as compared to sitting on an airplane. I enjoy the daytime bus rides because I break the trips, ideally, into 4-hour segments and I have the time to 'sightsee' as the bus passes through areas I may be unfamiliar with.

Hundreds of people die yearly in bus accidents in Mexico - far more than may perish in airplane accidents. Air crashes in Mexico are uncommon, but bus accidents are frequent. Though, there are thousands of bus departures daily throughout the country and the percentage of those involved in accidents is miniscule by comparison.

The construction of many of the better busses in the country is "iffy" as far as safety features and government oversight in Mexico is questionable (or effectively non-existent).

Long-haul busses are sometimes targeted by bandits and passengers are robbed of their belongings. Though not an everyday occurrence, the highway robberies happen with enough frequency that I travel only by day in the areas I most often visit.

So, as with any mode of transport - there are plusses and minuses that must be considered when making a transiting choice.

AAJetMan

I also LOVE hanging out at MEX, although I prefer the MX club to AA's -- shower, numerous computer, clearer windows. In any case I usually arrive at MEX a few hours before my US-bound flight, to walk for exercise and to enjoy the clubs.

Of course, there are no AC's in Acapulco, or Oaxaca, or Salina Cruz, or Taxco, or... so not missing that by taking the more comfortable bus. And actually, there are bus lounges for luxury class pax -- at Oaxaca and Acapulco and other stations.

gomexico

Unless the segregated areas in bus terminals for the "luxury" bus services have been overhauled across-the-board in the past couple of months, I think it's a gross exageration to compare airport clubs with those facilities. There is no real comparison, because the bus areas would be considered the "pits" as far as accommodations and services. Let's not keep painting a picture that busses, overall, offer better services the airlinees - becuase I think a fair analysis would prove that wrong.

AAJetMan

Many airports in Mexico don't even have a club for AA EXP's.
The free soft drinks, bottled water, and newspapers, and a cordoned off, quiter area in Acapulco's bus station sure are nice features. But granted, it's the nicest bus terminal club I've been in.

Now that said, sure I'd quite prefer the MX or AA club at MEX over, say, hanging out at Tasquena Station (although no security hassle getting into Tasquena). But I still find sufficient reason -- including cost -- to take the bus rather than the plane southbound out of Mexico City (and other routes less than 6 hours or so).

I'd be interested in hearing your "fair analysis" contrary to the fact that luxury bus travel on Mexican domestic routes offers several conveniences not available on many Mexican and US domestic air routes.
Here, again, are some of those advantages.

WillTravel

I have taken first-class and second-class buses in Mexico, but not the executive class ones. Although the buses are good, I fail to see the excitement about them really. I don't eat the sandwiches, not because I worry they are unsafe, but because they are unpalatable. I've been on routes where they have street vendors (effectively) boarding the buses to sell gorditas, burritos, etc. and these are tasty. If the person in front of you reclines all the way back, which is of course his right, you can get wedged in quite easily if you are in a window seat (so I avoid that now). The legroom is not great. On some bus routes, the bathrooms quickly get into a horrible, smelly state, exacerbated by the fact that the septic system does not support flushing toilet paper.

So for rides of 1-6 hours, the bus is tolerable, and I will just take care to use the facilities before boarding. But unless the executive buses are really considerably better than the first-class ones, I'm not going to jump to do more overnight bus travel. (Actually, I probably will if it looks like the best deal, I have to admit.)

There are bus crashes for sure, but one thing that helps is that bus drivers are restricted to a 95 km/hour speed (about 60 mph). I took a private shuttle service back from Oaxaca a few months ago, and the cost was similar, particularly considering that I saved taxi fare to/from bus stations, but the driver was speeding and disregarding the no-passing signs. (I did get there quicker, though, I have to admit.)