Ground Transportation for Mexico

Options for traveling within Mexico for a 21-day period.

Outline

  1. Car
  2. Train/Bus/Air
  3. Other Options
  4. Estimate of Total Ground Travel Expenses

For reference on the subjects in my outline, for certain transportation types I will be showing information for these three cities in Mexico: Mazatlan, Merida, and Mexico City.

Car

Renting a car in Mexico

Tips and Information from Lonely Planet

  1. You must have a driver's license, passport, and major credit card from your home country to drive a vehicle.
  2. When in remote areas, make sure to top off your tank.
  3. 87 Octane is similar to US Regular Unleaded and runs for about $3.40/gallon.
  4. You must have Mexican car insurance as US insurance is not acceptable in case of an accident. They list www.sanbornsinsurance.com; this is a website where you can purchase insurance. Short-term insurance is roughly $18 U.S., but does mention that if you're renting longer that two weeks, it is sometimes cheaper to get a semi-annual policy.
  5. You may have to pay a surcharge if between 21-24 years of age.
  6. Try avoiding to drive at night.

Car Insurance Fee for 21 Days

Bus

From Lonely Planet

From Mexico City to Merida: $131.12

From Merida to Mazatlan: $233.15

From Mazatlan to Mexico City: $102.81

Other Options

Information from Lonely Planet

  1. You can rent a motorbike or scooter from some tourist centers but do need both a valid drivers license and credit card. Most likely insurance will not be offered or available, so it is best to purchase insurance from somewhere else prior or immediately after.
  2. Taxis are common in cities and towns. Typically taxis will cost around $20-$25M/kilometer ($1.15US/Kilometer).

I can't seem to find any pricing for motorbike or scooter rental, so I will be factoring the costs of taxis based off the information given from my Lonely Planet travel book to Mexico. I'm going to just factor the most it could cost for a reasonable amount of travel in a week (I did about a third of what the citys total area is).

Mexico City: $567.33 for a weeks worth of travel.

Merida: $329.05 for a weeks worth of travel.

Mazatlan: $54.82 for a weeks worth of travel.

Estimate of Total Ground Travel Expenses

Car: $519.44

Bus: $467.08

Other Options: $951.20

Submitted by Katie Holderfield on March 13, 2020..