How to Get to Mexico

How to Get to Mexico

North America

Airplane: The most important airlines in Mexico are Mexicana (flies mainly to the USA) and Aeromexico (also offers flights to Europe, for example Paris). Their flight safety is comparable to that of the major US and European airlines.
Iberia and Lufthansa fly from Europe to Mexico City, Lauda Air and Belair (from Zurich) also to Cancun.
Condor offers relatively cheap flights to Cancun from Frankfurt, LTU also flies to Cancun from Frankfurt and Dusseldorf.

Other airlines that offer flights to Mexico are: Aero California, Cubana, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Aeromar, Air France, Varig, Air Canada, Air Europa, Copa Airlines, AViva Aerobus, ladia, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, America West, United Airlines, ATA Airlines, Aviacsa, Avianca, Click Mexicana, Continental Airlines, TACA, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Interjet, Japan Airlines, KLM, Lan Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, Ted and US Airways.

According to Ehistorylib, you can fly direct to Mexico City from eight South American cities as well as from Guatemala City, Panama City, Santo Domingo, San José, San Salvador and Havana and Santo Domingo. To Cancun there are direct flights from São Paulo, Flores, Panama City, Havana and Guatemala City.

There are direct flights to Mexico from around 30 US cities. Continental (from Houston), Aeroméxico and Mexicana offer the largest selection of flights between the USA and Mexico. Low-cost airlines on these routes include Frontier Airlines, Aviacsa, ATA, Spirit Air, Ted, America West and Aero Mexico.

Airpasses
With the All America Airpass you can travel flexibly to Latin and North America. 30 airlines, which fly 2000 routes, take part in this Airpass.
There is no minimum number of flight coupons purchased with the All America Airpass; the airlines, routes and stops can be combined as desired.
There is no minimum stay, the Airpass is valid for a maximum of one year. The permitted length of stay is 90 days after using the first flight coupon. The flight must be reconfirmed 72 hours before departure. Flight days and flight numbers can be changed, but rerouting is not possible.
The routing must already be determined when purchasing the Airpass, a description of this route and rerouting are not possible, nor is a refund of the purchase price possible after the start of the journey. The pass can be canceled before the start of the journey, but this is subject to a fee.
The All America Airpass is only sold to people who are permanently resident outside the Caribbean, Canada, USA, Mexico, Central and South America. Possible airport taxes are paid locally.

The Mexican airlines Mexicana Airlines and Aeromexico offer a Mexi Pass. This Airpass can be purchased if you have arrived in the country on a long-haul international flight. The Mexi Pass covers around 200 destinations from the Aeromexico and Mexicana flight networks. You have to buy at least 2 national or 3 international coupons, the coupons can be freely combined with each other. However, additional fees may apply on some routes.

Airports: The following Mexican airports receive direct international flights. All are used by US airlines, direct flights from South America only land in Mexico City and Cancun, from Europe in Mexico City, Cancun and Monterry.
Mexico City, Cancun, Guadalajara, and Monterrey receive the most international flights.
Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX) is located 13 km south of Mexico City. There are rental car counters. With the subway line 5 (Metro) you can reach Mexico City quickly and inexpensively, but it can be overcrowded. The subway runs regularly until 1 a.m.

It is recommended that you only use approved taxis for taxi rides into the city center, that you purchase taxi tickets at the airport and lock the taxi doors during the journey. At the airport you can buy taxi tickets at the public transport counter (Transportacion Terrestre). The licensed taxis are yellow and white and have an airplane logo. The journey time to the city center by taxi is around 45 minutes.

The upscale hotels in Mexico City offer rides to the airport in minibus shuttles. In addition, airport buses run regularly (sometimes until midnight) to the city center. Acapulco
International Airport (General Juan N. Alvarez, ACA) is 16 miles from the city. Buses and taxis go to the city center, and rental cars can also be rented. The international Cancún International Airport (CUN) is located 22 km to the city center. E-licensed taxis drive to Cancun, and the ride can be paid for at the taxi counter in the airport. There are no buses between the airport and Cancun. Guadalajara Airport

(Miguel Hidalgo, GDL) is located 20 km southeast of the city. Both buses and taxis go to the city center, and rental cars can also be rented. Monterrey
Airport (General Mariano Escobedo, MTY) is 15 miles northeast of the city. Buses and taxis go to the city center, rental cars are available.

Other airports with international flight connections from the USA are Aguascalientes (AGU), Bajío (BJX), Chihuahua (CUU), Cozumel (CZM), Durango (DGO), Guaymas (GYM), Hermosillo (HMO), Huatulco (HUX), Ixtapa / Zihuatanejo (ZIH), La Paz (LAP), Loreto (LTO), Los Cabos (SJD), Manzanillo (ZLO), Mazatlán (MZT), Mérida (MID), Merida (MID), Morelia (MLM), Oaxaca (OAX), Puebla (PBC), Puerto Vallarta (PVR), Querétaro (QRO), San Luis Potosí (SLP), Tampico (TAM), Tijuana (TIJ), Toluca (TLC), Torreón (TRC), Veracruz (VER), Villahermosa (VSA) and Zacatecas (ZCL).

Ship: Mexico is the world’s most popular cruise destination, annually more than six million cruise passengers arrive in Mexican ports. Mexico cruises are often offered in combination with other Caribbean destinations and Key West in Florida. In addition to Isla Cozumel, the Mexican Caribbean ports of Calica and Puerto Morelos are most frequently visited by cruises. The Costa Maya terminal in Mahahual was destroyed by Hurricane Dean in 2007, but it is to be rebuilt.
On the Pacific route, the main ports are Ensenada, Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco; Cruises are also available to Manzanillo, Zihuatanejo, Bahías de Huatulco, and Puerto Chiapas.
The cruise lines that offer cruises to Mexico include Royal Caribbean International, Crystal Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, P&O Cruises, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Princess Cruises.

River boats connect Flores and Tikal in Guatemala with Palenque in Chiapas.

Rail: Although there are no regular passenger trains on the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border, it is entirely possible to reach the US side of the border by rail. Amtrak serves four US cities that are easy to access to Mexico: San Diego, California (near Tijuana), El Paso, Texas (near Ciudad Juárez), Del Rio, Texas (near Ciudad Acuña), and San Antonio in Texas. All of these trains have sleeping cars and are usually air-conditioned.

Car: There are more than 40 official border crossing points between the US and Mexico, 10 to Guatemala and two to Belize.

United States

The most important border crossings between the USA and Mexico are: from San Diego the Mexicali crossing, from Phoenix the crossing Nogales, from San Angelo, from El Paso and Del Rio the crossing Eagle Pass / Piedras Negras, from Tucson and Albuquerque the crossing El Paso / Ciudad Juárez, from Houston and Galveston the Brownsville / Matamoros transition, from Houston and San Antoniao the Laredo / Nuevo Laredo transition.

Guatemala
The border crossing points El Carmen / Talisman, La Mesilla / Ciudad Cuauhtémoc and Ciudad Tecún Uman / Ciudad Hidalgo are all connected by roads with surrounding cities and Guatemala City. These routes are used by numerous buses and minibuses. Every day, some Trans Galgos Inter, Linea Dorada and Tica Bus buses run all the way between Guatemala City and Tapachula in Chiapas.
On the route between Flores in Guatemala and Chetumal there are daily buses from Linea Dorada and San Juan Travel.
On the route between Flores and Palenque in Mexico there are also several buses daily from Flores to Bethel. From here you can take the ship to Frontera Corozal in Mexico. Minibuses drive from Frontera Corozal to Palenque.

Belize

At the places Corozal and Chetumal there is a border crossing to Belize.

When entering Mexico, you need a Permiso de importación temporal de Vehiculos (temporary vehicle import permit) if you want to drive further than Baja California, Guaymas in the Mexican state of Sonora or the border zone to Mexico’s neighboring countries.
These permits are issued at the border crossings or, in some cases, a little further inland, in the port of Ensenada and the ferry terminal in Pichilingue (La Paz), in Baja California and by the Mexican consulates in the USA. You can also apply online. The cost is between $ 30 and $ 50 (online application).

The driver needs the following documents upon entry (ideally in the original and two copies): tourist card (FMT, can be obtained at the border in front of the vehicle import), Registration certificate, Visa, MasterCard, or American Express credit cards that are approved outside of Mexico (otherwise a security deposit of US $ 200 to US $ 400 must be left at the border, your credit card details or security deposit serve as a guarantee that you can leave the car before the expiration date touristic card (FMT) is again exported from Mexico.

Proof of citizenship or residence permit, e.g. passport, driver’s license, in the case of rental vehicles (only a few US rental agencies allow you to drive your cars to Mexico), the rental agreement and authorization letter from the rental company.

Only the owner of the vehicle can take it out of Mexico again. In the event that this is impossible (accident, total loss), the responsible consulate must be informed, which will initiate further action with a Mexican customs office.

Bus: Buses go to the USA via the border crossings mentioned above.

How to Get to Mexico