Road Trip Report

Zenwoodie asked for a report following my recent road/bus trip to the border (Nogales). . .here ya go:

For openers - it was a long ass bus ride to the border! Estimated to be 23 hours, BUT. . .

First, I went here to compare bus sites and to see who went where - http://www.differentworld.com/mexico/buses.htm

I chose ETN Turistar - http://www.etn.com.mx/ The fare RT was 3968MP RT. I got my INAPAM card which made the fare 1984MP RT. I had trouble getting the website to bring up a seating assignment (might have been the INAPAM discount as the seats are assigned #4 and #7) so I went to the travel agency just west of El Serape and had it booked and paid for in a matter of minutes - they charged 40 pesos for their service.

The buses are AMAZING! Check out the pictures on the website. Handsome vehicles, plush inside, driver compartment separated from cabin, seats are like an oversized Lazyboy (except for the leg/feet configuration), 2 bathrooms (Men and Women), a galley in the back with hot water and cold, tea bags (never did find coffee) sugar packets etc, diaper changing stations in the women's room, individual headphones and interactive touch screens with an amazing variety of choices (I listened to music, watched a gorgeous docu on reef and fish, watched an outstanding Carnegie Hall Marsalis/Clapton jazz/blues concert, and 2 good movies (dubbed in Spanish, no English). I surfed the internet mostly on my tablet when the MOSTLY available wifi was available, and read my Kindle book. One of the things that impressed me the most were the comfortable chest/lap seat belts (never seen that before on a bus - 'bout time!). Windows are big and clean, there were shades and dark heavy adjustable curtains. Cup holder. There is a constant digital readout providing the date, time, status of the washrooms, and the cabin temp (cold enough to hang meat). There are only 24 seats, double configuration on the right and single on the left row and some overhead controls that I never explored.

The drivers were very good, an alarm goes off when they go over a speed limit, and they swap out at least twice. I thought they were very safe and professional.

Now, for the trip:
The trip up to Nogales was 27 hours (4 hrs over), largely due to no-less-than 8 retenes and one everyone-off 40 min stop in Culiacan at about 10PM (all 4 other stops were 5 min only). Most blockades were military inspections - but I couldn't swear they all were. They started just past the Mazatlan stop and continued all through the night and sometimes we had to get off. The first one was 2 very professional looking military dressed men with a cordial, but no-bullshit, approach. The asked where I was from and walked the length of the bus looking at everyone and the at the bus itself. Second was about an hour later with a single Military dressed guy whom I encountered as I left the wash room (everyone had unbeknownst to me left the bus and I lurched out of the bathroom about the same time he was midway up the aisle - I can't tell you which one of us startled each other the most! He was Bambi-in-the-headlights for a second or two then grinned and went about his search smiling. I was asked to take my stuff and get off the bus where they were going through our luggage (both cabin and baggage luggage). Next was a single guy walking the bus poking around our carry-ons with a pen. Next was a guy with a dog. Next was a guy with an electric screwdriver who partially dismantled the galley. Then about 2AM I woke up to the lights on and a woman dressed in khaki pants and shirt (no patches or badges) in my face screaming "DONDE VIENE!" She was intimidating and did it to everyone on the bus. Meanwhile her partners were combing through our baggage below. The Mexican woman behind me told me she thought the #2 inspectors who went through our baggage tipped the woman's group as to what was where and in what bags and these guys were shopping - she even challenged them from the stairs and they yelled at her. When she walked past me to her seat, she giggled and pinched my arm - she great! She said they look for perfume, jewelry etc. Quien sabe, there was nothing missing from my bag but I didn't have anything of value in it. The rest of the blockade inspections were rag-tag, not official looking, and all in the cabin, and in the wee hours of the morning. We speculated that the bus or one of the drivers may have had a history as several of the inspectors tapped the bulkhead or overhead cabins looking for tampered panels.

The leg back was smoother, only one half-ass inspection, it was a new bus, at Tepic a man with a cooler got on selling good looking tacos and bolillos, and we arrived back at Guad an hour early of schedule. phffft Had to wait an hour more for my ride from the lake to get there.

So, thanks to everyone who sent tips and recommendations, I'll repeat them as some were by PM. . .bring warm socks and light blanket, bring food, get INAPAM card if possible, bring earplugs - though I never used them you could use the headphones instead and the bus was never full or had raucous passengers on board, bring inflatable pillow (thanks Ann!), and don't forget your sense of humor. Maybe the best tip I got from someone was when crossing the border into the US ask where the "over 60" line is - probably saved me an hour or more of standing in line. I'd do it again in a heartbeat but I'd split up the trip a little as 23/24/27 hrs on the bus was grueling.

Have fun!

Welcome back, Trailrunner! Thanks for the great report.

Thanks for the great detailed report. Very interesting. But wait... there's an "over 60" line?

Thanks for the detailed report. I was wondering how it went.
Welcome home. I hope you had a great time.

HelperGuy wrote:Thanks for the great detailed report. Very interesting. But wait... there's an "over 60" line?

Yeah! And you don't get to use it! hahaha lol

If one were to split this trip into say, two segments - where would you suggest a layover to make the trip about two equal segments?

I'd say either Mazatlan so you could spend a day at the beach and eating mariscos or Culiacan (more like half way) but not as much fun as Maz.

There are some long boring legs of this journey; Tepic to Maz, Maz to Culiacan, Hermasillo to Nogales. In reverse, the driver had to do one of those long legs all through the lonely night!

The southern Sinaloa scenery on the way up included sunset over the ocean, really pretty, and on the way back dawn broke over the Sonora desert with a very picturesque distant mountains bathed in fog and illuminated by a golden glow. Other than that, it was dry, cactus, brown dirt, blue sky, and the back end of the towns we stopped at.

I plan to do more of this, only I will go south instead of north in the future.

Trailrunner wrote:

HelperGuy wrote:Thanks for the great detailed report. Very interesting. But wait... there's an "over 60" line?

Yeah! And you don't get to use it! hahaha lol

Are you serious....he should go to the head of the line.

Only because you wouldn't be able to make it through the line yourself, Chuckles...

Thanks Trailrunner, nice report. May go back to Texas now that I can avoid customs at the airport in Houston, those guys are nutz.

great story, well written ! thanx

Thanks for the report on your trip and glad you found the over 60 line. my husband and I did not know about the line until a very nice Mexican fellow informed us as we headed toward the crossing. Saves lots of time. Your trip sure had more stops and inspections than our trip in January and we,too think the buses are great!

Trailrunner, did I miss something? Where did you stay in Nogales? Just a round trip? Where did you go when you crossed the border? Just so everyone knows the tolls round trip, GDL to Nogales are approx., 3500 pesos, if you drive, plus gas. We are making this trip 4 times per year. We typically drive from Lakeside to Obregon 1st day, hit Nogales 2nd, so we have hotel, gas, tolls, food, of course. Travel time bus vs drive/hotel is approx. the same.

Muchas Gracias for the trip report.

That is exactly the kind of info we needed for our trip in January.

I owe you a beer or two.

Thanks, all!

JimW, I crossed the border and was met by friends who took me to Picture Rocks outside of Tucson where we stayed. Takes about an hour and a half from there to the border.

PS: Forgot to mention they give you a sandwich, drink, and chips in a bag when you board. You can buy chips and sodas and Maruchen junk at most of the 5 min stops. And, when wifi was up you can also surf the internet on the touch screens.