Teotihuacán Travel Forum

Hi,

My wife and I have a 9 hour layover in Mexico City this summer on our way home from our trip to Peru. I've always wanted to visit Teotihuacan, but I'm wondering whether it's feasible to do it in our window of opportunity. We land at 6:00am. I've been able to determine that the site opens at 7:00am so my thought was to just go outside the airport, grab the nearest taxi and head straight there. Does anyone know how much it would cost to take a taxi? How far is the site from the airport? Will there be taxi's at Teotihuacan when we're done touring the site or will I need to call to get one to come out there ... or just take a bus back? Is there a bus that leaves from the airport straight to Teotihuacan? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Matt

Actually, you could take the metro to the city to reach North Bus Station
By bus - Autobuses Teotihuacán leave the North bus station every half an hour or so. Check that your bus goes to the site entrance and not just to the town of San Juan Teotihuacán nearby. It will take around an hour, and the buses run until about 6pm - check the last departure before you leave.
Don't be afraid to take the metro as I took it last March and was completely safe/
Take the yellow line number 5 towards Politechnico and get off at Autobuses del Norte, here the map:

http://www.urbanrail.net/am/mexi/mexico.htm


Enjoy Teotihuacan - it's an unforgettable experience!

Cheers,

ronaldpk

The trip to the North bus station and the bus to the ruins is not difficult. When you come out of the international airport you walk to the far left for the metro station. There is no line change needed and the line is not generally overcrowded because it does not go into the center of the city. At the bus station you again go to the far left of the station for the buses to the pyramids. Returning is just as easy. With connections and ticket buying etc. it probably costs you a least half hour more than going directly by taxi.

The taxi ride from the airport is not difficult because the pyramids are on much the same side of the city as the airport. The thing you can not do and pay a reasonable price is just "grab the nearest taxi and head straight there." Mexican taxis generally do not operate on meters. You will need to negotiate the price and since you are picking up the taxi from the official stand or just in front of the airport you can expect that you will be asked for a very high fare. A number of years ago I paid 200 pesos to go straight to the pyramids, but because of inflation you would probably be doing well paying 400 pesos (38 dollars).

One dilema you face is whether to try to take an official airport taxi or try to catch a street or not airport authorized taxi. The former will be much more expensive than the well negotiated price with the latter. Many people would advise you against taking any but the authorized or radio dispatched taxis for safety's sake. If you chose the latter approach (which in my opinion -- not shared by all-- is not crazy) DO NOT go with anyone who comes up to you asking you if you need a taxi. That would be crazy. Go looking for your own taxi even if this means flagging it down on the street.
(I just got into a airport taxi headed toward the North bus station with my son and two friends and negotiated the change in destination.)

Good luck. bob

Yes, the suggested trip with metro and bus is absolutely fine. Also the advice to make sure the bus goes to the ruins and not only to the town centre although you could get a taxi from the town centre to the ruins.