new Mexico - General info (Part I)

Visa/Crossing the border

Since 7/99, Mexico now has an entry tax of 16 US$. You don't have to pay this immediately though, they'll give you a paper, you then go to a bank and they put some stamps on it. You'll need to produce this form with the appropriate stamps when you leave the country.

Most nationalities don't need a visa. When entering in Corozal, make sure you get your entry stamps in your passport (the immigration office is only 100 metres from the ferry), because there are a lot of check points in this region.

Money matters

The exchange rate is about 1 US$ = 9,2 P (12/99). Have a look at the currency converter for an update. http://www.oanda.com/cgi-bin/travel

I advise you to take Traveller's cheques instead of cash, because exchange rates at the banks are the same as for cash at no extra costs. Nevertheless, when entering from Corozal, make sure you have some cash US$ because there are no banks there.

We checked around before changing, and in 95% of the times, banks will give you a better rate. In some places like Palenque, it is surprisinly difficult to change money (only 1 bank and 1 money changer).

Also, banks sometimes close in the afternoon, or they only accept TC's in the morning, take that into account.

Flights within Mexico

Introduction

We took 1 flight from Oaxaca to Mexico city with Mexicana, and that was OK. Prices however are pretty high, especially since there's a tax of about 25%. On this flight there were plenty of seats available, but make sure to book well ahead on Sunday evenings f.i. Important to know is that you can only get the bottom price if you book at least 1 week ahead, within a week from the flight, the price rises with about 15%.

Mexicana

Have a look at their website for details on schedules and prices.

Aeromexico

They share their flights with Mexicana, and their prices are the same. Have a look at their site for details.

Aerocaribe

This is a regional carrier operating in Southern Mexico and Yucatan. They are a bit less reliable. If you plan on doing a lot of flying between Maya cities, have a look at their Maya Pass. Have a look at their site for more details.

Bus

Public bus

Mexico has an extremely good bus system which can take you to almost everywhere. The busstations in Mexico City f.i. are really impressive, more resembling an airport then a busstation. Nevertheless, it's sometimes necessary to book in advance, especially for the night buses which are popular.

Some of the bus companies have a website with schedules and prices. The "different world"-site has a collection of links to these companies amoung which ADO and UNO, 2 companies which mainly serve Southern Mexico.

Collectivos

Collectivos are small Volkswagen minibuses. They can sometimes be overcrowded, but usually not. It was my experience that they usually go faster then the bigger buses, especially in the mountaineous areas like Chiapas. F.i. Palenque-San Cristobal, or San Cristobal-Tuxtla are stretches you better do by collectivo. They will also bring you to tourist sites at a much cheaper price then the tourist buses.

Tourist buses

In the tourist areas, you'll have no problems finding a tour going to most of the sights. However, I advise agains doing this, because it's often very easy to get there by public bus at only 20% of the price, f.i. Agua Azul from Palenque: 34 P return by public bus, 120 P by tourist bus.

Taxi

In Mexico City, all the taxis have meters. However, there's a serious safety question in Mexico City with robberies in taxis being frequent. So it's generally said to avoid the so-called "libre" taxis, the "sitio's" are safe. In other cities the fares are rather fixed, unless the driver wants to cheat you and charge more. In Oaxaca f.i., the fare for a regular trip was 15 P.

Renting a car

We didn't rent a car in Mexico, so i can't give you any personnal experience. However, a lot of companies have websites, so i suggest you just check them out on prices etc...