Hola!

So, I have a 4 day weekend I can take and I am thinking about going to Mexico to climb one of the volcanoes. I am on a tight schedule, so I was thinking of doing Ixta (Popo is still off limits) not Orizaba since it is about 1,000’ shorter and closer to Mexico City. Tickets to Mexico City are like $230 from Minneapolis so that rocks. I was thinking that renting a car might be a lot easier than trying to bus with a pack.

Travelocity is showing car rentals from about 10-12 USD a day. So $40-50 plus gas for a weekend is not bad all things considered (split by 2 people).

Has anyone ever rented cars in Mexico or does everyone hire drivers (seems most expensive) or take the bus?

Looking at first weekend in April.

That quoted price probably does not include the Mexican insurance. My understanding is they don't recognize your American car insurance so you don't have the option of declining. Look at all the insurance categories and how they add up for your budget.

I have travelled (in the 90s) with a small group in a rented VW van. The big plus is flexabilty.

I have also travelled with a hired driver. The last time was in 06. I found the price was okay if you have a small group, but would add up too quickly for just 2. We also did a bus on that trip because a hired driver gets pricy over multiple days as opposed to a single trip.

I give some bus details in my Izta trip report: http://www.summitpost.org/trip-report/377355/iztaccihuatl-utm.html

I'm not sure I would want to have to rely on a Mexican rental car. The secure cab ride from the airport to the TAPO station is $10. The bus from Mexico city to Amecameca is $2.00 and the roundtrip cab ride from Amecameca to Ixta and back is $30. Divided by 2 that will cost you a whopping $27 each plus tip from start to finish. This way you won't have to worry about being hastled by the crooked cops.

Blackmouth wrote:I'm not sure I would want to have to rely on a Mexican rental car. The secure cab ride from the airport to the TAPO station is $10. The bus from Mexico city to Amecameca is $2.00 and the roundtrip cab ride from Amecameca to Ixta and back is $30. Divided by 2 that will cost you a whopping $27 each plus tip from start to finish. This way you won't have to worry about being hastled by the crooked cops.

Agreed! And you won't need to worry about the crazy drivers, either! I was glad we were in a cab while we tried to get from the airport to TAPO

If you haven't driven in Mexico before, I would just follow the advice above. Bus and taxi.

After that trip and on the next one, you can decide if you would want to drive or not. Personally, my opinion was not. If you have already driven in Mexico and actually like it, then I guess I can say good luck.

Being a long time veteran of travel in Mexico...I have found car rentals very expensive, ie. 50 to 75USD+ per day due to expensive insurance rates and extremely expensive interest rates on borrowed money....Worse than that ...if you rent the car in Mexico City you have to run the gauntlet of the Federal district police who pray on rental cars for bribes..the scam involves taking your licence, making up a phoney charge that you will have to "go down to the Station" the following day to retreive the licence and pay the fine...but they will do you a favor and allow you to pay the fine on the spot and be on your way. Never rent your car in Mexico City even if you know how to drive there very well!

Take a cab to the central Bus station, then find the bus to Amecameca...1st class with a movie for about 7.50US..take about 2 hrs. get off the bus...walk a block to the town square and locate the only hotel. Get your permit for Izta..also on the square...then negotiate a fare to the trailhead ....not..not!...paso de cortes. It will probably be 25 - 40 bucks but it is a long way and you may be able to share the fare with someone you meet at the hotel.

This way you will be in your hotel in Amecameca befor you rent your car and get out of the City...if you get out of the City.

ha ha - thanks for the good stories! So what you are trying to say is... renting a car in Mexico City can be, um, bad?

This was well worth the laugh on a Friday night!

First class bus- here I come...

I rented a car when I went down there for Ixta and Orizaba. It wasn't cheap and I had to get Mexican insurance from AAA, but the flexibility was nice- it allowed me to take a side trip to Teotihuacan which was great, but I'm sure that could be done by bus as well. I was ok with it, but I would be willing to bet that most people from the US wouldn't be comfortable driving there.

Woodie

FYI.....The prices I quoted were the rates that I paid last week when I climbed Ixta.

Woodie Hopper wrote:it allowed me to take a side trip to Teotihuacan which was great, but I'm sure that could be done by bus as well.

Yup, we were able to take a bus to Teotihuacan from Mexico City after returning from Puebla (and Orizaba).