SummitPost.org

Indiana Mad-Man wrote:Congrats on the successful summit. It seems unbelievable to me that you could be up there at 18,000 ft. without a balaclava. That kind of puts me at ease for my trip down there.

Quick question: How much did you guys spend down there beyond your flight? I'm trying to get a grasp about how much I need to budget for the trip, including bus travel, accomodations for two or three night, and of course some good clean water.

Thanks for your help and the great pictures. They're getting me pretty excited.

Here is a breakdown of our costs (we had 3 people total):
Private Transportation from Mexico City to Tlachichuca - $110 each including tip (worth every penny)
2 nights at the Limon's house - $24 each
2 breakfast and 2 dinners at the Limons - $20 each
(4) 5 gallon water jugs of water and 1 Liter of white gas from Limons - $20 Total
Bus fair from Tlachichuca to Mexico City - $20 each
Hotel night at the Hilton inside the airport in Mexico City on the last night - $200 Total (worth every penny)
Total expense for food on the mountain - $50 each roughly
Transporation up and down the mountain - $75 each (included a one night stop above Hildago...if you dont do this, then its $50 each)
Misc. Expenses (tips, bottles of water, beers, ect.) - $50 each

I think that is about it. I would HIGHLY recommend staying with the Limon's. They are extremely nice and will treat you like you are part of their family. They are always on time if not early with their transportation. We met a few people down there who got stranded at Piedra Grande because their rides did not show up. Joaquin Limon ended up taking down.

And yes it was quite warm when we were there. It has been like that every time I have been there. The middle of November has treated me well. It gets a little chilly around 4:00 am to 6:00 am. Its for sure warmer if you stay in the hut, but I would advise against doing so. I did it the first time I went and promised myself to never do it again. Its usually very crowded, people snoring, you get very little sleep, smells like gas, it sucks.

The bus route is extremely cheap. I took a bus from Tlachichuka -> Puebla 37 pesos $4 and then from Puebla to Mexico City (tapo) 92 pesos $9.5. The bus from Mexico to Puebla is excellent and the name of the bus company is ADO. The bus from Puebla to Talchichuka is also nice little smaller though and makes stops on the way. rcntly4298 (Andy) is dead on his breakdown in the post above. Senor Limon and his family are wonderful people.

PS you can also attend "The Show" for cheap in Mexico city.

eferesen wrote:The bus route is extremely cheap. I took a bus from Tlachichuka -> Puebla 37 pesos $4 and then from Puebla to Mexico City (tapo) 92 pesos $9.5. The bus from Mexico to Puebla is excellent and the name of the bus company is ADO. The bus from Puebla to Talchichuka is also nice little smaller though and makes stops on the way. rcntly4298 (Andy) is dead on his breakdown in the post above. Senor Limon and his family are wonderful people.

PS you can also attend "The Show" for cheap in Mexico city.

LOL, the show. I am glad we missed that one!

Thanks for the price breakdown. I think we are planning on going cheap on almost everything we can, but I'm sure when you are down there it is great to splurge (i.e. the Hilton hotel room). I will most likely email Senor Limon in the next few days. Thanks for the recommendation.

rcntly4298 wrote:We met a few people down there who got stranded at Piedra Grande because their rides did not show up. Joaquin Limon ended up taking down.

I was the guy who got stranded up at Piedre Grande. I now know to always use the Limon's. As well, I'd echo the comment made that staying at the Airport Hilton before leaving Mexico is worth every penny. Although apparently TRADaROCKiss had very good accomodations for about half the price and excellent shuttle service to the airport, even at 5 AM.

Also, I drank from the spring that is on the mountain below the huts and had no problems. Did treat it, though. I hiked the entire way from Tlachichuca to Piedre Grande, so carrying 5 gallons was not an option. If you get a ride to the huts, probably just buy one or two 5 gallon jugs in Tlachichuca. . . it will save you having to get water all the time.