Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido - minivan website/reservations?
Replies: 11 - Last Post: Nov 12, 2012 7:22 AM Last Post By: mclarjh
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Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido - minivan website/reservations?
Hi all,We're travelling from Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido in a couple of weeks and are going to take the 6 hour minivan option. As we are on a limited timeframe we would like to book our van in advance so that we can get to P.E the day after we fly into Oaxaca. Do any of the minivan services have websites or booking services? Phoning is a bit hard for us as we have limited Spanish.
Thanks!
Bridget
1
There is no need to book a van. Vans between Oaxaca and Puerto Escondido leave every hour from the small terminals just south of the Zocalo (NOT from the second class bus terminal!).. Just show up, buy a ticket and board. The vans hold about 15 people and you won't have a problem getting a seat, especially at this time of year. The cost from Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido is currently 170 pesos and the road down the Sierra Madre del Sur is beautiful. I did that ride last week. I was one of only two passengers on the 15 passenger van. There was quite a bit of damage from Hurricane Carlotta visible along the road, but the road is passable and won't pose a problem.Edited by: sangroncito
2
I do prefer the bus, but it takes longer because it goes all the was to Salina Cruz, but the van is cheap and fast, took the van from Pochutla to Oax. Last week, a really bouncy and curvy road, my wife told me that she does not want to take the trip again, but all in all it was a fun experience.But at least the night time van was brutal as the road is filled with curves, I did plan on sleeping on the back, but I couldn't I kept bumping my body all over the van, as I said my wife doesn't want to do that drive in a van again, but for me at least it was an experience.
Edited by: drMingo
3
There are several van companies and vans leave frequently. I prefer what I call a micro-bus. It differs from a van in that there's a center aisle, with two seats on one side and one seat on the other side, so you don't get tossed around quite as much. Is that what you took dr.Mingo? It's certainly an amazing road, whether you go through Pochutla or Sola de Vega. Even in high season no reservations are necessary. In my experience, even at the sitio they don't take reservations more than one day in advance.The transport that I use (or used to, now I fly) is at Calle Arista #116 which is a few blocks south of the zocalo off of Bustamante. But there are several terminals offering van/suburban/micro-bus transportation between Puerto Escondido and Oaxaca.
5
There are also local buses leaving from the second-class bus terminal in Oaxaca city that operate between there and the teminal in Puerto Escondido at the north end of the centro, but from my experience while more comfortable, they are slower than the van services.The bus that goes via Salina Cruz is operated by ADO, operates between the first class terminal in Oaxaca city and their terminal at the crucera in Puerto Escondido and takes longer but offers a smoother ride.
In any event, agreed with others, no need to pre-book except on major holidays.
8
Yes I took a micro-bus (or a really big van), a white Mercedes Benz, looked new, clean and everything, for $150 pesos from Pochutla to Oaxaca, it was going to be pure bliss, cheap, clean and fast, but as soon as we reached the mountains (and I tried to sleep), I took 3 empty spaces, I really wanted to sleep, but sometimes my whole body was up in the air, literally, maybe the driver was a kamikaze or something, I would do it again if fact, and would also stop in San Jose del Pacifico for a day or two, next time I guess.10
What about vans and buses working on new year's day? We'll be traveling from Oaxaca to PE.
