1

Yes, there are buses, and they make stops all along the coast. Where would you like to stop, Manzanillo? Acapulco? Buy a ticket and go! But four days in P.E. is not nearly enough. And you would be missing out on Oaxaca city too...

2

I've heard Oaxaca is nice too, maybe i should aim to spend DOTD there instead?

3

lil_zee -- It good that you've figured out that car rental drop off fees are large, making public transportation the most practical means of travel for you for this adventure..

Also, Mexico is considerably larger than many people realize. How much of your vacation do you want to devote to unnecessarily traveling long distances on buses, instead of having those days available to spend at beaches, or for exploring scenic culturally interesting highland destinations? In light of geographic realities, consider visiting only one region of Mexico, instead of two. Save the other area for another trip. Here are two good options:

Option 1--WEST CENTRAL MEXICO-Travel west from Mexico City to Puerto Vallarta, getting there by air if you can afford to do so. Spend all of your beach time in PV, or divide that time between PV and some other attractive beach located just a few hours drive (or boat ride) away. Then, traveling eastward back to towards Mexico City, stop in the Michoacan highlands, specifically the Patzcuaro area. Spend several days, including the "Day of the Dead", there.

Option 2 - OAXACA STATE -- Travel south to from Mexico City to Puerto Escondido, on Oaxaca State's Pacific Coast. Go there by air if you can afford to do so. Spend all of your beach time in PE or divide that time between PE and one other attractive beach community along the Oaxacan coast. Then proceed inland to the City of Oaxaca on your way back towards Mexico City. Spend several days, including the "Day of the Dead" in or near Oaxaca City.

Wherever you go, enjoy your trip.

4

If you haven't been to Puerto Escondido before and don't currently have another reason to visit there ... traveling the long distance from Puerto Vallarta ... and without knowning why you'd want to visit there and then make the long trip back to the D.F. ... I'll suggest you pick another spot to visit before arriving in Mexico City. There are many from which to choose, depending upon your interests. Your itinerary isn't one I'd recommend.

LW

5

Take the Bus to Zihuatanejo, about 12 hours. Then fly (Interjet) to MC or bus about 8 hours . Puerto Escondido is a bit far
Zihua is fabulous!

6

thanks for the tips. will read up about Zihua.

i have to be back in mexico city for something on the 2nd, but have till the 8th when i fly out. any advice on somewhere else close to the city to go for 5 days? would it be worth trying to go to Palenque, maybe if i fly there?

7

"I have to be back in Mexico City for something on the 2nd, but have till the 8th when i fly out. any advice on somewhere else close to the city to go for 5 days?"

There have been many posts here addressing this question. For example, here is a slightly edited version of a post of mine from earlier this week:

Mexico City offers much to do. There is also tourist lodging located in many places which are just a few hours bus ride away from that mega-city. Mexico City residents sometimes escape from their metropolis via weekend 'getaways' to readily accessible smaller cities, mountain towns, and thermal bathing resorts (balnearios) that are located in attractive places. (During the warmer summer months those Mexican families also go to beautiful balnearios fed by cold water springs.)

Some great places that are very popular with local tourists receive few foreign visitors. A person interested, in culture, food, and/or outdoor activities could enjoyably spend several months without having to bus to anywhere located more than five or six hours from Mexico City.

Some, but not all, of the excellent places that one can venture out to from Mexico City are described in the Lonely Planet guide, specifically in its 65 page section titled "Around Mexico City". Of the places listed there, I have especially enjoyed spending time at Teotihuacan (usually done as a day trip to/from MC), Tepotzlan (another day trip), Xochicalco, the city of Puebla, Caxcaxtla, and Cuetzlan/Yohualichan.

On future trips I hope to also visit Cantona, Malinalco, the city of Tlaxcala,, and Ixtapan de las Sol. Some of the places that I've mentioned are located on different sides of MC. so sometimes choices need to be made about which general direction to take going outward from the City. For example, to reduce travel time it imight not be wise, in my opinion, to visit both Oaxaca (six hours SE of MC) and Guanajuato (five hours NW of MC) on the same itinerary.

Last Christmas I took a three week trip to central Mexico, spending most of my time in scenic places that are not listed in guidebooks. Of course, your circumstances or interests may differ from mine. For photos and related information, see:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris0daniel/sets/72157628803320165/show/

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2151946

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2171809

8

OP: You plan to go to a tourist resort/beach town (PV), then travel hundreds of miles to go to another tourist resort/beach town (PE). Why? Puerto Escondido is slightly less touristy and has much better surfing, snorkeling, and swimming beaches, but Puerto Vallarta has more things to see and do, is more upscale, and has lots of nightlife, restaurants, etc.

If you just want to see some beach towns, there are 7-8 interesting ones just north of PV that are easily and quickly accessible by bus or you could rent a car and do a round trip from PV and then fly from PV to Mexico City. Or, after PV you could go to Guadalajara and spend a week in the Guad area, which I recommend. Going to simiar beach towns hundreds of miles apart makes little sense to me; save PE for a different trip. And posters other suggestions are all much better ideas than your proposed itinerary.

9

The guy I'm traveling with has a friend in PV, and I wanted to go to PE for surfing.

I've read that Sayulita, north of PV has ok surfing too so might give that a shot for something closer.

i usually try avoid saving stuff for another trip... which inevitably never happens. it's not cheap or quick to get to mexico from australia.

10

Well, if you won't be visiting Mexico any time in the near future, then I don't understand why you'd use your limited time to 1) visit Puerto Vallarta and 2) surf nearby or in PE. There's nothing more interesting to you about the vastness of Mexico than those two things? Really?

LW

11

actually there's heaps of other stuff i want to do there. i have nearly 4 weeks there and plan to spend less than half of it on or around a beach and the rest elsewhere. i just didn't feel the need to explain my whole trip and its purpose here.

whats with everyone being so judgmental about other peoples holiday plans?

12

Well, I just made a judgement. Adios, zeecito!

13

#11: Look, you asked questions and we provided answers and recommmendations and asked additional questions. And now you're GRADING the responses and carping about them!? That's a rather childish reaction. If you ask vague questions and/or don't explain all the relevant facts about you and your vacation, you can't possibly hope to get just the answer you want. You've posted 7 times on this board; the collective number of posts by your responders is 6,544. And I doubt if you have any idea of the number of truly ignorant or stupid or absolutely unrealistic questions that show up here which some of us try to honestly and politely answer. And the answer to ANY question is judgemental. If you don't like the answer, ignore it; don't get all pissy about it. The Thorn Tree is a FREE service and all responders are volunteers.

I'm with Ryon. I'm also now making a judgement: Adios!

Edited by: dlglidden