El Paso to Cd Juarez to Chihuahua : How to do?

etiennemac, Since you will be arriving so late you have no choice but to take a taxi to the El Paso border. If you were arriving earlier and did not have to much luggage, you could catch the local bus but would have to transfer to another bus for a total of $2. The taxi will probably charge like $20 or so but have no idea as I never time my arrival to when the bus is not running. After walking across the border using the bridge and paying like 30¢, you will need to go to immigration which is close by but you will have to ask how to walk there and get your tourist card. Actually I am not sure you should actually try to this late at night? Have you thought about staying in El Paso until the next day? The immigration office I believe in Juarez is open 24 hours. Next you will need to decide whether to get another taxi to the bus station and continue on. I am not sure about how often the buses around at that late hour, if at all? Others on this board may be of help? Since you are not familiar with Juarez, which can be dangerous at night, I would ask a taxi driver to take you to a hotel that is not expensive. Most of the taxi drivers speak English but be aware they can really cheat you. No matter what you decide to do, you will be taking another taxi to the bus station. Hope this helps? Buena suerte (Good luck),Edmund

the buses bettwen juarez and chih. run from an hour to an hour all day and night long so if you get there you can catch the next one, no problem its about and a half hours to 4 hours, you might want to get there early to catch the chepe train, it runs about from 6 to 7 check: www.chepe.com.mx for the complete info on getting on the canyon, i would consider catching ta taxi to the bus station, theyre not cheap though

In reading the OP's post I think he arrives at 12:40 p.m., i.e., the noon hour. I would catch a bus or a taxi to the Autobuses Americanos bus station that's just a block from the Stanton Street bridge—in El Paso—then catch a first class Americanos bus there that would take me through the border (a stop for customs and immigration) and then on direct to Chihuahua without any intermediate stop at the Central de Camiones in Juarez. Nice buses, good service.

Mazgringo, Lo siento (I am sorry) for not understanding this post. Thanks so much for correcting me. etiennemac. I would do exactly what Mazgringo is recommending and save yourself a lot of time and hassle. What you would do about getting your tourist card is something I am wondering about? I am sure Mazgringo and others will respond. Buen viaje (Have a nice trip), Edmund

Sorry, I forgot to mention, now that I know you are arriving during the day another thought for you. If you do not have much luggage, you can catch the local bus to get to the plaza of El Paso outside the El Paso airport. you will have to transfer, but no big deal as the bus drivers are great for giving you information. It will cost you $1 to the transfer point (5 points I believe) and then another $1 to the plaza. I am sure the bus drivers will also be more than helpful in telling you how to get to what Mazgringo is recommending. Adios, Edmund

You have time to get to Chihuahua April 19th, and that's what I'd do. There are a couple of bridges to cross into Mexico, but if you don't have an FMT tourist card then you need to cross at the one where the immigrtion office is. Unfortunately, that one is the farthest from the airport. But you do have time.

Buen viaje!

mazgringo, will Autobuses Americano allow you enough time to do immigration? I took their run over the border at Stanton St. last August, and we only stayed at the border for maybe ten minutes tops.

I agree its the way to go, in fact it is the only time I like supporting Greyhound(aren't they owned by them?)

Overall, good advice!

Recent changes in the El Paso bus system make it more difficult to do the airport
ride proposed. The airport is now served by only 5 buses per day, departing at
9:36, 11:16, 12:56, 2:36 and 4:16, arriving at the East Side Terminal at
9:50, 11:30, 1:10, 2:50 and 4:30, all on Route 57. Then there is a more dense
schedule from the East Side Terminal to downtown on Route 55. For the O.P.,
this means departing at either 1:15 PM, arriving downtown at 2:10, OR departing
at 2:15 arriving at 3:10. Connections are quite tight, both at the airport and
East Side Terminal. You can find the schedules and maps for Routes 57 and 55 at:

El Paso Sun Metro bus system

I believe you can still ride the system for US$1 - but you must ask for a transfer
when boarding at the airport, and pay an extra US$0.10 for it - raising the fare
to US$1.10.

Elliott Moore

Most people who have done both suggest skipping the first part of the train trip and just busing to Creel. This avoids a taxi ride into town, an ungodly early train departure, and a dull and boring train ride across the plain. Save Chihuahua for the return trip. The Francisco (Pancho) Villa museum is well worth a visit.