Best way to arrive early at Teotihuacán and avoid tourist traps?

I'm so sorry if this has been asked before - can't find anything recent on the subject.

My husband and I will be visiting Mexico City in a month. We are a young couple that loves to travel independently. We usually travel by public transport or by renting a car and driving ourselves, but we are torn on what to do regarding Teotihuacán. While we know it is possible and easy to arrive using public transportation, we would like to be there at opening hours to avoid the crowds so we are thinking using a private driver or small tour might be better? We would also like to skip any visit to tourist shops and traps. Let me know if you've had a great experience that you would like to share!

Any ideas are greatly appreciated! :) Thank you!

We took the bus out the day before and spent the night in one of the hotels nearby. The next morning after breakfast we were at the site when they opened.

Since the late sixties, I have been to Teotihuacan five times and have never known it to be crowded. One reason is that it is an enormous site and can drink in hundreds, even thousands, without becoming saturated. It's true that people congregate at the north end and many climb the pyramid of the moon to get a better view of the whole site.

If you go, go by yourselves by taking the direct bus from the norte bus station. Many complain of the tour operations.

Don't go just for the big real estate. There are places with most interesting murals, both underground and on ground level, which reveal something of the mythology of these people.

If you like public transport and don´t like tours, then I suggest you go by public transport and avoid tours. Public transport starts operating early in the morning in and around Mexico city.

When I went to Teotihuacan, from near the Zócalo I started early enough to catch the first metro (starts at 6:00am), made it to Terminal Norte and took the first bus to Teotihuacan. I arrived at a park entrance just before it opened, then paid and entered. There were more hot air balloons than people by the time I climbed to the top of Pirámide del Sol.

Get there when the site opens, and before 10 a.m. when the first of the throng of tourist busses arrives. Or, get there 3 p.m. or so in the afternoon ... when most of the tour busses have departed.

LW

I have been to Teotihuacan several times, and every time was by public transport which is easy and cheap. As an earlier poster said, there are no crowds, the site is huge. I was last there on a Monday, perhaps on a Sunday it may be busier.

Have never seen a "throng" of tourist buses, don't believe they exist at that site.

Bring lots of water with you.

So I guess it is possible to arrive early in the morning by public transportation! I was worried that might prove difficult (thinking about how it happens in Peru) but your comments put me to rest. Public transport it is! Thank you all!

I am not sure what the others mean by "public transport." Teotihuacan is actually pretty far from Mexico City and you don't want to have an ordeal before you even get to the site.
The only way I know of to get there on public transport is to take a second class bus from the Indios Verdes Metro station which has a chaotic bus terminal. These buses run along the old road with villages and so the trip is long.
The easiest way by far to get there is to go to the Norte bus terminal (which has a Metro station) and there is a service there which goes non-stop to the site.
On the way back you will probably have to put up with a second class bus to Indios Verdes.

Someone who has been there more recently can tell you if this is a currently still a good way to go as things may have changed. Quite a while back we took Metro to Indios Verdes then there is a direct bus to Teotihucan about 20 minutes depending on traffic. Again someone might advise if this is still a good route as far as saftey, etc. This was also a good way to go to combine with a return stop at La Villa de Guadalupe.

The Norte bus station is built like an arc. When you come out of the metro, the bus station is right in front of you and you enter in the middle of the arc. Go to the left, all the way to the end to find the bus for 'Piramides'. They leave frequently.

Another option is to stay at the moderately priced hotel that is at the site: Villas Arqueologicas Teotihuacan.

The bus to catch leaves from the Terminal del Norte station and is actually called "AutobusesTeotihuacan" their ticket counter is to the far left as you enter the station and they board from gate 8 to the left of the counter.
The other stops mentioned are not originating stations and there is a possibility of the bus being standing room only when they arrive. I cannot find any concrete schedule as to the first bus, but I'd guess they start at 8am and run every 30 minutes or so.

http://www.autobusesteotihuacan.com.mx/

The Piramides buses probably start at 6 am. Here is a good link for you:
https://sightdoing.net/how-to-visit-teotihuacan-without-a-tour/

I have done this site several times overi the years and I aways use Greyline tours. They have been in business since l941 and my family first used them in l955. I dont like to ride the metro myself so I avoid it in the DF. I had a bad experience one time and dont wish a repeat..

Traveling by public bus from Terminal Norte is the generally accepted, and considered the safest route. I don't suggest traveling via the Indios Verdes location - due to recurring safety issues on some of those busses (robberies, rapes, confusions in staging, etc.).

LW

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