Travel Between Oaxaca and the Coast

The following appeared in the newsgroup rec.travel.latin-america:

mak@suba.com (mak) wrote:

> Someone in another thread talked about the bus ride from Oaxaca to Puerto
> Escondido being rigorous and likely to induce motion sickness in the
> weak-stomached -- someone else, however, described it as a wonderful,
> scenic trip. Just wanted to get other input from folks who have done
> either or both -- also some idea of the cost of flying versus traveling
> by bus.

Maureen,

I've done both as well as driving. The bus cost last February was $9.00 US. The plane fare in February is, as best I can recall, about $65 US. (One remembers cash purchases better than those made with a credit card.)
Taking the bus is something you should do once. It is an extraordinary experience. If you are queasy, take it from Puerto Escondido and go up the mountains to Oaxaca, rather than the opposite. Somehow you worry less about driving off a cliff going uphill than down. Actually, there is a lot of up and down both directions. The scenery is spectacular and you will see a part of Mexico that you will not likely see in another place or time. Like the vegetation, the villages and economies change with altitude.
A couple of idle pieces of information about the bus trip. The bus travels with an armed guard (machete) and has no bathroom. It stops along the way to pick up passengers and for rest stops. The left side of the bus is the ladies room while the right side of the road is for the men. Depending on your disposition and temperament you may never want to do it again, but you will also not want to have missed the experience for anything.
Flying is interesting. Going from Oaxaca you cross the Sierra Madre mountains in a small (18? passenger plane) that at times is so close to the tree tops that you can see what look like crows on the top branches. As you approach Puerto Escondido the plane goes out over the Pacific and makes a big U-turn to the left (east) and lands on a very small runway with the ocean on one side and the mountains as a backdrop on the other.
Flying the other direction one leaves Puerto Escondido and makes a stop outside Huatulco and then flies north to Oaxaca. The flight is longer and a bit less spectacular.
Happy roads.

Brian
August 1996

___________________________________________
Brian J. Larkin              (202) 296-3205
blarkin@cpcug.org, blarkin@worldnet.att.com

>On Mon, 22 Jul 96 20:08:43 GMT, TedBrill@ix.netcom.com (Ted Brillhart)
>wrote:

>Please answer a few questions for a nervous groom. Where can I get info on air
>travel between, say, Puerto Angel and Oaxaca? Is driving a advisable, scenic,
>arduous? Would anyone suggest other similarly situated locations (ruins are
>imperative)? Does this sound like a good plan, IOW are we likely to encounter
>both romance and culture?

My wife and I celebrated our 10th anniversary a couple years ago in Oaxaca and Puerto Angel, and we've returned a number of times since. I rate it highly on both romance and culture.
I've always had the best luck arranging air travel to/from Puerto Angel on site in Oaxaca. This is because it is difficult, and expensive, to deal with most of the local Mexican carriers from the U.S., and these local carriers are who you'll be flying with. So I generally arrive in Oaxaca and visit a local travel agent (there's a good one across from Cafe Morgan) to book a flight to the Huatulco airport. Once there, one can travel by bus or colectivo (a sort of shared taxi going point-to-point for a few pesos) to Pochutla, and from there to P.A. You can also use the airport taxis, although they're quite expensive, for convenience. Once you get away from the airport (walk to the crossroads) prices for taxis drop by a factor of 5-10, and the buses and colectivos cost at most a few pesos.
If you must have your air-travel scheduled before you go, I'd recommend booking it with one of the major Mexican carriers, Mexicana or Aeromexico. They both have 800 numbers in the US and contract with the regional carriers. You'll end up paying a little more, but it may well be worth it, and you can book your passage into Oaxaca de Juarez at the same time.
I haven't driven in this region... I do drive extensively in the Northern half of Mexico, since I like taking my own vehicle. Whether it's advisable depends on a number of things. It does take some acculturation, since driving laws and customs are quite different. I doubt that you will find renting a car less expensive than traveling by other means, and it may well cost you more. If you're thinking of driving to Puerto Angel...that's a pretty rough road if you're not used to driving in Mexico. I traveled it by bus once and it took 12 hours to cover what takes 30 minutes by plane. This is because of the topography. You seem to be always going straight up, down, hard left, or hard right on this road.
Between buses, colectivos and taxis, there are few places that you can get to by driving that you can't get to by other means. You're bound to meet and interact with quite a few folks when traveling by these means, which can be quite pleasant. You will interact with just as many people when you're driving, and the pleasantness of these interactions will be directly proportional to how acculturated you are as a driver.
I'm not saying don't drive...I plan on driving to Oaxaca sometime in the next year. I'm just saying don't drive because you think it will be easier or cheaper, or because you think you'll get to see places you would otherwise miss out on. A little adventurousness and a willingness to learn the local means of transport takes care of that. After all, your average campesino has no car, and yet travels quite easily from pueblo to city to pueblo.
Have fun! and congratulations!

Russ Somers
rsomers@onr.com
July 1996

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