Guadalajara is a city that rewards any amount of time, whether you have a few hours or several days to explore. You can experience its strong regional and historic traditions during the day, before discovering a lively, modern city in the evening.
Whether you're visiting for a day or staying longer, travelling by bus makes Guadalajara easy to include in a wider Mexican adventure. For more, see our guide to Guadalajara.
With regular bus connections to cities across Mexico, as well as Guadalajara International Airport around 16 km from the city centre, it is easy to include Guadalajara in a longer trip or make it a destination in its own right.
Some bus services are very long distance and can involve travelling overnight, which is ideal for those wishing to arrive in a morning ready to explore having saved on accommodation. Overnight bus travel is surprisingly popular, especially with bus companies usually including wifi, media systems and toilets on board modern, comfortable vehicles.
Arriving by bus puts you close to the city and gives you the flexibility to explore at your own pace.
For long distance journeys arriving from outside of Jalisco state or of around 100km or more, bus companies tend to use the Central Nueva bus station in the suburb of Tonalá. This new station has 7 terminals which are known as "Modules" or "Módulo" in Spanish.
Downtown Guadalajara is easy to reach from Central Nueva by using the light rail network, taking around 15 minutes from the light rail station which is adjacent to the modules. Alternatively, several city bus routes pass directly through the Central Nueva, or even a taxi. Downtown is known as the Centro and it highly accessible by walking as most attractions are in very close proximity and a matter of minutes apart.
For towns and cities closer to Guadalajara, such as Tequila or Chapala, many bus services arrive and depart from the older bus station, called Central Vieja. This station is conveniently located just to the south of Guadalajara's Centro Historico.
The bus stop is located in Terminal de Tlaquepaque, at the intersection between Av. del Deportivo and Perif. Sur Manuel Gómez Morín.
There are a vast number of bus stops within Guadalajara as the network is very large with buses running throughout the day. Cash is still widely used, though users should not expect change. A card for travel can also be purchased at light rail stations and many Oxxo stores.
The network covers just about every neighborhood in the city and buses tend to run from early morning to late at night, typically 0500 to 2300. Wait times tend to be just a few minutes, as the buses are usually very frequent. If unsure about whether you've found the right bus and the right stop, it is worth checking with the driver.
The light rail network operates 7 lines and covers 116km, see the Systema de Tren Eléctrico Urbano for more detalis.
The best thing about Guadalajara's buses is that you get to view the city as you travel. Other options, like taxis and cycling exist, but the buses are incredibly convenient.
