Home | Contents | Search | Arizona y Sonora > Alamos > Highway guide to Alamos | Bus service between Alamos, Sonora, Mexico and Tucson, AZ, USA

RimJournal: Arizona y Sonora

Bus service between Alamos, Sonora, Mexico and Tucson, AZ, USA

If your car won't get you there...it's better by bus!

[Old sedan with steer horns tied onto the hood parked in front of the Alamos town market: 38k]

There is reliable daily express bus service between Alamos, Mexico to Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Bus lines include TBC direct to Alamos. Other bus lines leave from the Mexican side in Nogales, but TBC is the only cross border one at the moment.

For schedules, rates and locations (the phone may be answered in Spanish, but they will switch you over to an English operator):
Conexion Phoenix/TBC at (602) 258-2355, 258-2445 or Tucson TBC at (520) 903-2801.

The trip averages about 12 hours between Tucson and Alamos. There are several short stops at major cities along the route, including a stop at the downtown Nogales international border.

If you are able to get a local bus or ride from a friend, buses leave for Tucson from nearby Navojoa more frequently.

Prior to boarding the bus, you will need:

On the way back from Alamos, we had to get off the bus in Nogales for US Customs, open our luggage briefly and show our identification. Since there were only 8 people on the bus at that point, this border crossing went quickly. If traveling on a holiday or weekend, factor in more time.
(Feb 2002: the bus enters Mexico from the USA at the downtown Nogales port of entry. You will have to carry all your luggage off the bus and walk it through a red light/green light customs check yourself, so travel light.)

If you carry a cellular phone and want to have someone pick you up at the Tucson bus station, you can get reception at the border, which is about an hour from Tucson.

Get your tickets ahead of time, at least by a few hours. You may have to pay cash. We heard that on a Sunday it was not possible to board the bus in Alamos because the tickets were sold out (thereby making you wait another day).

To get the bus in Alamos: Go to the north side of the Alameda (the main shopping square in town) and look for the tiled bus station. There is a regular ticket window, waiting room and bathroom. The attendant and drivers do not speak English, so if you are not bilingual you will have to hope that another English speaking amigo is traveling on the same bus.

The bus itself is very modern and comfortable, with high back contoured seats. There are TV monitors on which the driver plays movies. We saw standard American movies with Spanish subtitles, but I hear that sometimes drivers have played XXX movies. The driver plays Mexican cassette tapes for his own enjoyment, which conflicts with the movies if you are sitting in the front of the bus. The drivers also smoke, which is not allowed, but with their window open, so it doesn't become a problem. With all this activity at the front of the bus, you may want seats in the back.