Best of · HOP-ON HOP-OFF BUS TOURS IN MEXICO
The good hop-on hop-off bus tours in Mexico sell their front seats first and the great ones sell out entirely. Below: the 13 to book early, what each includes and how they differ.
Use one bracelet to ride four Mexico City routes for one or two days. Hear about Aztec, colonial, and modern Mexico through multilingual audio as you hop off at Zócalo, Coyoacán, Polanco, the Basilica, and major museums. Bring your own earbuds for clearer sound.
“We picked up at the National Auditorium. It was a great day although the ear buds they gave us were awful. We used our own instead.”
Use a one-day Turibus pass to explore Mexico City across four routes: Centro, Coyoacán, Basílica, and Polanco. Ride upstairs for city views, hop off near sights such as Templo Mayor and the Frida Kahlo Museum, and follow recorded commentary in several languages. Bring sun protection and allow a full day.
“The hearing was very poor using the EarPods, they only works half the time.”
See Puerto Vallarta from an open-top bus, traveling between Marina Vallarta, the Malecón, Zona Romántica, Los Arcos, and Mismaloya. You can board in English and hop off at listed stops, though service timing and included cultural stops can vary. Guides such as Javier and Adrian have earned praise for helpful service.
“Very good view of Puerto Vallarta and the part south of the city. Great stops along the way and beautiful scenery. Highly recommended. Guide spoke perfect English and was most helpful”
Ride the VallarTour Bus from the Malecón to Puerto Mágico and south toward Mismaloya. Use 20 official stops, bilingual audio, photo breaks, and an open upper deck to see Puerto Vallarta without a long day of walking.
“This was a great actvity! We were able to see so much of Puerto Vallarta! Our guide was awesome!”
Ride Mexico City’s Turibus across the Historic Center, Polanco, South, or Basilica routes. Use one ticket for all available stops, listen to multilingual audio, hop off for museums and neighborhoods, and return by the next bus. Check current operations, as service may be limited.
Ride Cancun’s open-top double-decker bus for one day across two routes, Hotel Zone and Centro. Get off at Playa Delfines, Mercado 28, Plaza la Isla, Parque Kabah, and other stops. English and Spanish audio commentary is included, but buses may arrive two hours apart.
“This was really nice! The driver took us to different malls and the beach to take pictures near the Cancun sign. If you know Vegas strip with all the hotels. This tour was very similar he took us to Cancuns hotel strips lol.”
You get 24 hours on Capital Bus across three routes: Downtown to Polanco, Downtown to Temples, and Downtown to South. Use it for Reforma, Coyoacán, Guadalupe, San Ángel, and UNAM, with an onboard audio guide and flexible hop-on, hop-off access.
Ride Mexico City’s open-top Turibus across four routes covering the Historic Center, Polanco, Basilica, and Coyoacán. Hop off for museums and neighborhoods, then choose a CETRO 360 WTC viewpoint visit or Pizza Roma lunch. Audio commentary is available in six languages, including English.
“I am not happy at all about the activity. First of all in my voucher it states that the tour is available from 12 midday to 7pm when in fact it was available from 9am hence I wasted half day already as I started it after midday. Moreover in the afternoon, after the WTC visit one bus came at 5pm and another one at 6pm, both didnt stop where we had got off. For this reason we were not able to board any bus from 5pm, our tour finished then. We barely did half of tour. Not recommended”
Ride from Puebla’s Zócalo past the Cathedral, Los Sapos, Analco, La Luz, the forts, museums, El Parián, and Calle de los Dulces. The Spanish audio guide covers city legends, but route stops and sound quality can vary, so confirm the day’s service before boarding.
“Ha sido una experiencia formidable, el conductor muy atento y amable momentáneamente interrumpia el audio grabado para darnos alguna otra información que él sabe o conoce”
Use one Turibus pass for two consecutive days across four Mexico City routes. Ride through the Historic Center, Coyoacán, Basilica, and Polanco, hopping off for museums, markets, monuments, food, and neighborhoods. An audio guide is offered in several languages, but long waits make planning essential.
“Unfortunately, the stations are poorly signposted. This has nothing to do with the sights themselves, which were great!”
Spend one day touring Cancun’s Downtown and Hotel Zone by open-top bus, with English or Spanish audio. Get off at beaches, malls, Mercado 28, or Aquaworld, then board the air-conditioned Subsee Explorer for Nizuc Reef and part of the underwater museum. Guide Mike has earned special praise for his warm service.
“Information is missing in the description all the bus timings are not clear there should be more than one time because they didnt just go once. Also could communicate with provider as language barrier”
See Cancun from an open-air double-decker bus with English and Spanish audio, hopping off at beaches, malls, markets, parks, and hotel-zone sights. Your $55 ticket includes Flowrider or Subsee Explorer admission, but add the $20 reef fee and arrange your own hotel transfer.
“O transporte simplesmente não funciona. Não existem ônibus suficientes. Demoram demais e atrasam muuuito! Quase ninguem busca mais! Fechem esse serviço!!! Só fizemos uma parada. Depois tivemos que recorrer a ônibus de linha. Perdemos o nosso dia de passeios pelo atraso!”
Start at Puebla’s Zócalo for an 11-hour Turibus pass with panoramic city views and hop-on, hop-off access. See the Palafoxiana Library, Analco, forts, museums, and Paseo Bravo, then visit the Estrella de Puebla observation wheel after it opens at 5 PM. Spanish audio is provided.
A loop, an open deck, a night run or a whole day on the coach.
