Getting around Mexico: transport and apps

Use the apps, not the street taxis. This is both the cheap option and the safe one, and locals do the same.

• Uber covers Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey and the regional centres. DiDi operates in the same cities and is usually cheaper. InDrive works on fare bidding in secondary cities. Cabify is a Mexico City alternative.
• Do not flag an unmetered street taxi, particularly at night. The banderazo - an altered or absent meter - is the classic overcharge, and street taxis are the setting for most of the rarer but nastier incidents.
• Mexico City runs on one card. The Tarjeta de Movilidad Integrada costs 15 MXN and works on the Metro (5 MXN), Metrobus (6 MXN), Cablebus (7 MXN) and Trolebus (4 MXN). Buy it at any station machine on day one.
• Women-only carriages (vagones exclusivos) at the front of Metro and Metrobus vehicles are strictly reserved for women and children during operating hours. Men should not board them.

Between cities

• Coaches are excellent and the main way to travel. ADO covers the southeast and Gulf, ETN Turistar runs luxury executive coaches, Primera Plus serves the centre and west. Book on Busbud, ClickBus or the operators' own apps.
• The Tren Maya connects Quintana Roo, Yucatan, Campeche and Tabasco; book on the official portal or at station counters.
• Ferries: Ultramar and Winjet run Puerto Juarez to Isla Mujeres and Playa del Carmen to Cozumel.
• If you drive, use the toll roads (carreteras de cuota) rather than the free ones (libres), and do not drive at night on secondary roads. Unlit stretches and unmarked topes - speed bumps that will damage a car at speed - are the reason.

• Uber - https://www.uber.com/mx/ - Works everywhere and takes foreign cards without trouble.
• DiDi - https://web.didiglobal.com/mx/ - Usually cheaper than Uber. Requires SMS verification at signup, so install and register before you travel while your home number still works.
• Citymapper - https://citymapper.com/ - The best routing for Mexico City, and it understands Metro, Metrobus, Cablebus and Trolebus together.
• Google Maps - Reliable transit routing in all the big cities; Waze is what locals use for driving.
• ADO Mobile - https://www.ado.com.mx/ - Intercity coach tickets.
• Rappi - https://www.rappi.com.mx/ - The delivery super-app for food, groceries and pharmacy. It frequently declines foreign cards as a fraud measure; link it through PayPal or choose pago en efectivo and pay the courier cash.
• Uber Eats - Accepts foreign cards more reliably than Rappi.
• Google Translate - Download the Spanish pack. English fades quickly outside hotels and resorts.