El Paso: Crossing The Border By Bus
How to cross the border by bus from El Paso, Texas into Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Quick and easy.

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By Carl Franz
Posted Thursday, January 17, 2002

A tourist card is absolutely required to visit Mexico beyond the border zone, so be sure you get one.

Many people don't realize just how easy a trip into the Sierra Madre can be if you take the bus. Start by taking a cross-border Greyhound bus from El Paso, Texas, directly to the huge terminal in Juárez, Mexico (about an hour).

Before reaching the Juárez terminal, the driver's assistant may offer to radio ahead and reserve a seat for you on the first available bus to Chihuahua. He will make the reservation and even issue the ticket, at no additional charge. This is very convenient; I usually step off the cross-border bus and onto a departing Chihuahua-bound bus (about five hours) without even entering the terminal.

The bus to Chihuahua City from Juárez stops for a baggage and immigration inspection about fifteen miles south of the border. Tell the driver you need a tourist cardit shouldn't take more than a few minutes to run inside to the Migración office. (A tourist card is absolutely required to visit Mexico beyond the border zone, so be sure you get one.) If there's a delay or the driver is impatient, he may leave you here and let you catch the next bus after you've gotten your tourist card. This is fine, but keep your ticket handy and be sure to take your baggage off the bus

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