Mexico City to Cancun advise

Hi Folks, I now possibly have a friend arriving in Cancun about a week after I get to Mexico City.
Having looked at the itineraries it seems like a rush to get to Cancun in a week (somewhere that wasn’t on my itinerary, but thats what travellings all about!)

2 nights mexico city
over night bus 1 night
1 night in Oaxca
over night bus
2 nights San Cristobal
over night bus
Cancun.

I’m in Central America for about 10 weeks, so should I just go to Cancun by fligh earlier and travel around the Yucatan instead and miss out Oaxaca and San Cristobal? or do I let my friend down as these places are worth seeing?

Also anyone know which buses are better? 1st? executive? etc. I’m prepared to pay a little more, whilst travelling over night on my own in the first week or so :)

I really loved Oaxaca and San Cristobal but I haven’t been to Cancun. I will say that 1 night in Oaxaca and 2 in SC is not going to be long to appreciate them much and it will take you around a day to recover from the horrendous night journey that is between the two.

Take some STRONG motion sickness tablets for this journey like Dramamine.

Even if you don’t get travel sick, on the bus on this route almost everyone vomits. If you manage to avoid being sick, take something strong smelling to mask the inevitable smell on the bus. I feel bad for whoever had to clean the bathroom after the journey I was on. Eeeugghhh.

Anyway back to the point, Cancun is typically a beach resorty type place which is very different from Oaxaca and SC. If you are more interested in beaches than quaint towns that smell like chocolate (Oaxaca) or are postcard perfect (SC) then I’d spend less time in Cancun.

As for the buses, obviously first class is going to be more comfortable than second class. Check out http://www.ticketbus.com.mx/wtbkd/index.jsp for details of local bus routes, times and prices.

hmmm, its not that I’m more interested in beaches. (In Central America for over 2 months and I know I will find less touristy and much nicer beaches!) its deciding to meet my mate or not who is there for a work thing. Cancun isn’t my cup of tea at all - but I need to decide if the journey is doable in a week.

Bus to San Cristobal sounds horrid, but I did read something about a new road that opened which isn’t as bad. Will do some more research. thanks!

Ah sorry I must’ve misread your post.

Yes it is do-able in a week but it will feel very rushed.
Mexico City - Oaxaca = 6-8 hours
Oaxaca - San Cristobal = 11 hours (the worst 11 hours of your life ;) )
San Cristobal to Cancun = 18 hours

You would spend night 1 in Mexico city,
night 2 on the bus to Oaxaca
night 3 in Oaxaca
night 4 on the bus to San Cristobal
night 5 in San Cristobal
night 6 and into day 7 on the bus to Cancun.

You won’t really get to see anything and you’ll be exhausted. Check out the Ticketbus website for schedules and you can work out exactly how much time you’ll have in each place.