Bus
Nogales’ main bus terminal is 8 km south of the city centre, along the highway to Magdalena and Hermosillo; parking US$1 per hr. The bus station has a booth to change money. There are several other small terminals nearby, including the TBC terminal, where Albatros buses go to Puerto Peñasco.
Into Mexico
Taxis at the border ask US$5 to take you to the bus station, but on the return journey the booth selling taxi vouchers charges less than US$4. A local bus, 1 peso, leaves 1 block from the border. Bus 46 from Calle Juárez goes to the terminal (US$0.25).
There are 3 bus lines that go into Mexico using the main terminal: Norte de Sonora, Transportes y Autobuses del Pacífico (TAP) and Elite. They all have high-quality buses and prices are almost always identical between carriers; TAP also runs 2nd-class buses to many destinations. To Chihuahua, Elite, US$50. To Ciudad Obregón, TAP, 9 daily, US$22.70. To Culiacán, TAP, 7 daily, US$44.25. To Durango, 1530, US$75.40. To Guadalajara (Tonalá, outside of city), every couple of hours, US$92.30. To Guaymas, hourly, US$17.70. To Hermosillo, hourly, US$11.15. To Los Mochis, hourly, US$35.40. To Mazatlán, hourly, US$62.70. To Mexicali, TAP, 1930, US$28.10. To Tepic, hourly, 23 hrs, US$75.80. To Zacatecas, direct, US$87.
Into the USA
To get to the US border,
as you leave the Migración building, walk to the first set of traffic lights, cross the street and from the other side pick up a bus to the border, referred to as La Linea. The buses run down the same stretch of street as you’d have to walk, so you may as well take the ride, especially if crossing in the summer.
After you’ve crossed the border into the USA, you’ll see a ramp and stairs on your left. The Greyhound station is at the top of the stairs; it’s a small 1-room building with toilets, lockers, pay phones and a few fast food outlets. Buses leave for Tucson almost hourly 0630-2000. There are smaller vans that leave at 0800, 1200, and 1600. Buses leave for Phoenix (Arizona’s largest city, about 2 hrs north of Tucson) at 0745, 1015, 1415, and 2045, US$31.75. Buses also run to Hermosillo and Ciudad Obregón.
A block from the border, Citizen Auto Stage Company, T520-287 5628, runs 10 buses daily from Nogales to Tucson (the nearest US town); the bus stops at Tucson airport en route. It’s possible to stop and visit Tumacacori Mission, north of Nogales, along the way (no extra charge).
From Nogales, Arizona, Autobuses Crucero go to Los Angeles, 3 daily, US$84. To Phoenix, 5 daily, US$26.75. To Tucson, 4 daily, US$23.
