Executive-Class Bus Travel

We have often extolled the benefits of luxury bus travel in Mexico.

The most comfortable buses in Mexico are the ‘executive class’ bus lines: buses with no more than twenty-five seats on board, laid out in a 2+1 configuration, a third wider than a normal bus seat, and which recline to be near-flat, like a bed.  Think of business class on an aeroplane.

The options for executive-class bus travel were amplified this month when ADO, one of Mexico’s largest bus companies, launched ADO Platino, its own-name branded version of these executive-style buses.  The company already runs first and second-class buses across an extensive network of routes connecting the capital, cities along the Gulf coast, south and southeast regions of the country, as well as towns and cities across the Yucatan peninsula.

The ADO Platino service has raised the bar in terms of on-board amenities, by introducing 120-volt plug sockets for laptops or cell phones as well as in-seat screens offering each passenger a choice of some fifty different films, TV programs and documentaries.  Other executive lines currently offer a film or two (depending on the length of the journey), but presented on a few screens dotted around the bus with sound piped through individual headsets or (more commonly) over the vehicle’s PA system.

ADO Platino routes are currently limited and connect Mexico City to Veracruz and Oaxaca.  Buses depart from the capital’s western bus terminal; details can be found on the company’s website.

This latest executive service runs alongside the company’s current UNO brand, an executive bus line that offers services connecting Mexico City with certain destinations on the Gulf coast, cities in the south and southeast, as well as main cities in the Yucatan. It’s not clear whether the UNO brand will be replaced by ADO Platino in due course.  As both lines are owned and operated by the same company, and connect similar routes, it would appear to be a logical outcome.

Our guide to Bus Travel in Mexico is comprehensive and explains how to travel comfortably, safely and affordably by bus across Mexico.