Getting from Mexico City airport into the city

Getting through the border

Before any bus, you pass Mexican immigration and customs. Mexico City International Airport (MEX) publishes no queue times, so allow about 1 hour 15 minutes from landing to the Metrobús stop or the taxi booth.

• Immigration. Every passenger from abroad passes it here, even on a connection, so have your passport, any visa that lets you into Mexico, and your onward boarding pass ready (visa and transit rules).
• Bags. On one ticket, ask your airline whether they’re checked through to your next flight. If not, or on separate tickets, collect them in the baggage hall and take them through customs; big ones can go in left luggage on the ground floor of either terminal.
• The arrivals hall. You come out in one of Terminal 1’s halls E1 to E3, or Terminal 2’s halls P and N. Ignore anyone there offering you a ride: use the Metrobús, a taxi booth or a ride-hailing app.
• A slow queue costs you time in town, not your flight: the time you must head back stays the same.

The options at a glance

	Metrobús airport route	Authorised taxi	Uber, DiDi or Cabify	Metro Line 5
To	Bellas Artes and the old centre	Anywhere	Anywhere	The Zócalo, with two changes
Time	About 45 minutes (our estimate)	About 45 minutes to the Zócalo (our estimate), an hour or more at rush hour	About the same as a taxi	About 65 minutes (our estimate)
Single fare	MXN 30	A zone fare, shown at the booth	Shown in the app	MXN 5
Pay with	Contactless card or phone, or the Mi card; no cash	At the booth, before the ride	The app	Contactless card or phone, or the Mi card

The Metrobús airport route: the best way in

• Finding it. After customs, follow the Metrobús signs. The stops are at gates 7 and 8 in Terminal 1 and gates 3 and 4 in Terminal 2: the numbered doors along the front of each terminal, signed Puerta. You don’t need to change terminals first.
• Which bus. The airport route of Line 4, signed Ruta Amajac, runs from both terminals through the old centre towards Paseo de la Reforma. Get off at Bellas Artes, by the Palacio de Bellas Artes and the Alameda, for Calle Madero and the Zócalo. A separate Metrobús shuttle runs only between the terminals, so check the sign before you board.
• The ride. About 45 minutes to Bellas Artes in normal traffic (our estimate: Metrobús publishes no journey time), longer at rush hour. The buses are air-conditioned, with a space for luggage.
• How often. Metrobús publishes no interval for the airport route, so this guide allows up to 12 minutes’ wait each way.
• The fare. MXN 30 a trip, to or from the airport.
• Paying. Cash isn’t accepted at all. Tap a contactless bank card or your phone on the reader, or buy the city’s Mi card from the machine at the stop: MXN 45, which is the card plus one MXN 30 trip. The Mi card also works on the Metro.
• Works. Line 4 has maintenance at Bellas Artes and Plaza de la República from 8 to 12 November 2026. On those days, and any day you’re unsure, check Metrobús’s service status before you set off.

First and last buses. Buses leave the airport from about 4:45am until about midnight, and from 5am on Sundays and public holidays.

	Monday to Friday	Saturday	Sunday and public holidays
First bus from the airport	4:41am	4:47am	5am
Last bus back from Bellas Artes, to plan on	11:21pm	11:14pm	11:21pm

Be at the Bellas Artes stop by 11:21pm, or 11:14pm on Saturdays: that’s when the last bus towards the airport leaves the start of the route, on Paseo de la Reforma, so you won’t be left waiting for one that’s already gone. Miss it, and take an authorised taxi or a ride-hailing car back instead, about 45 minutes at night.

Metro Line 5: the cheapest, by day and without big bags

The Metro costs MXN 5 a trip, however far you go, but from the airport it takes two changes, so it suits a light traveller with time to spare.

• Finding it. Terminal Aérea station on Line 5 is a short walk from Terminal 1. Terminal 2 has no Metro station.
• The route. Line 5 towards Pantitlán, then Line 1 to Pino Suárez, then Line 2 one stop to Zócalo. About 65 minutes in all (our estimate: the Metro publishes no journey time).
• Paying. Tap a contactless bank card or your phone at the turnstiles, or use the Mi card, MXN 15 at Metro and Metrobús machines.
• With luggage. The city’s tourism office advises against it with heavy bags: the turnstiles are narrow, and the changes mean stairs and long passages.
• Rush hours. Trains are packed on weekdays, roughly 7am to 10am and 5pm to 9pm. The front cars are kept for women and children: look for the signs on the platform. Carry your bag in front of you in crowds.
• Hours. The Metro runs from 5am on weekdays, 6am on Saturdays and 7am on Sundays and holidays, until midnight. Use it by day only; come back in the evening by Metrobús or taxi.

Taxis and ride-hailing

A taxi is how this guide’s plans reach Chapultepec, Roma and Condesa, and the ride back after the last bus.

• Authorised taxis. Buy your ride at one of the authorised-taxi counters inside the terminal, after customs: the fare is fixed by the zone you’re going to, and you pay before you get in. No tariff is published, so check the price at the counter. The ride takes about 45 minutes to the Zócalo in normal traffic, and an hour or more at rush hour (our estimate). The counters are open 24 hours.
• Ignore offers in the hall. People offering transport in the arrivals halls aren’t the authorised taxis. Walk past them to a counter.
• Uber, DiDi and Cabify. They pick up on the airport’s outer roads, not at the terminal doors, so they suit travellers with light bags; with heavy ones, the walk makes an authorised taxi easier.
• Coming back. Use a ride-hailing app or a taxi your hotel or a restaurant calls for you, rather than hailing one in the street. Mexico City’s street taxis are pink and white: if you do take one, check the plates and follow the trip in the Mi Taxi section of the App CDMX.

When a taxi is worth it. For three or four people sharing, for the plans in Chapultepec, Roma and Condesa, and after the last bus. On your own and going to the old centre, the Metrobús is cheaper and takes about as long.

Private transfers

A pre-booked car meets you in the arrivals hall at a price agreed in advance, which suits a family or a group with bags, or a late return. Compare its price with the authorised taxi’s zone fare at the counter: for one or two people with hand luggage, the Metrobús is the better buy.

Between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2

Aeroméxico and its partners use Terminal 2; most other airlines use Terminal 1. You need to change only if your next flight leaves from the other one, after immigration.

• The Metrobús shuttle. Every day from 4:30am to midnight, about every 12 minutes, MXN 30 a trip, paid by card or phone. Staff at the marked stops point the way. Check the sign on the front: the airport route into town uses the same terminals.
• The Aerotrén. A free train between the terminals for passengers with a boarding pass, from gate 6 in Terminal 1 and gate 4 in Terminal 2. It has been closed for maintenance several times, so it may be running: check the airport screens.
• Into town, it doesn’t matter. The Metrobús airport route stops at both terminals, so there’s no need to change terminal before going into the city. Only the Metro is at Terminal 1 alone.

Check your airport: MEX or AIFA

Mexico City has a second airport, Felipe Ángeles International (AIFA, code NLU), north of the city. Aeroméxico, Viva, Volaris and a few other airlines fly from both. This guide’s times work only from Mexico City International (MEX), so check the airport code on both tickets: a connection between MEX and AIFA is a transfer across the city, not a layover in town.

Timing your return

Be back at Mexico City airport 90 minutes before departure, with your onward boarding pass. With your boarding pass already issued and no bag to drop, that’s time for security and the walk to your gate. The airport’s advice to arrive 3 hours before an international flight is for passengers checking in; if you still need to check in or drop a bag, allow longer.

In practice, leave Bellas Artes 2 hours 45 minutes before your flight: about 10 minutes to the stop, a wait of up to 12 minutes, the 45-minute ride and the walk into the terminal, then 90 minutes at the airport. By taxi, from the Anthropology Museum, Chapultepec, Roma or Condesa, leave 2 hours 30 minutes before.

Layover	Time in Mexico City
6 hours	About 1 hour
7 hours	About 2 hours
8 hours	About 3 hours
10 hours	About 5 hours
12 hours	About 7 hours

These rows come from the allowances the itineraries use, all our own, since no one publishes them: 1 hour 15 minutes from landing to the Metrobús, an hour to Bellas Artes with the wait, 1 hour 15 minutes back to the terminal, and 90 minutes there before take-off. By taxi to the Anthropology Museum, Chapultepec, Roma or Condesa, you have about 30 minutes more in each row.