Day Trips from GuadalajaraHow to Get from Guadalajara to Tequila: 5 Ways Compared
Last reviewed September 2026
Guadalajara to Tequila is a straightforward hour and a quarter: 65 kilometers on the toll highway out of the city, with a bus running every few minutes if driving is not the plan. The Tequila Plus coach leaves two stations in Guadalajara and costs MX$153 (about $8) one way, about the time a self-drive takes and far less than a guided van, though those vans handle the stops between the two towns a bus timetable simply does not. This page lines up every option that actually exists between the cities, the bus, the train, driving, a taxi, and the tequila day trips from Guadalajara that fold the whole logistics problem into one ticket.
Quick answer The simplest way, and what it actually costs
The simplest way from Guadalajara to Tequila is the Tequila Plus bus: MX$153 (about $8) one way, about 1 hour 15 minutes, with 60 to 70 departures a day from two stations in the city. Driving the same route on the toll highway takes roughly the same time if traffic cooperates, and a taxi or rideshare covers it too, though neither publishes a fixed fare for the trip. For a day that includes the distillery stops without any timetable-watching, the classic route from $46 or the pickup-included factory tour handle the whole thing. The Jose Cuervo Express train runs the same corridor on Saturdays only, and whether the carriage price is worth it is its own question.
Key takeaways
- The bus is MX$153 (about $8) one way and takes about 1 hour 15 minutes
- 60 to 70 Tequila Plus departures run daily between the two cities
- Peak-season bus fares can run up to 30 percent higher
- Guided days start at $46 and most meet at the Fiesta Americana on the Minerva roundabout
- The last bus back matters more than the first one, covered in the return-trip section below
- The Saturday-only train covers the same corridor at a very different price, compared here
Which Way Fits You
If you have no car and want the cheapest way there
take the Tequila Plus bus from either station, MX$153 (about $8) each way
If you are on a tight schedule with an early start the next day
book a guided day that returns everyone to a fixed point in the evening, see the meeting-point section below
If a Saturday suits your dates and the ride itself is the point
the Jose Cuervo Express turns the trip into a full day, compared in detail here
If you already have a rental car in Guadalajara
take the toll highway out and treat parking in Tequila as the only real unknown
If you are traveling as three or more people
a taxi or a shared guided van often works out cheaper per person than separate bus tickets
Quick Comparison: Every Way from Guadalajara to Tequila
Five ways cover this route, and the real difference between them is less about speed than about how much of the day ends up spent at the wheel or in a seat. Fares and departure windows are from the published Tequila Plus timetable and the Jose Cuervo Express site, read in September 2026.
The five options side by side
The times below come from the Tequila Plus timetable, the Jose Cuervo Express operator listings and the guided-day pages compared on this site; costs marked as unpublished are described qualitatively rather than guessed at.
| Option | Time | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tequila Plus bus | About 1 hour 15 minutes | MX$153 (about $8) | Solo travelers on a budget |
| Self-drive | About 1 hour 15 minutes on the toll road | Toll cost not published | Setting your own schedule |
| Taxi or rideshare | About 1 hour 15 minutes | Fare not published, agree it first | A quick one-off trip |
| Guided day | 8 to 9 hours including stops | From $46 per person | A full day with no logistics to manage |
| Jose Cuervo Express train | About 11 hours including the rail leg both ways | From MX$3,250 (about $176) | A Saturday built around the ride itself |
The practical pick
For a single one-way trip with nothing else planned, the bus is the practical answer. For a day meant to include the distillery and the town, a guided route removes the return-time math entirely, and for a special-occasion Saturday the train is its own kind of day rather than a transport choice.
Where Tequila Is, and the Road Out
Tequila sits northwest of Guadalajara along a single corridor, and knowing what is where changes how the drive or the bus ride reads.
The corridor: Amatitan, El Arenal, Tequila
Tequila is 65 kilometers from Guadalajara. The road runs through the same agave country that gives the region its UNESCO listing, passing Amatitan about 50 kilometers out and El Arenal further along, both towns the Tequila Plus bus also serves along with Magdalena and La Venta del Astillero. El Arenal sits on the same corridor between Amatitan and Tequila without a separately published distance or drive time, so the table below covers only what is actually timed against Guadalajara.
| Place | Distance from Guadalajara | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| Amatitan | About 50 km | 45 to 50 minutes by road |
| El Arenal | On the same corridor, between Amatitan and Tequila | No separately published time |
| Tequila | 65 km | About 1 hour 15 minutes (bus timetable) |
Toll highway or the older free road
Two roads make the run: the 15D toll highway, which is the faster of the two routes and the one the bus and most guided vans use, and an older free highway that takes longer and passes through more towns along the way. No source checked for this page publishes the toll amount for the drive, so budget for it as a real but unpublished cost rather than avoiding the toll road to save it. Standing guidance for driving in Jalisco favors the toll roads and daylight travel; the road rules are covered in full here.
By Bus: Tequila Plus, Stations, Fares and Departures
The bus is the backbone of this route, and knowing which of the two stations to use saves a taxi ride across town before you even leave.
Two stations, one company
Tequila Plus runs the corridor from two points in Guadalajara: the Antigua Central, the old bus station, running 06:00 to 20:30, and the newer Central Zapopan terminal, running 06:50 to 21:20. Between the two stations, 60 to 70 departures leave for Tequila every day, so waiting more than a few minutes for the next coach is unusual outside the earliest and latest slots.
| Station | First departure | Last departure |
|---|---|---|
| Antigua Central (old bus station) | 06:00 | 20:30 |
| Central Zapopan | 06:50 | 21:20 |
The fare, and when it moves
A one-way ticket costs MX$153 (about $8), bought at the counter or on board depending on the station; the company does not sell online. Fares can climb by as much as 30 percent in peak season, which on this corridor means the weeks around the November to December Feria Nacional del Tequila and any weekend the Fiestas de Octubre are also drawing crowds through the wider Guadalajara area.
Getting off along the way
The same coach also serves Magdalena, El Arenal, Amatitan and La Venta del Astillero, so a rider who wants to see the agave fields at Amatitan before continuing to Tequila can ask the driver to stop there and catch a later departure onward. The frequency on this route makes that kind of improvised stop realistic in a way a fixed tour schedule is not.
By Train: the Jose Cuervo Express, and What It Is Not
The train covers the same corridor but sells a completely different day, and it is worth knowing what that day includes before weighing its price against a bus ticket.
A Saturday, not a shuttle
The Jose Cuervo Express departs the Guadalajara Ferromex station on Avenida Washington 11, Colonia Moderna, at 09:30, and runs Saturdays only. The rail leg itself takes about 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours each way, well over the bus timetable's 1 hour 15 minutes, because the train is built around the ride and the onboard tasting rather than a fast transfer. The full day, cabin to cabin, runs about 11 hours, and the cheapest ticket starts at MX$3,250 (about $176), roughly twenty times a Tequila Plus fare.
What it is not
It is not a transport option for anyone trying to reach Tequila and back on an ordinary schedule. It runs one day a week, it does not connect with any other Tequila plan later in the day, and its price reflects the onboard tasting and the carriage experience rather than the transfer alone. Whether that experience is worth booking against the guided-day alternatives, including the premium tequila route with tasting, is answered in full on the train's own comparison page, which also covers the higher carriage tiers this page does not.
By Car: the Route, the Toll Road and Parking
Self-driving covers the ground in about the same time as the bus, with the trade being a car to manage in a small town built long before parking lots.
The toll highway is the faster route
The 15D toll highway is the quicker of the two roads out of Guadalajara and the one most guided vans and the bus itself use; the older free highway takes longer and threads through more towns. Neither the toll amount nor a parking rate in Tequila has a published figure this page could verify, so treat both as small, real costs to budget rather than numbers to plan around precisely.
Parking in a small town
Tequila's central streets around the plaza and the distillery fronts fill on weekends and during the Feria Nacional del Tequila in November and December; arriving before midday gives the best chance at parking close to the center. A car adds the flexibility of stopping in Amatitan or El Arenal on the way, at the cost of navigating an unfamiliar town once you arrive.
By Taxi or Rideshare, and the Return-Trip Problem
A taxi covers this distance easily; the harder question is what happens once you are standing in Tequila at the end of the day.
Agree the fare before you set off
No published fare exists for a taxi or rideshare between Guadalajara and Tequila, so the only reliable approach is to agree the price with the driver before the car moves, the same standing advice that applies across Jalisco for any unmetered ride. A driver who will not quote a number before departure is a reason to choose a different car.
The trip back is the real question
Getting to Tequila by taxi is simple. Getting back is the detail most guides skip: Tequila is a small town, and a driver who dropped you off in the afternoon is not guaranteed to be waiting or reachable by evening. The realistic options are arranging a fixed return time with your hotel or driver before you leave Guadalajara, or falling back on the Tequila Plus bus, which keeps running until 20:30 or 21:20 depending on which station serves your route home.
The Zero-Hassle Option: Guided Days with a Meeting Point
A guided day removes every question above at once, in exchange for a fixed schedule and a group.
Where these days actually meet
Most guided routes out of Guadalajara, including the classic Tequila and Cantaritos route from $46 and the premium route with tasting, meet at the Fiesta Americana hotel on the Minerva roundabout rather than collecting from individual hotels. Guadalajara has two hotels of that name, and the one that matters for these departures sits at the Minerva monument, not the other location; arriving at the wrong Fiesta Americana is the single most common way travelers miss a departure.
When pickup is worth paying for
A handful of listings do collect from hotels directly, among them the Jose Cuervo factory tour at $165, which trades the meeting-point walk for a pickup window and adds entry to La Rojena itself. What any of these fares actually buy against a bus ticket and an entrance fee paid separately is its own arithmetic, covered in full on the cost comparison page rather than repeated here.
What a guided day does not solve
A guided day fixes the transport and the schedule, not the freedom some travelers want over exactly how long they spend at each stop. If control over the pace of the day matters more than convenience, the bus and a self-planned schedule give you that in a way no guided route can.
Getting Back, and the Last-Departure Trap
The trip out gets most of the attention online; the trip back is where a bad plan actually shows up.
Know your last bus before you leave the house
The Antigua Central route runs until 20:30 and the Central Zapopan route until 21:20, and those are the last scheduled departures back toward Guadalajara, not a rough guideline. Missing the last bus in a town the size of Tequila means falling back on a taxi with an unpublished fare or a long wait, neither of which is a good way to end the day.
Guided days build the return in
This is the strongest case for a guided day over any self-planned option: the classic route and its counterparts return every traveler to the same Minerva meeting point on a schedule set by the operator, so the return trip is never a live decision made after a day of tastings.
The short version
If you are watching a budget and comfortable managing your own schedule, the Tequila Plus bus from either station covers the trip both ways for a fraction of any other option. If you would rather hand the whole day, including the return, to someone else, a guided route from the Minerva roundabout removes the timetable entirely. And if a Saturday and a very different kind of day appeal more than either, the train covers the same ground at its own pace and its own price.
Getting to Tequila: Questions
How do you get from Guadalajara to Tequila without a car?
Take the Tequila Plus bus from either the Antigua Central or the Central Zapopan station: MX$153 (about $8) one way, about 1 hour 15 minutes, with 60 to 70 departures a day. A taxi or rideshare also covers the route without a fixed fare, and a guided day handles the trip along with the stops in between.
Is there a direct bus from Guadalajara to Tequila?
Yes. Tequila Plus runs direct service with no transfer, leaving the Antigua Central 06:00 to 20:30 and the Central Zapopan station 06:50 to 21:20, for MX$153 one way.
How long does the trip from Guadalajara to Tequila take?
About 1 hour 15 minutes on the bus or by car on the toll highway. The Jose Cuervo Express train takes about 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours each way, and guided days run 8 to 9 hours because they include stops along the corridor rather than a direct transfer.
Where do the tequila tours depart from in Guadalajara?
Most, including the classic route, meet at the Fiesta Americana hotel on the Minerva roundabout, Calle Aurelio Aceves 225. A few listings, such as the factory tour, collect directly from hotels instead.
Can you take a taxi all the way from Guadalajara to Tequila?
Yes, though no fixed fare is published for the route, so agreeing the price before the car moves matters. The bigger question is the return trip: arrange a fixed pickup time in advance, or rely on the Tequila Plus bus, which runs until early evening.
What time does the last bus back to Guadalajara leave?
20:30 toward the Antigua Central or 21:20 toward the Central Zapopan station, depending on which route you take. Both are the actual last scheduled departures, not a rough estimate.