Guadalajara Tequila ToursGuadalajara to Tequila: Every Way to Get There
Last reviewed September 2026
Guadalajara to Tequila is 60 kilometres northwest on Highway 15D, an hour by car, an hour and a half by bus, and a full day by train, because the trains are excursions rather than transport. The second-class bus leaves the Antigua Central Camionera roughly every 30 minutes from 06:00 to 20:30 and costs about MX$130 to MX$140 one way. An Uber quotes around MX$776 out and MX$681 back. Two tequila trains run on Saturdays at MX$1,200 to MX$4,810. And a guided day trip covers the same road with the distillery, the fields and the cantina attached, from $46. Here is what each one actually gets you.
Quick answer The bus is MX$130. The train is not transport. Here is the ranking
For pure transport, the second-class bus wins on price: about MX$130 to MX$140 one way from the Antigua Central Camionera, departures roughly every 30 minutes from 06:00 to 20:30, journey time around an hour and a half. For flexibility, an Uber is about MX$776 out and MX$681 back, the return leg is the risk, because drivers thin out in Tequila by evening. For the day as a package, a guided tour from $46 covers the same 60 kilometres plus a distillery, the agave fields and, usually, the cantina. The trains are excursions, not transport, and start at MX$1,200.
Key takeaways
- Cheapest: bus, about MX$260–280 return, from the Antigua Central Camionera in the city centre
- Fastest door to door: Uber or a car, roughly an hour each way on Highway 15D
- Cheapest way to include a distillery: a guided day trip at $46, which also feeds you
- The trains run Saturdays only and cost MX$1,200 to MX$4,810, what the José Cuervo Express actually is
- Nobody should drive back after a tasting; that is the practical argument for the tours compared here
The Five Routes, Priced
Same 60 kilometres, five very different purchases.
What each way costs
The table below sets the fares side by side. Bus and Uber figures are one way unless stated; train prices are the operators' published tariffs; tour prices are the starting adult fare on the listings compared on this site. Peso figures convert at MX$16.90 to the dollar.
| Way in | Cost | Time each way | What you still have to arrange |
|---|---|---|---|
| Second-class bus | MX$130–140 one way | About 1 hr 30 | Everything: distillery ticket, lunch, getting back |
| Uber or taxi | About MX$776 out, MX$681 back | About 1 hr | The return car, and a driver who is not drinking |
| Driving yourself | Fuel plus 15D tolls | About 1 hr | Parking, and somebody sober at 18:00 |
| Tequila Express (Casa Sauza) | MX$1,200 train only; MX$2,500 with the distillery | Departs 10:00, returns 17:30 | Nothing, it is a packaged Saturday |
| José Cuervo Express | MX$3,250–4,810 | About 11 hours in total | Nothing, and one leg is by coach |
| Guided day trip | $46–$165 | 45–60 min | Nothing except lunch money |
The bus, in detail
Buses to Tequila leave from the Antigua Central Camionera, the old bus station in the centre of Guadalajara, not the Nueva Central out by the airport road, which is the mistake that costs people an hour. Lines including Tequila Plus run roughly every 30 minutes from 06:00 to 20:30, and the fare sits around MX$130 to MX$140 one way, so a return day is roughly MX$260 to MX$280.
The ride takes about an hour and a half because the second-class service stops along the way. It drops you in Tequila town itself, walking distance from the square, La Rojeña and the market. What it does not do is take you to the agave fields, the haciendas or Cantaritos El Güero in Amatitán, all of which sit outside the town.
Uber, and the return problem
Uber's own route estimates put Guadalajara to Tequila at about MX$776, and Tequila back to Guadalajara at about MX$681, roughly MX$1,457 for the round trip, or about $86 at MX$16.90 to the dollar. That is more than most guided day trips on this site, for transport alone.
The practical issue is not the price but the return: Tequila is a small town with a thin driver pool, and demand spikes when the day-trippers leave. Plenty of visitors report waiting, or paying a driver to stay. If you go this way, agree the return with the same driver before you get out.
Driving yourself
Highway 15D is a toll road and an easy drive: about an hour from the west of the city, well signed, with the agave landscape starting around El Arenal. A car also unlocks the places the bus cannot reach, Amatitán, Casa Herradura, the smaller distilleries, the viewpoints.
The catch is the entire point of the trip. Tastings begin at midday on every tour and most distillery visits end with a pour. Somebody in the car has to stay dry all day, and the drive back into Guadalajara at dusk on a Saturday is not the road to test that on.
The Two Trains, and Why They Are Not Transport
Both leave on Saturdays, both cost more than a tour, and neither is a way of getting somewhere cheaply.
Tequila Express, run with Casa Sauza
The Tequila Express leaves the passenger station at Avenida Washington 11 in Guadalajara at 10:00 and returns at 17:30. The train-only fare is MX$1,200; adding the distillery visit takes it to MX$2,500, and the full Experiencia Casa Sauza package runs to MX$4,150, with a first-class tier above that. Mariachi plays on board.
It is the older of the two services and the cheaper entry point if you simply want to arrive by rail.
José Cuervo Express
Mundo Cuervo's train is the better known of the two and the more expensive: MX$3,250 in the Express carriage, MX$2,680 for 6- to 17-year-olds, MX$3,670 for Premium Plus, MX$4,440 for Diamante and MX$4,810 for Elite, with the three upper carriages restricted to adults. The day runs about 11 hours, includes the La Rojeña tour, guided tastings and a mariachi and folk-ballet show, and covers one leg by train and the other by coach.
The full breakdown of what it includes and who it suits is worth reading before you book at that price.
The train that stopped running
If you find a guide recommending the Tequila Herradura Express, it is out of date: that service, which ran from Guadalajara to Amatitán station and Casa Herradura, ended in 2022. Casa Herradura is still very much open to visitors, its own hacienda tour with tastings is MX$380, hourly from 10:00, but you now reach it by road, which is what the Casa Herradura hacienda day trip exists to do.
When the Tour Is Actually the Cheaper Answer
Transport is only part of the bill.
Add up the DIY day
A return bus ticket is about MX$270. La Rojeña's own Classic Experience tour is MX$345 for adults and MX$80 for minors, 45 minutes to an hour, with Mundo Cuervo listing tour hours as 10:00 to 18:00. That is roughly MX$625, or about $37, for the transport and one distillery.
The cheapest guided day trip costs $46 and adds the agave fields, an artisanal distillery with a tasting, lunch at a restaurant, the drinks at Cantaritos El Güero and someone else driving. Nine dollars is not much of a premium for that.
When DIY still wins
Go independently if you want a specific producer no tour visits, Fortaleza, Cascahuín, El Tequileño, or if you are staying the night and want the town after the vans have gone. The distilleries you can visit on your own covers who takes walk-ins and who needs a reservation.
Go independently, too, if the group format is the problem. A shared van is ten hours with strangers on somebody else's schedule.
How far, exactly
Sixty kilometres by road, northwest of Guadalajara, in the same valley as Amatitán and El Arenal. Driving time is about an hour without traffic, an hour and a half on the bus, and the guided tours budget 45 to 60 minutes outbound and 70 to 110 minutes back, because the last stop is usually the cantina rather than the town.
The landscape between is not filler: the agave rows begin about halfway and the valley itself, 34,658 hectares of them, has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2006.
Which Way to Choose
If You want the cheapest possible day and will organise it yourself
The bus from the Antigua Central, about MX$270 return, plus MX$345 at La Rojeña
If You want a distillery, the fields and lunch without planning
The $46 classic day trip, which covers all three and the cantina drinks
If You are staying outside Zona Minerva and hate early taxis
If The train ride itself is the experience you want
The José Cuervo Express at MX$3,250 and up, Saturdays only
If You want Casa Herradura, which the bus cannot reach
The hacienda day trip, since the Herradura train stopped in 2022
Coming Back, Which Is the Half Nobody Plans
Every route into the valley is easy. The evening is where days go wrong.
The last bus, and the thin taxi rank
Second-class services run through the evening from the Tequila end, but the last useful departures are earlier than the cantinas close, and the timetable is the kind that is easier to confirm at the terminal than online. Check it when you arrive rather than when you want to leave.
Taxis and Uber exist in Tequila but not in the numbers a Saturday evening demands, and drivers are reluctant to run the return leg empty. If that is your plan, agree it with a driver in advance.
Why the tours take the slow road home
Guided itineraries budget 70 to 110 minutes for the return against 45 to 60 outbound, and the reason is the last stop: Cantaritos El Güero sits on the free road at Amatitán rather than on the toll highway, so the van comes back the long way.
That is worth knowing before you book a dinner reservation. On the extended listings the drop-off in Guadalajara lands closer to 20:00 than 18:00.
Questions About Getting to Tequila
How do I go from Guadalajara to Tequila?
Five ways: the second-class bus from the Antigua Central Camionera (about MX$130–140 one way, every 30 minutes from 06:00 to 20:30, roughly 1 hr 30); an Uber (about MX$776 out); driving yourself on Highway 15D in about an hour; one of the two Saturday tequila trains; or a guided day trip from $46 that includes the distillery and the fields. The tours compared.
How far away is Tequila from Guadalajara?
About 60 kilometres northwest, in the same valley as Amatitán and El Arenal. That is roughly an hour by car on Highway 15D, an hour and a half on the second-class bus, and 45 to 60 minutes outbound on the guided tours, which take the toll road.
Is there a day trip from Guadalajara to Tequila?
Many. This site compares nine of them, from $46 to $165, all leaving Guadalajara in the morning and returning the same evening. They differ mainly on which distillery they enter and whether they finish at Cantaritos El Güero. The comparison table.
How long does the tequila train take from Guadalajara?
The José Cuervo Express day runs about 11 hours in total, with one leg by rail and the other by coach; the Tequila Express leaves at 10:00 and returns at 17:30. Neither is a quick transfer, they are packaged excursions with tastings and a show built in.
How much is an Uber from Guadalajara to Tequila?
Uber's own route estimates are about MX$776 from Guadalajara to Tequila and MX$681 back, roughly MX$1,457 for the round trip. The bigger risk is availability for the return leg, since Tequila has few drivers in the evening.
Is it safe to drive from Guadalajara to Tequila?
Highway 15D is a modern toll road and the drive is straightforward in daylight. The problem is not the road but the day: tequila tastings start around midday, so whoever drives has to stay dry from breakfast to dusk. That is the reason most visitors book a van.
Can I take a bus back in the evening?
Yes, services run until about 20:30 from the Antigua Central end, and the return runs on a similar frequency through the day. Check the last departure at the Tequila terminal when you arrive, because it is earlier than the town's cantinas close.