The Tequila Express tourist train will add extra days to its regular schedule during the Pan American Games to cater to the large number of visitors expected for the event, the Guadalajara Chamber of Commerce has announced.
The all-day train ride to Amatitan and Casa Herradura’s Hacienda San Jose del Refugio tequila distillery will run five days a week (Wednesday through Sunday) from October 14 through the end of the month.
This week, the Jalisco governor opened the revamped train station at Amititan, from where passengers are bussed the short journey to the tequila plant. Casa Herradura came up with most of the 4.5-million-peso cost of the renovation.
The train leaves the Guadalajara railroad station at 9 a.m. and returns at 6:30 p.m. Passengers are served tequila and are serenaded by mariachis as the train passes through miles of agave fields before arriving in just under two hours at Amititan, located a few miles before the town of Tequila.
Guests are shown around the modern factory and its museum, and see how the agave plants are harvested. They are then wined and dined and treated to displays of folk dance and music, before making the train trip back to Guadalajara – with more tequila served, of course.
The cost of the day trip is 1,200 pesos for adults and 800 for children aged from 6 to 11. Seniors with INSEN discount cards pay 1,080 pesos.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.tequilaexpress.com.mx, toll-free at 01-800-5039720 or in person at CANACO-SERVYTUR, Av. Vallarta 4095, corner of Niño Obrero in Guadalajara, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Guadalajara railroad station is located on Av. Washington, corner of Calzada Indepencia Sur.
October dates for the Tequila Express are: October 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30.
There is also a shorter Friday nocturnal trip aimed at a younger crowd, which leaves at 6:30 p.m. and returns to Guadalajara after midnight. The cost is 960 pesos.