As you could read before, a tour made by car across the Route of Tequila is a terrific idea to spend some days out of the city's noise, relax and discover the secrets that have traced the story of this iconic drink. In this post, we’ll give all indications for you to embark on this adventure and enjoy all attractions at your own pace.
How to go on a road trip across the Route of Tequila?
1. Depart from Guadalajara
Firstly, you need to be in Guadalajara to start your journey. From there, you should head to federal highway 15, a.k.a. Guadalajara - Tepic Highway. To get there, you can take Ignacio L. Vallarta avenue or Lazaro Cardenas road. Once you reach the highway, you must drive around 20 minutes, until you see the intersection of federal highways 15 and 70.
2. Decide where to start, archeology route or agave-plantations’ route
In the intersection, you must decide if you want to start with the archeological circuit or the natural scenery one. If your choice is culture and archeological sites, keep going straight on federal highway 70. Otherwise, you must turn right on federal highway 15 if you want to begin with natural landscapes and agave plantations.
3. First stop, first town
If you went for the archeological circuit, the first town you will visit will be Teuchitlán, where you could visit the mysterious pre-Hispanic site of Guachimontones. Now, if your choice were one of agave-plantations, you must arrive at El Arenal. There, you could see the fields full of agave plants and drink an authentic locally-made beer.
4. Follow the circuit
As said in last posts, the Route of Tequila is kind of a perfect circle around Tequila’s Volcano. So, once you begin the journey, you must only keep on going until you finish a complete round. Down below, we tell you the recommended order to visit the towns depending on the start point you chose.
Archeological circuit:
- Teuchitlán
- Ahualulco de Mercado
- Etzatlán
- San Juanito Escobedo
- Magdalena
- Tequila
- Amatitán
- El Arenal
Agave-plantations’ circuit:
- El Arenal
- Amatitán
- Tequila
- Magdalena
- San Juanito Escobedo
- Etzatlán
- Ahualulco de Mercado
- Teuchitlán
As you can see, the only difference between one circuit and another is the order in which towns are visited. So, you can freely choose where to begin. In the end, you won’t miss anything.
5. Going from highway 70 to 15 and vice versa
Speaking of location, the most difficult task to do is going from Etzatlán to Magdalena or the other way around. As this is a federal highway, online maps may not recognize all the roads and it could be a little confusing. Yet you have nothing to be afraid of, the key is finding the right streets in towns. So, if you’re in Etzatlán, you must take José Siordia street heading to Faustino Madrigal street. Then, go straight ahead until you get to Magdalena. There’s no way to get lost.
On the other side, if your trip starts at Magdalena, you must look for the same road but in the opposite direction. Here we look for Manuel Carrillo street. Once you find it, take the road straight ahead until you reach Etzatlán. As this way has few intersections, meanwhile you keep going straight, you will arrive safe and sound.
Finally, if you want to visit San Juanito Escobedo, you must look for the intersection that has a middle school (Secundaria Técnica #129) at the corner. There, you must turn and take that road.
We hope you find this guide useful when going on a road trip across the Route of Tequila. For more information about the town of Tequila, this touristic circuit and culture, we invite you to visit our blog, where you can read additional content to fall in love with this Mexican drink and its heritage.
Last update: 15/04/2021
