Taken from A Rooftop in Ajijic
The city of Ajijic is absolutely beautiful and could not remain a secret for too long. The population here is around 20,000 people with many of its inhabitants here being expatriates. Tourism is just thriving here because this place has such an appeal among travelers. While you are here you will get to walk on old Mexico cobblestoned roads and you will get to see many of the most well maintained flower gardens in all of Mexico. With all the modern advances here Ajijic still holds a lot of historic charm. Some of the people who flock here are writers and artists. You will be able to see a lot of the artist’s work around the neighborhoods here. There are many beautiful galleries along the lake that you will not want to miss. The amenities here are too many to count but as plentiful as they are you will still get the feel of old Mexico culture and history when you travel in this area.
If you would like to get to Ajijic you should take a bus from Guadalajara which is called the Chapala bus. The ride from Guadalajara takes about 1-1/2 hours and should cost you around 36 pesos. There are buses that go to Ajijic every hour. The bus will stop first in Chapala and then you should stay on the bus until you get to Ajijic. If you are starting in Chapala you will want to take the bus that also gets to San Antonio. This bus can be found on Martinez and Madero and the ride will take about 15 minutes from there. Buses leave Chapala every 1/2 hour. The buses cost 10 pesos. You can also catch other buses at different bus stops around the city of Chapala. If you want to get back to Chapala and Guadalajara you should take the buses that have bus stops on Chapala Road. The ride should take an hour and they have buses every hour on the hour and the ride will cost you 36 pesos.
You will find that when you get lost in Ajijic the locals are friendly and are more than helpful at leading you in the right direction. Carretera Chapala road is one of the only paved roads in Ajijic. This is the road that separates the town from the northern part and the southern parts. If you are on the western portion of Ajijic you will find they call it Poniente, and Oriente on the east side. If you would like to go to the plaza area you should hang a left at Colon right when you see the traffic signal. If you would like more detailed travel information on the surrounding area of Ajijic you can easily obtain it from the Tourist Office which is located in the Society Outpost which was previously used to keep silk worms. This office is found situated on 16 de Septiembre. The tourist office is open Mon-Sat 10am-2pm. If you need to get cash, cash in travelers checks, or exchange currency you can do so at the Bancomer on Parroquia. They also have a 24 hour ATM. If you would like to do some laundry while you are in town you can do so at the Laundromat called Lavanderia on Colon. It will cost 45 pesos to wash and dry your clothes here. The Laundromat is open Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, and on Saturdays they are open 9am-3pm. If for any reason you need the police for anything you will be able to find them on Colon as well as the Red Cross. If you have an emergency while you are here you should know that 080 is the equivalent to 911 in the US. If you have a medical emergency and need to go to a hospital there is one located on Carretera and it is a general hospital. If while you are in town you run out of your prescription or would like to purchase any over the counter medications you can do so at Farmacia Jessica which is located on Parroquia. They are open every day 9am-2pm and then they re-open 5pm-9pm. If you need any kind of print services or facsimile you can find services at Copy-Top which is located on Guadalupe Victoria. If you need internet service while you are here you will find they have an internet cafe called CiberTec where you can pay 11 pesos per hour of service. The internet cafe is open Mon-Fri 10am-6pm. If you need to mail a postcard or letter you can do so at the post office located on Chapala. The post office is open Mon-Fri 8am-3pm and the zip code in Ajijic is 45920.
