In this guide we will share our experience visiting the magic town of Tequila and riding the Jose Cuervo Express train. The state of Jalisco is known for being the birthplace of mariachi, tequila, the charreria, Puerto Vallarta and the second biggest city in the country, Guadalajara. That being said, no trip to Jalisco is complete without visiting the magic town of Tequila, home its namesake famous alcoholic drink. Read on for our in depth review of the Jose Cuervo Express train tour experience.
You can get to tequila from Guadalajara by public buses, car, Uber, tours or by train. The best way to visit Tequila though is with the Jose Cuervo Express all-you-can-drink train experience. Yes, you read that right! While you ride the luxurious express ride from Guadalajara to Tequila, you could be drinking all the tequila shots or tequila cocktails you want. The train ride lasts about two hours and it also includes a tequila testing, where you will learn more about the drink and how to properly drink it.
There are several options for train tickets to meet different budgets and taste, as well as two schedules: morning and sunrise. The tickets include the train ride from Guadalajara to Tequila and a bus ride back, an open bar, a tasting class, a tour of the museum and the Jose Cuervo distillery, free time in the town of Tequila for you to explore on your own and a Mexican cultural show.
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Jose Cuervo Express Important information:
Where: Guadalajara train station (Av. Circunvalación Agustín Yáñez 11, Moderna, 44190 Guadalajara, Jal., Mexico)
When: Every Saturday and Sundays*
Cost per ticket:
- Express: $2,420 mxn ($122 USD) per person
- Premium Plus: $2,730 mxn ($138 USD) per person
- Diamond: $3,040 mxn ($154 USD) per person
- Elite: $3,300 mxn ($167 USD) per person
They have bilingual guides in the train wagons so depending if you speak either Spanish or English you should have no problems enjoying the informative experience.
Is the Jose Cuervo Express train worth it? While the ticket price might sound a bit steep, the all-inclusive, full day tour is absolutely worth it.
Board the Jose Cuervo Express Tequila Train in Guadalajara
You need to be at the station from 8:00 to 8:30 AM to check in for the Jose Cuervo Express Train, and make sure to bring your credit card and ID. The staff at the station will offer you some coffee, hot chocolate and breakfast pastries. At 9:00 AM your adventure starts. Once in the train, there will be servers who will be bringing you tons of cocktails and tequila shots, so be ready for some delicious experience.
You are able to make a special request or drink their premade cocktails. Steven really enjoyed the “Paloma” and the different flavors Margaritas. The “Paloma” is a drink with tequila, grapefruit juice and lime.
The train ride also includes a tequila testing where you will learn everything you need to know about the tequila making process, the different categories to the best way to enjoy drinking this delicious drink. One interesting thing we learned is that you do not drink tequila in shot glasses but instead in a flute. After the tasting, your server will bring you some tamales, a traditional Mexican food, and some skewers of mozzarella and tomato. This is definitely a welcome treat after several rounds of tequila tasting.
Our favorite thing about the Jose Cuervo Express Train was enjoying the all you can drink as we adventured through the wonderful endless fields of spiky Blue Agave plants to get to the historical downtown Tequila.
Arriving to the Magic Town of Tequila
There will be mariachis waiting for you to get off the train and transfer to a shuttle bus that takes you into “La Rojeña“, the Jose Cuervo distillery. This is one of the oldest tequila distilleries in the country, having produced tequila for over 200 years.
Once at the distillery you will have the chance to tour the facility to witness the process of making agave into tequila and stroll through the barrel-stacked halls. Here you will see how they roast the entire Agave heart to squeeze out its juices to aging the liquid in massive wooden barrels. It is pretty impressive!
After the tour through the distillery, you have 3 hours to explore the magic town of Tequila, an UNESCO world heritage site. It was named an UNESCO site because of its agave landscape and old tequila distilleries.
We recommend hopping into a taxi and grab lunch at the La Taberna del Cofrade. The food is good and it is not too expensive, but the main reason to visit is to catch a glimpse of the hotel next door, the Matices Hotel de Barricas. This hotel is located on an Agave field and each room is a giant barrel shape room. It is the perfect place to take amazing photos.
Just make sure to be back at 4:15 PM at the “La Rojeña” for the Mexican cultural show. It is a beautiful show with mariachis and traditional dances.
Time to visit the agave fields and see the “jima”
If you choose the morning tour, you will be heading to the agave fields at the end of the day for sunset, which in my opinion it is the best time because of the lightning. You have some time to take photos in the field before the jima demonstration, which is the agave harvesting process by which the jimador cuts off the leaves of the agave plant to get to the heart.
During this demonstration you can enjoy an open bar and some delicious snacks including my favorite: Churros!
Once the sun sets, the fun day aboard the Jose Cuervo Express Tequila Train is coming to a close and it time to head back to Guadalajara aboard a comfortable coach bus.
Taking the Bus Back to Guadalajara
On your way back to Guadalajara you ride a bus instead of the train, which makes it faster as it is only an hour away. The cool thing is that you still get to drink some of their delicious palomas and play La Loteria (Mexican bingo). Believe it or not we won twice and got a bottle of tequila :)
Back in Guadalajara you arrive at the Casa Cuervo – EDISA, in the south of the city, a different location than you began the day, so plan your pickup accordingly.
