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Mexico · Jalisco

Guadalajara: how to get there and around

Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.

Guadalajara is a city of 1.4 million people in Mexico (Jalisco), 1,546 m (5,072 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Guadalajara International Airport (GDL), 18 km (11 mi) from the centre. It has a dozen or more railway stations on record, including Refugio. Our booking partner lists 1,046+ places to stay.

Key facts

Population1.4 million
Elevation1,546 m (5,072 ft)
Area145 km²
Time zoneAmerica/Mexico_City (UTC-6 now)
CurrencyPeso (MXN)
Dialling code+52
Driving sideRight
Plug typesNEMA 1-15, NEMA 5-15
Postal codes11 codes, 21573 to 99363
UN/LOCODEMXGDL
People are calledGuadalajaran
Coordinates20.677, -103.347
Guadalajara

Open Guadalajara in Google Maps

Daylight in Guadalajara runs from about 10 h 55 min a day in late December to 13 h 26 min in late June (computed for 20.68° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.

Getting there

Guadalajara is served by one airport with scheduled flights. The closest large one is Guadalajara International Airport (GDL), 18 km (11 mi) from the centre, whose 13,123-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft.

Flights to Guadalajara: every airport, routes and times

By rail: stations on record include Refugio, Juárez railway station, Santuario Mártires de Cristo Rey, Plaza Patria railway station, Urdaneta railway station, Cristóbal de Oñate. Trains to Guadalajara

Buses to Guadalajara · Driving and car hire

Where to stay

Our booking partner lists 1,046+ places to stay in Guadalajara (statistics below are from the first 1,000). Of the 506 with a star rating, the largest group is 3-star (242), and 20 are five-star. Across 274 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.4 out of 10. Guests have left 156,900 reviews in total.

Hotels in Guadalajara: the full picture, and book

Our booking partner lists 32 hostels in Guadalajara, out of 1,046 places to stay of every kind — 3.1% of everywhere it lists in the city, around the middle of the range for the cities we hold figures for. Across 11 hostels with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.5 out of 10, level with the city’s hotels. Guests have left 3,824 reviews across them.

Hostels in Guadalajara: the full picture, and book

What people come for

UNESCO World Heritage in the city: Hospicio Cabañas.

Tours, tickets and day trips from Guadalajara

Nearby cities, and how to get between them

Twin towns and sister cities: Seville, Valladolid, Guadalajara Province, Downey, Laredo, Lansing, Cigales, Albuquerque, Tucson, Portland, San Antonio, Milan, Dublin, Oñati.

Common questions

Which airport serves Guadalajara?

Guadalajara International Airport (GDL), 18 km (11 mi) from the centre.

How big is Guadalajara?

About 1.4 million people live in Guadalajara, across 145 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).

What time zone is Guadalajara in?

America/Mexico_City, currently UTC-6.

What currency is used in Guadalajara?

The Peso (MXN). Traffic drives on the right.

Are there hostels in Guadalajara?

32 of them, bookable on this site. Hostels in Guadalajara.

How many hotels are there in Guadalajara?

Our booking partner lists 1,046 or more places to stay in Guadalajara, bookable on this site.

Which cities are near Guadalajara?

Santiago de Querétaro (308 km), León de los Aldama (180 km), Zapopan (6 km), Morelia (250 km), San Luis Potosí (296 km).

Where these facts come from

  • GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
  • Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
  • OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
  • Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines

Data compiled 14 September 2026. Hotel and hostel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.