Mexico Route Summer 2016

owlfan

Hello

I'm currently researching flying out to Mexico for about 4-5 weeks and would like to travel around (probably down the coast). I'm travelling in a group of 6-8 young people..
We were also looking into leaving a week at the end to go to South America, some of the countries that are near the border of Mexico.

I don't have a lot of information about the best routes and was wondering if anyone could recommend places to go/how long I should spend in each place etc.

Any other travel tips such as transport to cities/ food/ safety etc. would be appreciated

Thanks!

ironclaw

I would do you research well before you head out into Mexico. Its not safe in many areas, especially up around the North and Border regions. Local trouble is fairly common and some regions are no-go (I was told by a hotel in Acapulco not to come and they refunded my money around the time the students went missing in 2014) Services can be very low level in rural areas, water is undrinkable nation wide and they have a warning in effect for the zika virus, along with most of central America. I've been to Mexico City twice, and its a similar story, areas you should not wander after night and its certainly not a safe city on the whole. If you don't speak Spanish, you might find it difficult to navigation the more rural spots as English is not spoken even in the cities.

Great country, really interesting and fabulous food but not somewhere I'd go to hang out for any extended period of time without a huge tally of research.

con1982

Hey.
A couple of years ago, myself and the girlfriend spent 3 1/2 weeks travelling around Mexico.

We flew into Mexico City. Really nice spot. Good museums and sights. Looked like a great place for pubs and clubs. We didnt do any drinking. Not really our thing on holidays.

We took the bus from Mexico City to Oaxaca. Oaxaca is a cool backpacker town south of the capital. Nice cafes, restaurants and a pleasent town. I think we stayed for 3 or 4 days.

We got a 10hr bus to San Cristobal. It is in the mountains along the south of the country. Close to the border with Guetamala. Pretty cool place again. Nice town, lots of backpackers. The maya tribes have stalls in town during the day. I think we stayed 3 or 4 days. Bring a jumper as it is properly cold at night.

We took an overnight bus to palenque to see the ruins of a mayan temple. Tomb raider type stuff. Only 2 days and 1 night there. The town itself is terrible. Overpriced accomodation and no decent places to eat or drink.

We took a 10 hr bus to Merida. It is on the carribean coast. Cool old world Spanish town. The town is great and it is close enough to do a day trip to Chicen Itiza (chicken pizza as the americans call it). 2 days

We got a 4 hour bus to cancun. Didn't stay in the town. There is an island nearby. Isla Mujeres. Really cool spot. Great place to hang out. You can rent a golf cart and drive around the island. Only 30e for a day. Great fun. Good beaches on the island. 3 or 4 days is perfect.

Tulum was our last stop. Nice relaxing beach town. Quiet spot. Budget backpacker type place. I think we stayed 3 days.

Overall, we really enjoyed Mexico. If we had more time, we would have gone south of the border to guetamala and Honduras.

In terms of safety. Avoid the northern provinces. Check the uk foreign office advice.

con1982

We took public buses everywhere. Great value and quality of service. They checkin ur bags airport style. Receipts given. You'll pay 20e for a 10hr trip. Comfortable seats.

We didnt have any issues with finding people who spoke english. The standard is not as good in the continent , but good enough for what you need.

Food is generally delicious and cheap