Christmas in Mexico
Christmas in Mexico
I am currently planning a six week holiday :yay: and am trying to figure out where to go for Christmas and New Year. Hubby and I are doing a 'road trip' through California, then driving/flying (tbc) onto Mexico mid-December. So it looks like we'll probably be somewhere in Mexico....
I was just wondering if anyone had any tips for where to spend the festive period, or any tips in general about Mexico? We'll have about a month to kill. We're not really interested in Cancun and similar hi-rise resorts but rather in seeing the scenery and culture. We'll hire a car so we can get to the more remote places.
Thanks in advance!
Answers:
That's a great choice! I spent two months travelling through Mexico about 7 years ago and it really was wonderful. I have to go to bed now, so I'll write some more tomorrow, I was just so excited!
Answers:
OK I'm back (although it's nearly bedtime again!)
Joint high-light for me was 1) the train ride over the Copper Canyon (between Chihuahua and Hermosillo) - OK difficult if you have a car - but worth doing for a fantastic ride over the widest canyon in the world. It's a real gape out of the window all day experience! 2) Real de Catorce. Took all day to get there and a ride through a really long tunnel in a bus that was too low to stand up in, but was an amazing, semi-deserted mining town in the mountains. Only 3 other tourists at the time, but it was featured in "The Mexican" so think may have become a bit of a "scene" :(
For beautiful colonial towns/cities: Taxco, a few hours South of Mexico city is gorgeous. Truly beautiful and a place to wander around the twised alleyways winding around the hills. Oaxaca is great, a lovely place anyway, but has Native Indian markets in the surrounding towns and some nice ruins up in the mountains (the ruins aren't great, but the setting is superb)
For Mayan ruins, Palenque (south of Oaxaca) is gorgeous, set in the jungle and a place where you can really feel the atmosphere.
(Go there in the afternoon as it is near to the main city so the tour buses get there early). Chichen Itza (sp?) in the far South is worth seeing, but you have to get there as the ticket gate opens (stay in the nearest town) as the tourist buses from Cancun pile up (and I mean pile up) around 10am. Uxmal in the South has some great pyramids and is too far from Cancun, so is not so crowded. Also, (I nearly didn't go as was "pyramided out" but was glad I did) a huge teple complex about 2 hours North of Mexico city (Can't remeber the name just now). Heard that some development may have spoiled the view, but there are two wopping pyramids surrounded by desert and mountains.
For beaches, I stayed at Tulum, South of Cancun. There are (yet more) ruins on a cliff edge over looking the torquise Carribean water.....again a wonderful setting type experience. There used to be lots of cheap cabin type accommodation on the beach, but I'm sure it is more "resorty" now.
Mexico City is not somewhere to stay for more than a day or so. Dirty, polluted and crime against tourists has risen a lot in the past decade. The Zolcolo (central square) is worth a look as I think it is the biggest one in the world, but I loved the museum and infact, spent 8 hours in there :o ! It has an amazing display of Mayan up to contemporary stuff. I'm sure even someone who hates museums would be impressed with it.
As for driving around, take care as occasionally foreigners have been attacked in remote areas. If you hire in the States, your number plates will be on display to all. Having said that, I travelled around on my own most of the time and didn't feel in danger, just had a bit of hassle from men, but nothing I couldn't handle/haven't experienced anywhere else (including the UK!)
Sorry for excessive superlatives, but it really is a wonderful travel destination. Infact, it might even be worth scrapping the States and spending all of your time there (as I ended up doing!)
Rebecca
Answers:
i went to playa del carmen 5 years ago. Loved it! It's a great place, and quite close to lots of historical sites, chitchen-itza (spl??) etc..
Answers:
Thanks so much for your replies. I am getting v. excited now! I am in some ways tempted to skip the US part, but the lure of skiing at Lake Tahoe and my first visit to Vegas are too much. Damn, I wish I had more than six weeks! :lol:
I am currently planning a six week holiday :yay: and am trying to figure out where to go for Christmas and New Year. Hubby and I are doing a 'road trip' through California, then driving/flying (tbc) onto Mexico mid-December. So it looks like we'll probably be somewhere in Mexico....
I was just wondering if anyone had any tips for where to spend the festive period, or any tips in general about Mexico? We'll have about a month to kill. We're not really interested in Cancun and similar hi-rise resorts but rather in seeing the scenery and culture. We'll hire a car so we can get to the more remote places.
Thanks in advance!
Answers:
That's a great choice! I spent two months travelling through Mexico about 7 years ago and it really was wonderful. I have to go to bed now, so I'll write some more tomorrow, I was just so excited!
Answers:
OK I'm back (although it's nearly bedtime again!)
Joint high-light for me was 1) the train ride over the Copper Canyon (between Chihuahua and Hermosillo) - OK difficult if you have a car - but worth doing for a fantastic ride over the widest canyon in the world. It's a real gape out of the window all day experience! 2) Real de Catorce. Took all day to get there and a ride through a really long tunnel in a bus that was too low to stand up in, but was an amazing, semi-deserted mining town in the mountains. Only 3 other tourists at the time, but it was featured in "The Mexican" so think may have become a bit of a "scene" :(
For beautiful colonial towns/cities: Taxco, a few hours South of Mexico city is gorgeous. Truly beautiful and a place to wander around the twised alleyways winding around the hills. Oaxaca is great, a lovely place anyway, but has Native Indian markets in the surrounding towns and some nice ruins up in the mountains (the ruins aren't great, but the setting is superb)
For Mayan ruins, Palenque (south of Oaxaca) is gorgeous, set in the jungle and a place where you can really feel the atmosphere.
(Go there in the afternoon as it is near to the main city so the tour buses get there early). Chichen Itza (sp?) in the far South is worth seeing, but you have to get there as the ticket gate opens (stay in the nearest town) as the tourist buses from Cancun pile up (and I mean pile up) around 10am. Uxmal in the South has some great pyramids and is too far from Cancun, so is not so crowded. Also, (I nearly didn't go as was "pyramided out" but was glad I did) a huge teple complex about 2 hours North of Mexico city (Can't remeber the name just now). Heard that some development may have spoiled the view, but there are two wopping pyramids surrounded by desert and mountains.
For beaches, I stayed at Tulum, South of Cancun. There are (yet more) ruins on a cliff edge over looking the torquise Carribean water.....again a wonderful setting type experience. There used to be lots of cheap cabin type accommodation on the beach, but I'm sure it is more "resorty" now.
Mexico City is not somewhere to stay for more than a day or so. Dirty, polluted and crime against tourists has risen a lot in the past decade. The Zolcolo (central square) is worth a look as I think it is the biggest one in the world, but I loved the museum and infact, spent 8 hours in there :o ! It has an amazing display of Mayan up to contemporary stuff. I'm sure even someone who hates museums would be impressed with it.
As for driving around, take care as occasionally foreigners have been attacked in remote areas. If you hire in the States, your number plates will be on display to all. Having said that, I travelled around on my own most of the time and didn't feel in danger, just had a bit of hassle from men, but nothing I couldn't handle/haven't experienced anywhere else (including the UK!)
Sorry for excessive superlatives, but it really is a wonderful travel destination. Infact, it might even be worth scrapping the States and spending all of your time there (as I ended up doing!)
Rebecca
Answers:
i went to playa del carmen 5 years ago. Loved it! It's a great place, and quite close to lots of historical sites, chitchen-itza (spl??) etc..
Answers:
Thanks so much for your replies. I am getting v. excited now! I am in some ways tempted to skip the US part, but the lure of skiing at Lake Tahoe and my first visit to Vegas are too much. Damn, I wish I had more than six weeks! :lol: