# Mexico Anyone Been



## IrishGunner (2 Mar 2011)

As the title states

Looking at Mexico maybe going late in the year oct/nov. Just reading on the net there seems to be a lot of concern around the drug wars around certain areas safe to say wont be going near them

Has anyone been there recently and I have no preferences as of yet as of where to go or what to do. Would like to see Mexico City and its chaos and also see Chichen Itzá and maybe rest on a resort also...so a lot there. If anyone has any tips etc would be interested in their opinions


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## Lsquared (2 Mar 2011)

we were there over Christmas. We stayed a few nights in Cancun and then went south and stayed not far from Tulum. It was beautiful and the Mayan people that we met really nice. We visited the ruins at Chitchen Itza and Tulum - both sites are fantastic. I think the state of Quintana Roo (?) is safe from the violence that is associated with drug wars but there was a police presence. We flew there via Amstedam and had no problems apart from the snow at this end.


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## Boyd (2 Mar 2011)

I was there for 3 weeks in October 2007. 
The Tulum ruins were very cool with hidden beach behind them. Accomodation in Tulum was fairly limited as its just a one horse town on the side of the road to Chetumal. 
Chitchen Itza on the other hand is far too commercial and "organised", with hundreds of bus tours arriving daily. I went into Guatemala and went to Tikal which completely outshone Chitchen Itza. If you have time I would recommend that and skip Chitchen Itza.
I also travelled into Belize to go to Caye Caulker, returning to Cancun via the Chiapas region of Mexico, which can be rainy. However I visited Palenque, Aqua Azul waterfalls and market town of Merida on the way, all of which were brilliant.
Not sure re: drug wars but the country itself is really nice and I would recommend again spending the entire time in a resort as you can do that anywhere. However, I did spend 3 days in the Avalon Baccara in Cancun, which is a very small hotel in hotel district. It was pretty cheap as we booked as we went so it was last minute.

Hope that helps


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## Time (2 Mar 2011)

It is the cities close to the US border that are dangerous for drug wars.


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## KatieC (2 Mar 2011)

I came back from a five day work trip to Mexico very recently.  We were based in Cancun and it was perfectly safe. Only issue is that Cancun feels more American that Mexican!  On the last day I had a little time off so headed off to a tiny island which is about 20 minutes by ferry from Cancun.

This island is called Isla Mujeres and the water is much calmer there than Cancun. It's a stunning place, so relaxing.

BA recently began direct flights Gatwick-Cancun on Wednesday and Saturday. Its a 10 hour flight out and 9 hour flight back.

Any other questions?


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## IrishGunner (2 Mar 2011)

Thanks

Was looking for a place not full of Americans(nothing against them) just want something different. Would like to visit Mexico city at some stage but are there any resorts near here and Chitchen Itza where you could possible do trips ?


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## EvilDoctorK (3 Mar 2011)

Mexico City is inland and high up .. long way from anything beach resort-y ... Definitely worth spending some time in Mexico City it's a fabulously lively city .. but heading to the beach from there is basically a plane ride (or at least a very long bus journey)

You'll find most big beach resorts in Mexico are full of Americans, geographical proximity and all that  ...   but if you avoid the bigger resort towns (Cancun,  Cabo San Lucas etc.) you can have a lovely relaxing time on Mexico's beaches without feeling like you're a walk on extra in an MTV reality show about American College kids on Spring Break !

If you do want to visit Chichen Itza then that makes sense to do your beach time around Yucatan and somewhere near Cancun, though as other posters say there's some lovely stuff around there that doesn't involve Cancun itself which I believe is a bit over-developed.

As mentioned above BA now have flights from London to Cancun as well as Mexico City .. so you might be able to get a good fare into one and out of the other avoiding long (and expensive) back tracking.

As a tourist I wouldn't much worry about the drug war stuff ... it's really unlikley to affect you in any of the areas you're likely to visit  .. take the usual sensible precautions as you would anywhere and don't worry about it too much

Note that internal flights in Mexico used to be very expensive (there were only two airlines and they were basically the same company so competition was at best limited) .. things have improved lately with some low cost airlines (try Googling Volaris or Interjet) ... Long distance buses in Mexico can be really good too .. though some distances are really too far for bus travel (Mexico City - Cancun is over 24h I think) .. have a look at www.ticketbus.com.mx for times and prices.


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## Villa105 (3 Mar 2011)

We went to Mexico DF for 2 weeks.  Cancun would be my worst nightmare, we wanted to see some of the real Mexico.  Iberia fly from Madrid, we spent two days in Mexico City and on the 3rd day we got a bus to Pueblo, stayed here for 2 days and saw all the sights pyramids etc.  Then got a bus to Oxaca, more pyramids, el hierve el aqua and one of the oldest trees in the world, loads to see and do in Oxaca and the food was great.    Then got an over night bus to the Pacific Coast to a beach called San Agustinillo, very few tourists and a real chill out spot.  12 hour journey but we did it at night and we slept all the way and woke up on the Pacific Coast.  Stayed 4 nights relaxing on the beach in Cabanas called Punta Placer and flew back to Mexico and spent another full day there to catch up on things we missed the first few days one being Frieda Kahlo's house.  Mexico City is worth seeing, and there are great pyramids near by, the city is beautiful and we did not find it dangerous.  Pueblo is beautiful, a bit like being in Seville or Granada and Oxaca is a chilled out town.  This was my favorite town. Lonely Planet do the route that we took and it was perfect for a two week trip   We booked it all ourselves on the internet so the holiday did not cost much either, enjoy your planning.


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## 5lamps (8 May 2012)

I am looking at traveling to Mexico in Sept/October but I believe that is the rainy/hurricane season. Looking at doing the below trip but not sure if October is a good time to go?

*Day 1 Playa del Carmen*

Arrive 

*Day 2 Playa del Carmen*

Option to visit Mayan ruins of Tulum or lounge on the Mayan Riviera beaches.
*Day 3-4 Mérida/Chichén Itzá*

Orientation walk in Mérida. Option to visit Chichén Itzá en route, and from Merida, option to visit Mayan ruins of Uxmal or swim in three cenotes (underground pools).
*Day 5-6 Palenque*

Option to visit ruins of Palenque, set deep in the jungle.
*Day 7-9 San Cristóbal de las Casas*

Enjoy an orientation walk around town. Option to visit nearby indigenous Mayan villages to see unique day-to-day life or journey to beautiful Sumidero Canyon for a relaxing boat ride.
*Day 10-11 Oaxaca*

Enjoy an orientation walk around town. Option to travel to nearby artisan communities or visit the Zapotec ruins of Monte Albán.
*Day 12 Puebla*

Orientation walk around town. Option to sample the delicious Mole Poblano sauce or explore the city by foot viewing the old buildings covered in hand-painted tiles for which the city is famous.
*Day 13-14 Mexico City*

Option to visit Aztec ruins of Teotihuacan or explore bustling Mexico City. By night, option to witness a high-flying "lucha libra" (Mexican wrestling) match.
*Day 15 Mexico City*

Depart 

Has anyone been to Mexico around Sept/October and is the hurricanes that bad? Not going for sun and sand just for an adventure

Thanks


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## dereko1969 (8 May 2012)

Was there first 2 weeks in September and did very similar trip to the one you're planning - well, the middle part anyway, palenque, san cristobal and oaxaca. We started and finished in Cancun as we got a cheap flight only deal with a package company - I'd avoid there but head over to Isla Mujeres (having said that i've just realised it's 15 years since I was there).

The day we arrived in SC it dumped rain like I'd never seen before but it lasted a couple of hours and then it was fine afterwards. The rest of the time the weather was fantastic (bit hot for me).

It's a great country but I'd be wary of your itinerary as you're going to be doing an awful lot of travelling, it's a huge country and getting into the local pace of life would be better I think.


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## laobhise (8 May 2012)

Went to Mexico in May/June 2008. We went to Guadalajara first-amazing place-would definately recommend. We stayed in a little town called Tlaquepaque in a little boutique hotel called Quinta Don Jose- gets great reviews on tripadvisor. Getting there was quite a distance- went with continental via Newark then Houston but fares were very reasonable at the time. 
Guadalajara and Tlaquepaque were amazing places- it is a true reflection of Mexico. Lots of craft making-silver jewellery, pewter, glass making, art, furniture in Tlaquepaque and surrounding areas- hotel organised lots of trips. We also went to Guadalajara city which had amazing buildings. Went to visit optical illusion art by Jose Clemente Orzoco. Learned a lot about the modern history of Mexico. Guadalajara is also the home of the mariachi bands and most of the local restaurants and bars have mariachi bands whom come in and entertain you. Most people speak spanish though and not english but we got by with no spanish- we had an english speaking tour guide for some trips. Guadalajara is also the home of tequila and we went on a trip called the tequila express- [broken link removed]
Amazing experience- free tequila on train and when there- nothing like you get here and mariachi bands playing on a train while you travel to the tequila factory. You get to see how they make tequila now and in days gone by. Then you get a buffet with entertainment- mostly spanish attend/ or mexican americans but they also have a guide whom speaks english at factory (not on train though). 
We also went to an archeological site that they are currently excavating- because area doesnt have that many tourists we were the only people visiting the site- archeologist met us and explained all about the pyramids one on one. 10 days for stay in hotel, all food, trips, laundry washed and ironed was about €800 for us both and my husband took a few bottles or corona to our room each night. Not a lively place but very comfortable and lots of culture!!! Sorry for the ramble but just loved Guadalajara and the people there so much. 

In comparison we also went to Puerto Vallerta afterwards to relax for beach holiday- this part was slightly dampened by bad weather. But it was just full of American tourists and didnt have much culture. Part of the reason we chose there is because of the nature in surrounding areas!! Beautiful area but the negatives were that there were a lot of time share people constantly annoying you. And when the cruise ships arrived then it was worse. We could clearer see that it wasnt like the real mexico after being to guadlajara.  Also Guadalajara is not near the parts where there is currently violence!!


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## dymo (8 May 2012)

we are going in sept for 2 weeks staying in playa del carmen  going to tulum and coba while we are there.filghts with ba and non all insluive we had a hard time gettting hotels as packages from here were all all insluive and we did not what that and booking by outaself worked out more expensive


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## EvilDoctorK (10 May 2012)

I've been in September/October and yes you can get dodgy weather , but mostly it's fine 

Yucatan Province ( Cancun/Cozumel and around) is most likely to be affected by hurricanes  - but even still it's likely you'll get good weather and you'd have to be relatively unlucky to get more than a day or two of bad weather.

If you can stay flexible and keep an eye on the weather that might be good plan for that time of year ..  I've been to San Cristobal and Palenque (I definitely recommend both) at that time of year without problem and we'd planned on going to the beach in Yucatan afterwards but the weather forecast wasn't good so we changed plans and flew to the other coast instead (Baja California) where the weather was great   (though they equally can be at risk from hurricanes on that side too)


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