Mexico 15-Day Tours and Trips

As this was my first group, I chose this itinerary as it alternates days of travel with full days in a location - when I cold choose between group activities and visiting on my own. Everything went very well - the trip leader was competent and provided excellent info and advice.

This was a really well -planned full itinerary with little down time and early starts every morning! The traffic in Mexico City meant that journeys between locations always took a long time but Berto, our driver was very calm.  On the first day you are still recovering from the long day of travel but the visit to the Frida Kahlo House was very worthwhile and the canal boat "dodgems" at Xochimilco was great fun! It was nice to get out of the City to the site at Teotichuacan the next day - the large pyramids are stunningly impressive but you can no longer climb them. The best time was in Oaxaca as we spent 4 nights at the same central hotel and we had plenty of opportunity to soak up the festive atmosphere and see plenty of costumes and parades. The food is very good here and, of course, we learned how to make some salsas and mole. We were lucky enough to spend time at the cemetery with a family where the son was playing the guitar and singing ballads to the dead relatives - very moving and atmospheric. Monte Alban was my favourite archaeological site, partly because of the stunning views but Palenque was lovely because of its jungle location with the howler monkeys screeching in the background and the fact it was possible to climb the Pyramid of the Cross to have a view across the site. Unfortunately, we only had less than an hour at Uxmal as we arrived late in the afternoon and our visit to Chichen Itza was quite short as we had to leave for the airport. We did so many extras and Arturo always ensured we had good places to eat and drink!

I’m not a big ‘foodie’ but my partner is, so I was expecting to just tag along for the ride. However, I absolutely loved this trip. It had the perfect mix of relaxation, food tasting, adventure, independent exploration and educational visits. We visited a few weeks before Día de Muertos and each place was busy putting up decorations and preparing for the celebration. I’m glad we got to see these. As a wildlife lover, the speed boat trip through the Sumidero Canyon was a highlight for me. And we were pleased we opted to go on the Mount Alban trip as we had the whole site to ourselves for a while! Luis our guide, was friendly, funny and very knowledgeable. He went out of his way to make the trip memorable for each person and we were very well looked after. There were a couple of long drives, but our minibus had reclining seats, USB charging ports on seat backs and we stopped frequently for comfort breaks. The scenery along the way was incredible and the journeys flew by!

I am absolutely glad I took this trip. The people, and the variety of experiences, I could never have put together on my own. We had an excellent CEO, Ana, who added so much to the trip with her enthusiasm and knowledge and acceptance of all of us. I appreciated the contact that we had with local people, getting a feel for how they live and work. I loved visiting the ancient ruins and hearing stories from local guides. I loved the nature experiences we had with snorkeling, caving and hiking. And beyond that we had a great group of people of varying ages and points of view. It was special to share that time with them.

The title of this tour describes the itinerary. We explored archaeological sites galore, toured historical city centers, visited local artisans, and ate lots of Mexican (and some Mayan) food. The hotels were all comfortable, and the baos mostly had toilet paper and soap. We had opportunities to swim and to visit a cenote.

This is my first group trip. I am a woman and I travel alone. The tour offered culture and nature. I am interested in arts and crafts, so I saw some relevant museums. The social unity of the group was good. The hotels were fine. The trip is recommended.