violetm

Hi,

I'm going to Mexico over Christmas and New Year and could really use some help.

I really want to go to Puerto Vallarta for a few days over Christmas, but I would like to use the rest of the time to get a more varied Mexican experience. I'm interested in scenery, pretty towns, art and crafts, markets, good people photography and food. Of course I'll want to see some ruins etc but history isnt my thing so its not such a big draw card.

I am coming from Australia, so flying in via LAX, and I can fly into anywhere. I will have about 7 days on my own to explore anywhere before meeting my husband in Puerto Vallarta for a few days over Christmas when we will then travel together. After leaving PVR we will have about 13 days but we desperately want to go to Cuba and was thinking probably goo on 31 December to have New Year in Havana, which leaves us 4 or 5 days in Mexico.

So I have 7 days on my own before PVR and 4 or 5 days together after PVR. I would probably pick 2 places to do by myself and 1 one with hubby. Logistically it looks pretty hard with all of the flights everywhere connecting through Mexico City and I'm not keen to do 10hr road trips.

From my research the places which appeal are:

San Cristobal
Oaxaca
Guanajuato

It may make sense to go to Cancun or Playa del Carmen for a night or 2 before flying out as we can get direct flights to Havana, but I don't have any desire to go here so we coild spend our time elsewhere and fly to Havana from Mexico City. We will have to have 1 night in Mexico City when we getback, we may change that to 2 but hubby is taking some persuading on that front so we'll see.

Any feedback/suggestions of how we could do this is very much appreciated.

Thanks

baldone

If it were me, I'd do Oaxaca. It best fits your "scenery, pretty towns, art and crafts, markets, good people photography and food" criteria. Monte Alban ruins are close to town, so not a burden to visit and certainly worth a few hours. I'd probably take a bus from DF and then do 1 night in Puebla, before moving on to Oaxaca. The trip is quite scenic and not a butt-buster; only about 4.5 hours. Fly back to PV via MEX. From PV, TAR has direct flights to Queretaro, a lovely colonial city (tho not on your list) from where you could do a day trip or 2 (45 minutes) to San Miguel de Allende or Bernal/Tequisquiapan, tho Bernal is the more attractive of the 2. You could do Guanajuato from QRO, a 2.5 hour trip. From Queretaro, it's only about 3 hours on to MEX for your flight to Cuba.
San Cristobal I fear would be too far and harder to get to.

emd3

Just a few observations. San Cristobal is very cold and damp that time of yr, and many hotels do not have heat. Make sure you take lots of layers and get a place with heat in the room.

From your list of places that appeal to you, I recommend that you do some research on Merida. It is a lovely colonial city wiyh an enormous amt of local Yucatan culture, open air concerts a dance shows with incredible local costumes, singers, dancers in the Punic parks most nights of the week. Merida could be a way to depart from Cancun, as Merida is a 3.5 hr 1st class busride from Merida, then a 15 min cab to the Cancun Airport.

Rohelio

Logistically speaking, your trip is not paractical in any way shape or form. Sorry, but you will have to cut back on areas and concentrate more on certain destination that are closer together . I have been to all the destinations you speak of, every one, and in the time you have and the amount of travelling you need to accomplish is impractical. you should refine your wish list so as to get better suggestions and advice from this site...

violetm

Baldone - fabulous - thanks so much for your recs, that's exactly what I was hoping for.

Emd3 thanks also, I had thought of Merida so between all of your suggestions I'll try and figure out how I can make it work.

Rohelio, I appreciate your input but I didn't suggest doing all of the places I listed just that these were some of the places I was interested in and was looking for feedback on which would be the better choices and logistically make the most sense. San cristobal really appealed but it's clear that won't work so I'll concentrate on the others plus the new suggestions.

Thanks for all your help.

suze

From Puerto Vallarta, to me it would make sense to go places that are closer geographically instead of hopping all over the country by plane (Mexico is huge).

Guadalajara is a 5 hour bus ride from PV and a major city with loads of cultural attractions. The beach towns around Bay of Banderas and north or south from PV could easily work for a week of traveling. Sayulita, San Pancho, Ricon, San Blas to the north. Barre de Navidad, Melinque to the south. Inland to San Sebastian.

There aren't "ruins" over in this western part of the country.

crosscheck

I also have been to all the places you mentioned (including Cuba) and would recommend:

3 days Mexico City/4 days Oaxaca before PV, then 5 days Guanajuato after PV (non-stop to Leon), then Cuba via Mexico City (that's how I went to Cuba).

That will give you a good overview and streamline logistics, saving you some travel time - the only time you'll have to change planes is on the journey from Oaxaca to PV, and those are both very short flights. Mexico City and Oaxaca are both absolutely fantastic around Christmas time. I also like baldone's plan but haven't been on a Mexican bus for years and I'm not sure I'd want to do it alone.

If you do decide to go somewhere in the Yucatán, I second Merida, and also think you'd like Tulum, with a side trip to Valladolid.

I LOVE San Cristobal, but it's harder to get to.

Another idea would be to go to Guatemala for your week before PV - 4 nights Antigua/3 nights Atitlán. Has all that you're looking for in spades.

From PV, make sure you visit Yelapa and Sayulita on day trips.

Enjoy!

violetm

Thanks Crosscheck, I've taken on board all of your advice - very much appreciated. Just with the difficulty in flight times and availability we've had to simplify a little (and the fact that I'm booking this 2 weeks before I go!)

So now thinking I'll fly into Mexico City and spend the first night at the airport (I'll be going to Mex City later with hubby and I think I will just want to sleep after 24 hours travelling), then the next morning fly to Oaxaca for 5 nights (wasn't too sure about the bus for my first time on my own).

Then flying from Oaxaca to Puerto Vallarta to meet my husband and staying for 4 nights and will just do day trips. Fly to Mexico City for 2 nights then onto Cuba for 7 nights then fly back to Mexico City for 3 nights before flying home.

Thanks for all your suggestions, it's a massive trip to plan at such short notice and I couldn't do it without you guys,

violetm

Crosscheck - I'd love to hear your thoughts on Cuba. We really want to see Havana and will be there for New Year, but feel I'd like to see a bit more without too much travelling. Was thinking maybe Trinidad for a couple of nights?

crosscheck

Hi violetm, I spent over a month in Cuba, but haven't been there in many years. I was part of a cultural delegation so our itinerary was pre-planned for us. I did love Trinidad and also Baracoa, but I can't remember much about logistics. You might want to ask for more up-to-date into on the Caribbean forum or tripadvisor.

Your plan sounds good now. Depending on the time of your flights, upon your return from Cuba you could visit Puebla (great colonial city an easy 2-hour ride from the Mexico City airport - you can have a driver meet you.) I also love Tepotzlán, a magical village about an hour away. Valle de Bravo is wonderful as well, but I think there have been safety issues there.

When in PV, make sure you take a boat to Yelapa. You'll get an idea of what the old Mexico was like.