keithpence

Hi Everyone,

There are three of us meeting in Mexico City this April, and we will be spending 6 nights in Mexico City, and then were planning on either going to Guanajuato for 4 nights, or San Miguel de Allende for 4 nights...we are all in our 20s, and enjoy "nightlife," but not in the traditional sense ... essentially, we aren't looking to go clubbing, but we also aren't looking to just sit at a house and relax for 4 nights. We'd like to be able to go out and have a little fun, so we don't necessarily want to go somewhere that shuts down at 10PM every night.

Two of us are from California (San Francisco) and one is from New York - we've been to Mexico before, but nothing outside of super-touristy beach cities (PV, Cabo, Cancun, etc.), so we are really looking for more of a cultural Mexican experience. I'm curious to see what people on here's insight is as far as the 4 nights we have after Mexico City. Does Guanajuato sound like a better fit for us than SMA, or maybe there's another place that's within a 5 hour bus of Mexico City that's safe and interesting? We heard SMA is beautiful, but it seems like perhaps there are a bit too many "gringos" there now, and maybe it's better spent as a day trip from Guanajuato than actually staying there for 4 nights?

Any information / insight would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

glover

They are both beautiful cities - but why not go to Guanajuato and make SMA a day trip as you mentioned. Guanajuato is a university town - so more likely to have lots of people your age and more night life - assuming you'll be there when university is in session - rather than over any kind of Semana Santa break .. .

You could get to Oaxaca in 6 hours by bus.

Fra_Diavolo

Agree with glover.

Last week I received an email from a friend who lives in Mexico. He had to visit San Miguel on business:

"I HATE San Miguel, there are more gringos than mexicans, and they're all old, stumbling around the plaza with their canes and cameras . . . "

Lest he accused of ageism, I should mention he's at retirement age himself!

suze

I have never been to either but know that San Miguel has a huge expat retirement community going on there these days. So if you found Puerto Vallarta (which I do know very well) "super-touristy" I think Guanajuato might be the better pick here?

keithpence

Ah great! Thanks for the information everyone. We found a great little airbnb right in Guanajuato for $52 a night, which seems to be much cheaper than places in SMA. I think we will do the day trip to SMA and spend the 4 nights in Guanajuato ... thanks again for the help!

Stewbear

SM is indeed lovely but at times it does feel like Gringoland.
Guanajuato is also lovely with a vibrancy seldom felt any where in the World with it's large university filled with energetic youngsters. Although I am now well into my 70's I always feel welcome here. I am currently ending up a 2 plus months trip which is my 4th in 5 years. I plan on returning next year.
So lots of activity for you younger folks especially on the weekends. Be sure to check out the roof top disco bar on the 1850 hotel on the Jardin (Main plaza) with booming music & great views.
Lots of cultral events weekly also such as concerts, opera, ballet etc.

baldone

There is an interesting phenomena that's taken place in the last couple of years in San Miguel. While there are still plenty of gringos to go around, Mexican tourists far, far outnumber foreigners. On weekends the place is pretty much full of chilangos, primarily young 30-ish singles and families. The 2 main expat hangouts in centro are Hank's and Berlin, but every place else the denizens are from Mexico City. But yeah, during the day, you'll see the old farts warming their bones in the sunshine in the jardin, so you do get the impression that it's overrun with gringos if you only go during the daytime. But for nightlife, that's actually not the reality.
But I think what's happening around central Mexico is that the traditional getaways for chilangos like Cuernavaca and Acapulco have become too dangerous, and so places like San Miguel, Guanajuato, Queretaro, etc., are now taking their place. Last year for example, Guanajuato city had 54,000 tourists in January, and San Miguel only half that. So there is a culture shift going on, I think. Even farther away places like Patzcuaro I think are seeing an impact. I was there over the weekend and there were a number of large tourist buses from Mexico City. I've not seen that before. Even most new construction here is almost exclusively targeted to people from Mexico City, Celaya, Monterrey, Leon, etc.
But if this your first visit to colonial Mexico, I think you're in for a treat. Have a great trip.

Stewbear

You keep preaching that my dear Bald amigo But the fact is a very small proportion of GTO tourists are gringos. As a guy who spends months at a time here I can attest less than one in 20 or perhaps 25 tourists are US/Canadian.
So please do not keep repeating this same misrepresentation of who is here.
With less then 600 permanent gringo residents (according to our honorary US Consular) & a total population around 125,000 or so (who knows for sure?) it is still a far more Mexican citizens place than SM.

baldone

Stew, I think if you'd re-read my post, you'd see by the context that I'm not implying (nor have i ever) that Gto's tourism increase is primarily from gringos. That's your take. I'll post the Spanish link later. But the increase of tourism (in Gto) is real. It's no longer "undiscovered" nor has it been for years. To repeat, I just have a sense that DF'ers are looking for and finding new places to holiday, rather than the traditional, likely because of violence and crime. 21 million people gotta go somewhere to have fun. I see it everywhere I go, places where I either didn't see it before or paid much attention to in the past. But I think it's very much a real trend. If you're only a part-timer, you probably don't see it or choose not to.
My point was a couple things. San Miguel can be 2 different places. By day, it can appear to be a gringo graveyard. By night, particularly on the weekends/holidays it's far from that, which was what the OP was looking for. It's recently become a retreat as well for French and Japanese expats (because of work) from Queretaro, Celaya, Irapuato and surrounds. And if someone's never been here or only spent just a day trip, or are simply regurgitating what others have said, then you are likely, in all due respect, ignorant (likely by choice) of San Miguel.
Anyway, here's the link to which I referred, in my original post, Fwiw, in Spanish: http://periodicocorreo.com.mx/tiene-...as-visitantes/

Fra_Diavolo

Beaches? Must be some sort of obscure joke.

baldone

There are beaches around the Presa Allende, but for laying around you must compete with dead fish and 2 liter plastic bottles. Plus a diaper or 2.

Daniel_Williams

My experience in San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato echo what Baldone writes, having visited both from Queretaro this past summer. I heard English more in San Miguel than in Queretaro, however, it seemed that in the locales I visited that Mexican tourists quite outnumbered the Gringos. I spoke to a number of chilangos in San Miguel. Guanajuato seemed much more mobbed with tourists (most of whom seemed to be Mexican, but I also heard more French and German than in Queretaro or San Miguel) than San Miguel or Queretaro; not surprising given how gorgeous the city is. Possibly the telenovela "caminos de Guanajuato" has added to the romance of the mountain city?

ekscrunchy

I just returned from 8 days in SMA, followed by a week in Michoacan. In SMA we stayed in a gorgeous Colonial house a block or so from the main plaza.

While we did see many Americans and Canadians, mostly seniors, I agree that most of the tourists seemed to be nationals.

We went to eating places just outside the center (highly recommend Carnitas Hermanos Bautista, just off the road to Celaya--better carnitas than in Quiroga) and there were no foreigners to be found. There is plenty of "real" Mexican life to be found in SMA....I was happily surprised. Beautiful city.

baldone

If I'm not mistaken, Hermanos Bautista also have their main place on Moras just off of 5 De Mayo, and they put up their tent on Salida a Celaya on the weekends. Not posting so much for you, eks, since you've left, but for anyone else that might go looking.

ekscrunchy

The location we went to seemed to be in their garage, a few blocks off Ancha de San Antonio, which I thought was the road to Celaya. That must be the one on Moras. I liked it a lot! I imagine one could live in SMA in a residential neighborhood like that one and never hear much English spoken. There certainly were no foreigners anyplace around there on the day when we went. Except us, of course!

I bet SMA would be a good place to spend a few months..taking trips around the area by bus.

baldone

OK, yes, you were at their regular/main place. They set up a tent on Salida a Celaya on weekends and raise their prices. And the streets can be confusing. Ancha de San Antonio is the 2 lane,(and not very ancho) and changes to Salida a Celaya as it becomes 4 lanes.
And indeed because of SMA's central location, it does make for easy day/weekend trips.