kc1

Hello all,

We have finally booked our flights for October 29th to November 10th, 2014, in and out of the Leon, Mexico airport.

After much thought, we have decided to visit Guanajuato (4 nights), Queretaro (3 nights), and San Miguel de Allende (5 nights).

Now I am finding it difficult to decide what order in which to visit these places, considering the logistics of getting around, and taking into account the Day of the Dead Festival. We will most likely hire a private driver to get from place to place, so we won't have to be concerned with bus schedules.

At this point, I am considering visiting Guanajuato first, and then heading to Queretaro, and then on to San Miguel.

Any and all advice and/or suggestions regarding our itinerary would be most appreciated.

I have dreamed about visiting this area for years, and am very excited that it is finally going to happen.

Thank you so much for your assistance!

kc

yestravel

I think your flight times might help determine your order. The three towns are sort of in a circle so you can start anywhere. If your flight home is in the am, you might want to end at Queretaro so you can easily get to Leon. OTOH if you arrive in late at night you might want to start in Queretaro.

Stewbear

As Guanajuato is nearer to BJX (Leon) then the other two not sure what yestravel means.
Also have you considered spending any time in Leon? I personally would spend a night there with one less in SM.Perhaps the last night spending the day at the leather markets and the unique plaza.

baldone

It sounds like the order of your itinerary is a good one, since if your last night(s) are in San Miguel instead of Queretaro for example, you'll probably have an easier time getting a shuttle to BJX. Bajiogo is a favorite. http://bajiogo.com/index.php

yestravel

As stated above Guanajuato is the closet to the airport in Leon. I recall it being ~1 hour. Queretaro is closer to 2 hours and SMdA is also ~ 2 hours. I prefer not to drive or be driven at night in Mexico if possible. My thinking is if I was arriving late in the night to Leon airport, I might want to go to the closest desitnation first (Guanajuato) to avoid driving at night and after a flight. Or the reverse might be the case. You have an early am flight home, so I would position myself at the town that is the closest to the Leon airport. Of course if you have a late arriving and an early am departure, it won't matter.

yestravel

That would be closest, not closet!

baldone

You have good reason to be excited about this trip. It's probably a very close second (maybe #1 because of the proximity of each city to the other?) to DF, Puebla, & Oaxaca as far as colonial destinations go.
While driving/traveling at night is generally not recommended, no worries transferring from BJX to Guanajuato. It is well-traveled, 4-lane/toll all the way, and more like 15-20 minutes after leaving the airport to the GTO toll caseta. San Miguel to BJX is more like 1 hour & 25 minutes. But I've driven it in an hour and 10.
Anyway, GTO should be your first stop, as local taxis won't know QRO. Otherwise, you've got to transfer via taxi to Leon, (15 minutes), then bus to QRO, then taxi from central to your hotel.
After GTO, bus to QRO.
QRO to San Miguel. Private shuttle from SMA to BJX.

kc1

Thank you so much to everyone for their replies and information and advice - very much appreciated!!
I will stick to my original plan of Guanajuato, Queretaro, and San Miguel, and will take a closer look at Leon for a night.
Thanks again!
kc

Stewbear

With around a 1,000 or more leather goods shops including shoes, belts, purses,coats, even saddles right next to the bus station Leon is one of my wifes favorite cities.

baldone

Concur with Stew. (is that a first? LOL) The leather district almost has a carnival atmosphere. For the best prices on shoes, avoid the Plaza de Zapatos. My wife loves the Lobo Solo stores. But our favorite shop is D'ame on 102 Taxco. A tiny shop with limited selection at times, but they sell what they make, whereas many other stores are resellers. We both bought pelibuey jackets, (a hair sheep, google it) my wife's was custom made for about $80 US. Beautiful leather. Like Stew mentioned, the Leon bus station is in the middle of the leather district. Figure on at least a couple of hours. Figure that you'll not hear much English, either.
BTW Stew, even if we disagree at times, I echo your passion for Mexico.