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My husband and I would like to spend some airline miles this summer. He is going to be working as a Spanish Teacher next year and would like to utilize his skills while on vacation. We would like to go to a Spanish - speaking country for two to three weeks at the end of June-beginning of July. We like to hike and backpack, and spend time on rocky beaches "exploring" (not sun bathing), but we also don't mind visiting cool architectural sites and cultural centers. We are not shoppers or "tourist-trap" lovers. We would like to do this on the cheap. We are not 5 star hotel type people and we like to utilize local public transportation.
Where should we go? Any suggestions?
What are the most affordable Spanish-speaking countries to visit?
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Mexico seems an excellent choice. It is huge and diverse and offers everything you mention, including reasonable prices, bus transportation, architecture, culture, rocky beaches, cheap hotels.
A few options for itineraries might include: Into Mexico City and do a loop of some of the colonial cities. You could fly into Cancun and head south down the coast to Tulum. You could fly into Puerto Vallarta and head either north or south on the west coast &/or include Guadalajara (5 hrs by bus from PV).
If you choose Mexico in the June/July time frame, I would suggest you avoid the beach areas. It gets really hot and muggy in the lowlands. Our mantra is "Never go below 5,000 feet in the Summer in Mexico!" We love the silver cities, and anything in the mountains. Fewer tourists up there, anyway.
Maimi, Florida! I'm not joking!
You can speak more Spanish to more people anywhere you go in the Miami, Miami Beach and surrounding towns. Even in the upscale shops at Bal Harbor, it seemed like almost every sales person was Spanish speaking and they are more than happy to chat away with you in Spanish.
We found Argentina and Chile very reasonable, especially the meals.