Mexico for $500?
 

Planning trip for early December, thinking of going to Mexico, as I have never been there before. I would prefer to visit more of the ruins and more sites devoted to the culture and history of the peoples.

Now, what would be best? Drive from SF to mexico? take a plane?

What spot in Mexico is best for a 4 day trip? What would be best from an anthropoloy view point?

Can all of this be done for under $500 bucks and with limited spanish speaking ability?

You're kidding about driving, right?

Also, I think you're going to need a little bit more than 500.

Four days is very doable for not a whole lot of money. Fly to Mexico City. The round trip flight should cost between 400 and 500. Stay at the Maria Cristina or someplace near the Zocalo for less than 100 per night. Food is excellent and fairly inexpensive.

Go to the Anthropology Museum one day. On another day, take the subway and then the bus to Teotihuacan, one of Mexico's most impressive archeological sites. Mexico City is really fascinating.

Enjoy!

We are looking at airfare from Reno to Cabo, and airfare alone is almost $400. I think you need to alot more money to this trip.

I figured that it would be possible to drive to Mexico because I know that from San Diego, it is not that far of a drive.

I will have to further research this I can see as I am totally confused about the location I actually want to visit. :(

I too would recommend Mexico City, but your budget might have to be increased to cover air fare. Early December is a great time to visit Mexico--festive in anticipation of Christmas, weather nice though it may be a little chilly.

Air fare could be 400-500, though we fairly often see a 200 dollar netsaver fare on aa.com from Chicago. Priceline is also an option for Mexico City: $70 to $80 gets you a 4-star hotel like the Maria Isabella Sheraton or JW Marriott. Maria Christina is a popular choice with budget travelers, and has a nice colonial atmosphere in a good location.

Museums, restaurants, colonial architecture, broad boulevards (kind of like Paris but with palm trees) can all be yours in this city, which is the very heart of Mexico.

Most guide books do not recommend driving to Mexico in your own car.

I think if you drive down and there is a leinholder on your vehicle you need a letter from the leinholder stating it is ok to take the car into MX. If you have title you need to have that with you. If you've never been before I would not drive down.

You can easily drive to Mexico, but then will have hundreds of miles from the baja to Mexican Heartland which it seems is the kind of area you are looking for. You are going to need more money and you are going to need to, I think, fly. As far as expenses, I just kept track in Oaxaca last month, an inexpensive hotel and meals, a few beers, local transportation, and tuition to a langauge school cost me about $60.00 u.s. a day. I have done it much cheaper, but that is being really frugal, and going to and staying places where Spanish was pretty much a necessity. I would go buy a couple of guidebooks, get a lot more information and you can figure out a nice trip.

4 days is not sufficient time to drive into Mexico from California and get to places with significant ruins and cultural sites. You could get across the border, certain not to Mexico City and back.

I think you need to wait until you have both more time and more money. Certainly you could fly into DF for 4 days and see some things, but you definitely need more money than $500 for a round-trip plane ticket and 4 days expenses, even traveling on the cheap.

From San Diego you can certainly drive across the border into Tijuana, but that is hardly what you describe wanting to see & do!! And even that would take 1 day down and 1 day back from San Francisco.

From San Diego, you might want to check www.volaris.com.mx from Tijuana.
They also have a shuttle for US$15. from the train station in San Diego to TIJ (airport).

From El Fuerto Mexico (by Copper Canyon) to the California Border is a 9 hour drive-- a long, long boring drive and that is not anywhere close to Mexico City (we just did it in June). I heard the Apple vacations are now operating in California, at least San Franciso. These vacations deals are 4 day trips at good prices including air fare, but probably only to the ocean resorts. If you could get one to Cancun, you could get to Tulum and Coba archeological pretty easily and these sites are very interesting.

hi, mexico city would be an option, or cancun, to fly to, then if mexico city do day trips from there to teotihuacan, also possible are Tula, xochicalco, tepotzlan, malinalco (one of my favourites, good site and not many tourists and lovely place ). All about 1-2 hrs from mexico city.
As for cancun, coulkd fly there then stay at playa del carmen and visit Tulum as mentioned by other person, and coba, very undiscovered and unspoilt, and chichen itza, large and very impressive. Have fun.

If you are a woman, then you'd be seriously crazy to drive.

The cheapest flight showing on Expedia San Fran to DF right now is $491. I'm not sure with the cost of gas and insurance driving would be much cheaper. And is definitely is a longer drive than you could even do in 4 days.

You could conceivably make it from San Francisco to the northern part of the Baja peninsula, but I'm not aware of anything 'anthropological' to see there.