Hi, <BR>I have lived close to a beach almost all my life. I am very interested in exploring flora/ fauna, mountains, ancient civilizational remains, museums and the Mexican culture, in places with minimum influence of the US. <BR>I am planning a 10 day trip. ANy suggestions for an itinary? <BR>Thanks a lot,

You should land in Mexico City and go down south. Far enough from the beach and not so crowded with tourists. Teotihucan is one of the biggest temple and then there are other Mayan and Incan temples scattered in different places down to Guatemala. There are many different Indian villages, on is Huehuetla about 10 hours from Mexico City. Researchers are there, they work with the people, so can't consider them tourists. There is one hotel but you still have to walk for an hour to the Indian village. Mt Popo was unhikable, can errupt anytime they said, but it's a great view in Puebla. Besides some bugs we've never seen before mating, we didn't really see lots of fauna when we were there, since we were more into the ruins and relaxing. We did go to some museaums, when we visited the temples. We went as far as Oaxaca and Huehuetla, kinda like a big circle making our way back to Mexico City to catch the plane. 14 days, and it was short we thought.

I'd say go to the center. Most of the images of Colonial Mexico come from the central area. There you can visit places like Zacatecas, Guanajuato, San Miguel and Queretaro. Very far away from the beach, not very touristy, full of nice museums and architecture. <BR> <BR>Landscapes are not that dramatic, though.

Hi PG, I agree with Savitri. <BR>We are just back from three weeks in the central part of Mexico. Land in DF, rent a car and head out. <BR>We went north to Teotihuacan, and spent a day in those ruins. (Club Med Villas Arqueologica is a great place to stay, call Club-Med) <BR>We drove to Puebla next, (Camino Real Puebla is fantastic!) and drove north to some very old ruins at Cacaxtla and Xochitecatl, near Tlaxcala. The town of Cholula and its Piramide Tepanapa is only a 30 minute drive away from Puebla. Puebla itself is a beautiful place with lots of historical sights and wonderful museums. <BR>We then headed toward Cuernavaca. Fantastic ruins at Xochicalco, near Cuernavaca. Stay at Camino Real Sumiya for a treat.. Also some excellent museums and sightseeing in CV. Our final stop was in the silver mining capital, Taxco. It is a great place. Hotel Monte Taxco was also a nice place to stay. <BR>I hope that this helps. <BR>Hasta <BR> Earl <BR>

I spent a few months living in Guadalajara and if you're heading for the center you should make it a point to see the city. It's about four hours by bus to Guanajuato where I also spent a little time. I loved both places and am planning to head back myself, as I miss my second home.