jabergal

My husband and I have the opportunity to visit San Miguel de Allende in September. I believe the Running of the Bulls is September 24 this year (2006, and that's when we've been invited to go. Is this a good time or are the crowds way too much. Any comments? Thanks.

mikemo

Your dates are correct: recently it's a bit less insane than previous years as the authorities have curbed open containers, but still best seen on TV or from an adjacent rooftop patio.
September is a nearly nonstop fiesta and the weather is great with some daily showers, so bring an umbrella.
Typically, the Sanmiguelada Saturday PM bullfights have the "best" matadors and bulls of the year.
If you're not staying in your friends' house, be sure to make reservations soon/now.
M

jabergal

Thanks, Mikemo, for the reply. We're rethinking the timing on our visit to SMA and are now opting for a Cotswolds hike.

kwil

Frankly, for me, it would be my last choice of times to visit San Miguel. Especially if it is a first visit. It will certainly give you a different impression than the relatively low-key norm of the town. The town it packed with people and it is generally a younger, rowdier crowd than normal.

I love being in San Miguel for the other festivals in September but my personal advice would be to schedule an initial visit at a different time. You end up having to deal with things that are out of the ordinary for SMA, such as huge crowds, no available reservations, etc.

Unless you have an interest in seeing the Running of the Bulls, I would say, plan for another time, but definitely go!

mikemo

kwil,
Huh?

kwil

I'm not sure what was confusing to you about my post but I will try and be more clear. The OP stated that they have the opportunity to visit San Miguel during the Sanmiguelada weekend and asked if it was a good weekend to visit or if the crowds were too much. I didn't see that those topics had been addressed and was just trying to do so.

I assume it was asking for personal opinions so that is what I gave. There are 52 weekends in a year and, for me, that weekend would be the very last that I would choose to visit San Miguel.

Thousands of people descend on San Miguel for the weekend. In my experience, it brings a younger rowdier crowd to the town and, in my opinion, does not change the feel for the better. I find San Miguel to be a very peaceful, low-key town and it is anything but this during the weekend.

Then I stated that there are many other great festivals in September but, even though I enjoy them, if it were my first trip, I would choose a weekend without a festival to get the real vibe of San Miguel. My experience has been that September is one of the only times during the year that I have run into problems getting a dinner reservation, waiting in lines, and dealing with crowds.

In my next paragraph, I was expressing my opinion that, unless the OP truly has and interest in seeing the Running of the Bulls, my advice would be to schedule a visit at another time. By saying definitly go, I meant that San Miguel is a great place and is absolutely worth a visit.

Truly, I was just trying to give the OP my opinion on the questions asked. I'm not sure what your intent was with the response of "huh", but I took it as relatively condescending. If that was not your intention then I apologize and have hopefully clarified what ever point you found perplexing.