Your recommendation for the essential 6 day mexican itinerary...please.
 

We fly into LAX january 2006 and want to spend 6 days in Mexico. We come from Australia so beaches are not a priority, so a bit of history, some culture and local colour is what we are after. We are a family with three teenagers, experienced European travellers, first time to the americas. Please feel free to give suggestions.

What will be your mode of transportation to / in Mexico?

http://www.differentworld.com/mexico...s/entrance.htm

This just might cover everything you are looking for.

Flying directly out of LAX? I assume you will fly as 6 days wouldn't be enough time to drive anywhere in Mexico excepting possibly the Baja peninsula.

You could go into Mexico City and make a loop of some of the colonial cities?

Or down to Oaxaca and make a loop from there?

I would agree with suze: Mexico City and some the "colonial" cities (San Miguel de Allende, San Luis Potosi, Queretaro, Guanajuato, Guadalajara, Puebla, Morelia, or Zacatecas).
M

I know its a short period so we are looking at it as a btaster for a more in depth visit in the future. I am guessing that will fly from LAX, how would it be if we based three days in Mexico and did day trips and then three days somewhere close to some Mayan ruins ? At this point in timw we have booked NOTHING ! so we are very open to suggestions.

For this short a trip I might consider just going to Oaxaca City. You will get ruins, a Colonial City, Mexican culture, Mexican indigenous culture, museums, markets, crafts, etc. all through the Oaxaca Valley.

I'll agre with Dude. It's the 6 day limitation that brought Oaxaca to mind. It will give you that taste you are looking for, but be easier logistically (IMO) than trying to deal with Mexico City and surrounding cities. That loop mikemo layed out would be perfect, but in your short time frame I worry you would be seeing busses and bus stations more than sites, local color, and culture.

Thank you....anyone else with thoughts.

I think it is because you only have 6 days to travel, and that you said beaches are not a priority, but history and culture are... that the two travel loops suggested are the most popular routes.

Other ideas, anyone?

Marko: a fellow fodorite recently created a captivating e-scrapbook upon her return from Oaxaca: www.rgb3d.com/Oaxaca. If you haven't pulled it up already, I would definitely suggest investigating it. In fact, it was so inspiring, that despite our upcoming trip to Puebla later this month, we are now making an attempt to see if we can squeeze Oaxaca into the month of June! Websited is loaded with helpful info, including vibrant pictures, related links, and some video clips. Give it a whirl---it totally sold me! (Continental flies directly into Oaxaca City / OAX).

Are you the Marko who went to Turkey last year? We're going in September, and if so, I've seen some of your posts.

We've been to Mexico many times. I think Oaxaca would be a terrific choice for you - there's so much to see and do there. It's a short flight from Mexico City, and the city is fascinating. You could easily spend all your time there. The markets are terrific and there are some interesting ruins nearby (Monte Alban, Mitla, etc.) As a bonus, the food is wonderful as well!

The other alternative is starting in Mexico City and going to the colonial cities. That's also a wonderful suggestion, but I think with just 6 days, I would be more inclined to go to Oaxaca, and stay there. I'm assuming that you'll have had a long flight from Australia and that you're spending some time in LA (or nearby). But if it were me, I'd probably want to minimize my time actually travelling from point A to point B.

I think you'll enjoy Mexico. North America comprises Canada, the US and Mexico - believe me, Mexico is truly unique! I love it.

Hi Susan, yep the one and the same !! I still enthuse about Turkey, we were heading home about this time last year. Once again Fodors gives great help. Oaxaca does sound interesting and I will bookmark the site mentioned.

Talavera, sorry but that link doesn't work ! Bugger !!!!!!

I agree with the Oaxaca suggestions. Given your 6-day limit, Oaxaca would probably be the best destination. I recently spent a week there, and was busy everyday. Oaxact is a great introduction to Mexico.

But if you cannot visit Oaxaca, this is another alternative: Spend the entire 6 days based out of Mexico City. The Mexico City area has a huge number of things to see. Maybe include a day trip to Cuernavaca or other nearby town. The only downside to Mexico City is exhaustion: It is huge, very crowded, and can be very tiring (although also fascinating to walk around in. Be prepared for some culture shock. Also, in January Mexico City gets very bad pollution.

marko: make sure that you are typing in the www part---I did it without, at first, and it didn't come up.

Talavera, got it !! A great site which has whetted the apetite for Oaxaca ! How would it be if we flew into Mexico city, spent a full day and night there and then flew to Oaxaca?

If you are looking to save money- it is not bad at all to bus from Mexico City to Oaxaca and quite senic. Or as I am going to do in June, take a direct bus to Puebla from the airport, enjoy a day or two there then 4 hours more by bus to Oaxaca.

We can fly straight into Oaxaca from LAX as part of the flight from Australia, I am just thinking that it might be easier on us to do that and take our time in and around Oaxaca, staying at the one place and doing the day trip thing ! Do you think we can get a small but definative "taste" of Mexico by staying in one place. And is it a bad thing to miss Mexico City ? what last thing sorry to be an antipodean dummy but what is " DF" ?

I don't think it's a bad idea to miss Mexico City the first time around. I probably went to Mexico 7 or 8 times before I saw Mexico City. Oaxaca is a wonderful destination, and even though Mexico is a huge country, you can definitely get a good taste of it there. With 6 days, I wouldn't want to split my time, especially after a long flight from Australia.

DF stands for Distrito Federal, which is the "other" name for Mexico City.