Hi again, and thanks for all the help previously on here - we are allocating 3 weeks as above excluding 2 nights flight to and from Mexico ex UK: we have been to Mexico 3 times before as alluded to in this thread. So, I think we'll leave Puebla and Oaxaca and Yucatan out of the equation. Also have been to Querataro and Tlaxcala previously.
So, always happy to spend an extended time in Mexico City, and then was thinking of going to San Luis Potosi, Monterrey, Zacatecas, Morelia and Pátzcuaro looping back to Mexico City - we are relatively slow travelllers liking to stay in decent hotels and wine and dine as well as fitting in the sites, we would travel by bus. We're also not looking for a beach/seaside holiday.

Is this too ambitious a plan for 3 weeks by public transport? Any safety concerns in these areas that we should be aware of?
I would appreciate any advice and comments. Thanks in advance

That does seem like a lot of different locations for three weeks. We were in Mexico over the xmas period a few years ago. Of the places you mention , we visited Zacatecas, Morelia and Patzcuarao and loved all of them. They were probably our three favourite places over teh 2-3 months we spent traveling around the country. Sadly , I think Zacatecas is now a bit of a no go area because of cartel activity so do check. If OK it would most definitely be on my list for a return visit, It is a stunning town, the silver mines are excellent and the student celebrate by parading the streets , dancing and singing alongside a donkey carrying a barrel of Tequila - great fun to join in if you stumble across it (not that you get any choice!). We were in Patzcuarao and Morelia in the run up to Xmas. Both were great places to enjoy the celebrations as well as having a lot to do and see. Sadly we left on xmas eve for Guadalajara which was a huge mistake! Morelia is a bit buzzier than Patzcuarao but both would be great to spend xmas.

As for wining and dining, nowhere beats Mexico City and I would be (and have been) happy to spend an extended period there. Haven't been to San Luis Potosi or Monterrey, but another place which I would recommend and fits in well with the other places is Guanajuato. As I am sure you are aware, the bus system is excellent and a great way to get around.

Yes I think 5 cities/towns and Mexico City 2x is too much for 3 weeks. Especially for someone who is traveling by bus and says they like to be "slow travelers".

I have no experience with your proposed route (as I do prefer seaside locations) so this is only a general comment.

Your own Foreign & Commonwealth Office advises against "all but essential travel" to the states of Zacatecas (Zacatecas city) and Michoacán (Morelia). The US State Dept. has similar advice, and says that both cities should be approached by air only.

Do with that what you will.

So, besides Mexico City, which we have been to 3 times before, we only have we only have San Luis Potosi and Monterrey left.

Checking the foreign office travel advice , below is what they say about Morelia and Patzcuaro. Does anyone know if the Ado (?) buses travel in these prescribed ways?

"State of Michoacán

FCDO advises against all but essential travel to the state of Michoacán, except the:

• city of Morelia accessed by federal toll roads 15D, 126 and 43; and the federal toll road 48D between the city of Morelia and the General Francisco Mujica airport
• town of Pátzcuaro accessed by federal toll roads 14D and 15 from Morelia, and boat trips out to islands on Lake Pátzcuaro
• Federal Highway 15D"

Not sure that ADO run those routes , at least not from Mexico City. We used ETN. I did look at a return to those to cities on our trip last year and I recall reading that warning and checking the route being taken by ETN and it did follow the 15D/126 etc. If concerned, maybe email them direct to confirm. We used local buses to get to Patzcuaro, but again they used the toll roads 14D &15.

In the end we decided against Patzcuaro as it was booked solid (we were travelling over the Dia del Muertos period) and that seems to be the epicentre of the celebrations . A decision I regret as we really weren't very impressed by the Yucatan where we did end up.

Some comments. And fwiw, I've been to all those cities on your proposed itinerary more than once.
I would not be too concerned about the travel advisories. I'm of the mind that if those routes were so risky, then the bus companies wouldn't travel them several times a day, week after week. It would be extremely rare for a 1st class bus to be targeted by thieves.
Speaking of bus companies, in the central part of the country, besides ETN, there's also Primera Plus. In the north, ODM is a good option.
Of all the cities on your itinerary, you might consider eliminating Monterrey, primarily because of the distance, not because it's not an interesting city; I like it a lot. It doesn't have the colonial ambiance of the other cities, (except for the small Barrio Antiguo) but does have some good museums and the scenery is pretty impressive. Instead, maybe consider adding a night in either León or Aguascalientes on your way from Morelia to Zacatecas. While in Patzcuaro, maybe consider a day trip to Uruapan to visit the national park and have a nice trout dinner/lunch.

Thanks all, I am going to take my insurance into account because I'm getting on. So I am thinking of taking in Mexico City, San Luis Potose and Aguascalientes and Leon - do you think this is an okay trip for 3 weeks in Mexico?

You can certainly do that itinerary in an easy 3 weeks. While you may have already had Leon & Aguascalientes on your 'bucket list', I mostly suggest those cities as stops between Morelia & Zacatecas. It now seems you might be eliminating Zacatecas? Zacatecas, imo, is the most beautiful of all of Mexico's colonial silver cites. If you can still fit it in, I don't think you'd be disappointed. While I thought Aguascalientes was OK, I don't know that I personally would make another trip there. I guess what I'm saying is that If you were to choose between Aguascalientes & Zacatecas, the latter wins hands down. I like Leon better than Aguascalientes, because it's more lively at night (in Centro) plus for the leather shopping. I did a trip report a few years ago. I
San Luis Potosi' historic center is beautiful, but usually stay a few blocks out of Centro nearer Jardin Tequisquiapan where better restaurants are. But there are some nice gastropubs in Centro along the Plaza de Aranzazú.

thanks bald0ne, this is something one said to me on Reddit
"Zacatecas is NOT a place i would reccomend people visiting, as it is a hot zone for narco violence. See, not all Mexico is like Oaxaca and YUcatan, some states are really dangerous right now, so please do inform you well and avoid taking risks, i repeat, Zacatecas is no joke"
I can't find your trip report on Leon, do you think you could send it to me please?

So now I think we shall add in San Miguel del Allende into the mix so it will be probably a good week in Mexico City, then San Miguel del Allende and then San Luis Potosi etc.
Thoughts?

Final question, as I want to book my flights asap before they get too expensive: should we fly into and out of Mexico City back to the UK or given that we are planning to move quite a bit around the country, does it make sense to fly back from another part of the country? I assume it would be cheaper to have a return flight from CDMX but it does mean travelling from our furthest north destination back to CDMX to fly back to the UK

This was my trip report for León. It was under an older handle (baldone) that Fodor's couldn't figure out how to make work so I created a new handle. And the link to the pics no longer is valid so I'll put a couple here.
Leon, GTO Mini-Report

If you've not been to Guanajuato, it too is an attractive colonial silver city, though not as nice as Zacatecas. And if you could get a return flight out of BJX, that airport is close to both Guanajuato & León.
San miguel is pretty much the same distance to BJX & QRO airports. Here's a link I made for some day trips from SMA.
San Miguel De Allende day trips

Your plan looks manageable for 3 weeks by bus. Mexico City is always good for extra days with its museums and neighborhoods, and San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, Morelia, and Pátzcuaro are all worth visiting for their history and food. Monterrey is bigger and more modern but has some nice nature areas close by. These places are generally safe if you use the main bus companies, avoid late-night trips, and stay in central areas. Overall, it’s a good route and not too rushed.

I don't see how traveling to 8 places (adding SMdA) in 3 weeks only by bus would not be "rushed". If you subtract the part of each day you are on a bus between these different places, and spend a week in Mexico City, that means you are trying to cover 6 cities in only two weeks, with bus rides in between each one.

Having zero experience with this kind of trip, I'm only chiming in as a trip planner. If you put this on a spreadsheet by days you'll see what I'm getting at. siempre, suze

I agree but I struggle to see where anyone, including the OP, is suggesting travelling to eight places.

I have planned and taken many such multi-destination trips, including a couple in Mexico. As you are aware from your previous travels in Mexico Patricia, the travel infrastructure in Mexico is very efficient which make multi-destination travel, especially by bus very efficient. Our trips used to be for months rather than weeks but for the last few years are trips are <1 month. I have a rule of thumb not to spend less than 3 nights in any one location. This allows for two full days of enjoying a place. We leave for a 16 night trip to Guatemala early next year and our itinerary is 3-5-1-7nts with the one night stop being an en-route visit to a Sunday market and on to the next place. The longer stay at the end is something we just like to do on every trip to relax in one place to get over the travel, packing and unpacking and enjoy the food etc. CDMX would seen ideal in that respect.

As for other deataintions, given the detail of the UK FCO travel advisory, I would have no issues with travelling to Morelia and Patzcuaro and , given we spent teh week before xmas a few years ago in those towns, either would be an excellent place to spend xmas (arguably Morelia been the bigger town). Zacatecas, it is probably my favourite town in the country and would also be a contender where it not for the current advisories. The military /cartel activity was high when we first visited 5-6 years ago and when considering a return last year (I REALLY wanted to go back) I checked and it seemed to be a no go area and would not be covered by our travel insurance. Even then I may have risked it (having travelled in far more dangerous places) had it not been for the comments of someone I know on TA who lives there and just said DON'T.

Further to previous comms re our holiday in Mexico over Xmas, we are now looking at recommendations for hotels in the following order (for CDMX we are strongly looking at Stanza (but happy to have help with other recommendations as we have some reservations (no fridge, preference for brand hotels etc))).
I look forward to any recommendations.
1) Mexico City
2) San Miguel de Allende
3) San Luis Potosi
4) Aguascalientes
5) Leon
6) Guanajuato
7) Mexico City

Also, should we book bus travel soon or on departure for next destination.
Thanks in advance.

Sadly, and after so much helpful advice, we are giving up on travelling north in Mexico, in light of extortionate hotel prices, GBP 250 per night or more. I guess we left planning Mexico too late but are locked in as we have booked our flights, also costly!

So, we are thinking of going south ex CDMX to Tlaxcala, Puebla, Oaxaca by bus and then flying back from Oaxaca to CDMX to catch our plane back, I assume it is still safe (despite severed heads!!)?

"Sadly, and after so much helpful advice, we are giving up on travelling north in Mexico, in light of extortionate hotel prices, GBP 250 per night or more. I guess we left planning Mexico too late but are locked in as we have booked our flights, also costly!"
Wow! I find that somewhat hard to believe. If I'm not mistaken, 250 GBP is like $340 USD? Where & which hotels had that rate? I did a quick search of some hotels I've stayed at or knew around the week of Xmas & new years. For example, in León, a suite at the Ramada Plaza was $128 usd. The Quality inn in Aguascalientes was $59 usd. In San Miguel, the Casa Calderóni bed & breakfast was $106 usd. City Centro in SLP, $75 on NYE. Of course, I of course wasn't able to punch in your exact dates, nor do I know what type of lodging you'd be looking for. All of those examples are 3-4 star in excellent locations.

I don't know what sort of place you are seeking but last time we stayed in Guanajuato, it was at Casa Zuniga which was very nice. Just looked on booking.com where it is rated 9.6 . Rate is £110 pn for 3rd week in December.

As for your alternative of Puebla/Oaxaca, we did that on our last trip. We got the bus direct from MEX on arrival and went straight to Puebla. 4 hours or so and very easy, same with the onward bus to Oaxaca. We were in Oaxaca just prior to Dia del Muertes and loved it but it was pretty manic. I imagine the same would be the case over the xmas period. Lots to do in and around both cities. Another option may be San Cristobal de los Casa (although the travel logistics may be a little more challenging)