Mexico Road Trip
Mexico | Dec 21 - Jan 5, 2023

J
Joe K.
Sunnyvale, CA | Reviewed on Jan 07, 2023

This was a great trip filled with very positive and unforgettable experiences. Everything worked out as planned. The itinerary we had was excellent and the gastronomic, geographic, archaeological, and artisanal tours were excellent. The hotels were great with a couple of exceptions. They were all centrally located and we could easily move about on our own and explore the places not included in the formal itinerary. All the guides were knowledgeable and spoke english as promised. The drivers that took us on our city tours and long distances from city to city were friendly and drove with great care. All the guides and drivers were very punctual and we could complete all the activities in the time that was planned.

Ximena out travel coordinator was outstanding! She checked in with us every day to ask how the day went and also to inform us about the next day's plan. The couple of times we had an issue with hotels, she was very quick to get them resolved.

Hotel Reviews
Histórico Central Mexico City
Mexico City

Very centrally located with extremely friendly and helpful staff. The breakfast that was included had a lot of choices, and the free food all day long was amazing.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Casona de los Sapos Hotel Boutique
Puebla

Very centrally located. The staff were very accommodating even though it was Christmas eve.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Hotel Boutique Casa Garay
Oaxaca

The hotel is very centrally located and that was the only positive aspect about it. The room was windowless and had very poor ventilation. Unfortunately, to improve ventilation we could not leave the door ajar since it opened directly into the dining area. The room was not serviced well and one morning the water ran out in the bathroom and it took a lot of time to restore. The air conditioning unit was very noisy, but we had no choice to use it since the room had no air circulation. The hotel was understaffed and the couple of employee there were doing multiple tasks and as a result everything took time. We had breakfast at the hotel the first morning, but it was such a bad experience that we decided to eat elsewhere the next day. We were also very frustrated with the wifi which was very very slow and at times we could not even connect to it.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Please refer to my detailed review.
Hotel Parador Margarita
San Cristobal de las Casas

Nice hotel. very centrally located. Large rooms. The only issue was that the rooms did not have any heating, but fortunately we could get spot heaters from the hotel. The breakfast was wonderful and the staff were very friendly and helpful.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
The heating could be improved.
Piedra de Agua Hotel Boutique Palenque
Palenque

It is a nice hotel, but it is far from the town center. Also, there are no shops anywhere within walking distance. Continental breakfast was served at the hotel, but besides that the hotel did not have a restaurant and since we did not have a car, the only option was a restaurant that was 75 meters away. We had to eat all our meals at that single restaurant, The room was a bit small and it was strange that the light for the bathroom also switched on a light that was in the bedroom. That did not work out well at night when my wife or I had to use the toilet.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Please see my detailed review.
Hotel Plaza Campeche
Campeche

Nice hotel, very centrally located.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Nice large room and everything worked.
Hacienda Mérida
Mérida

This is nice hotel, but we had a bad experience. We were assigned a room with clearly had an issue with the plumbing. The water pressure was extremely low and therefore we informed the front desk who sent someone to attend to it. After sometime they reported they had fixed the problem, but the situation was still the same. It is hard to accept that the hotel was not aware that this room had a plumbing issue, but still decided to assign the room to a guest.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
I have mentioned about the issue with the plumbing in my review.
Activity Reviews
Tour of historic Mexico City with street food tasting
Tour of historic Mexico City with street food tasting
Mexico City

This is a good introduction to Mexico City's historic center and street food. The tour is a bit early in the day to truly enjoy the street food especially after a hearty breakfast.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Knowledgeable, friendly and could speak English.
Transport
This was a walking tour and so there was no transport.
Be amazed by the pre-hispanic beauty of the chinampas in Xochimilco
Be amazed by the pre-hispanic beauty of the chinampas in Xochimilco
Mexico City

This is a very unique tour. We enjoyed the serene and quite environment and the demonstration of how farming is carried out on the small islands on the canals.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
 Explore Coyoacán
Explore Coyoacán
Mexico City

Very nice neighborhood of Mexico City with its colonial ear houses, markets, and food courts. The zocalo and church are very picturesque.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Explore the archaeological site of Teotihuacan
Explore the archaeological site of Teotihuacan
Mexico City

Must visit archeological site.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Free Afternoon in Puebla
Free Afternoon in Puebla
Mexico

Very charming city with a nice zocalo and cathedral.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Oaxacan Markets: A Culinary Journey through Colors and Flavors
Oaxacan Markets: A Culinary Journey through Colors and Flavors
Oaxaca

This is a fun tour, but to do justice you have to start on an empty stomach since there are many stops for food.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Explore the history and crafts of Oaxaca through Monte Alban, Arrazola, Cuilapam and Coyotepec.
Explore the history and crafts of Oaxaca through Monte Alban, Arrazola, Cuilapam and Coyotepec.
Oaxaca

All wonderful sites and places on this very enjoyable tour.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Excursion to the Sumidero Canyon & Chiapa de Corzo
Excursion to the Sumidero Canyon & Chiapa de Corzo
Mexico

The Sumidero Canyon is amazing!

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Cultural Immersion: Cooking in Zinacantan
Cultural Immersion: Cooking in Zinacantan
San Cristobal de las Casas

This was a very very unique tour. The visit to Chamula and especially to the church there was a truly one-of-a-kind experience. The visit to Zinacantan was also special, with an exposure to the milpa form of farming and being invited to the house of a local artisan to see how they create their wears and to share a meal with them.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
The beautiful waterfalls of Misol-ha & Agua Azul - Night in Palenque.
The beautiful waterfalls of Misol-ha & Agua Azul - Night in Palenque.
Mexico

Agua Azul is beautiful, but Misol-ha is special.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Discover the Palenque Archeological Site
Discover the Palenque Archeological Site
Palenque

A must visit archeological site of the Mayas.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Uxmal, a city with Puuc style
Uxmal, a city with Puuc style
Mexico

A must see archaeological site of the Mayas. It is laid out much better than Palanque, the first Mayan archaeological site we visited.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Jícara Engraving Workshop & lunch in a Mayan Community
Jícara Engraving Workshop & lunch in a Mayan Community
Mexico

A very unique experience. We loved the hands-on workshop on how to polish and engrave a jicara shell.

Quality of Experience
Food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Explore Chichén Itzá: A Wonder of the Mayan World
Explore Chichén Itzá: A Wonder of the Mayan World
Chichén Itzá

Unfortunately, we could not visit Chichen Itza since the site was closed due to local protests. However we did visit Izamal which was nice.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Local specialist: Leslie Pérez