Would you go to Mexico as a tourist today?

Quote: teddys

Believe it or not Cuernevaca was one of the places mentioned as a destination.

To get to Cuernavaca you fly to Mex City and either rent a car or take the bus there. There are buses at the airport (nice ones). The ride's about one hour. There's not much to do there, though. People who own weekened homes there tend to lie by the pool all day as far as I know.

Quote:

I will put forth Guanajuato/Guadalajara as well. I would like to go to Central Mexico. Northern Mexico is a little bit boring, to be honest.

You'd want to fly to Guadalajara. I've no idea how long the drive or bus trip is from there to Guanajuato. Another alternative is to fly to Mex City and take the bus to Guanajuato, which takes about 5 hours. There is an airport near León, but I'm not clear where you can fly there from.

Quote: teddys

Believe it or not Cuernevaca was one of the places mentioned as a destination. I will put forth Guanajuato/Guadalajara as well. I would like to go to Central Mexico. Northern Mexico is a little bit boring, to be honest.

Cuernevaca is surprisingly expensive. You are better off with the other two. But you don't have to make them both in one trip as they are about 200 miles apart.

Del Bajio airport has flights from

Aeroméxico Connect Chicago-O'Hare, Los Ángeles,
Continental Airlines Houston-Intercontinental, Los Angeles
American Eagle Dallas/Fort Worth
CanJet Seasonal: Montreal-Trudeau

From "Del Bajio Airport (BJX)" You can go to Guanajuato and San Miguel del Allende with side trips Dolores Hidalgo and Queretaro (see the movie Once Upon a Time in Mexico).

I would go to Guadalajara & Tequila with possible side trip to Puerto Vallarta area on a different trip.

Nope, not now.

Quote: pacomartin

From "Del Bajio Airport (BJX)" You can go to Guanajuato and San Miguel del Allende with side trips Dolores Hidalgo and Queretaro (see the movie Once Upon a Time in Mexico).

Bajío is the name of the region where Guanajuato is located. The airport is near Leon, past Guanajuato the city, but that's quite near to Guanajuato. There's a lto top see there. From there to Queretaro ought to be less than a couple of hours driving.

The number of flights may be due to the industry in the area. Leon is an industrial town, and a suburb of Guanajuato, Silao, hosts a very large GM assembly plant. I've driven past it a number of times.

Quote: teddys

Colombia and Guatemala were also brought up as possible destinations. I think Colombia would be a great place to visit, and would go in a heartbeat even though there is a State Department warning about it. Guatemala has a homicide rate on par with some of the worst places in the U.S., like New Orleans. But does that mean we shouldn't go there? How much should we live in fear?

I have visited Columbia as well, and there is a difference than in Mexico. Columbia is a lot more violent, and they do target Americans. I would think carefully about that trip. Why not go to Peru instead?

As a tourist, I wouldn't go anywhere you can't have a fair trial or say anything you want as a citizen/tourist without retribution (Not counting "hate speech" kinds of laws, because that would restrict me from Canada, UK, France). This is entirely from my own viewpoint though. For example: I'd have no problem going to somewhere like Israel where there's a constant terrorism threat, but you wouldn't catch me dead in Russia or Saudi Arabia. It is of my belief I could not get a fair trial in Mexico, whether that is true or not doesn't really matter if we're talking strictly about tourism.

Pretty much all of Western Europe, Canada, Japan/Korea and Oceania would be fine. I'll go to other parts of the world if required, but why would I want to spend my time in countries like that when there's already enough diversity from the ones I listed? I'm admittedly kind of a snob when it comes to these things, my question when a family member is watching House Hunters International is always "Why?". Again, I just don't see spending my time and money in China or any Arab country - maybe I'll feel differently when I am more traveled.

Quote: ahiromu

As a tourist, I wouldn't go anywhere you can't have a fair trial or say anything you want as a citizen/tourist without retribution.

The USA permits the citizens of 36 nations to enter America without a Visa for visits of 90 days or less. In turn, all of these countries permit citizens of the USA to visit them without a visa. There are additional countries that permit American visitors to enter without a visa (like Israel). Canada and Mexico are covered differently than the rest of the world, and are not on the list.

You are basically limiting yourself to these countries. In addition to most of them being expensive, you are missing a big part of the world.


Australia
New Zealand
Singapore
Brunei
Japan
South Korea

Europe
Andorra
Austria
Belgium
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco
the Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
San Marino
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom

Note that visitors from the following four countries in the European Union are still required to have a Visa to visit the USA
Romania
Bulgaria
Cyprus
Poland

Quote: ahiromu

As a tourist, I wouldn't go anywhere you can't have a fair trial

I have to ask: in any foreign trips you've taken, how many times have you stood trial?

Quote:

or say anything you want as a citizen/tourist without retribution

You can say whatever you want in Mexico, without drawing judicial notice from the authorities. Notice from somewhere else, though, is another matter.

Quote: Nareed

To get to Cuernavaca you fly to Mex City and either rent a car or take the bus there. There are buses at the airport (nice ones). The ride's about one hour. There's not much to do there, though. People who own weekened homes there tend to lie by the pool all day as far as I know.

You'd want to fly to Guadalajara. I've no idea how long the drive or bus trip is from there to Guanajuato. Another alternative is to fly to Mex City and take the bus to Guanajuato, which takes about 5 hours. There is an airport near León, but I'm not clear where you can fly there from.

I think the flying situation will be a big part of it. Last trip to fly into Los Mochis, my parents and brother had to take a Continental flight to Houston, and then an AeroMexico flight to Monterrey, Hermosillo, and finally Los Mochis, Sin. From what they told me it was hell (especially Monterrey Airport, where there was a lengthy delay). So I suspect any destination will have to be directly served from the U.S.

My sister and I took a pure AeroMexico routing ORD-MEX-Los Mochis, which was fine. The new part of Mex. City airport is very nice, so we didn't mind the connection.

Short bus rides would be fine, perhaps even preferred.

Quote: teddys

I think the flying situation will be a big part of it.

It used to be all flights went through Mex City. That's not the case today, but it's still the best hub for connecting flights. Also keep in mind Mex City has a big airport with lots of shops and restaurants, while the other cities, even big ones like Monterrey, have smaller airports. Before passing security in Monterrey's A terminal, there is little enough to keep you occupied.

Quote:

Short bus rides would be fine, perhaps even preferred.

Ok. From Mex City to Queretaro you'd do about 2-3 hours by bus. I don't know if any depart from the airport, though. If you're going to Guanajauto, however, you'd be better off landing at the Bajio airport, which should be a 1.5 hour bus ride, if that, from Guanajuato. I can look up bus lines, but I think ETN goes there. I very much recommend it. The buses are positively luxurious.

Mex City to Guanajuato is about 350 kilometers, which I've been able to cover in under 4 hours by car. The bus should take 4.5 hours at elast, more likely 5, and no buses to Guanajuato depart from the Mex City airport. You'd have to take a cab to the North bus terminal first, braving city traffic all the way.