anabella

OH keeps saying that he fancies spending a week chilling by the beach in Mexico. This comes as a surprise as neither of us are beach people or go on the kind of holiday where you just "chill".. I think I could, however, endure a week of that.. We are not interested on packed tourist resorts and we would like to end up in some little place with a nice beach and preferably locals. Any suggestions? We'd probably be going at the end of this month..

Jerseygirl

Nice to see the avatar back Ana. Mmmm only been to Mexico once and I legged it straight back out of there.

anabella

Tell me where not to go to!!! I'm wondering if we've been to the same place.. some years ago I was in CA and decided it'd be fun to go to Mexico for the day, so ended up in Tijuana!! F***ing A!!

Manc

Cabo san lucas or whatever is called.

Kaffy Mintcake

I've heard good things about Puerto Vallarta. We went to Mazatlan for our honeymoon and I wouldn't go back. To be fair, it was September, and so hot that even the locals were complaining ... I think that had a lot to do with it.

JULIEROSE

Cancun. MY SIL went there a few years ago and stayed in a top notch hotel on one of the resorts, where the locals aren't allowed near, so you don't get harrassed.
http://www.gocancun.com/

Manc

what's the point of going then?

I wanna go to Mexico, but avoid Mexicans?

MsElui

cancun - we honeymooned there too. Its very americanised - so burger king, macdonalds etc and not much 'authentic mexico' in the actual resort. Still - Lovely beaches, friendly locals, excursions to chichen Itza for some history stuff, ecological park (Xcaret) nearby where you can snorkel through natural caves, dolphin swims etc.

Ray

Go to Miami .....plenty of Spanish spoke there ....

anabella

I feel honoured to be asked to go to FL by you!

Ray

Miami is 300-400 miles or so from me ....


Actually you could stay with us .... I will send a rate card ...

anabella

Awwww.. you are too kind ..

Ray

The sunshine may help .......

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Mexico is a large and varied country. You might get good prices this time of year because it is "off season" for them. But you WILL be in the tropics. [Cabo is barely far enough south]

BTW, it really helps if you have at least a rudimentary knowledge of Spanish outside of the resort areas. And even in the resort areas, it pays to remember that you are NOT in a developed country in the sense of the UK or the US.

Even in the developed resort areas, you can find something of more of a local flavor. In Puerto Vallarta, the original town [of Dick and Liz and "Night of the Iguana" fame] is a lot more, shall we say authentic, than the resort developments on the road to the cruise ship terminal and the airport.

In the Cabo area, San Jose is not as developed as San Lucas -- but the 20 mile road in between is a string of resorts and golf courses. Isolated in a sense unless you want to spring for a car or spend a small fortune on taxis. [My wife and I like to take local buses -- which is really neat in ANY Mexican town -- and you do get to meet the locals.] If I had to do it again, I would have stayed in San Jose del Cabo.

The two Cabo towns are on the Gulf of California [Sea of Cortez] side of the cape -- one day we rented a car and drove 50 miles up the Pacific Coast and there as an old town and artist colony -- which is something you might consider.

If you drive down from California, the areas around Ensenada are interesting. But I haven't been there in over 20 years.

A couple years back, we attended a "destination" wedding on Oxaca -- not on the beach -- but definitely interesting. Monte Alban is a must see. After the wedding we stayed in a small B&B owned by expat Americans -- the good mexican breakfeast was included, and you can pay extra for a very homey mexican supper or dinner. Unfortunately, I forget the name at the moment. BTW, for those aficianados of Mexican history, both Juarez and Diaz hailed from Oxaca. Juarez is hailed as a hero and everything about him is lovingly preserved. El Portofino's old home is not well maintained.

I did one vacation in Mexico City. [BTW, when you see destination signs for "Mexico" it means "Mexico City."] Never again, I much prefer small cities, like New York. I also prefer cities which have clean pristine air, like Los Angeles.

Research carefully and I'm sure you will find something to your liking.

BTW, as another historical pointer -- to keep in mind -- "Los Seis Heroes de Chaputlepec" are celebrated in an American song called the "Marine Corps Hymn." Those six boys fought in the "Halls of Montezuma." It might be what people call "Point of View." Also, when you see "Avenida Revolucion" in every city, town and village, General John J. Pershing is not remembered with fondness.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

As I mentioned -- the tip of Baja California is known as "Los Cabos" -- there are two towns -- San Jose and San Lucas with much of the resorts in between.

I prefer San Jose. The cruise ships hit San Lucas.