Cancun is a wonderful place with loads of places to go and places to see. I have made 11 trips over the years. If you rent a car you can drive South (there is basically only one big road) and visit the most delightful and almost deserted beaches. Most have a little local restaurant were you can get cokes, tortillas, fresh guacamole, local fish, etc. It is beautiful. At Ixcaret there is an unground river where you are provided with a life vest and you can snorkel down the river. It was one of the most spectacular experiences of my life. I had never snorkeled in my life until I tried the river there. Also Akumal is not a far drive from Cancun and you can snorkel off the shore there as well as rent sit on top kayaks. Very close to Akumal is a small lagoon named Yalku with excellent snorkeling also. Gail
I've been to Mexico several times. Besides the places suggested by others on the list so far, I would like to recommend Taxco. It is a silver-mining town in the mountains--way in the mountains--and a trip not to be missed, assuming you can deal with the roads to get up there!! There is a sky-tram that travels between mountains...not for the faint-hearted, but a breath-taking trip.
I was recently in the Lake Patzcuaro region for Los Dias de los Muertos. it was festival time and crowded but I got there early and stayed after the festival and had a great time there.
The best place to stay in Patzcuaro is at the Masion Iturbe Bed and Breakfast. It's an old colonial manor house with only 12 rooms. The food is really good and the staff super friendly. It is run by a mother/daughter team both named Margarita and they are quite wonderful. A brother runs the El Viejo Gaucho restaurant that is in back of the hotel. This is a great place to go to listen to contemporary Mexican music, especailly jazz when they have it. Get there early as it gets quicked packed on Saturday nights. As far as the hotel owners go, both Margaritas are very concerned about what is happening to the indigenous populations around Lake Patzcuaro. They can introduce you to folks who can give you information about local artesans and how to approach them in culturally respectful ways. They are also well respected in the local community for their efforts on behalf of developing tourism in the region that is respectful of the indian population. Also their friendliness goes a long way. I stayed at the hotel across from the Basilica in Patzcuaro which is highly rated in all the guide books and although the room was nice and the bed linens clean, the staff was absent most of the time. And, checking in and out they were almost rude to me. That was an odd experience for me as most folks I had encountered in Mexico were super friendly.
There is also a place where you can check your email. It's called Mexico En Linea and it costs about $3.00 an hour to use one of their computers. It's a great way to let folks knwo you are OK and much cheaper than the phone!
There is a lesbian run B&B somewhere outside of Morelia that is listed in all the gay travel guides. I did not go there as I was traveling by bus and they seemed a bit removed but I bet it would be a great place to stop in if you want to get away from the noise.
If you are going up to the butterfly sanctuary to see the Monarchs, let me know and I can tell you about some great places to stay up that away.
Mexico City is wonderful. If you stay at the super cheap hostel called Casa de los Amigos you will meet lots of other travelers from around the world. I had fun there.
I also have visited the Yucatan, and I would like to second it for a destination. Flying into Cancun is really cheap most times, and one can get on a local bus and take it about an hour into Playa del Carmen. This sleepy little town is known generally for it being a port to depart to nearby Cozumel by ferry, and it is a wonderful stop for someone who wants to spend some time in a quiet, REAL Mexico town. It is close enough to Cancun to do the fun, beachy, touristy things, plus it is a great place to lay your head at night while exploring phenomenal nearby architectural wonders.
i have travelled some in mexico too. i have a particular interest in mexico because i live so close to the international border. most of my travels in mexico have been in baja california. it is a wild, desolate, beautiful, and largely unspoiled peninsula IMHO. highlights range from fabulous coastlines (ocean and gulf) beautiful mountains (the highest peak is over 10,000 ft.!), and wonderous deserts; not to mention the friendly people. much of the time i've spent there was car camping, or backpacking in remote and sparcely inhabited areas. last summer my mother and i drove from san diego to mulege. we were awed by the vistas, villages, and people. i have also been to the state of quintana roo in the yucatan. now that is a trip i recommend to almost anyone. the mexican carribian is really something to see. i snorkeled in the clear blue waters, hiked in the jungles to view spider monkeys in the wild, rode atv's on a jungle tour, and walked through ancient ruins and learned a lot about the ancient mayan culture. i am planning to take a train ride and backpack into the copper canyon next november (the sierra madre area). it is supposed to be a fabulous trip.
my experiences in mexico have been positive. i've never experienced anything like the problems marion describes below (side note - she was describing being strip-searched by the police and seeing gun-toting rancheros), but i've never travelled there alone either. what i have found tho, is that the further i get from the american border, the friendlier the people are to me, and the less american influence i see around me (which i consider positive). it is a little unnerving to those who are not used to seeing teenage boys with army fatigues and rifles. they are set up along the highways and conduct regular questioning/vehicle inspections. in my experience these episodes have been cursory (inspections) and polite (questioning).
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