Mexico
To get our mini brochure for this holiday please click here, and we will email you a PDF copy.
Day One: Welcome to Mexico
Fly into Mexico City International, where you’ll be greeted and taken by private transfer to your hotel. On the drive from the airport, you’ll see the sheer scale of this mega-city, passing neighbourhoods packed with Art Deco and Art Nouveau buildings as well as modern skyscrapers. Once you’ve checked into your hotel, the rest of the day is free to get acquainted with its attractions. You could visit the ‘blue-house’ where Frida Kahlo once lived, now a museum filled with her paintings. Or perhaps wander the Templo Mayor, the Aztec ruins right at the centre of the city, crammed between old colonial buildings packed with shops, cafés and government offices. Save time to dine – the city is packed with restaurants serving excellent nuevo-Mexican cuisine.
Overnight in Mexico City
Classic - Hampton Inn & Suites
Premium - Hotel Zocalo Central
Deluxe - Hilton Reforma
Meals included: None
Day Two: Culture and Cocoa
Discover the city’s centro historico, as well as some of its most exciting monuments, as you explore with your private guide. Then indulge in Mexico’s most celebrated crop – cocoa – on a chocolate tasting with the country’s master chocolatier, the internationally-renowned José Ramón Castillo. Castillo takes inspiration from the Mayans, who discovered cocoa back in 900AD, as well as the Aztecs, who used it for drinks, tax – and even suncream. In the evening, there’s the option to watch respected dance company Ballet Folklórico de Mexico de Amalia Hernandez perform dances from across the country, at the spectacular Palacio de Bellas Artes (see the Extras tab for information on cost).
Overnight in Mexico City
Classic - Hampton Inn & Suites
Premium - Hotel Zocalo Central
Deluxe - Hilton Reforma
Meals included: Breakfast
Day Three: Ancient and Mega-Modern
No trip to Mexico City is complete without time in the National Museum of Anthropology, packed with perfectly preserved Mayan treasures. Marvel at frescoes, tombs and murals set in an ultra-modern building, then visit the imposing, modernist campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, a UNESCO World Heritage site where the buildings are covered with murals (by Diego Rivera and others) depicting the country’s history and culture. Later, you’ll cruise by brightly-coloured trajinera boat on the floating gardens of Xochimilco, 17 miles outside of the city. Along these ancient canals, vendors sell street food, mariachi bands drift past carrying folk tunes on the breeze, and you can watch the world go by with a local michelada (beer Bloody Mary) or two.
Overnight in Mexico City
Classic - Hampton Inn & Suites
Premium - Hotel Zocalo Central
Deluxe - Hilton Reforma
Meals included: Breakfast
Day Four: The High Life
Time to leave the capital and visit one of the most important archaeological sites in Mexico – Teotihuacán. We’ve decided that the best way to garner the awesomeness of this ancient site (which means ‘place where men become gods’) is on a flight by hot air balloon. You’ll jump aboard for unbeatable views of the entire site, then enjoy a glass of sparkling wine upon landing, before exploring the city’s pyramids and temples by foot. You'll lunch on Mexican dishes at the Gran Teocalli restaurant near to the site, before travelling by car to your hotel in Morelia, 200 miles west.
Overnight in Morelia
Classic - Hotel Misión Catedral
Premium - Hotel de la Soledad
Deluxe - Hotel de la Soledad
Meals included: Breakfast; lunch
Day Five: A Pink City, Terracotta Town and Blue Lake
Pink-hued Morelia is a city so well-preserved that it appears frozen in the colonial era. Your private guide will show you ‘the most beautiful cathedral in Mexico’, which took more than 100 years to build. Then see the Garden of the Roses with its pink quarry-stone fountain, and visit the Museo de Dulce – a museum of sweets situated in a tempting shop. Next, you’ll make the hour-long trip by private car to the mountain town of Pátzcuaro, ready to cross its hazy lake to the car-free island of Janitzio. The conquistadors left this little island largely alone, and there’s still a feel of indigenous culture – the local fishermen use butterfly-shaped nets to fish for the famously good local pescado blanco (white fish). You’ll have the opportunity to lunch at one of Janitzio’s fabulous restaurants before climbing the 40m-high statue of independence leader José María Morelos. From here, you’ll glimpse fantastic views of Pátzcuaro (through a quirky viewpoint – Morelos’ wrist), before the return journey to your hotel in Morelia.
Overnight in Morelia
Classic - Hotel Misión Catedral
Premium and Deluxe - Hotel de la Soledad (differing room types)
Meals included: Breakfast
Day Six: Brilliant Butterflies
Travel from Morelia to Angangueo, arriving in the sleepy old mining town at lunchtime. Nearby, in a fir forest, sits a sanctuary that’s the winter home of millions of Monarch butterflies who have travelled more than 3,000 miles from North America on their migration. Cars are banned in order to protect these creatures and their habitat, so you’ll travel by horse to the sanctuary to see them en masse. It’s an incredible sight: the fir trees are blanketed by thousands of butterflies, and thousands more float through the air, resting wherever there is a perch – including on you. The delicate creatures fill the sanctuary with tranquility, and you will find yourself relaxing to match the butterflies’ steady pace. Return to Angangueo town for the evening.
Overnight in Angangueo
Classic, Premium and Deluxe - Hotel Posada Don Bruno (differing room types)
Meals included: Breakfast
Day Seven: Time to Fly
After a final breakfast and check-out, transfer from Morelia to Mexico City Airport by private car for your return flight home.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overall meals included: 6 Breakfasts; 1 lunch
Accommodation
You will get a choice of hotel options for the duration of your experience:
Classic ★★★
Classic hotels provide mid-range accommodation (minimum three-star rated), with comfortable rooms and private facilities. We’ve selected these hotels based on positive client feedback.
Premium ★★★★
Premium hotels are typically upper mid range (usually four star), with more amenities than our classic choices. They all have comfortable rooms with private facilities and have received good client feedback.
Deluxe ★★★★★
Deluxe hotels are luxury hotels with excellent facilities and service, usually categorised as 4.5 or 5 star. Clients rate them extremely highly.
What's included:
- Private English-speaking guides unless stated otherwise
- Private transfers unless stated otherwise
- Meals as listed
- Mandatory taxes and service fees
- Entrance tickets and permits unless stated otherwise
- Hot air balloon flight over Teotihuacán pyramids with glass of sparkling wine
- Horse ride to see Monarch butterflies
What's not included:
- International flights to/from experience: call 0208 432 0885 for AX specially negotiated flight rates
- Optional extras listed
- Tips for guides, drivers, hotel and restaurant staff
- Any visa, customs, airport taxes or similar charges before or after the tour
- We cannot guarantee the included hotel breakfast for early departures
- Drinks during meals unless stated otherwise
- Personal expenses, such as laundry
If you’d like to swim with whale sharks on your trip as well, please see our Whale Shark & Butterfly Migrations itinerary.
Want to extend your experience and spend 4 days relaxing on the beach? To check out our Mexico's Monarch Butterflies Migration and Puerto Vallarta Beaches,click here!
To check out all our Mexico trips, click here!
GETTING THERE
Typical return Economy flights from London cost around £450 per person and take approximately 12 hours outbound, 10 hours inbound depending on exact flight configurations and layover times.
Experience start point: Mexico City (MEX) Arrive at any time.
End point: Mexico City (MEX) Depart at any time.
Prices for departures to 30th October include a 20% Pioneers Club discount and are subject to Pioneers Club terms & conditions. Click here for more information about the Pioneers Club.
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