Jhye asked:


It is routine to stopover at Mexico on a cruise ship as many sightseers prefer this route to the engaging and culturally enriched city of Mexico. The blend of a lavish cruise and day trip excursion can be just as enchanting if not more enjoyable than air travel. As cruise liner frequently makes embarkation to the coast of Mexico, you can discover the mystified and fascinating culture in the land of folklore.

The cruise can comprise swimming with the dolphin as well as excursion to the ancient Mayan ruins. An international passport is necessary to tour Mexico. Passport is required for embarkation as well as shore visits. When you decide to travel by means of cruise liner, packing light is necessary and do not bring all your valuables when on the vessel. Even though there are in-house safe to keep valuables, avoid bringing lots of cash and credit cards.

Peso is the currency of Mexico and you can do the exchange before setting foot on the shores. Besides, all whatever is incurred on the ship can be levied to the credit card. It is better to be safe than sorry and do not carry surplus cash in a handbag but keep it close to your body.

Check with the guides for any risky places that you need to avoid when you disembark from your cruise ship. The tour guides can be helpful on an excursion along the shores and they can recommend out of ordinary and thrilling places for your exploration.

Keep yourself healthy before the travel and practice good sanitary hygiene on board to avoid contracting any diseases and getting yourself sick. Any illness that might befall you will only ruin a good holiday plan. The choices are aplenty when it comes to choosing a cruise liner that caters to all your needs. They offer different themes at varying times of the year and accommodate every type of vacation seekers ranging from the romantic getaway to family-oriented tour.

The choices are many and the hardest part is to choose one given that most of the choices are attractive. Going on a cruise ship to Mexico combines the opulence of 5-star hotel with a tour to culturally enriching remote land. Cruising is a safe way to tour Mexico as well as eye-opening jaunt and expedition to meet the friendly people and rich history of the beautiful land. Retreat to Mexico on a cruise ship can be one of the most satisfying holidays one can envisage.

Jhye asked:


They are many beautiful places to tour around the globe but Mexico is one of the great countries for a trip. In the sophisticated city of Mexico City, lies an enthralling city unrivalled in few other cities and they offer the stunning ruins of the Atzecs. Spread over Mexico City is numerous museums that display modern and anthropological art. In Mexico the best vacation can be aplenty.

The feverish pitch of soccer in South and Central America is unparalleled anywhere and is the most widespread sports in Mexico. Baseball is also one of the most supported sport activities very much like the United States. Whether you are on the lookout the pure joy of soccer/ baseball or the quiet musing of the art, the best vacation in Mexico provides plenty of sparkle.

Mexico is the second largest destination for golf for United States golf adventurers. Spread over Mexico is the varied and stunning golf courses to please even the most discerning. The town of Cancun, Cozumel and Cabo San Lucas has numerous championship style courses. Golf vacation is a great way to travel to Mexico as they can be done with dedicated travel that provides plenty of golf and partake in the city as well.

Trip to Mexico can be done through a cruise ship that prides themselves in complete luxury and the exhilaration of excursion to the shores. Cruising to Mexico provides the best in luxurious travel as well as getting intimate with the cultural aspects of Mexico. Cruising is one of the best ways to vacation in Mexico.

Sports fishing are one way that drives tourism in Mexico. The country coastlines are so broad that it provides a diverse number of hot spots for sports fishing. Besides big fishes for instant marlin and tuna, you can immerse your time doing bass fishing. El Salto is one great bass fishing lake and plenty of tour operators provide countless bass fishing packages. Fishing can be relaxing in addition to competitive and the simple joy of looking at the scenery plus plenty of catches will enthrall you.

The abundant beaches in Mexico offer sun lovers a fun-filled holiday on the pristine sea off Mexico. Puerto Vallarta is a dream beach vacation as it is located in Bandaras Bay that is the largest bay in Mexico. All kind of activities can be found there including sun bathing, kayaking, jet skiing or para-sailing to water-skiing, horseback riding and wind surfing. Besides that, there are plenty of famous beaches in Mexico.

The best vacation can be found in Mexico and only by putting yourself in the cities and enjoying the activities can you beyond a shadow of doubts knows the significant of a great vacation. The exploration and sun drenched days and mysterious night spend there will arouse your desire to travel.

Douglas Bower asked:


Though the Worldwide Economic Crisis seems to have the world in a tizzy of worry and despair, Gringos are still coming to Mexico. I remember last year at this time unprecedented numbers of Gringos were walking the streets of my adopted Mexican home of Guanajuato. The city of Guanajuato, that bears the same name as the state, Guanajuato, had swarms of Gringos that extended from late Spring into early Fall even while gloom and doom spread all over the planet.

Statistics for 2008 will be forthcoming in the Spring. But, if subjective observation is to count for anything, it appeared to all the Mexicans and American Expats with whom we spoke that 2008 seemed the year for the most visible tourists in years.

In previous years (2006-2007), the average age of tourists to Guanajuato was under 36 years old. These tourists came to Guanajuato in 2006 in groups of three family members and, in 2007, in pairs. In 2006, 35% of the tourism was Mexican regional tourists, 54% was Mexican national tourists, with a low 11% being foreign.

In 2007, there was only a one or two point increase in national and regional tourists and the foreign tourist percentage stayed the same. About 50% of the international tourism comes from the United States.

I’ve made this point often in my articles that the city of Guanajuato is not a resort town. It is not like the West and East coast Mexican cities. Nor is it like San Miguel de Allende. These towns have become dependent upon the tourist money and regard the foreigner as a source of income.

How you will be treated in one of these resort towns that has been traditionally dependent upon the foreign tourist’s dollars or euros will be radically different from how you will be treated in a town whose tourist income is predominately from Mexican regional and national tourists. To put it in the words of one American woman who actually moved to San Miguel de Allende, “This is like living on a cruise ship. There is something planned to do every moment.”

The city of Guanajuato, or the rest of the state for that matter, is not like that at all. In Guanajuato, you will see how real Mexicans live and work in their ordinary everyday lives in a city that has history and culture oozing out of every cobblestone. If you expect to be entertained like in the resort towns, look elsewhere.

However, having said that, Guanajuato is a traveler’s dreamland to visit. That, I suppose, largely depends on your motive.

Of those surveyed, 7% to 10% came to Guanajuato in 2007 to visit family; 4% to 7% came for business; 6% to 8% for historical significance; 2% to 6% ventured here for ecotourism; 65% to 78% came just for a little R & R-Rest and Relaxation.

And, let me just say that Rest and Relaxation is what the average Joe and Jane American needs in times like these. If your American life has become something unrecognizable and transformed into something you would rather not even think about, then Guanajuato is the cure for what ails your hectic existence.

Five Steps To Maximize A Guanajuato Vacation

Think creatively: You can’t possibly find a much-needed cure for your stress in Guanajuato if you try to have a whirlwind rush through the city and state.

1. Guanajuato is absorbed and not so much seen. Take time to sit and smell the foods cooking in El Jardin; listen to the music, the children playing, the donkeys braying, or the vendors hawking their wares; feel the textures of the serapes, scarves, and whatever else catches your attention.

2. Don’t fret over your lodging. Be willing to stay anywhere. Staying in the historical center is not what it is cracked up to be. If you are planning a Restful and Relaxing vacation, staying in the noise-filled El Jardin is not necessarily what you will want. Try to book a hotel outside the historical center and nowhere near churches where you will be serenaded with bell ringing virtually around the clock. An apartment vacation rental is often the better choice.

3. Be willing to limit eating out from one to three meals for your entire vacation. If you find lodging in an apartment or hostel with cooking facilities, it would broaden your cultural horizons immensely to shop in the local markets for fresh foods you can cook on your own. It is a lifesaver on your pocketbook. My wife and I employ this tactic almost always when we travel through the country. Eating out can be a budget killer.

4. To minimize the financial impact on your savings, watch the airfares like your life depends on it. If you become a little pre-vacation obsessed, you can catch a deal on the flight to Mexico. My wife is liable to check three to four times a day when we are planning trips to catch the best prices. Or, consider driving to Mexico if you live within a one or two state’s distance from the border. It isn’t as hard as you think it might be. We are getting feedback from articles and forums that more and more Americans (and even some Canadians) choose the driving options. (Check the search engines for current restrictions and documents needed to drive into Mexico.)

5. Mexico is still a relative safe place to vacation. You have to put on your best “Big City Safety” thinking caps and play it safe the entire time. For reasons totally unknown, even to God, a lot of Gringos will come to Mexico, and especially Guanajuato, acting as though they’ve crossed over into the Promised Land of Safety and Virtue. I have not only personally witnessed this behavior in both tourists and American expatriates, but have a friend who is a long-time resident of the city who was robbed. She was not only relieved of her cash but was also beaten up in the process. She thought it was safe and secure to walk home at about three in the morning.

This is a serious issue. I cannot explain why Gringos come to Mexico and commit careless and dangerous behaviors that they would not do back home in Anywhere, America. They would not try walking home in the wee hours of the morning in almost any city in America and yet when they come here, they suddenly think they can do this and get by with it.

Don’t walk back to your hotel at hours of the night where you are most likely to be robbed; don’t visit ATM machines in the late hours; don’t do anything here that you wouldn’t do back home. If it feels dangerous it probably is, even in Guanajuato.

And, if you worry about all the news reports of Narco-Traffickers in Mexico, Guanajuato is still relatively safe from that source of organized crime. The point is to play it safe and smart and you will most likely come out smelling like a rose and have good experiences to tell your friends when you get back home.

The Authentic Mexico

Some people bristle at the phrase “authentic Mexico.” They often scream at me something akin to, “What is that supposed to mean?”

What it means is a Mexico that has largely resisted the Americanization attempts of the Resort Moguls and has done things and continues doing things its own way.

Recently, Guanajuato has “acquired” a Starbucks. Now, why anyone would want to come to Mexico and drink a four-dollar, or more, specialty coffee from America is beyond me and I am wont for an explanation. But, Americanization is coming to Guanajuato as it has infiltrated the resort areas of Mexico.

Still, Guanajuato is not a resort (yet) and is full of regular Mexicans going about their regular lives trying to eek out a regular living. History, culture, and Mexican life are worth more to me to see and experience than being entertained with a Cruise Ship agenda. Guanajuato can indeed be a dreamland vacation.

Let Guanajuato be the place you spend your next vacation!

A Walk Through Mexico’s Crown Jewel: A Guanajuato Tr

Jim Scherrer asked:


Puerto Vallarta, Mexico has become one of the most popular tourist resort destinations in the world. Because Vallarta is located along the Mexican Riviera on the Pacific Ocean, a substantial portion of these tourists arrive by boat; the majority in large cruise ships, however many come in their private yachts.

Ten years ago, a cruise ship would arrive in Vallarta every other day. At certain times during the “high season” of November through May when the average temperature is 73°F with virtually no chance of rain, cruise ships would arrive two days in a row.

Five years ago, the popularity of cruising and specifically cruising to the Mexican Riviera, reached a point where you could find a cruise liner at the Puerto Vallarta Marine Terminal almost every day, and sometimes, a second cruise liner anchored in Banderas Bay. Passengers from the anchored ship were then shuttled to shore by small tenders.

Two years ago, you could count on at least one cruise ship every day in Vallarta and often find another one or two ships anchored in the bay. The traffic was so heavy at the Marine Terminal that the authorities in Vallarta started construction on the new Maritime Terminal.

Construction of the new Maritime Terminal in Puerto Vallarta was completed in early 2007, thus tripling the cruise passenger capacity. Today, you’ll usually see at least two cruise ships docked at the Maritime Terminal and frequently three. Cruising to Vallarta has become so popular that there are times during the “high season” when a fourth ship has to anchor in the bay! With an average of close to 2,000 passengers per ship, this results in anywhere from 4,000 to 8,000 tourists arriving daily by cruise ship.

(As a side note of interest, the Puerto Vallarta International Airport was recently quadrupled in size in order to accommodate the flights that are arriving and departing all day, everyday.)

Now that we have a feel for the volume of cruising tourists arriving daily in Vallarta by commercial cruise liners, let’s consider those arriving by private yachts.

Ten years ago, Puerto Vallarta was the home to a beautiful 400 slip Marina for private yachts ranging in size from 30ft to well over 100ft. There was also a marina in Nuevo Vallarta with 380 slips for smaller boats up to 30ft long.

Due to the recent demand for additional slips, larger slips, and yachting related services, a number of significant new marina construction projects have been undertaken; some of which have been completed, some currently under construction, and some still in the planning stages.

For example, the beautiful Nuevo Vallarta Marina now has nearly 250 slips for yachts ranging from 30ft to 120ft long. The modern $50 million Marina Riviera Nayarit, located in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, is approximately 40% complete with nearly 400 berths for yachts ranging from 30ft to 400ft. Fonatur, Mexico’s National Tourism Development Trust, has planned a 150 slip marina in their Phase 1 development program just north of Punta de Mita. These marinas will increase the moorage capacity from 400 to well over 1,200 private yachts, thereby tripling the total volume of tourists privately cruising to Vallarta.

Okay, now that we have a feel for the growth of the Vallarta area and the volume of tourists cruising to Vallarta, let’s explore just what happens to these tourists as they arrive in Paradise.

As the tourists disembark from the commercial cruise liners or their private yachts, they are first greeted by the friendly faces of English speaking Mexicans. Because the local economy is based solely on tourism, almost everyone is now speaking some degree of English and therefore communication is never an obstacle in Vallarta. Friendly faces as revealed in the Conde Nast survey of its readers, where Vallarta was voted the friendliest resort destination in the world.

Of all things, those arriving by cruise ships first see a Sam’s Club, a Mega Wal-Mart, and a huge new modern shopping center; probably not what they would expect to see in a sleepy little Mexican fishing village! They soon discover that Vallarta is no longer sleepy or little, in that its population has exploded to 350,000 inhabitants and is projected to reach 600,000 by the year 2015.

Unfortunately, those arriving by cruise ships are generally allowed only about eight hours in town before the ship cruises out on its journey to the next Mexican Riviera port. While in town, they are given many options in the way of city activities and tours. Some opt to play golf on any of the seven magnificent courses; others might want to take a four hour deep sea fishing trip or play tennis on any of the hundreds of tennis courts. Some take jungle safaris, ATV trips through the Sierra Madre Mountains, or go whale watching, snorkeling, or swimming with the dolphins Those less ambitious tourists take sight seeing bus tours through the city and then into the fine neighborhoods where the multi-million dollar haciendas and villas are nestled among the hillsides overlooking Banderas Bay.

The majority of these cruisers merely catch one of the thousands of taxis and head into town for a day of strolling along the Malecon by the beach, shopping the many boutique stores, or dining in any of the hundreds of fine restaurants.

Regardless of what the cruisers do during their short stay in Vallarta, they are all treated with dignity, respect, and friendliness and therefore are eager to return for a longer visit the next time. The taste of Vallarta is so addictive, that in all probability, their next visit will be by air and will last for a week or longer.

Those that come in their private yachts generally stay for longer periods of time. In fact, the quality of life is so great in Vallarta, that many of those fortunate individuals, who could afford to live anywhere in the world, have just docked their yachts in Vallarta and made this their winter residence. After all, Mexico was recently ranked the top retirement destination in the world by International Living Magazine and Puerto Vallarta is considered by many to be the most desirable city in Mexico for retirement.

To sum it up; what happens when tourists cruise to Vallarta is that they often become so infatuated by the climate, the scenery of mountains and ocean, the people, the cleanliness, the safety, the available activities, and the overall quality of life, that they either return as soon as possible or they just stay, joining the other 50,000 North Americans that have made Puerto Vallarta their retirement home in Paradise.