Advice for short trip to Mexico

[smonday]

We have three days to do something fun in Mexico starting from L.A. We can either drive or possibly fly. Please suggest a place that might have some good Mexican flavor, sun and beach and be a little bit warm, that is small and easy to navigate so we can just enjoy our short time there.

Or a lot warm where we can swim and snorkle (I know we'd have to fly to do that) and also hike and look at small towns and such. If you know anythig about flights let us know too.

Thanks!

[oaxacanfairtradeco]

You Can Drive To San Felipe From Mexicalli - 3 Hours And That Is Fun On The Sea Of Cortez But For Real Mexican Flavor I'd Suggest Puerto Vallarta, A Short Plane Ride And The Closest Thing To Paradise While Still Retaining That Authentic Mexican Feel. Very Humid This Time Of Year Anywhere On The Coast.

[nicofrog]

San Felipe in Baja is your best driving bet, or fly to Puerto Vallarta.
DON'T plan to drive at night. Don't bring drugs or large quantities of cash or guns. Should be fun! drive way off on back roads! eat in tiny places
way off the beaten track. Don't worry about the water.
Nico

We have three days to do something fun in Mexico starting from L.A. We can either drive or possibly fly. Please suggest a place that might have some good Mexican flavor, sun and beach and be a little bit warm, that is small and easy to navigate so we can just enjoy our short time there.

Or a lot warm where we can swim and snorkle (I know we'd have to fly to do that) and also hike and look at small towns and such. If you know anythig about flights let us know too.

Thanks!

[rbulwa]

Driving, even to Northern Baja, for a three day vacation, will not put you anywhere attractive (don't even consider San Felipe where you will be very disappointed). Two places come to mind. As previously noted, Puerto Vallarta has great food in big and small restaurants, very average beaches, side trips to smaller nearby towns with better beaches and rooms available from $30 and up right in the old town (where you should stay, south of the river). PV has really maintained itself as a fun place ever for those of us who avoid the big tourist places like Ixtapa and Acapulco. The richies have their areas in PV as well of course, but there is lots of overlap with fun the goal.

If you prefer a place much less traveled, there are daily flights from LAX to Loreto in Southern Baja. This is a very welcoming still very Mexican town with a small expatriate population, good seafood (and tacos!), and nearby beaches. It is reasonably close to the lovely Bahia (Bay of) Concepcion with sandy beaches with calm water and shade cabanas to rent and a bit further is Mulege. There are old missions in some outback villages, you can hire a taxi to take you or rent a vehicle. Check the weather reports in advance, it is not only hot and humid in either place this time of year (especially Loreto) but it is also the start of hurricane season. Have fun.

Bob Bulwa

San Felipe in Baja is your best driving bet, or fly to Puerto Vallarta.
DON'T plan to drive at night. Don't bring drugs or large quantities of cash or guns. Should be fun! drive way off on back roads! eat in tiny places
way off the beaten track. Don't worry about the water.
Nico

[srrsandy]

San Felipe is nice, so is PV, but I can't understand why on earth the last commentator would say NOT to worry about drinking the water. I ended up sicker than I've ever been after eating a salad in San Felipe (a long time ago so I don't remember the name of the restaurant). DO worry about the local water and DO drink bottled or drink your own or you will most likely get very sick. That's just how it is down there.

There is a sweet little beach spot (a famous surf spot, as well) about an hour north of PV on the pacific side called San Pedritos. It is about 1 mile south of the town of Todos Santos, which is a very small but very quaint little spot.

San Pedritos, last time I went, had a restaurant, a bed and breakfast (@ $30.00 per night) and offered camping at $6.00 per night. There are hot showers and usually very cool people staying there from all over the world.

Good luck.

[rbulwa]

A clarification that I think srrsandy will appreciate: Los Pedritos and Todos Santos are not on the mainland near "PV" but are an hour north of Cabo San Lucas (fly to Los Cabos), and an hour south of La Paz, in Baja. Todos Santos is a very pleasant visit, and La Paz, while a large city by Baja standards, has a very clean and slow style that many people enjoy, with lots of outing alternatives including beaches.

Water supplies in the cities are chlorinated, elsewhere it often sits in cisterns before being used which can cause problems. Most people do use bottled water, but rather than paying for the small bottles in restaurants, just ask for agua natural de garafone (the big bottles they use themselves, which is free). And wash your hands before hitting that taco stand, my opinion is that a lot of what passes for water borne contamination is actually passed on through what our hands pick up. And watch how the taco makers handle their food and money. Most are very sanitary (Mexican people get sick too!). But if there is only one person working, and that person handles both the food and money without using a glove for the money, eat elsewhere.

Bob

San Felipe is nice, so is PV, but I can't understand why on earth the last commentator would say NOT to worry about drinking the water. I ended up sicker than I've ever been after eating a salad in San Felipe (a long time ago so I don't remember the name of the restaurant). DO worry about the local water and DO drink bottled or drink your own or you will most likely get very sick. That's just how it is down there.

There is a sweet little beach spot (a famous surf spot, as well) about an hour north of PV on the pacific side called San Pedritos. It is about 1 mile south of the town of Todos Santos, which is a very small but very quaint little spot.

San Pedritos, last time I went, had a restaurant, a bed and breakfast (@ $30.00 per night) and offered camping at $6.00 per night. There are hot showers and usually very cool people staying there from all over the world.

Good luck.

[srrsandy]

A clarification that I think srrsandy will appreciate: Los Pedritos and Todos Santos are not on the mainland near "PV" but are an hour north of Cabo San Lucas (fly to Los Cabos), and an hour south of La Paz, in Baja. Todos Santos is a very pleasant visit, and La Paz, while a large city by Baja standards, has a very clean and slow style that many people enjoy, with lots of outing alternatives including beaches.

Water supplies in the cities are chlorinated, elsewhere it often sits in cisterns before being used which can cause problems. Most people do use bottled water, but rather than paying for the small bottles in restaurants, just ask for agua natural de garafone (the big bottles they use themselves, which is free). And wash your hands before hitting that taco stand, my opinion is that a lot of what passes for water borne contamination is actually passed on through what our hands pick up. And watch how the taco makers handle their food and money. Most are very sanitary (Mexican people get sick too!). But if there is only one person working, and that person handles both the food and money without using a glove for the money, eat elsewhere.

Bob

Sorry for the mistake - it is north of Cabo, not PV. Been there, how could I make the mistake?? Still wouldn't drink the water, though.

[donallan]

We have three days to do something fun in Mexico starting from L.A.

I love the Mexico questions. I am planning a four month winter working sabbatical there myself.

I always recommend Puerto Vallarta, as others have here. From L.A. it is a three hour flight, and what a difference! Know that at this summer time of the year, it is very very hot and muggy there, with amazing thunderstorms often in the afternoons. In the middle of winter, Puerto Vallarta is like spring in Sonoma County.

For sure, if anyone goes to PV, you should stay in old town, "El Centro," and not the hotel zone north of there (unless you actually like discos, bars, party people, and late drunken nights). The Gaviota Hotel is usually under $50 and right at the beach. The Eloisa is also at the beach, and reasonable.

The Baja is not so hot, and much drier-- but expect desert and not tropics. The best advice might be to go camping for three days locally, and in the winter, plan to go to PV or another sweet beach spot (Sayulita, Chacala?) in the winter for a couple of weeks.

Hope you have a great time!

Allan Hardman