Hey Sup Forums,
Flying into Mexico City for two weeks and then spending a month in the country.
Where should I go? So far I've been recommended Puebla, San Cristobal de las Casas, and Guadalajara.
I'm a student and freelance writer and have to bring a laptop, so I can't go anywhere too risky. Also, I'm flying to Tanzania after Mexico, so I won't be back home until 2018.
>inb4 'we're full'
>inb4 'go to Michoacan bro'
>inb4 shitty memes
Go to Puerto Penasco
...
I use /trv/ often and they've been useless for Mexico.
There's too much leakage from Sup Forums. If you even say "Mexico,' the thread gets clogged up with retards telling you death is inevitable if you go anywhere besides Cancun.
Sup Forums has been more helpful so far.
Don't go to Cancun, or Puerto Vallarta, tourist trap overly expensive
I wasn't planning on doing Cancun - I feel like the weather would be unpleasant in June and July anyway.
Just hoping to enjoy some nature, practice my Spanish, and learn a bit about Mexican culture and history. I've traveled a lot in the past four years but this'll be my first time in Mexico.
this
sabe pa
What do you want to do?
>nature
>historical sites
>architecture
>food
>night life
>girls
>cities
>small towns
>budget
>meet locals
>hang out with other tourists
>etc
It really depends, also your budget, how much time are you going to be here, etc. I don't know, what do you plan to do?
I like Real Del Monte, or just check "Pueblo Mágico" choose one you like and go there, they are what many would call "True traditional Mexico"
I'm mostly interested in nature, large and mid-sized cities, food, and meeting locals. My Spanish isn't the best but I'm good with languages and working on getting back up to par.
I'm single and wouldn't mind destinations with good nightlife and opportunities for meeting ordinary girls (read: not prostitutes), but getting laid isn't my priority.
Really want to meet some cool Mexibros. I met a ton of awesome people in Colombia and Nicaragua and would like to do the same.
Thanks! Looking it up right now.
I'm at work now, so I might be a bit slow to respond here and there.
Really appreciate any good advice.
The state Oaxaca has one of the best cuisines in the entire country, it has Monte Alban (one of the best archaeological sites in the country, almost on par with Teotihuacan and Chichen Itza). On the nature side, it has "Hierve el Agua", "Sierra del Norte / Pueblos mancomunados", "Puerto Escondido", and Oaxaca city is beautiful. On the other side, local girls aren't the prettiest, not because they are more Amerindian (which they are, but that is not exactly the reason) but because the state is poor, and poor people don't look great.
The state of Chiapas has the Sumider Canyon (one of the most impressive natural wonders in Mexico), Calakmul (very under rated Mayan city), well, San Cristobal de las Casas and Tuxtla Gutierrez. But it is also poor as fuck.
But they are like 1 hour ago on plane from Mexico City, much, much more if you go by road.
Thanks!
What's the safety situation in Oaxaca and Chiapas like? I got the impression Oaxaca has a reputation for being unsafe.
I'm definitely going to check out Chiapas and San Cristobal, though A lot of people have recommended Chiapas for nature.
Oaxaca is a weird place, not many cartel or gang-related violence (the drug war is indeed present there, but it isn't a main issue, unlike Michoacán or Guerrero), but it can suffer from protests due to a complicated issue with our education system and teachers. Either way, it is very unlikely that you would ever see any of that. Tourist places and conflict zones are generally speaking worlds apart
Found this on /trv/, seems like a good route to me, aside from Cancún. Other worthy places are Guanajuato (León, Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende), and for nature, Chihuahua, both Baja Californias, Sonora and Coahuila are great on the north, but the Drug War and all that.
Go to the southern states for nature, central for culture and northern for nightlife.
My best recommendation; follow the footsteps of travel bloggers and stay away from hotels.
youtube.com
Chiapas is as safe as it gets, contrary to popular believe, the poorer the people the less dangerous they are in Mexico.
If you're concerned about safety stay away from disputed cities, and most parts of the state of Mexico. Cartels have a weird impact on pity crime and no you won't be targeted by narco for being an american that's just stupid talk.
Is Oaxaca ok right now?
With the hurricane season and all the rain?
Just keep the common sense safety precautions all the time, you'll be fine
I don't know, didn't think of that
Thanks.
I'm not worried about being targeted by cartels for kidnapping, but the increased potential for violent crime does worry me. For instance, I suspect I'd probably be at greater risk for getting robbed or mugged in cities with more gang problems than those without.
I really don't want to lose my laptop, since I'm supporting a lot of my trip through freelance writing. I could make do with Internet cafes, but I don't want to have to stress too much about getting my shit jacked.
What are some examples of 'disputed cities' that I might accidentally wander into?
Is the impression I get that most parts of the Yucatan and southern Mexico safe correct?
Awesome!
That seems like a good tentative route.
Would you recommend going to Puebla? Seemed like a nice place to maybe spend a Saturday night - short trip from Mexico City, students for nightlife, and closer to Veracruz and all.
I don't think I'm going to venture too far to the north, unless I find some spectacular place I feel like I can't miss.
Doesn't seem like the landscape is as interesting up there, anyway.
Thanks, m8.
Won't be my first time in Latin America. I've done Colombia, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Ecuador, so I'm hoping the common sense and 'street smarts' tips I picked up there will be all I need for Mexico.
The American media just paints such a dismal picture of the place it's hard not to stress a bit.
The irony is that I've been to fucking Iraq but I'm on edge about Mexico, kek.
Well since you are coming to Mexico City, just don't go to the slums around it in Estado De Mexico, under any circumstance, there is no reason for you to go or anyone who doesn't live there.
Keep your laptop in you backpack and it would be better that if you are going to use it in a public place, like a cafe or a restaurant on street level, don't do it near the window, no one will target you if you don't announce you have valuable stuff
Puebla is great, my favourite is the Train museum they got there
>American tourists ask you something in english
>"Sorry noo english"
Puebla is great, it also has one of the best cuisines of the country. Nice colonial architecture, university town kind of feel, and Popocatepetl / Iztaccihuatl volcanoes are nice. It also has tons of "Pueblos Mágicos", + Cholula (home to the largest pyramid in the world, with a colonial church on top).
The north indeed has some beautiful nature, my friend. Pic related. But yeah.
I'm not planning to use my laptop in public.
Pretty much going to be for doing my writing work in the mornings, preferably in my hotel or hostel (I'm a poorfag). I think the only time I'll have it out in public is when I'm in transit from one place to the next, but I wouldn't be using it then.
Any recommendations on shit to do in Puebla? Might check out the train museum; trains are pretty cool.
Wouldn't approach anyone in a Spanish-speaking country in English, TBQH, even if my Spanish sucks.
>Hola, donde es... es... um...
>motions to unzip pants and pee on ground
wew looks amazing.
How many days would you recommend for Puebla? I was only thinking two nights at most.
As a tourist, you need to watch out way more for random pickpocketers and thieves (some of them can be violent, think of this video youtube.com
Also, is Mexico City nightlife good enough to spend an extra couple days to be there on the weekend?
I arrive into MEX late Monday night and have a hostel booked through Saturday. I sort of want to stay until Sunday morning, but I feel like four or five days might be stretching it already.
That's more or less what I'm worried about rather than narcos.
Figure I'll just do the same thing as I do in the rest of Latin America: no wallet, cash and card in front pocket, and leave my phone and valuables in the hostel if I walk anywhere at night. Taxi to and from party area, debit card in shoe, and so forth.
Also, when not in a big city or even there, if you are in any sort of trouble and you have the luxury of choice, trust military personnel first, federal police second, locals, local police last, its a bit sad, but that
Thanks for the heads-up.
Is petty corruption something I need to worry about in Mexico? For instance, police trying to steal my pesos if I'm sort of tipsy.
M8 if you survived Colombia, there is nothing here that is worst
hehe
well the more narco presence a state has the less common is pity crime, but then again the 1/100,000,000 possibility of being trapped in a crossfire is far worse than being mugged, or at least it is for me.
Disputed territories are where all the beheading occurs, they are battlegrounds for cartels where they try their hardest to send a message to the other cartel, and the violence escalates in a very dramatic way overnight, and abruptly stop the next week.
Just check for news coverage for the month you're traveling. Mexican violence shape shifts very quickly, just a quick reminder, avoid slums, there's nothing interesting to see unlike in Rio and it's just not worth the risk.
An example of the cities might be Cancún, some shooting went out a couple of months ago, but the security now is better than before. Is just like how the safest airline to book a flight in is the one that just had a plane crash.
also you've been to Colombia man, colombia is way way more dangerous than mexico, just don't sweat about it so much.
Remember paying a visit to my home state, Chiapas undoubtedly has the best nature in all Mexico.
youtube.com
Fair enough.
Again, I was more concerned just with figuring out where to go than getting robbed or beheaded.
I think everyone has given me some good suggestions so far.
Probably going to do MEX-Puebla-Veracruz-Oaxaca-etc.
Is Guadalajara worth taking a flight to check out for a few days?
Since you won't be driving nah
That's where micro corruption happens the most
Yes Guadalajara is very nice, its like Mexico City but less polluted and with no Edo Mex thieves
>That's more or less what I'm worried about rather than narcos
Just try to not be alone so late at night, and always be in crowded places. Don't show off your celphone in public if not strictly necessary, that and keep a low profile.
Yes, police are assholes, not all of them but you never know. Don't give them anything, they can't do anything to you, they are usually submissive cunts either way, they won't tackle you, subdue you or anything, like American cops.
They basically beg you to cooperate youtube.com
>Guadalajara
It has the best chicks and one of the best nightlife, completely worth it.
Also try Ruta de la tequila, is kinda touristy but I had so much fun and met a lot of foreigners and nationals in it.
I wish I could go to México to visit museums and try delicious food but poor af at the moment
Women are all like "Haha we have clitorises and you have penises, we have more nerve endings and our orgasms are better" "You jelly men?"
Oh well, its fun anyway.
Nice video.
Chiapas is 100% on my to-do list now. What's the name of that waterfall called? Somebody else recommended it, but I can't remember the name.
Cool. I'll go to Guadalajara if I can find a modestly priced flight. Is it safe to take the bus there or does it go through some weird places?
Ah, sounds like what I'm used to from the rest of Latin America.
Kek.
I remember I pushed over an Indian police officer at the Taj Mahal. He was trying to swat my phone down and I batted him back on instinct.
Didn't do anything besides awkwardly stare at the ground.
Good to know. I'll check flights now.
>tfw at work and on Sup Forums
Do a lot of younger Mexicans (college students and whatnot) speak English? I'm definitely going to try practicing my Spanish, but I had a hard time with communication in Ecuador versus Colombia, where it was easy for me to find people who speak good English.
If you come here (Puebla) , go to zacatlan, the confiest pueblo magico in this country, also has termal waters.
here looks sunny but normally it looks like silent hill.
You may be able to choose a express bus, our highways aren't really that bad, specially the ones connecting the larger cities
>Do a lot of younger Mexicans (college students and whatnot) speak English?
Not always, but they are the best chance to find someone who speaks English
Thanks, homes.
How much of a poorfag can I be in Mexico and still scrape by?
I'll have around $2,000 in the bank and will be making $1,000 - $1,500 per month from writing.
Thinking of doing a budget of $40 per day (hostels seem to run around $7 or $8), with the rest for whatever I want.
Not a huge deal if I have to spend more, since I'm staying with a friend in Tanzania and won't have to pay for anything except food and alky for a month and a half.
>What's the name of that waterfall called?
Chiflón Waterfalls
just with 2000 you'll be fine, that's like 35000 pesos. obviously staing in 3 star hotels and stuff
Just save money man, look for a poor fag hostal like the american and a cheap flight, you can do it
Most museums are free
Well that's $756 mxn per day asuming your are talking 40usd
And I think it's plenty, you can eat with street vendors or fondas (traditional cheap full meal restaurants) with 300 a day, or keep it light and use 200, and since you can go everywhere in Mexico city by metro that's only 5 pesos, I say you can totally make it with that
I'm sure you have heard the metro system is awful because it is crowded as fuck. And it is at certain hours, usually between 6:30 am to 8:00 am and 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm. Absolutely every other hour in between is decent, and sometimes almost empty, usually around 11:00 am or 10 pm.
Either way, the metro system is cheap, easy to navigate to (full of maps, number and color coding, drawings, arrows, etc.) and it covers all the places you would want to see inside the city for a quarter of a dollar. Other than that, Uber > regular taxis.
zacatlan with fog
You will want to go rest in hell after you take a ride at rush hour
youtube.com
youtube.com
Rush hour is China tier, but most of the times it's fine and not all the metro stations are like that even at rush hour.
Dumb youtuber in the metro youtube.com
>Line 4
That thing is always empty
I actually quite like the metro for what it does, I wish it was cleaner and had more trains in service
But well resources
Thanks!
I'd prefer not to spend most of it in Mexico.
I'm going to Tanzania, Zambia, Ethiopia, Egypt, and India afterward. Thanks!
I know Mexico City might be a bit pricey, but I don't need to do much more than eat, drink, and occasionally go out.
Is there an entrance fee for any of the national parks or natural attractions in Chiapas and elsewhere?
I lived in New Delhi for two years. I can't imagine Mexico City's metro is much worse in terms of crowd than the Delhi Metro, so I'll give it a try anyway.
Is pickpocketing an issue on the Metro like on Bogota's Transmilenio? Had a friend get robbed at knifepoint twice on there, kek.
Sorry for weird response pacing, like I said, currently at work.
>pickpocketing
Yeah, someone stole my wallet once. In 25 years of using the metro is not that bad, I guess. But it does happen, especially at rush hour, see
yo wtf that looks incredible.
>Cancun
But that's a death trap
Thanks again.
Got back from having to do something for a change.
Anyone still around?
Yeah
Chilpancingo, beautiful town with very polite people, you can sit in the street at night drinkinh coffe with your laptop, comfy af
That or Culiacan for a beautiful town tour with colonial buildings and the most interesting people, i highly suggest Tamaulipas or Acapulco for its night life
Food and cousine, i dont recomend wasting your timr in half assed anandoned museums in Pueblo, for that go to CDMX, i suggest Soumaya (free Rodin sculptures) and the Anthropology museum
>tfw you actually enjoy riding the metro
Its therapeutic
Thanks for the advice.
What do you mean by 'the most interesting people?'
Watch this movie.
Cities that may interest you up north (cultural hubs):
San Luis
Querétaro
Matehuala :^)
He's trolling. Those are dangerous places. Don't go there.
That's sort of what I figured from the Google searches I did.
I know, specially when its half empty
that's right, the crazy russian will step on your food and stab you
Fuck I survived two weeks in Mexico with one full week in Mexico City with no Spanish. Yes, I was that asshole.
>Acapulco
aren't there narcos there?
I started in Cancun->Cozumel->Tulum->Chichen Itza->Merida->Flew to Villahermosa for one week and flew to Mexico City for another week for a little over $2,000 staying in mostly 3 and 4 star hotels. This was past October.
I thought Mexico City's metro was excellent. Crowded yes but manageable.
That's a lot of money for two weeks.
Like I said, I'll probably stick with hostels.
I'm getting old enough to where I don't want to stay in dorms or hitchhike across continents, but I can't blow money like that when I'll be out until 2018. Maybe after I graduate and get a real job, but not now.
Did you have a good trip, though?
:^)
You seem like a nice dude who doesbt liter nor block entrances, you're allowed to come, when in Mexico City have a go to La Polar forbthe best birria and the market if Garibaldi for delicious pozole, after that a delicious pulque in Las Duelistas, for dinner churros and hot chocolate in El Moro
Have fun m8
I listen to Arcade Fire - Photograph on loop for maximum Gondola style comfyness
>tfw no untangible cybergf like in Her
Life is suffering
Yeah great time. The $2,000 included the flights. I also split the hotel bills with two other people. I misread your OP, 2 weeks + 1 month but yeah we didn't budget heavily. I think it was $1,300 just for the flight from east coast US to Cancun then we flew to Villahermosa to Mexico City then back. I can see you making it with $2,000 with additional income.
$1300 for all the flights I mean.
It is the best way to travel in the city
But at rush hour, its just not enough, not the streets, not the buses, not the metro
Nah man, the best way for tourists is in Metrobus and Trolebus because you get to see the city from the window as you pass by, in the metro (unless its L4, L12 and half of L2) youre mostly underground
>Metrobus and Trolebus
None of those cover the entire city, not even when combined
He wont be going to Tlalpan or Magdalena contreras m8, a full ride in MB L1 and the one which runs through the historic center (orange one) ought to be enough, ofc Xochimilco and CU is a must
Don't go to mexico if you're black lol
Almost died everyday