Mexico Travelers Recommend - page 4

If you have a bucket list for Mexican art, Guadalajara’s Centro Historico is a good place to start. The great muralist Jose Clemente Orozco is from Jalisco, and he did right by his home state. If you start at the Plaza Tapatía and walk through the sculpture garden at its eastern end, you’ll find the Instituto Cultural Cabañas, which contains a chapel with 57 frescos by Jalisco’s native son. Get a feel for the surrounding landscape with a morning hike in the Barranca de Huentitán-Oblatos (Calzada Independencia Norte), a tropical nature reserve on the outskirts of town. Then spend a more leisurely afternoon in the shade-dappled Parque Agua Azul a favorite of Tapatío families for more than two centuries. Spend the morning bargain shopping for folk art in Tonalá, and then head for lunch at the cavernous Mercado Libertad (52 Javier Mina). The market’s fondas (stalls) offer traditional, inexpensive fare.

When visiting the island of Cozumel from Cancun, the only way of accessing the island is from the ferry in Playa del Carmen. It’s a 50-minute drive from the resorts of Cancun to the Playa del Carmen bus terminal, and then a two-block walk to the ferry terminal for the 50-minute crossing to Cozumel. Independent travelers can arrange a taxi or bus to Playa del Carmen, whereas travelers on an arranged day trip to Cozumel can have vans collect them directly from their resort and transfer directly to the ferry. Whichever option you choose, ferries depart approximately every hour beginning at 6am. Once on shore, most visitors on a Cozumel day trip from Cancun have three different options for the day: Shopping, snorkeling, or exploring the island with a rental car or motorbike. For travelers on a tour from Cancun to Cozumel, it’s common to enjoy snorkeling, drinks, and activities at one of the island’s beach clubs.

Vast Mexico City is a metropolis of epic proportions, a densely populated valley of broad, shady boulevards, vast and crowded markets, skyscraper-studded business districts, and quiet Spanish Colonial neighbourhoods. Though this maze can seem intimidating to the uninitiated, this is one of the world’s great cities, a cultural milieu of world-class museums, artistic traditions, and tasty street cuisine that must be experienced to be believed. While some travellers will be able to walk right into busy Mexico City’s dynamic daily life without introduction, others may find it easier to begin with a guided tour. Either way, begin in the museum- and monument-packed city centre, where there’s always something interesting on. Other destinations within this urban sprawl could be day trips on their own: the ancient pyramids of Teotihuacan, the massive and mysterious City of the Gods that awed even the Aztecs; the Hanging Gardens of Xochimilco.

Get the measure of this famous resort town with a morning tour. You’ll see sweeping Acapulco Bay, stroll through lush tropical gardens, shop for authentic handicrafts and see the city’s famous La Quebrada cliff divers, who plummet from over 90 feet (30 meters) into the ocean below (at night it’s even more spectacular). Bring out your hidden Hemingway with some deep-sea fishing. Head out early on a 44 foot fishing boat and with any luck you’ll return with sailfish, dorado or even a marlin. Or how about a beginners' scuba diving course? You’ll learn all you need to know and see beautiful coral and fish while you’re at it. Travel into the mountains north of Acapulco and discover Taxco, a wonderfully preserved colonial city in a stunning slope-hugging setting. It was long associated with the silver trade, with numerous mines in the area yielding the precious metal.