Summer travel ideas for someone based in Mexico?

[bonnie metzger]

I live in Mexico and am looking for someplace fascinating and inexpensive to go for 3 weeks in July.

Any ideas? I am solo, 60 something female.

[bonnie metzger]

If you don´t mind heat, Sayulita is a small, intimate fishing village, easy to meet people, beautiful jungle, beaches, boutiques, tons of restaurnts, not a big development like Cancun or Baja. I have a vacation rental here, www.airbnb.com, casa arriba.

[David Paul Appell]

Are you looking in Mexico, Bonnie, elsewhere in the hemisphere -- how far afield are you looking?

[bonnie metzger]

Limited budget, possibly San Christabol de las Casas or Guatamala.......open to other ideas. Europe airfare is too expensive in July. Have 3 weeks.

[David Paul Appell]

Guatemala is a great choice; I was there several months ago and it was fantastic.  Great deals even on luxury hotels and dining in Guate (Guatemala City) which is a lot more interesting than you might think and not nearly as much of a security concern as you might've heard -- if you stick to key tourist-interest areas and exercise common sense.  There are local tour operators on this site which can design affordable programs to key areas like Chichicastenango (a center of Maya religion and a traditional marketplace simply not to be missed), Lake Atitlán, and Flores Island/Tikal (an archaeological site which apart from Machu Picchu is the most exciting I've ever experienced). You can of course do the driving yourself or take local transportation, but I don't know the current condition of the roads out to the highlands, which late last year were still collapsed in some parts from September mudslides -- seriously, if they're anything like they were when I was there, you'll want to be driven by folks who really know what they're doing). 

 

Another destination I've nearly made it to several times but never quite, and is so on my bucket list, is Ecuador, whose capital Quito has lively dining/entertainment and colonial quarter and which offers a great menu of soft adventure and cultural tourism throughout the country.  I don't know what the airfares would be like from Mexico, but once you're in-country I think you'd be very impressed by the prices at which you can have a high-quality experience. (It also carries the added benefit of being more coolish for a summer respite, at least in Quito and elsewhere in the higher altitudes; this also goes for many parts of Guatemala, although Petén/Tikal will be steamy). 

[bonnie metzger]

David, thanks. I'm trying to escape heat and rains as we have in Sayulita. Is Guatamala HOT and rainy in July as I hear San Christabol de las Casas is. I'm on the fence.........

[Anil]

Within Mexico, go to Chetumal area. It has beaches, it has lakes and it has archeological monuments. In Honduras, go to Tela, or if you are willing to go rustic visit a garifuna village by the beach -  Triunfo de la Cruz. There is only one small lodging place. There is ofcourse, Utila island (less crowded than Roatan) in the coast off Honduras in the Caribbean Sea. 

In El Salvador, visit the defunct volcanos, forests reserves.

[bonnie metzger]

THank you for your thoughtful reply. I will check into what you've recommended and let you know if I choose any of them.

If you come to Sayulita, remember Casa Arriba.......www.airbnb.com, search Casa ARriba