Personalized trips to Mexico
for independent travelers

Convenient location in the historic center of Guadalajara. Beautifully decorated in Spanish Colonial style. The staff members were helpful and friendly, especially the breakfast servers - they all managed to smile while efficiently doing their work!

Casa Decu is a boutique hotel located in the lovely Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City. My room was clean, comfortable and well maintained. The staff were friendly and helpful. The continental breakfast was great. Cooked options were also available, but I didn’t order those. Coffee, tea and water are available 24/7.

This was a long day, but did not lack for interest, adventure and diverting activities. We started off at the Guachimontones archeological zone to view the “round pyramids” and the site as a whole. There is a new and excellent visitors’ center which prepares you for viewing the site itself, with murals, exhibits and a film (choice of language). We were fortunate to be there on a day in which there was a performance of pre-Hispanic dance and ritual. The site itself is easily accessible with a slight uphill walk, and the views are spectacular. I also learned about the importance of obsidian to early people, and saw examples of beautiful pieces made from this substance, along with artifacts discovered at the site. We tasted agua miel, and then drove on to a tequila distillery to learn about the making of this beverage, driving through extensive fields of blue agave. Of course tequila tasting was included. Last stop of the day was the town of Tequila itself where, not surprisingly, everyone seemed to be in a good mood!

Visiting Lake Chápala and these 2 communities on the shores of the lake made for an enjoyable and illuminating day. The 2 communities were different, with Ajijic demonstrating a more expat influence, and Lake Chápala showcasing its locality as a weekend/vacation retreat. The huge lake was lovely, and the morning climate was perfect. There was ample time to buy souvenirs and ice cream. We saw a performance of the voladores, and Daniel provided the background for this pre-Hispanic ritual.

A great day exploring this historic and charming area of the city! It was fun to stroll through the streets, stopping at art galleries and appreciating the Día de Los Muertos decorations. Also, we went to a store where they produce local candies, sweets and drinks; we learned about the process of making the treats, and were able to sample them all. Additionally, there was another included experience in which I was able to paint my own Día de Muertos skull.

This experience was not exactly as I imagined it, but was a lot of fun. Somehow I thought that I would be watching a charreria performance, but the visit was actually more interactive. I learned how to “rope” a calf (wooden), how to brush a horse, and I also learned a tremendous amount of background about the sport and those who perform it. There was also a tequila tasting, and a lovely serenade of Mexican music! Then at the end, there was actually a bonus performance of charrería. It was a truly unique and wonderful experience.

We visited the historic center of Guadalajara, including the Expiatorio, the Zócalo, and the Hospicio Cabañas. The tour included both walking and also driving through some neighborhoods which were outside of the central area. It was an excellent introduction to Guadalajara. At the end we visited a local market where they were selling items for Día de Los Muertos, including components for home altars and decorations. It was very interesting to see, and fascinating to see people getting ready for the celebrations.

Again, I was fortunate to have Pablo as my guide for this experience. He is highly knowledgeable, patient and kind, the perfect person to deal with the unbelievable Mexico City traffic! We first stopped in Cuernavaca for a visit to the cathedral, where the significance of the various components of the site was explained. Then on to Taxco. I was excited to visit that charming city, which I had heard about and had seen on travel videos. We visited the Zocalo, and strolled around the city. I fulfilled my goal of finding a gift in silver for my husband. Pablo was very patient with my shopping!

First of all, the transportation in the VW beetle was so much fun - I had not ridden in a convertible in many years! It was very special to have a tour of the lovely UNAM campus, given by a former student. Not only did she convey a lot of invaluable information about the various murals, but she was also able to talk about the campus life of UNAM students. In addition to the main campus, we also visited the sculpture garden, with an optional side trip to the nearby museum of contemporary art. All in all, an incredible day!

This was one of the activities I specifically requested, and I was enthralled to visit this iconic site.

The library is an architectural marvel, and a quiet haven within the bustling city.

We nearly moved from this hotel because of power problems . We are so glad we stayed and trusted they would have it fixed by the time they said it would be fixed. It occurred as they said but they still upgraded our room because of the potential problem. The location was excellent, the room was large and comfortable. A wonderful stay! The staff explained the problem well and solved the issue very professionally.

This hotel was very nice and quite close to centro Guanajuato. The room was a bit small but it had all the amenities we needed. I must mention however, that a nearby nightclub kept us awake until thankfully @ 2 am they stopped the music. Now, for those that love the nightlife, this hotel would be perfect!

Wonderful location and the staff were extremely helpful. The room was large, clean, and had all the amenities we needed. The hotel itself was mere steps away from the pedestrian only plaza at La Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel. There were 31 stair steps to our room but staff carried our luggage up and retrieved it when we checked out. Other trips up and down were good exercise! A very delightful stay/

This was a disappointing day. The culinary tour description in our itinerary sounded fantastic, but unfortunately the reality did not match the description. The first stop was to be an apiary where we will get a chance to taste different types of honey. It was last and we had to remind the guide it was included. It was less than impressive. There was one bee hive, and 5 little spoons with honey on them. The vineyard may have had a cellar 25 feet underground but we didn’t get to see it. We did get a wine tasting and good explanations about the wines. And we tasted 12 different cheeses with the wine tasting. We were supposed to go to a cheese cellar where we would learn about the cheeses, not just taste them at the wine tasting. We enjoyed the town of Bernal but our itinerary clearly indicated lunch was included. By mid afternoon, we were hungry and asked about lunch so our guide took us to a nice restaurant with a fabulous view of the Bernal monolith, but unfortunately, when it came time to settle the bill, we were told we had to pay. That lunch was not included in the tour. I suppose I should have complained more but we were quite a distance from Queretaro and frankly didn’t want to anger the guide too much. Along with paying for our own lunch, his was on the bill, too. I complained to our agent from Rutopia and we will be refunded the cost of the lunch, but it was disappointing. Oh, and there was no visit to a quartz museum as described in the itinerary. So unfortunately our last day marred an otherwise outstanding week in Mexico.

Susanna, our guide was so knowledgeable and personable. We enjoyed every step of our tour and Susanna gave us great ideas for activities to do on our own.

Alfredo, our guide was outstanding. He spoke english quite well, had a very great depth of knowledge and made the tour a delight.

The staff were very helpful, and polite. The room was beautiful. Spacious, clean and comfortable. We would definitely book again.

Very interesting

Wonderful initiative by the community for the community!!

The guide Manuel has superb knowledge and answered all questions to link the site to current sociopolitical events

Manuel the guide gave us a very helpful history lesson about this site