That's how I learned about some of the places I went in Jalisco last year (Arandas, Jalostotitlan, etc).

Many of the categories of towns / villages not prominently featured in guides get mentioned here in various discussions on the TTMB ... such as Arandas, Jalisco. A large portion of the generation of Mexico explorers who were here on the TT 15-20 years ago have passed or no longer post about their off the beaten path travels. But a lot of detail is included in the discussions some readers ignore.

As for Arandas ... a semi-regular contributor from years ago was "Randy in Arandas." He was a rancher. An relatively young (at the time) expat married to a local gal, who proudly wrote a lot about his part of Mexico because he wanted us to know.

Back to guidebooks: such guides are written, almost exclusively, for tourists and, therefore, concentrate on destinations the expected readership are likely to be interested in. That's true for guidebooks written about any country.

Once (probably 15-years ago), when reading the online version of an Acapulco newspaper, I saw mention of a new road supposedly having been completed in the state of Guerrero that was, for the first time, cutting through the rough mountain terrain connecting market-center Tlapa (near the Puebla / Guerrero state line) with the fishing village of Marquelia on the Pacific Coast. The road didn't yet appear on any maps. I had already planned a visit to Chilapa, Guerrero (at which there was a market in continuous operation for 400+ years) with a side trip to Olinala (where lacquer boxes / artwork is crafted) and Tlapa was nearby (where a large, unrestored pyramid is situated). Local information about the new road was sketchy - maybe it existed, maybe it didn't.

Long story shortened, after a couple of days in Tlapa and lots of questions asked by me, I was eventually told where to wait for transport along a road outside of town, where, after an hour's wait, a pick-up truck with benches in the back and a tarp overhead providing protection from the burning Sun stopped. Of the half-dozen others sitting in the truck, I was the only person making the long journey to Marquelia. A journey which became dangerous because of mud-slides, unfinished portions of the road, etc. Several times the driver thought the danger was too great and we'd have to turn-back to Tlapa; he forged-ahead.

Along the way the truck stopped in pueblos unaccustomed to foreign visitors and I became the object of inspection and conversation. Places so difficult to reach from the outside, before the road was cut. It was a long, nerve-wracking and exciting trip through the unknown - one of the best journeys I've taken ... and something / someplace not included then or unlikely now in a guideook.

Over the years I've taken other similar journeys after reading about an unknown (to me) destination, or seeing a place briefly mentioned. A truly independent, off the beaten path traveler ... has to piece-together research and information from multiple sources. These are the types of journeys / experiences that fuel our excitement to travel.

LW

I have both the LP Mexico and Rough Guide, both of which are 800 pages or more long. I don't think anything else exists that has more info than those two. Still, in the last couple of years I've been to quite a few places that don't even receive a mention in either book. My favorite new research tool is Instagram, where photos of interesting places I've never heard of pop up quite often. That's how I learned about some of the places I went in Jalisco last year (Arandas, Jalostotitlan, etc).

It'd be nice if you could fit in Uxmal somewhere. It's as impressive if not more so than Chichen Itza but with a fraction of the crowds. You could possibly visit there on your way to Campeche. You could also pop into a cenote; there are several in between Merida and Uxmal. There are also some cenotes in between Chichen Itza and Merida; try and avoid the super-touristy and super-crowded Ik Kil. Merida's certainly worth a day, imho. The evenings, especially, are magical.

My experience has been that the 896 page LP Mexico guide is about as extensive as you'll find ... covering / mentioning more places than any other guide to the country. Then there are regional guides, such as those published by Moon Guidebooks … which I've used as supplements to the LP Mexico.

What I sometimes do when trip planning is to consult a couple or several guidebooks, utilize information available on the web and in Mexican newspapers and magazines … and maps.

There is no one exhaustively comprehensive guidebook for travel in Mexico.

Where is it you want to travel in Mexico for which you cannot locate information?

LW

That's a lot of driving, and many places to enjoy along the way that you'll be passing by. You have no cenotes? Backtracking to/from Xpujil? There are accommodations on the road to Calakmul, instead of driving the 58 miles between Xpujil and the Calakmul road entrance three times. What did you want to do in Merida? Chetumal is nice town with museums, lots of hotels and restaurants. Maybe not go so far west, but head to Chetumal after Valladolid. You can also get to Valladolid and go to Chichen Itza that first day. Maybe Ek Balam and its cenote the next day.

I also saw a guy driving a truck today, a bit erratically, when I stopped to let him go past me, he was swilling a beer with one hand on the wheel. Not sure which is worse, driving 24 hours or that.

It will be more humid along the coast than inland.
I was on that coastline in early February and the humidity was horrible. A bath towel hung out all day in the sunshine was wetter the following morning. I was very happy to get inland to Comala and Colima city, it was much drier there. However, a local told me that it is pretty awful for a number of months in the summer, with high temperatures.

PS try to wear thin cotton for comfort. Takes longer to dry after washing, but so much better to wear.

It is nice when people are honest. Not just because you didn't lose your money, but knowing that others are kind and thoughtful.

When I went to Peru and Bolivia in 1981, we carried all our money, and our paper airline tickets, in money belts. Gosh those things stunk after a few weeks! But all the currency in Peru stunk, the local people carried it in a lot of different spots.