Just back from almost 3 weeks in Mexico and wanted to post a report after having asked so many questions on this forum during the planning period. I was never really confident that my plans were going to work out, so I did have a bit of anxiety before we left. But somehow everything went remarkably - maybe almost accidentally - well and we had a great trip without any major, or even minor, problems. We were two couples, late 60's and early 70's travelling on a mid-range budget. Meaning clean hotel rooms with private bathrooms and halfway decent restaurants but nothing fancy.
Flew into Mexico City - 6 nights in the Condesa neighbourhood. Loved the area and found it to be a great base for exploring the city. Very leafy and comfortable compared to much of CDMX, giving us a welcome respite at the end of a day of walking our feet off. Metro is quick, cheap and easy to navigate. Uber is everywhere and very convenient. Visited most of the highlights, ate well and really enjoyed the city.
Leaving CDMX, we picked up a rental car from America Car Rental and drove to Piedra Herrada to visit the monarch butterfly sanctuary. This was the topic of many of my questions and in the end we decided to just drive there. It’s a fairly easy 2-ish hour drive to the sanctuary and we arrived just before noon. I realize this is a bit late in the day for hardcore butterfly people, but it was still worthwhile. My husband and I rented horses to go up the mountain - about 250 pesos per person. There’s a very short uphill climb after you leave the horses but that was easy. There were beautiful monarchs everywhere and great clumps hanging from the trees. This was my personal craziness, and I’m so glad to have been able to experience it. Definitely a highlight for me. We spent the night in Valle de Bravo, which turns out to be a very charming little town and if we hadn’t made other plans we would have spent another night there.
From Valle de Bravo we did exactly as you Thorn Tree folks told us not to do. We drove all the way to Oaxaca for 5 nights. It was a slightly gruelling drive - about 9 hours - going right back through CDMX traffic and on from there. But we got an early start and arrived in Oaxaca around 5:30. I’ve been to Oaxaca before but just love that town. So much great art, craft, food, drink. Did a day trip to the Tlacolula market and Teotitlan. Also visited the workshop of Jacobo and Maria Angeles in San Martín Tilcajete - they do unbelievably beautiful alebrijes and have created a really remarkable school for students who want to learn the craft. Their work is so far beyond the souvenir market-level - gorgeous works of art. When you go to the workshop you’re given a really excellent guided tour that takes you through the entire process. There’s no pressure whatsoever to buy. These pieces are very expensive.
From Oaxaca we drove through the mountains to Puerto Angel on the coast. The drive was, as we expected, harrowing. My husband loves this kind of driving but the rest of us were a little traumatized for the entire 4+ hours of winding switchbacks and horrifying sheer drops. Made it to Puerto Angel safely in time for dinner. Funny, the Lonely Planet and other guidebooks describe Puerto Angel as gritty and not particularly pleasant. We loved it. The beach may not be Gilligan’s Island level of gorgeous, but the water is clean and warm and the town has many many pretty decent places to eat. We spent 4 nights there, did pretty much nothing, ate seafood and enjoyed the water. It seems to be a town that’s really popular with Mexican families as opposed to foreigners. Took a snorkel trip one morning and saw hundreds of dolphins and one humpback whale. I think it was about 250 pesos per person for about 4 hours on the boat. Definitely worthwhile.
The last bit was an ordeal. We decided that we wanted to spend a couple of nights in Puebla so that we could have one day in the city. So we drove all the way from Puerto Angel to Puebla in one long exhausting 12 hour drive. It wasn’t fun but having weighed our options, it was what we decided to do. Arrived in Puebla just before sunset. Much nicer city than I expected - lots of interesting shopping; the cathedral is insanely over the top; the Palafoxiana Library is gorgeous. Had pozole, ate a cemita (never again) and enjoyed the scene in the town zocalo on Saturday night. If we’d had one more day, there would have been plenty more to see and do.
The next morning we drove to CDMX airport, returned the rental car and flew home. It was a great trip. Everything went well despite my overambitious itinerary. If I ever did it again, I’d avoid the 12 hour drive from the coast. And maybe take some anti-nausea pills before the road to Puerto Angel.
Thanks everyone for your help.
