With a Native American heritage and a distinct Spanish flavour, Mexico is vibrant, colourful and unique.
Its varied terrain ranges from cactus-studded deserts to
white sandy beaches and blue waters, tropical rainforest and
jungle-clad hills to steep rocky canyons and narrow gorges,
and from snow-capped volcano peaks to bustling cities.
Since the height of Mayan and Aztec civilisations, Mexico
has suffered the destructive force of the Conquistadors,
European colonial rule, civil and territorial wars,
rebellions, dictatorships, recessions and earthquakes. Yet
its people remain warm and friendly, much of the countryside
remains unspoilt by development, and its cities display a
unique style of architecture. The extraordinary history is
reflected in the ancient Mayan temples strewn across the
jungles and ruins of Aztec civilisations, rural indigenous
villages, Spanish colonial cities and silver mining towns,
and traditional Mexican ports.
Buildings display a unique combination of colonial and pagan
architecture, blending together Art Nouveau, Baroque, Art
Deco and Native American design into the structure of their
churches and public structures. The country's culture
displays a similar blend of the traditional and modern,
where pagan meets Christian in a series of festivals, or
fiestas throughout the year.
Besides a combination of unique culture and fascinating
cities, Mexico also boasts several hundred miles of
coastline extending down through both the Pacific and the
Caribbean, which has branded the country as a popular summer
retreat destination. Beach resort cities such as Acapulco,
Cancun and those of the Baja California peninsula are
accepted vacation havens. The countryside is also rich in
archaeological treasures with pyramids, ruins of ancient
cities and great stone carvings of ancient gods standing as
testament to a country once ruled by the Aztecs and Mayans.
Basics
Time: Mexico spans four different time zones: GMT -6, -7 and
-8 with daylight saving, and GMT -7 all year round in the
state of Sonora.
Electricity: 130 volts, 60Hz. Two-pin flat blade attachment
plugs are standard.
Money: Mexican currency is the New Peso (MXN) divided into
100 centavos. Credit cards are widely accepted, particularly
Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Travellers cheques
are generally accepted, but cannot be cashed on Sundays.
ATMs are available in most cities and towns and are the most
convenient way to get money, but for safety reasons they
should only be used during business hours. Although most
businesses will accept foreign currency it is best to use
pesos. Foreign currency can be exchanged at one of many
casas de cambio (exchange houses), which have longer hours
and offer a quicker service than the banks.
Currency Exchange Rates
MXN 1= US$ 0.08 £ 0.05 C$ 0.09 A$ 0.11 R 0.62 EUR 0.06 NZ$
0.13
Note: This is not updated daily and should be used as a
guide only.
Language: Spanish is the official language. Some English is
spoken in tourist regions.
Entry Requirements for Americans: United States citizens
travelling by land or sea must either be in possession of a
passport, WHTI-compliant document, or a government-issued
photo ID, such as a driver's license, as well as proof of
citizenship, such as an original or certified birth
certificate. To enter or re-enter the USA by air a passport
or other valid travel document is required. A visa is not
required for stays of up to 180 days, if holding a Tourist
Card/FMT form issued free of charge by airlines, embassies
and at border crossings. Business travellers do not require
a visa for up to 30 days if holding a FMTTV form.
Health: Those entering Mexico from an infected area require
a yellow fever certificate. There are no vaccination
requirements for visitors to Mexico, however visitors should
take medical advice if travelling outside the major tourist
areas. A malaria risk exists in some rural areas, but not on
the Pacific and Gulf coasts, and dengue fever is on the
increase. Sensible precautions regarding food and water
should be followed and visitors are advised to be cautious
of street food and stick to bottled water. Medical
facilities are basic, so medical insurance is recommended.
Tipping: Tipping is customary in Mexico by almost all
services as employees are not paid sufficient hourly wages
and rely on tips. Waiters and bar staff should be tipped 10
to 15% if a service charge hasn't already been added to the
bill. The American custom of tipping 15 to 20% is practiced
at international resorts, including those in Los Cabos.
Safety: There is a risk of indiscriminate terrorist attacks
in public places. Crime is high in Mexico, especially in
Mexico City, where robberies and muggings are prevalent.
Travellers should avoid displays of wealth and be
particularly vigilant on public transport, at stations and
tourist sites. Only use authorised taxi services, from the
taxi rank. All bus travel should be in daylight hours and if
possible it is advisable to travel first class. Women
travelling on their own should be alert, especially in
tourist areas, as a number of serious sexual assaults have
occurred in Cancun recently. Visitors drawing money from
cash machines or exchanging money at bureaux de change
should do so in daylight hours and be especially vigilant on
leaving. There have been reports of tourists being
approached by 'questionnaire agents', who use visitors'
personal details to mislead relatives about their
well-being, so be cautious. Visitors are advised to be wary
of people presenting themselves as police officers
attempting to fine or arrest them for no apparent reason,
leading to theft or assault; if in doubt ask for
identification, and, if possible make a note of the
officer's name, badge number and patrol number. The practice
is most common in Cancun where increasing numbers of
motorists in rental cars have been stopped and threatened
with imprisonment if an immediate fine is not paid.
Hurricanes may affect the coastal areas between June and
November.
Customs: Mexicans are not impatient and do not appreciate
this emotion in others, so travellers should behave
accordingly and expect opening hours and public transport
times to be flexible and laid back. Mexicans are friendly
and hospitable people and courteous behaviour and polite
speech in return, is greatly appreciated. Travellers should
also note that it is common for Mexicans to communicate
closer than one arm's length from each other and that it is
not an attempt to be forward.
Business: Business in Mexico tends to be conducted formally,
particularly in initial meetings. Face-to-face contact is
important in order to build a good working relationship.
Dress tends to be formal with suits and ties the norm,
though it can be more relaxed in hotter areas. It is always
important to be punctual, although your counterpart may be
late, as it is normal for Mexicans to run behind schedule.
Greetings are polite and formal, using surnames and titles
unless otherwise indicated. A handshake is standard, though
follow your host's lead. Business cards are usually
exchanged and it can be helpful to have them printed in
English on one side and Spanish on the other. English is
usually used in a business context, but an attempt at
speaking Spanish will be highly appreciated, and an
interpreter may be necessary. Women should be aware that
business is Mexico is very male dominated. Business hours
can vary, though usually from 9am to 5pm, often closing at
lunchtime for an hour.
Communications: The international access code for Mexico is
+52. The outgoing code is 00 followed by the relevant
country code (e.g. 001 for North America). City/area codes
are in use, e.g. (0)55 for Mexico City, (0)744 for Acapulco
and (0)998 for Cancun. Some US long-distance phone companies
have access numbers which can be dialled in order to use
your phone card - calls are usually cheaper than direct-dialled
calls from a hotel room. If calling internationally from a
phone booth only use the official TelMex phone booths, as
all others charge very high fees. GSM 1900 mobile networks
cover most of the country. Internet access is widely
available in most of the country, especially in
tourist-orientated areas.
Duty Free: Travellers to Mexico over 18 years do not have to
pay duty on 400 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250g pipe
tobacco; 3 litres wine or other alcoholic beverages;
perfume, eau-de-cologne or lotions for personal use; a video
camera and one standard camera. Non-residents are allowed to
bring in 12 rolls of film or video cassettes, and goods to
the value of US$300 without incurring duty fees. Prohibited
goods include fresh food products and the import of canned
food. The export of archaeological artefacts is strictly
forbidden.
Activities
Diving
The island of Cozumel offers the best diving in Mexico and
is ranked as one of the top five diving spots in the world.
There are exciting reef drop-offs, coral gardens, caves and
plenty of marine life, and the snorkelling is also renowned.
The region around Playa del Carmen also offers excellent
reef diving and snorkelling and some of the best cave diving
in the limestone caverns along the coast. The Great Maya
Reef is a chain of shallow patches that stretches all along
the Yucatan coastline and is home to hundreds of species of
fish and sea turtles. The Sea of Cortez, or Gulf of
California, to the east of the Baja California Peninsula
does not offer the visibility or warm waters to match
destinations in the Caribbean, but its nutrient rich waters
support a huge variety of marine life and divers are likely
to come into contact with some of the bigger residents of
the underwater world such as schools of hammerhead sharks,
giant manta rays, whale sharks, marlin and whales. El Bajo
is considered the best site in the gulf, while the beautiful
Ballandra Bay is great for snorkelling.
Whale watching
The west coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula is
regarded as having some of the best whale-watching venues in
the world. Every year between December and March thousands
of California Gray whales migrate to the protected waters
and warm lagoons to mate and calve. Three lagoons on the
Pacific Coast that offer the best location for watching Gray
Whales are Magdalena Bay, San Ignacio Lagoon and Scammon's
Lagoon, which sees the largest number of these mammals each
year. The lagoons are protected marine parks where whale
watching is controlled and allowed only in boats operated by
trained guides. Humpback and Blue whales breed in the Sea of
Cortez, and Bahia de Los Angeles is the centre for
whale-watching expeditions in the area. Although whales can
be sighted from shore, particularly from the Cabo San Lucas
at the southern tip of the peninsula, boat cruises are the
most popular way to see them and take passengers to where
they can be observed up close.
Los Cabos
At the southern-most tip of the Baja California peninsula,
where the warm waters of the Sea of Cortez collide with the
wild Pacific, is an area of striking beauty and one of
Mexico's top resort destinations. Surrounded by a vast
cactus desert and ochre-coloured mountains, the azure waters
offer diving, sailing and swimming and the area is a
world-renowned Mecca for sport fishing and surfing. Los
Cabos is an area made up of the two resort towns of San José
del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, sitting at either end of an
18-mile (29km) stretch of exquisite beaches sprinkled with
exclusive luxury resorts and championship golf courses,
known locally as the Resort Corridor. San José del Cabo is
the older and more traditional of the two resorts with the
unhurried pace of a colonial Mexican village. Cabo San Lucas
started as a simple fishing village and is now one of the
favourite beach resorts of the elite, international tourist
offering high quality services and an energetic nightlife.
The majority of visitors base themselves in San Lucas or the
Resort Corridor. Just offshore is the area's landmark and an
impressive natural wonder, Los Arcos (The Arches), a
wave-sculpted rock formation.
Acapulco
Situated on one of the loveliest bays on the coast, backed
by the evergreen vegetation of the Sierra foothills,
Acapulco offers anything and everything to the holidaymaker,
but this is not the place to seek a peaceful escape from it
all. It is the Queen of Mexican beach resorts, the loudest
and most famous in the country with non-stop energy,
high-rise hotels, a glittering nightlife, white beaches and
an enormous range of activities. The main attraction is the
string of beaches that sweep around the bay, each offering a
different atmosphere and ample opportunities for water
sports, with calm waters, sun bathing, and seafront dining
of international quality. The downside of the city is the
shabby, polluted and overcrowded old town area, but it is
easy enough to ignore this side of Acapulco with plenty to
keep visitors happy along the glitzy resort strip among
shopping plazas, restaurants and beaches. A famous Acapulco
institution since the 1930s are the Quebrada cliff divers,
who pitch themselves gracefully from a height of 148ft (45m)
into the seemingly shallow water of a narrow chasm in the
ocean below after praying at the small rock shrine for
safety.
Cancun
Once a small, unremarkable fishing village, the resort of
Cancun is today the reason most people visit Mexico. It is
made up of two parts: the glitzy hotel zone dedicated to
tourism, and the downtown area inhabited by the permanent
residents. A different atmosphere prevails in each, with a
dramatic contrast between the air-conditioned shopping
malls, chic restaurant dining, and wealthy pleasure-seeking
tourists in one; and bustling market street stalls, noisy
vendors, and the daily grind of people at work in the other.
The hotel zone, situated on a thin strip of land (Isla
Cancun) in the shape of a figure '7', is what people imagine
when they talk about Cancun. It is a vision of Caribbean
paradise with soft white sand beaches and clear blue-green
waters. There is plenty of high quality accommodation
available, a wide choice of restaurants and shops, a
notoriously energetic nightlife, and an array of activities,
including both land and water sports. The city is also a
good base from which to explore some of the nearby
attractions, particularly the ancient Mayan site of Chichén
Itzá on the mainland, which is the best restored and most
famous of the archaeological sites on the Yucatán Peninsula.
Playa del Carmen
Playa del Carmen boasts one of the prettiest beaches on the
coast and despite its growing tourism, it has a small-town,
laid-back feel to it. The offshore reef offers some
spectacular diving, and less than an hour away by boat is
the island of Cozumel, with some of the best diving in
Mexico. There are numerous dive centres offering reef and
cave diving in the limestone caverns along the coast. The
small commercial town centre is packed with souvenir shops,
trendy bars and cafes, restaurants, designer clothes shops
and hotels, and has a vibrant nightlife that caters for the
smaller beach settlements nearby. It can get very
overcrowded with day-trippers from Cancun, as well as cruise
ship passengers. South of town, the expanding Playacar
development caters mainly for package tourists, its beach
packed with sunbathers and deckchairs, and lined with hotel
complexes; there is also an 18-hole golf course.
Cancun International Airport (CUN)
Location: The airport is situated nine miles (17km)
southwest of the hotel and resort area in Cancun. Time: GMT
–6 (GMT –5 between the first Sunday in April and the second
last Saturday in October). Contacts: Tel: +52 (0)9848 7200
or 9886 0028. Transfer between terminals: A shuttle bus runs
between the main entrances to the terminals every 10 mins.
Transfer to the city: Both taxis and colectivos can be used
to get to the town. An official taxi company provides
services from the airport and can be paid for at the airport
just after the arrivals hall. US$14-20/20-25 mins.
Colectivos are small buses that provide a door-to-door
service; the driver will usually wait until it is full
before leaving, US$6/30 mins. Car rental: Car rental
companies include Avis, Budget, Hertz, Thrifty and National.
Facilities: Cancun airport has all the appurtenances one
would expect at one of the world's mega-airports. Facilities
include ATMs, bureau de change, business facilities,
restaurants, shops, a beauty salon and tourist information.
There are facilities for disabled passengers but those with
special needs are advised to contact their airline in
advance. Parking: Parking is available. Departure tax: US$18
to US$29. Website:
www.cancun-airport.com
Climate
The coast and lowlands are hot and humid all year. The
interior highlands are milder and drier, but can become
freezing between December and February. Rainfall is scarce
throughout most of the country.