Topic - Travel Insight

Negotiation and barter are woven into the fabric of Mexican culture. In 1520, Hernan Cortes wrote to Emperor Carlos V of Spain describing a city with “many plazas, where there are continuous markets and dealings in buying and selling”. Since at least Aztec times, Mexicans have been devout traders. Five hundred years later, whether you’re [...]

In this series of articles we will examine five essential skills any budding expat considering Mexico should develop, whether the move is for living, working or retirement, full-time or part-time. In this first article, we examine possibly the most essential skill of all: learning the local language. Even if you plan to live in an [...]

Hotel deals are plentiful throughout Mexico outside of the key holiday seasons. In Mexico these are Christmas and New Year, Easter, and the summer vacation season between late June and early September. As the demand for rooms falls, accommodation prices are usually discounted by hotels and resorts, or they offer ‘free’ extras like breakfasts, spa [...]

Chichen Itza is Mexico’s most visited archaeological park.  It’s situated in the heart of the Yucatan peninsula, virtually equidistant between the cities of Cancun and Merida.  A colossal number of tour groups make the journey from Cancun, Riviera Maya and Merida to visit this important ancient Maya city for a day. The archaeological park opens [...]

In a bid to clamp down on email spam, Telmex and other major internet companies running WiFi spots in Mexico have shut down access to Port 25—the port most commonly used for sending email when you are using an email client like Outlook, Windows Mail, Thunderbird or Entourage. This means that when you attempt to use [...]

The Leventer Group, a Latin American research company with offices in Mexico and Argentina, has published a report with findings about customer satisfaction in regards to airlines serving Mexico.  The report covers seven airlines: five are Mexican-based companies; two are American-based carriers with extensive operations in Mexico. The survey’s report is sub-headed into groups such [...]

According to statistical data compiled and published by the Bank of Mexico, over 85 million people visited Mexico during 2009. Of the 85 million visitors, 20.9 million—24.5%—were classed as ‘international receptive tourists’; these are visitors who arrive in Mexico and stay beyond the ‘frontier zone’: i.e. beyond the check-points situated about 20km inland from the [...]

The provision and funding of healthcare services has been a challenge for civic leaders ever since healthcare, as a practice, moved out of the apothecary’s store and into the realms of science, clinics, hospitals and health programs. Finding constructive ways to make healthcare affordable and accessible to a country’s citizens–by whatever means–will continue to be a [...]

When you’re researching a place to visit or live in Mexico, it is useful to refer to a map, to get an idea of the land, topography and features around the areas you want to explore.  Google Maps provides pretty good online maps showing most places around the world; and Google Earth also overlays those [...]

The town of Puerto Vallarta on Mexico’s Pacific coast is a well-known location frequented often by people seeking year-round warm weather, a beautiful natural landscape, authentic Mexican atmosphere and excellent local amenities.  Far less-known is neighboring Punta de Mita, just a forty-five minute drive north of Vallarta, a place named after the rocky peninsula that characterizes the location. [...]