Tequila and table dancing in Tijuana, Mexico

Advantages: Good shopping, bars and clubs
Disadvantages: Can be sleazy

...take passport and/or visa, and be prepared for questioning at the border control when re-entering the usa. The US authorities are understandably, very security conscious. The border at Tijuana is said to be the busiest in the world, and illegal immigration is a big problem so be prepared for a wait! My experiences at the border was that when entering Mexico there are no controls whatsoever. When leaving Mexico, on one visit, we waited for 2 hours before we went through. At other times, which were very early mornings, we near enough walked through. Immigration are likely to ask if you bought anything, may check your bags, and want to know your intentions in entering america. * tj- partying and shopping! * tijuana is often referred to as "t-j", maybe english speakers are too lazy to use the spanish pronunciation. This border...

MissDirect 28.09.2003 (30.10.2007) · Read review
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Review of Tijuana (Mexico)

Down Mexico Way

Advantages: Wonderful ancient ruins to explore
Disadvantages: food was often fairly poor

...A few years ago I went on a cultural tour of Mexico, visiting Mexico City, Merida, Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Oaxaca, Palenque and Monte Alban. Getting There The journey to Mexico from London Heathrow was easy and uneventful (apart from being upgraded to first class then being forced to use the Concorde Lounge. The First Class Lounge was being renovated) A direct BA flight taking just over 11 hours. Mexico City We had nothing booked on arrival apart from the first night's accommodation at the Best Western Majestic Hotel. This was a lucky choice as it must be one of the best in Mexico City, on the west side of Zocalo, the main square, with a 7th floor roof-terrace and restaurant overlooking the enormous plaza de la Constrictucion, Catedral Metroplitana and Palacio National. An absolutely fantastic location, and the roof terrace...

AndrewPo 03.08.2008 · Read review
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Review of General: Mexico

The Floating Gardens of Mexico City

Advantages: Unique day or half day trip
Disadvantages: A fair distance out of town

...Having lived in Mexico City since the start of July, I can't believe it's taken me over 3 months to visit this place, since it's one of the most famous attractions in the city and has been since the 1920s. Xochimilco (soch-ee-milk-oh) is an area located to the south of the city, known for its series of canals, the remains of old Lake Xochimilco. Quick trivia here, this was home to canoeing and rowing competitions when Mexico hosted the Olympics back in 1968. ~ Getting There and When To Go ~ Xochimilco isn't just a bit south of the city, it's a long way away, so much so that it took me over an hour to get there and I already live south of the centre. Metros only run as far as Tasqueña (end of Line 2, the blue one) and from there you can either catch the Tren Ligero ("electric train" or as I would call it...a tram) or take...

zoe_page 21.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of Xochimilco, Mexico City

Bella Italia in Mexico ... literally

Advantages: Yummy food, nice atmosphere
Disadvantages: A bit like Pizza Hut meets any other pizza chain in the world, and clearly not Mexican

...Mexican food, proper Mexican food as opposed to that Tex Mex stuff, is not all that vegetarian. That's how I justify the fact that I live in Mexico and, um, eat Italian food. A lot. Italiannis is a restaurant chain here that is owned by WalMart, which is a little random, though WalMart own quite a few places here including another supermarket chain, some clothes stores, and VIPS restaurants. As the name would suggest, Italiannis is the Italian Restaurant part of the "family". ~~ Ambience ~~ "Buongiorno", chirped the hostess as we arrived last night. As my 4th language of the day, she just got a muttered "Buongiorno" in return before I go into Spanish. She then asked my name, as she or her colleagues have every time I've been to any of the local branches. I try to spell it for her "Zeta, oh ay" and she things I'm called "Shazay...

zoe_page 28.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Italiannis, Mexico

Viva Las Mexico

Advantages: Great weather, great people, cheap prices loads to do!
Disadvantages: None

...Back in 1996 Alex and I decided to take our annual holiday, usually when we took our holidays we would go in the winter months, this was always cheaper and it was easier for me to get holidays at work. Anyway this year I had changed jobs and I was the one that decided the holidays and vowed that I would be taking a summer holiday for a change even if it meant more expense. A lot of my friends have told me that they are saving up for the holiday of a lifetime, but how do you know that you are going to enjoy that holiday? I like to take the holiday as it comes and make form it whatever you will then decide if that was your holiday of a lifetime. That is exactly what happened when we went to Puerto Vallarta in 1996, there was no lifetime saving (I am only 27) no working all the hours under the sun! Just a last minute deal to Mexico...

Squidget 28.04.2001 · Read review
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Review of Puerto Vallarta (Mexico)

Barcelo Costa Mexico

Advantages: Great staff
Disadvantages: None

...Barcelo Costa Mexico, Cancun I recently visited Mexico on June 2008 and I stayed in the Barceló Costa hotel. Barceló Costa is situated on the hotel zone in Cancun. The hotel zone is built along the beach so each hotel has got their own section along the beach with a beach bar and sun loungers. The hotel is near Cancun town which has bars, nightclubs, restaurants and shopping markets and a 5 minute bus trip which costs around 30pence GBP to get to. The hotel staff are very helpful and pleasant for example if you are lying on the beach there is one or two staff serving your drinks so there is no need to get off your seat. The staff in the restaurants is also helpful and can't do enough for you. The rooms are very spacious and decorated very modern. There is a king-size bed in the double room with a large television. The bathroom...

traceyk100 04.08.2008 · Read review
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Review of Cancun (Mexico)

Mexico a go go

Advantages: Fantastic Scenery, Friendly People, Great Food, Cheap Drink
Disadvantages: Big and Hot

...As you may be aware I've spent the last couple of weeks on holiday in Mexico, or that's what I thought. This opinion is not about my stay in Mexico but rather some points to note if you are thinking of Mexico as your destination for your holiday. The holiday itself has given me a lot of material that will probably be spread over several opinions as I've seen headings for the various bits under the Ciao travel umbrella. So here goes, in no particular order , a list of things that hit me about the place. I'll probably add things as they come to me later , but hopefully this will be of some help to you out there: ~~Distance From Britain, Mexico is a ten hour flight , so if possible get the seats with the most room possible. After half an hour you will really appreciate the extra room. My holiday cost around 1500 GBP and 150 GBP was...

mikeydred 26.09.2001 (18.10.2001) · Read review
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Review of General: Mexico

Magical Mystical Mexico

Advantages: Nice weather, beautiful scenery, Just Brilliant
Disadvantages: Long haul flight required, fairly expensive (but worth it!)

...We wanted to go somewhere special for our honeymoon. Mexico certainly lived up to that ideal and much, much more besides. What a fantastic holiday, and what a wonderful place to visit. My husband and I got married on 19th August 2000 but had to wait until the 25th before we could go on our honeymoon. We went with Thompson Holidays and the main drawback was the Friday departure. We were informed that Mexico is a popular location for honeymooners and people getting married abroad. So it seems a little strange that flights are all on Fridays, considering the most popular day for a wedding is a Saturday! But hey, all that aside, at least it gave us a chance to recover from our fantastic wedding day and sort out packing etc. The outward flight was at a fairly sensible time in the morning and seeing as we live slightly more than...

joannavos 18.05.2001 · Read review
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Review of General: Mexico

Oh, Mexico

Advantages: Your every whim catered for. No extras bill.
Disadvantages: Very expensive

...Last Christmas we took a Kuoni package to view the Mayan sights of the Yucatan in Mexico. It was a thoroughly enjoyable and informative trip, but quite exhausting, being on the go for a week, so we also decided to book a beach-side add-on for some rest and relaxation. I did lots of research on the web and came up with a hotel that sounded fantastic ? The Royal Hideaway in Playa del Carmen ? but it was not one of the hotels offered by the tour operator. I managed to arrange that we could leave a week-long gap in our Kuoni package and make our own arrangements, but I realised that we would be out on our own if we had any problems. Convinced by the rapturous reviews that I had read on Travelocity (http://dest.travelocity.com/Reviews/reviewsread/0,5401,TRAVELOCITY30644,00.html) I took the plunge and made the booking. As...

SuzanneW 21.06.2002 · Read review
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Review of Royal Hideaway - Playa del Carmen (Mexico)

VIVA MEXICO

Advantages: More filled with excitement than Robbie Williamses pants
Disadvantages: Keep your ehad screwed on and there are none.

...Mexico City. The world?s fourth biggest city, with probably one of the worst reputations. I went there not by choice but out of necessity because that was the only way you could have gotten me there. I was living in Mexico, about five hours away from Mexico City in a place called San Luis Potosi when my passport ran out. That meant only one thing. A trip to the British Embassy in Mexico City. I was terrified. Because you read about it don?t you? You read about all the horrific things that happen in Mexico City. You read that Mexico has the highest Kidnapping rate in the world. (It?s just taken over from Columbia) You read about people that only stepped out of their hotel rooms for a second and are mugged on the doorstep. So I wasn?t looking forward to it. This is what I found. We took the bus in and hit Mexico City...

xelan 08.08.2004 · Read review
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Review of Mexico City (Mexico)