Happy Birthday Mexico!

Mexico is currently gearing up for the party of a century -- make that two centuries. Preparations are underway to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the Mexican revolution (1910) and the 200-year anniversary of Mexico’s independence from Spain (1810). The Zocalo, Mexico City’s main plaza since pre-Columbian time, is the epicenter of this party, which will culminate on September 16, 2010.... Read More

Where have AAA Member Appreciation Cruises been all my life? Until sailing to the Mexican Riviera aboard Holland America Line’s Oosterdam, I’d never taken one. Now, I’m reluctant to cruise any other way.

My husband, Paul Lasley, and I were guest speakers on this AAA Member Appreciation Cruise, traveling with some 230 readers of Westways, Texas Journey, and New Mexico Journey magazines. The experience was a revelation.

On a AAA Member Appreciation Cruise, cruise hosts accompany the group and make sure things run smoothly. If problems arise, they run interference for you with... Read More

In Puerto Vallarta, we took our own advice. “Try to see a place through the eyes of someone who lives there,” we always tell people. “If you know someone who lives in the place you’re visiting, get in touch with them.” So, when Holland America Line’s Oosterdam called at Puerto Vallarta on the fourth day of our seven-night Mexican Riviera cruise out of San Diego, my husband, Paul, and I met up with our friend Liz, who has lived here for seven years.

“Many people who get off the cruise ships that call here never see the real Vallarta,” she told us as we... Read More

When we went ashore in Mazatlán, we hadn’t expected to hear Leroy Anderson’s "Sleigh Ride" played on marimba and French horn. But by the end of our visit, it made perfect sense. It was day three of a seven-night Mexican Riviera cruise out of San Diego aboard Holland America Line’s MS Oosterdam. My husband, Paul, and I are guest speakers on this AAA Member Appreciation Cruise. We’re traveling with cruise... Read More

Tijuana, Mexico:  two-for-one taco specials, tequila shooters, burros painted like zebras, $5 supersized sombreros and an ugly drug war that’s keeping tourists away in droves. 
“You’re going to Tijuana? Are you insane?! You’ll be kidnapped and shot!”

Yes, I was headed for North America’s most notorious border town, solo, to do research for a travel guidebook. And I wasn’t scared. Ok, maybe a little. Recently, the streets of Tijuana have seen the ruthless Read More

 
This is the fourth in a series of posts about Tony's Mayan drive trip.

My Mayan tour continues as I head towards Merida on my way to Hacienda Santa Rosa. Twenty minutes after passing through the village of Tixkokob I reach the Periferico, or loop road, that circles Merida and follow the signs south towards Campeche. I connect with the four lane highway south, traveling roughly forty minutes before turning off at Maxcanu and despite my somewhat limited  Spanish language, manage to follow the signs for Granada and... Read More

I was on travel assignment in Cancún for several days, checking out the Mexican tourist mecca and the rapidly developing Riviera Maya, the stretch of Caribbean coast between Cancún and Tulum. Also in town was Inspector 37, who was busy with his annual roundup of lodging and restaurant evaluations.

On my last day I met 37 for a late breakfast at Vips, a popular restaurant right in the middle of Cancún’s Hotel Zone. By the way, their huevos motuleños—two fried eggs, peas and diced ham atop a crispy tortilla covered in... Read More

I inspect and rate Mexican hotels and restaurants for a living, so here’s the inside scoop on Cancún and the Mexican Caribbean! If it’s your first or 50th visit, see more and enjoy more with these tips from your “Secret AAA Inspector”.

Cancún and the Riviera Maya, which extends along the coast south to Tulum, have been dramatically transformed in the last couple of years. Many hotels have been completely rebuilt or renovated while many new mega-resorts, offering new concepts have sprung up through out this large area, so the first step is deciding exactly where to stay? The... Read More

This is the third in a series of posts about Tony's Mayan drive trip.

Fortified by my breakfast of huevos motolenos, I leave Hacienda San Jose headed southwest, deeper into the Yucatan interior. At the behest of the hacienda staff, most of which are Mayan, I’m off to see the ruins at Ake, only a 20 minute drive away.

Driving along in the warm sunshine the road gets... Read More

     Traveling for adventure is a wonderful thing - no matter what your age.  Not everyone can hike the Himalayas or Mt Kilimanjaro, but there are many destinations that offer all kinds of unique things to do.  Stretch your imagination and consider some of the things you can do just south of the border in Cabo San Lucas, Baja, Mexico.

Bike riding too tame?  How about ATVs – even little kids ride these.  They are easy to operate and safe, unless you are prone to reckless behavior, generally.  There are several companies up and down the corridor between... Read More