Dear globetrotters,
today I present you another continent: America. I am a big fan of Central & South America, so in my big holiday in 2019 I went to Mexico. In May (low season!) I & a travel buddy spent three weeks in Mexico with a small rental car & drove from Mexico City across the country to Cancun.
After landing, it immediately felt like coming home for me & that didn't change during the three weeks. I didn’t want to go back to Germany.
Who should travel to Mexico? People who are interested in history & road trip fans. The country has a lot to offer: Natural spectacles, fascinating masterpieces of the past and a life enjoying culture. Of course many people travel to Mexico to relax, but I think the country has so much more to offer.
Click here for a route suggestion for your road trip with special tips. (Sorry this article is in progress!)
COSTS
How much does a middle-class road trip costs? All together (food, sleep, car/flight, entrance fees/tours) we paid about 2000-2500 € p.p. Our accommodations had a middle level (e.g. hotel 3*) and in total we paid 1.400 € (700 € p.p.) including breakfast. The rental car (model Chevrolet Aveo 1.6) cost about 950 € due to the young driver extra fee & the different pick-up and drop-off stations. Dining (going out) is cheaper compared to Germany. For our scooter on Isla Cozumel we pay about 50 € incl. parking in Playa del Carmen for our car. The entrance fees are (apart from Yucatán) also humane. A SIM card with internet costs about 15 € for three weeks & is worth it, because you don’t need an extra navigation system.
SECURITY
If you read the travel warnings from the Foreign Office, it sounds like a very dangerous adventure and you’ll only come back half alive. But the reality is a bit different. We actually felt safe all the time, but we also behaved accordingly inconspicuously. Our car was also not the most expensive but simply small and practical and we did not obviously carry our valuables around. Of course there are dangerous areas, but we avoid them. There was actually only one road section where I would not have to get stuck. We did not get into a police control, but we always had some bills in a special wallet. In Mexico City we also took the metro.
I speak some Spanish (niveau A1) & we got along with it very well. It is helpful, because it is more easily when shopping and at the accommodations, when renting a car & maybe if necessary with the police.
SEA WEED
To be honest, yes, it's a big problem. This may be a travel blog, but I would like to shortly discuss why there are tons of seaweed in the sea at all. I have been told that contaminated water is going into the sea via the USA. This is poisoning for the very important seaweed & makes it die. Of course, the tons of dead seaweed do not disappear by themselves but swims through the sea for miles & finally end up on the coast. Those who expect beautiful, white sand beaches will be disappointed. In May 2019, the beaches & the sea were full of seaweed. At the hotels, the beach is indeed cleared, but in the water it is anyway. The smell is partly (especially in Tulum) also unpleasant. For those who want to swim, I recommend Laguna Bacalar. A lake, which is however as turquoise blue as the sea. Also Isla Mujeres still has the famous white beaches. But as I said above, Mexico has so much more to offer. :)
