Mexico Guide Book Recommendation wanted

Hi everyone.

In your expert opinions, what is the best guide for travelling in Mexico?

I've just finished university in England, and am hoping to spend a few
months travelling around Mexico (and possibly the Mayan sites in
Guatemala/Belize). I'll most probably be travelling on my own, at the end
of this year/beginning of next, and it will be my first time travelling
"properly". I'll want do do it as cheaply as possible (so I can stay
longer!), but accomodation would have to be clean and safe (obviously).
I'd mostly be interested in visiting the archaeological sites, maybe visit
a few volcanoes (if possible), and will definately need a few beach
locations! The Copper Canyon is also a possibility, etc.

With this in mind, which book would be the best for me to use? I've had a
flick through a couple, and the Lonely Planet, Rough Guide and Let's Go
appear to be pretty good. Let's Go is also a recent issue, unlike Rough
Guide which is about 2 or 3 years old now - LP might be too, can't
remember.

Any comments would be welcomed.

Thanks, James.

JohnM retorted :
In article , JK
writes
Hi everyone.

In your expert opinions, what is the best guide for travelling in
Mexico?

I checked out a bunch of different ones from my local library, from there I
could see which flavor suited me the best. Also, browser the local brick and
mortar bookstore can give you an idea of which ones you want to actually
buy.

Penny S

"spamoff" wrote in message
...
Penny S wrote ...

In your expert opinions, what is the best guide for travelling in
Mexico?

I checked out a bunch of different ones from my local library, from
there I
could see which flavor suited me the best. Also, browser the local brick
and
mortar bookstore can give you an idea of which ones you want to actually
buy.

We used _The Lonely Planet_, and found it to be just what the doctor
ordered.

And one might think carrying two copies of guide books: one having lots of
technical information included like in Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Moon and
so on series and the other concentrating on sights and nice pictures like
the books of Insight series.

I have a box full of Mexico guidebooks, but I think that the Lonely
Planet is the best and most complete overall. We took the Moon guide on
a trip, and were disappointed. Just don't assume that the prices are
accurate. Although I don't have the latest edition, experience with
previous editions has told me that prices change, usually up.

Richard



JK wrote:

Hi everyone.

In your expert opinions, what is the best guide for travelling in Mexico?

I've just finished university in England, and am hoping to spend a few
months travelling around Mexico (and possibly the Mayan sites in
Guatemala/Belize). I'll most probably be travelling on my own, at the end
of this year/beginning of next, and it will be my first time travelling
"properly". I'll want do do it as cheaply as possible (so I can stay
longer!), but accomodation would have to be clean and safe (obviously).
I'd mostly be interested in visiting the archaeological sites, maybe visit
a few volcanoes (if possible), and will definately need a few beach
locations! The Copper Canyon is also a possibility, etc.

With this in mind, which book would be the best for me to use? I've had a
flick through a couple, and the Lonely Planet, Rough Guide and Let's Go
appear to be pretty good. Let's Go is also a recent issue, unlike Rough
Guide which is about 2 or 3 years old now - LP might be too, can't
remember.

Any comments would be welcomed.

Thanks, James.

"JK" wrote in message
...

I'll want do do it as cheaply as possible (so I can stay
longer!), but accomodation would have to be clean and safe (obviously).
I'd mostly be interested in visiting the archaeological sites, maybe visit
a few volcanoes (if possible), and will definately need a few beach
locations! The Copper Canyon is also a possibility, etc.

With this in mind, which book would be the best for me to use?

Traveling on a budget I'd pick up a copy of The Travelers Guide to
Mexican Camping. It's mostly written for RVers, but most of the places they
list offer camping and/or inexpensive accomodations. www.rollinghomes.com
for more information and updates. For example, I found the lovely and very
inexpensive Sacbe Camping near Uxmal through them. Last November we stayed
in their nicest cabin, which is very nice, for $16.

I prefer guidebooks that only cover one region instead of all of Mexico
because they give me a lot more detail. Even within one company the quality
of the information can vary widely depending on the author. I would not buy
another guidebook by Joe Cummings or his buddy Chiki Mallon because I've
wasted so much time on his mis-information. I picked up a book by Chiki
Mallon, quickly spotted so much mis-information that I laughed and put it
back down.

Dennis

"JK" wrote in message
...
Hi everyone.

In your expert opinions, what is the best guide for travelling in Mexico?

I've just finished university in England, and am hoping to spend a few
months travelling around Mexico (and possibly the Mayan sites in
Guatemala/Belize).

Oh yeah, since you're interested in the ruins I highly recommend
Archaeological Mexico by Andrew Coe, now out in an updated second edition.

Dennis

Thanks for everyone's advice.

Unfortunately my local library is useless. WH Smith is slightly better
with Lonely Planet and Rough Guide. I'll have a look in a big store when I
go down to London in a couple of weeks.

Hopefully I'll find at least one of the books you've suggested.

James.

"JK" wrote in message
...

In your expert opinions, what is the best guide for travelling in Mexico?

I've just finished university in England, and am hoping to spend a few
months travelling around Mexico (and possibly the Mayan sites in
Guatemala/Belize).

I did exactly that when I graduated (June 2001) and found that the LP Mexico
was best suited for my needs. My only problems with it we

Restaurant recommendations weren't that great. This is easily overcome,
though. If you see a restaurant or road-side stand that's empty, avoid it.
I've never been disappointed by places that are very busy.

Bus fares were all off by a factor of about one third (i.e. add a third to
what the LP quotes for the true fare). This wasn't much of a problem,
though, as once you're aware of this you can always calculate the true fare
based on the LP's quotes.

I haven't had a chance to check if they've put out a new edition, though.

Richard

"Richard" wrote in :

"JK" wrote in message
...

In your expert opinions, what is the best guide for travelling in
Mexico?

I've just finished university in England, and am hoping to spend a
few months travelling around Mexico (and possibly the Mayan sites in
Guatemala/Belize).

I did exactly that when I graduated (June 2001) and found that the LP
Mexico was best suited for my needs. My only problems with it we

Restaurant recommendations weren't that great. This is easily
overcome, though. If you see a restaurant or road-side stand that's
empty, avoid it. I've never been disappointed by places that are very
busy.

Bus fares were all off by a factor of about one third (i.e. add a
third to what the LP quotes for the true fare). This wasn't much of a
problem, though, as once you're aware of this you can always calculate
the true fare based on the LP's quotes.

I haven't had a chance to check if they've put out a new edition,
though.

Richard



That's good to know. The current edition appears to be the 8th,
published in September 2002. So not completely up-to-date, but not too
old either.

James

Hi,

I prefer the Rough Guide for budget travelling. Have used it for
years. I like the fact that it has maps of some places and tells you
how to get around on buses. I have always found prices to be less than
what the book says. You can also check it out on the web, so do that.

Since you will have a few months, then do yourself a favor and visit
the Sierra Gorada. this is a region in the state of Queretaro where
there are no tourists other than a few Mexicans who venture there.
Even many Mexicans do not know about it. From Mexico city you can take
a bus to Tequisquiapan and then head into the mountains to a small
town called Bernal. On the way you will pass through several
ecological zones and eventually find yourself in a cloud forest. There
are some small, lesser known ruins sites in that area too as well as
some old churches and lots of local flavor. But I don't think you will
read about this in any of the travel guides. Have fun.

Dan

JK wrote in message ...
Hi everyone.

In your expert opinions, what is the best guide for travelling in Mexico?

I've just finished university in England, and am hoping to spend a few
months travelling around Mexico (and possibly the Mayan sites in
Guatemala/Belize). I'll most probably be travelling on my own, at the end
of this year/beginning of next, and it will be my first time travelling
"properly". I'll want do do it as cheaply as possible (so I can stay
longer!), but accomodation would have to be clean and safe (obviously).
I'd mostly be interested in visiting the archaeological sites, maybe visit
a few volcanoes (if possible), and will definately need a few beach
locations! The Copper Canyon is also a possibility, etc.

With this in mind, which book would be the best for me to use? I've had a
flick through a couple, and the Lonely Planet, Rough Guide and Let's Go
appear to be pretty good. Let's Go is also a recent issue, unlike Rough
Guide which is about 2 or 3 years old now - LP might be too, can't
remember.

Any comments would be welcomed.

Thanks, James.