Tim Leffel’s Cheapest Destinations

Mexico–Getting Harder to Find the Bargains

This blog has been quiet. Call it an end of the year break from blabbing.

I just finished up two almost-blissful weeks in the Yucatan region of Mexico. I say “almost” because I am working a bit, instead of just kicking back on the beach and doing nothing. That’s the curse of being a travel writer: it’s hard to travel anywhere without squeezing a bit of work into the agenda, which is the case here. I was down there with my family, including Mom even for the first week, but had to review a bunch of hotels and do some research for a short airline magazine story.

The latter, if it makes it to the finish line, is going to be about the hacienda hotels around Merida–these old henequen plantations that have been converted to swanky hotels. These places cost $300 and up, which brings me to the subject of this entry: costs in Mexico. In short, there are deals here, but most tourists won’t find them.

I spent Christmas Eve with the family of a good friend who has a vacation home in Merida. We wined, we dined, we listened to good music, and met some people who were visiting from the U.S. for the first time. “I’ve been here three nights,” one of them said, “and I’ve just figured out I’m paying way more than I should to take my family out to dinner.” The problem was, he hadn’t ventured more than five blocks from his hotel, a hotel which just happens to be in the most touristy part of the city. “We just ate over near here tonight, in the market, and holy cow-what a difference!” I knew before he said it that he would admit the food was more interesting as well.

Which kind of sums up why I’m not including Mexico in the next edition of The World’s Cheapest Destinations. I love it there–so much that I bought a little beach house on the Gulf Coast in 2004–but it takes some work to find the bargains. The three things that are truly cheap–labor, local transportation, and food– don’t really show up on the radar of the average tourist.

For anyone visiting the places set up for vacationers, American prices prevail. It is only by shopping in grocery stores, eating where the locals eat, taking local transportation, and hiring someone for a service will you see the true value. For someone who lives here, or spends a lot of time here at least, these factors are ever-present and they affect daily life. For someone spending a week here on vacation, they’re practically invisible.

For the tourist, there’s a sense that beers are a little cheaper, restaurants won’t wipe you out, and mid-range hotels are consistently a good value. But really, the country is doing far too well in terms of tourism numbers to have to work at it. That can be a good thing: “Mexican tout” has become kind of an oxymoron. But the trade-off for not being hassled is that people don’t work very hard for your business. They don’t have to.

Having said all that, I still think Mexico is a good value for your money. If you are coming from the U.S. you get the benefit of distance–and cheaper flights. If you are coming from Europe, the exchange rate makes it a deal. If you’re on a vacation budget rather than a long-term travel budget, prices will seem reasonable. You’ll get hit with a hefty departure tax if arriving by air, but for Americans, flights are still almost as cheap as a long-haul domestic flight.

You can decide on Wednesday you want to get away, then be sipping margaritas on Friday, by the pool or beach, for very little. If you want to rent a house and stay for a while, you can get a great deal for a week or a year. The food is incredible (if you avoid the tourist traps), the people are friendly (if you speak some Spanish), and the historic cities and ruins are a photographer’s delight. So I still heartily recommend going there and plan to see lots more of it in the years to come. But if you are on a shoestring budget, head to Central America or the lower-end places in South America instead.