Travel Planning Tips

Researching Your Destination
The fact that you are reading this tells me that you research online. I suggest that you also pick up a travel book that you can carry for easy reference. You can suppliment this research online, while in Mexico, but you will likely have to pay for the service.

Finding Suitable Accommodation
Only you can define the kind of accommodation best suits your needs. In some communities you will be able to find beachfront for around $50USD while other more popular destinations may be around $75USD for a clean basic room. A condo with a kitchen will cost more but you may save enough on eating out to make it worthwhile.

You can always save a few dollars by finding somewhere a block from the beach.

When to Book Your Accommodation
To give ourselves maximum flexibility we tend to book as little as possible ahead of time. If we are flying in late we will normally book the first night online, however, we prefer not to commit ourselves to longer than one night. The following morning we look the community over and review our accommodation options on foot. We do not recommend this approach if you are traveling in high season.

Try Asking a Stranger for Advice
We enjoy walking up to complete strangers and asking them if they can recommend a good restaurant or a great place to stay. Most tourists enjoy shaing this kind of information and in our experience these encounters have often resulted in enjoyable vacation friendships.

Traveling Light
We have discovered that backpacks are both light and convenient for hoping on and off public transportation. Your hands are free and you are not dragging a case over uneven terrain. Only pack what you need, leave your winter coat back home in the car, always have a second smaller backpack for carry-on.

It is very important that you have a complete change of clothes in this pack. If you are traveling in the winter this is particularly important as you could find yourself stranded at an airport with your other luggage already back home.

Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance
Most travel agents will offer you cancelation insurance. Make sure you take as you never know when it will be needed. Family illness back home or an unforseen incident on vacation can make this coverage invaluable.

Travel Medical Insurance
Insurance to cover unforeseen medical and hospital expenses abroad can be purchased as a one trip policy or as an annual policy with a per trip daily limit. If you make numerous trips between Canada and USA in addition to trips to Mexico the annual policy can be more economical.