Most Inspirational Moment
Difficult to single something out as the trip itinerary was so diverse and enjoyable but my least favourite location was San Cristobal, although I did buy some fabulous hand-painted wooden masks there! We did a sneaky swim in a small cenote too - the water was crystal clear and a pleasant temperature - so refreshing!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Arturo was absolutely smashing! He always had a smile on his face, was super organised and packed so much into the day. He had a great sense of humour and really gelled with the group. He was really charming and kind too. We always had so many questions about the history and culture which he was able to answer very knowledgeably.
Advice for Potential Travellers
The trip notes are somewhat misleading on some points: Currency - really get mostly in Pesos to cover what you will be spending on food and drinks. I only used USD for the tips and the additional boat trip in the canyon. Eating out is relatively expensive and a 15% tip is usually applied. You can use credit cards in the more touristy areas but usually cash is preferred. Packing - I was led to believe a warm jacket and jumper would be required so I ended up taking some non-essential items. It is generally very warm and humid and balmy in the evenings so no jumpers or jackets required. I only wore a fleece when we had to leave San Cristobal at 4am. A denim jacket was fine. But DO take a raincoat - we got absolutely drenched in flash floods in Puebla. Girls - ignore the comments about shorts not being acceptable. They are commonplace both with tourists and locals - and essential when climbing up pyramids! Skirts very impractical.
Suggestions
Yes, there are far too many long bus journeys and the minibus was crammed full - for a large group, couldn't a larger coach be used so there is a bit more space to spread out? There were some bus politics going on which wasn't always pleasant. Unfortunately, the journey from San Cristobal to Palenque was not only on winding mountain roads but was through a lot of community areas where there are speed humps so the drive was quite slow - we were on the bus 8 hours - and also very bumpy and jolty. We seemed to do quite a few "sales" stops. I would prefer these are kept to a minimum as they were quite time consuming and the products so expensive - probably geared for visitors from the US - and they are en route so not optional. I would probably cut out the visit to the tile factory in Puebla and the painted wooden artefacts outside Oaxaca - these tours were quite long. and the wood carvers was full of coach parties and the products 100s of USD! I wasn't keen on the black pottery or the rug weaving either. I don't remember having so many sales visits on Exodus trips before. On the other hand, the hammock maker was very amusing and the Panama hat maker was interesting and both were short and sweet. All the hotels were clean with plentiful hot water and large comfortable beds. However many of the breakfasts were disappointing with few choices.