Trip Overview
 Welcome aboard fellow travelers! I invite you to join me on a delightful trip of discovery to the state of Colima México. You will fly to Manzanillo México where I will greet you at the airport and have comfortable ground transportation ready to take you to our first night's hotel in Melaque Jalisco a great little beach town north of the airport. You will be tired and ready for a break from your long journey. We will stay at a three star hotel TBA (to be announced in August 2008). Our Hotel will be a clean Mexican style hotel right on the beach that caters to Mexican and North American travelers. There will be a delightful and clean swimming pool and lush tropical gardens.
My intent is to get you to a comfortable hotel quickly in a great town where you can relax, unwind, change money and get used to Mexico before we bus out to Cuyutlan. In Melaque you will use your Visa or Master Card branded debit card to change US or Canadian dollars into pesos at Melaque's bank located near our hotel. You can also exchange US or Canadian dollars or traveler's checks at one of the banks or a nearby casa de cambio (money changing house).
If you bring traveler's checks you MUST have a valid passport for identification or you will NOT be able to cash your traveler's checks. The only brand of traveler's check you can be certain will be accepted are American Express. Other brands may be accepted but don't bet on it. Banks will NOT cash your traveler's checks. You will change traveler's checks at one of two or three casa de cambio or money changing houses in Melaque.
Following breakfast on our second day in Melaque my plan is to head for the bus station and catch the next bus out for Manzanillo. In Manzanillo we will change to a local 2nd class bus for Armería a small town on the way from Manzanillo to Colima City. We will get off the bus in Armeria and share taxi cabs for the last 6 mile leg of the journey to Cuyutlán. My intent is to have us at our hotel in Cuyutlán by 2:00 pm. México has a way of laying waste to the best made plans so please understand that you will have to be flexible of mind and very patient.
We will spend several relaxing days in Cuyutlán and then head up to Colima City, Comala and Suchitlán two delightful little hill towns outside of Colima City. Following our time in the highlands we will return to Cuyutlán for a full day of rest and relaxation before returning the following day to the Manzanillo airport for our flight home.
Who is this trip for?
This trip is for curious, flexible independent travelers who are interested in experiencing life in small Mexican towns and learning about the Mexican people and their rich culture. Travelers on this trip must be comfortable winging it a bit and taking light risks. We will be staying in clean, safe budget to moderate Mexican style hotels. On the trip details page of this website you can read about available 3 and 5 star hotel upgrades.
Our transportation will be a combination of taxis for short trips and the regular Mexican bus system for longer distances. I recommend carry on luggage only as this will work best with our itinerary and modes of ground transport.
If you are more comfortable in a mid to upper range destination resort hotel like the Sheraton Bugambilias in Puerto Vallarta where English is spoken this trip will be a very different experience. You will also want to be comfortable using alternate ways of communicating with Mexicans as English is not widely spoken in the areas we will be traveling in. Please read our México travel tips page to get a better feel for how this trip works.
For more details about Cuyutlán, Colima, Comala and Suchitlán please explore the pages on this site about each destination.
Thank you for considering joining me on this trip. I will do my very best to make this a memorable, stimulating and relaxing travel experience.
John Sedgwick
Foreign Affairs Travel
1 360 855 0109
john@foreignaffairstravel.com
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