Travel

[granddi]

I was following up with my curiosity of touring Mexico City including the ancient ruins and noticed that the major companies do not offer traditional escorted tours? Any thoughts or experiences?

Apparently one can hire a local comnpany once you arrive in country.

Also, Tauck withheld a portion of our deposit when our trip was cancelled 2 years ago. I have asked for a refund but not gotten a response. Any experieces with this problem?

[haddon9]

@granddi Tauck should have given you a full refund when the tour had to be cancelled.   I would keep trying until they give you your money back.  That's not right!

I had a deposit with a Rick Steves tour for June of 2020 and we did get all of our money back.

[Mz iMac]

@granddiI strongly suggest that you contact the State Department and/or research their website (if you are not using a travel agent which I suspect you're not) regarding "tourist safety" in Mexico.  At one point, the security was in the red zone due to drug cartels killings, kidnappings, etc. against tourist.

"Also, Tauck withheld a portion of our deposit when our trip was cancelled 2 years ago. I have asked for a refund but not gotten a response. Any experieces with this problem?"

This is why I always use a travel agent.  They take care of all problems & issues no matter how small or large that crop up.

I had to cancel 2 cruises at the height of the pandemic.  My agent did everything.  All I had to do was sit back & wait for my refund check which I received in 3 weeks while the agent did ALL the work.

[Mz iMac]

@granddi 

From the State Dept website.....

[ValuSkr]

Now is not the time to go to Mexico - see the State Department travel advisory for all the reasons why.

[Alter Ego]

My only experience with Mexico City was that it was the origination point for my NatHab trip to see the monarchs. I added on a day to see the ruins nearby. They are pricy, but worth it (although, this is likely not the kind of trip you are asking about)

I did take one tour on my own - food tour in the markets with Eat Like A Local Mexico City and they are highly recommended. Can Google as they’ve been written up about - female owned, they employ only female tour guides, giving them a good living wage. They are also particular about where they stop on their tours. The hotel got me a cab and then my tour guide helped me get an Uber back to the hotel. No issues.

(PS based on posts from the guide I referred to above, Mexico City had a very high vaccination rate.)

My guess about Tauk is that they are keeping your $$ on credit for a future trip. I’ve had that with a few places - but mine were small deposit amounts.

[granddi]

---

@ValuSkr wrote:

Now is not the time to go to Mexico - see the State Department travel advisory for all the reasons why.

---

Oh, I'm not going to Mexico!

As far as the Tauck credit, it was a small amount but I think holding for 24 months is long enough. 

[Alter Ego]

G Adventure offers several tours, for a lower budget. The company has been around a while and are recommended by several large names, including Frommers. One of these days, I would like to do their Day of the Dead tour. Abercrombie and Kent has a more luxury private tour on their website which, I’m sure, could be tailored to whatever one wants (they actually have 2, but one is done via private jets and is 💰) I also follow a photo tour group that has two tours in Mexico, but they appear to be more countryside be major cities (haven’t taken any of their tours, so don’t know how they are)

[LindaSal]

@granddi I also have $$ tied up with Tauck tours.  We were supposed to leave in April 2020 for a river cruise on the Douro River in Portugual.  Obviously we were not able to go.  Because of the timing we had paid our trip in full already.  The only money we were reinbursed for was the flights by the airline, thankfully, but Tauck still has our funds and there is not anything we can do about it.  This trip has been rescheduled twice (now scheduled for October 2022)  That's more than 2 1/2 years later.  Just hoping we are able to finally go this year.  This is our 10th trip with Tauck, we have always been more than satisfied with them but this pandemic really made them go off the rails!   We were quite disappointed in how things were handled and we are just trying to get through this current booking and may have to use a different company in the future sadly..........also we did use a travel agent.

BTW, friends of ours were traveling about the same time on Viking and they lost over $5000, and they had a travel agent.  Of course the trick is you MUST rebook so as not to lose your investment.

Also I would be cautious about visiting Mexico, do your research.

[patbz]

I am a world traveller ( over 80 countries and have lived in Europe and Asia). Mention this because I've been in dangerous countries, and I now include Mexico but Mexico is the only country that is now permanently off my list. When I lived in San Diego, years ago, I'd routinely drive to the border by myself, park and walk over. Never again! I've observed sandbags outside banks with guards armed with AR 15s and taxi drivers who refuse to take us to local markets. Additionally I've heard too many stories from ex pats who live there. The Cartel is real and even very recently tourist have been caught in cross fire at tourist hotspots. Not worth it; go anyplace else.