Best Countries

Tours to Mexico, which many associate with huge cacti and wide sombreros, are an opportunity to plunge into the depths of history: the ancient Maya and Indian settlements, colonies of conquistadors and silver rush places. Vivid impressions and the value of exploring the sights of the country, which gives a vacation in Mexico, is disproportionately higher than the price of this trip.

If you decide to plunge into the world of a bright holiday with a historical touch, then the tour operator in Mexico will offer you carefully planned individual tours that can fully cover all the country’s attractions, national parks and historically important villages, cities (Teotihuacan, Taxco, Oaxaca, Ushmal).

The resort areas of Mexico are the Riviera Maya and Cancun on the Caribbean coast and Los Cabos, Acapulco, which have become the decoration of the country’s Pacific coast. Hotels that can be safely awarded all levels of “stardom”, colorful beaches with white sand and small pebbles, world-famous spots for windsurfing and reefs for diving enthusiasts. Mexican restaurants will delight tourists with a variety of dishes, with the same tortillas, chili and small black beans. Locally produced tequila intoxicates the head and spices up the experience.

• Currency: new peso
• Language: Spanish, English, French and German are widely spoken in the resort areas, they are practically not used in the provinces. In addition, local ethnic groups speak their native languages ​​(about 59 local dialects in total).
• Capital: Mexico City (Mexico City) is one of the largest cities in the world (population – about 20 million people).

Mexico is a unique and amazing country that has been attracting tourists from all over the world for many years with its rich history of the ancient Mayan and Aztec civilizations. A unique symbiosis of pre-Hispanic and colonial cultures, Frida and the Cosmonaut, the mysticism of paganism and the legendary Tequila, the mysteries of the Mayan culture and fantastic hospitality.

Mexico is hundreds of countries in one country!
This is an amazing diversity that is hard to imagine in advance: in a short time you can see metropolitan cities and buildings from the time of Spanish colonization, ultra-modern hotels and archaeological sites of ancient Indian cultures, luxurious beaches and snow-capped volcanoes, arid north and valleys blooming in spring, deserts and drowning tropical forests in the greenery.

For the most sophisticated and whimsical: world-class hotels and services, gastronomy, which is unparalleled in the world in terms of complexity and variety of tastes…
For the connoisseur of history: unique masterpieces of world history, archaeologists and art. For nature lovers: a fantastic beach, caves – cenote (the only place in the world for extreme diving), spearfishing, deep sea fishing, golf…

Geography:
State with a total area of ​​1.95 million square meters. km, is located in North America, occupying almost all of its central part. It borders the United States to the north and east and Belize and Guatemala to the southeast. In the east it is washed by the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, in the west by the Pacific Ocean (here the Gulf of California juts out far into the coast). Mexico owns a number of islands in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean.

Most of the country is mountainous and occupied by the ridges of the Mexican Highlands, the Sierra Madre and the Transverse Volcanic Sierra with many active volcanoes (about 350), including the highest point of the country – Orizaba (5700 m), Popocatepetl – (5452 m) and others

Language: The official language is Spanish, English, French and German are widely spoken in the resort areas, they are practically not used in the provinces. In addition, local ethnic groups speak their native languages ​​(about 59 local dialects in total).

Population:
About 100.3 million people. The modern ethnic composition has developed from three components: the indigenous population – Indian tribes and nationalities (28% of the total), European settlers (primarily from Spain) and Africans. Currently, 60% of the population consider themselves “Mexicans” (“Mexicanos”, descendants of mixed marriages) and 30% – Indians.

Money:
New peso (international designation – MXP), equal to 100 centavos (cents). Prices in pesos are marked with NP$. The “$” sign is used for both the peso and the US dollar (US$ or USD only).

Currency exchange:
Currency exchange can be done at banks, large hotels, airports (usually the best rate) or specialized exchange offices “casas de cambio”. Often there are difficulties with the exchange of shabby banknotes or banknotes of the old series. Most hotels, restaurants, shops and travel agencies accept world leading credit cards and travelers checks (preferably in US dollars). The resort areas have a well-developed network of ATMs.
US dollars are also accepted almost everywhere (the exchange rate is not the most profitable). When exchanging, you should be careful – there are attempts to shortchange.

Time:
From October to April – 9 hours behind Moscow;
From April to October – 8 hours behind Moscow.

Official holidays and weekends in Mexico:
Communications in Mexico:
To call Mexico, dial 8 – 10 – 52 – ‘area code’ – ‘call number’.
Cellular communication – communication standards GSM 1900 and iDEN. Roaming is available to subscribers of major Russian operators.

Entry:
When entering Mexico, tourists fill out immigration forms and submit them along with their passport at border control (the part of the form with the entry stamp remains in the hands of the tourist – it must be kept before leaving the country).
The immigration officer has the right to ask the tourist about the availability of sufficient funds, the purpose of the visit and return tickets.

Citizens of Russia and CIS countries require a visa to enter Mexico. Citizens of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and other EU countries enjoy the right to visa-free entry to Mexico. In addition, citizens of the United States, Canada and Israel are not required to have a visa.

Starting May 01, 2010, Russian citizens with a valid US visa in their passport can enter Mexico without a Mexican visa if the purpose of the visit is tourism, transit, short-term business visit not related to making profit in Mexico. The period of stay in the country cannot exceed 180 days during one trip. The number of entries into Mexico is not limited.

Flight: from 13 hours + time for connection (depending on the schedule of the airline)

Customs rules:
Import and export of foreign currency is not limited (declaration is required), national currency – up to the equivalent of 10 thousand US dollars.
Persons over the age of 18 are allowed duty-free import of up to 400 cigarettes or 50 cigars, or 250 g of tobacco; up to 3 liters of spirits or wine; a reasonable amount of perfumery, 1 video camera, 1 camera and 12 films (video cassettes) for them, as well as gifts and other goods in the amount of not more than 300 US dollars. Additional items up to $500 may also be imported duty-free, but non-commercial use must be proven.
When entering Mexico, you must fill out a customs declaration, which must list all valuable items that are imported into the country.
It is forbidden to import fruits, vegetables and products from them, plants, cuttings and seeds of plants (the latter are allowed to be imported only on the basis of a special license from the Ministry of Agriculture), soil, flowers, fresh meat and meat products (import of canned meat, with the exception of pork, is allowed), medicines without documentary evidence of the need for their use (a prescription or medical card is required), psychotropic substances and pornographic publications.
The importation of firearms and ammunition is permitted only on the basis of a permit obtained from the Secretariat of National Security (Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional). Punishments for importing drugs are very strict – violators are punishable by up to 25 years in prison and heavy fines.
Pets must have an international veterinary certificate issued more than 5 days before crossing the border, cats and dogs – an additional certificate of vaccination against rabies.
It is forbidden to export archaeological valuables, antiques, precious metals, rare animals and birds, as well as their skins and stuffed animals. Export of tobacco and alcoholic products is free.

Tips:
Tips are usually 10% of the bill. It is customary to tip in a restaurant (up to 15%), a porter (in the amount of $1-2), a driver and a guide for the tour.