Mexico is a land of contrasts, which makes it the perfect destination for those seeking a little variety in their travels. Several of the suggested itineraries described here will take you through changing landscapes and both big-city and small-town Mexico. A few itineraries conclude at a beach resort so that you can relax a little at the end of your trip. But there's another reason for this: I wanted to make use of Mexico's major points of entry -- the big international airports -- and many of these happen to serve resorts. When I visit Mexico, I seldom book a round-trip ticket. I enter through one airport and leave through another, and usually I don't have to pay extra to do this. Times have changed, and round-trip fares aren't what they used to be.
Once inside Mexico, most travel is by bus, rental car, or a hired car and driver. There is only one true passenger train still operating. This train runs along the Copper Canyon to Chihuahua City and works well for the surf-to-sierra approach that I like. I've tried to keep travel time to a minimum for obvious reasons, and so none of these itineraries can be called exhaustive explorations of Mexico. If you want to see all of Mexico's most famous sites, however, you can link the central archaeological tour with the Ruta Maya, which would take about 3 weeks.
Renting a car works really well for the Yucatán and a few other parts of the country. In other areas, it can be confusing, as road signs are not always posted. Hiring a car and driver or taking the bus for certain legs of the trip are reasonable options. Mexico has good buses with various categories of service. Once you're inside a town or city, it's usually best to use taxis, which are, for the most part, cheap and plentiful.
