Journey Mexico Villa and Hotel Visits

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Journey Mexico at Garza Blanca Preserve Resort and Spa

Journey Mexico at Garza Blanca

Journey Mexico has been busy expanding our website it include partner villa, hotel, and yacht profiles (It’s still a work-in-progress, but you can view several locations that have already been entered by clicking on the View Villa Profiles button on our Experiences > Villas page.)

Over the past two weeks, several members of the Journey Mexican team have been visiting newly added partner locations here in Puerto Vallarta. Last Friday, we took a full tour of the gorgeous Garza Blanca Preserve, Resort, and Spa and had a wonderful lunch in the hotel’s restaurant Blanca Blue. Resort general manager, Miguel Andres Hernandez, was kind enough to dine with us as well as give us a tour of Garza Blanca’s award winning wine selection.

Yesterday, Vanessa Cole and Shannon Beston of Journey Mexico partner Vacation Villas of Mexico led us on a tour of several beautiful villas in downtown Vallarta. We have to give special thanks to Raquel Brooks of Casa Tabachin and Yvonne Kalman of Casa Yvonneka for welcoming us into their lovely properties and for the delicious hors d’oeuvres, lunch, and conversation. Check back shortly to view profile pages with photos and videos of both Casa Tabachin and Casa Yvonneka!

Mexico’s New Minister of Tourism – The New Woman in Charge

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Zachary Rabinor and Gloria Guevara

JM President, Zachary Rabinor, with Minister of Tourism, Gloria Guevara

Mexico’s new Minister of Tourism, Gloria Guevara, was not looking for a public office, it came looking for her!  A high powered executive for arguably one of the most influential companies in the travel industry, Sabre Travel Solutions, Ms. Guevara was hard at work connecting buyers and sellers of travel when she got the call from the President of Mexico and was wooed away from the private sector to a patriotic role for the future of her country.  Since her first day in office, Guevara has shown that she is a mover and that her plans for Mexico’s tourism industry will re-shape the way that Mexico is viewed as a destination in the world.

Since taking office, Guevara has secured a $35 million budget for a media campaign to shed new light on Mexico as a prime destination for cultural tourism. The theme of the campaign is “Mexico: The Place You Thought You Knew,” and the ads (view below) are intended to reach 50% of North Americans. She and her team have also outlined ten culturally significant routes of travel called the “Rutas de Mexico,” which feature many of Mexico’s 31 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Guevara holds a master’s degrees in Marketing from the Universidad Anahuac in Mexico City and Business Administration from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Her career in the travel industry began in customer service and sales at Sabre where she steadily worked her way to the top of the company as she eventually held the position of chief information officer for parent company Sabre Holdings.

We at Journey Mexico are thrilled to have a like-minded, business savvy advocate in this important role and can’t wait to see what other new and creative ideas the Mexico Tourism Board launches under her watch.

Ancient Tunnel Found Under Mexican Pyramid

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Teotihuacan temples

Teotihuacan

Fans of archeological travel will be excited to learn that scientists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have recently located an ancient tunnel that leads to several sealed chambers below the Temple of the Feathered Serpent at Teotihuacan in Mexico City.

These chambers are located approximately 12 meters below the Temple of the Feathered Serpent and were sealed 1,800 years ago by the inhabitants of Teotihuacan themselves. Archeologists believe (and hope) the chambers contain the tombs of the ancient rulers of Teotihuacan, sacred sites that archeologists have not yet been able to locate.

Scientists working on the site hope to excavate the tunnel under the Temple of the Feathered Serpent and breech its underlying chambers within the next three months. More information about these developments can be found at eTurboNews.

Teotihuacan has long been a staple of Journey Mexico trips to Mexico City, and this recent development in the mystery of what lies beneath the Temple of the Feathered Serpent is just the latest example of how Mexico continues to offer opportunities to literally discover fresh pieces of history. To plan a trip to Mexico to see these ancient wonders with your own eyes, contact Journey Mexico today!

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Mexico Awarded Two New UNESCO World Heritage Sites

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Mexico's New UNESCO World Heritage SitesMexico was recently awarded two new UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro and Prehistoric caves of Yagul and Mitla in the Central Valley of Oaxaca.

The addition of these two cultural sites gives Mexico 31 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in total, putting Mexico even further ahead of all other Latin American countries.

The Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, also known as The Silver Route, was an important trade route running north out of Mexico City, through the Colonial Heartland, and across the Copper Canyon region and into the US. From the 16th to the 19th century, this route was used to transport valuable loads of silver from the mines of Zacatecas, Guanajuato, and San Luis Potosí to the US. The route is also significant because it opened communication between Mexican cultures and the native American cultures of what is now Texas and New Mexico.

The prehistoric caves of Yagul and Mitla in Oaxaca are incredibly important as they contain rock art depicting the evolution of the pre-historic man from nomadic hunter-gathers to skilled, communal farmers. Seeds found one of these caves dates back to 8000 B.C. and is considered to be the earliest known evidence of domesticated plants on the continent of North America.

For more information about visiting these UNESCO World Heritage Sites, contact Journey Mexico today!

4 Reasons to Vacation in Mexico Right Now!

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Didn’t have a chance to get away this Summer? Don’t worry, here are four reasons to vacation in Mexico before the year’s end.

Facial Massage1. Value-Added – As Laura Del Rosso points out in her Travel Weekly article, increased competition in resort areas have many resorts offering incredible, and often unbelievable, value-ads to vacation packages.

Ceiba del Mar on the Riviera Maya is offering unlimited spa treatments including facials, massages, and more with their three-night, Unlimited Spa Package. This Mexican vacation package is priced at $1,680 for two people, including accommodations, and runs through December 22nd. Contact one of our travel planners to take advantage of this vacation package today!

Mayan Pyramid at Chichen Itza2. Less Crowds – The busy season for travel to Mexico begins in Nov/Dec, so booking a vacation before then usually yields exceptional opportunities to view Mayan Pyramids and other archeological sites with little or no crowds. Gazing at something spectacular like the pyramid at Chichen Itza in relative silence with no one but your family and friends adds an indescribable element to the experience.

Mexican dancers3. Mexico’s Bicentennial – September 16th mark’s the Bicentennial of Mexico’s Independence.   What is always a season of celebration will undoubtedly reach historic proportions this year, and there’s no better place to celebrate the Bicentennial than Mexico’s Colonial Heartland. Plan your vacation to Mexico now and come join in the festivities!

Grupo Habita Hotel Lobby4. A New Wave – A movement of modern, retro, chic, and artistic boutique hotels has begun in Mexico. If you would love to vacation in Mexico but want to try something different and new, building a trip around these locations is an excellent way to add a modern twist to an unforgettable trip. The photos below say it all.

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You can find 10 more reasons to vacation in Mexico here.

Travelocity’s Battle of the Destinations

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Travelocity has been running a weekly competition between popular destinations to vacation in Mexico called “Battle of the Destinations.” Travelocity’s Gnome travels to each of the winning destinations and then posts photos at the end of the week.

The first competition was between Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, and the Riviera Maya with the Riviera Maya taking the win.

The second week put Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Mexico City against each other with Monterrey coming out on top.

Week three was a slaughter as Mazatlan dominated Ixtapa, Acapulco, and Cancun.

This week’s battle was another landslide as Oaxaca triumphed over Zacatecas, Guanajuato, and Puebla.

The Battle of the Destinations website is in Spanish, but it’s pretty easy to figure out what’s going on even if you don’t understand the language. The site isn’t very clear, however, about how long these competitions will last. Maybe someone could clarify in the comments of this post. If the winners do eventually face off, you should see much closer results but after taking the 8th spot on Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best cities list, I’d say the culturally rich Oaxaca is the city to beat.

Journey Mexico on The Mexico Report

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Journey Mexico on The Mexico ReportSusie Albin-Najera recently wrote an excellent article titled “A Transformational Journey Through Mexico: Experiencing The Trip of a Lifetime,” which has been published on The Mexico Report.

The article takes a look at the history of Journey Mexico and also includes an interview with JM Founder and President Zachary Rabinor.

A big thanks to Susie from all of us at Journey Mexico for doing such a great job on the piece!