Hi!
It's been a long time dream of mine to see Mexico during Dia de los Muertos, as my birthday is November 2nd.
I am planning to visit in 2024, which places Nov 2 on a Monday that year.
My initial thought was to visit Oaxaca, but I know there are lots of cities to consider as options
What I'm looking for:
-- A couple of days' worth of seeing various aspects of the celebrations
-- A cultural acceptance of tourists being involved in the activities to some degree, i.e. I would like to see aspects of the cultural celebrations, but also not be offensive as merely an "onlooker"
-- Travel to beaches for a few days before or after
-- Interesting scenery in the town (whatever that may be) and some good food (hard to not find in Mexico)
-- Possibly see indigenous ruins (we saw Tulum and Coba already)
-- Best for tourists overall, such as ease of travel, cost of flights, etc. (I can scrape by with some basic Spanish and use Google translate when needed in a pinch, but speaking with folks who are used to speaking slowly and clearly helps)
Am I correct that I would want to plan to be in most cities at least the nights of Nov 1 and 2, and maybe even Oct 31?
We have rented a car in Cancun and Puerto Vallarta before. We have not yet taken local transport, but are open to the idea if it makes more sense. We will probably visit for 6 nights in total -- something like 3 nights in the city, 3 nights on the beach.