Road Scholar Tours-Mexico

Not Mexico, but we went with Road Scholar for a Puglia trip last February. Although we generally prefer independent travel, we decided on a tour for this area because we did not want to rent a car. We were very happy with the Road Scholar program and activities, and the accommodations and food. Our guide was terrific—-very well organized, knowledgeable, and just plain fun. And we enjoyed the company of the other guests, some of whom were Road Scholar “regulars” with 10-20 trips completed. So I would recommend Road Scholar in general, and the specific trip you are considering seems like a good fit for your mom.

I’ve traveled with Road Scholar quite a bit and generally like them. We’re doing a Mexico Road Scholar tour - but not until January so that won’t be helpful for you. I’ve looked at your particular tour and think it looks fun. I don’t love the single night in Mexico City at the end - maybe you could add a night or two.

I like Road Scholar because their pacing is better than almost any other tour company I’ve encountered - the tend to stay a few nights in most spots. I find Road Scholar travelers to be very fun as a rule - open minded and game for anything.

The only negative I tend to have of our Road Scholar tours is that the hotels are sometimes one step below what I like in a hotel - older, cheap bedding, smaller rooms. This, of course, varies by tour and by country, so for each tour I book with them, I take a long hard look at the hotels. For some people, this would obviously be a non-issue - I’m just pickier about hotels as I get older.

As to guides? I have always liked their guides - for France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. No complaints and - for France, Road Scholar used the best guide I have ever had, anywhere.

I have taken a Mexico tour with Road Scholar. The hotels were not as nice as Ricks, the guide was not as good as Ricks. I would rate it an average tour. Mine was to San Miguel de Allende. I have also taken their Cuba tour which was awesome and a SE U.S. tour which was definitely sub par. On that one the bus was old and dirty, the guide brought his wife along and spent all his free time and meal time with her, not the tour members and one 'garden' was mainly a plantation crawling (literally) with alligators!

We are signed up for Road Scholar Best Of Central Mexico next January and are really looking forward to it. It will be our first Road Scholar trip and I will report back here.

In March, my husband and I took Road Scholar’s “The Best of Central Mexico: Magical Towns and Bustling Cities.” We visited Morelia, Queretaro, Guanajuato, Puebla, Oaxaca, and Mexico City over 15 days. The trip exceeded my expectations. It wasn’t food-centric, but we learned plenty about food. Our guide and his assistant were excellent. This trip was planned and executed by Andiamo Travel, and the company did a good job. Unlike a lot of Road Scholar trips, this one was short on lectures and big on experiences such as cooking, doll-making, alebriji-painting, mezcal-tasting, etc. With Road Scholar, I’ve learned I prefer their small-group tours of 24 persons or less. The only thing that surprises me is that you say the tour you’re considering has a lot of free time. Most Road Scholar tours have only a couple of free afternoons, and scheduled activities sometimes go longer and nibble at the free time. Our group of 24 was very congenial and I got the impression everyone spoke at least basic Spanish. That said, there was always someone around to help communicate. Weather in February should be good. By the way, I’m 72 and had no problems with the amount of walking. I do think the altitude in Mexico City affected me for a few hours, so take Rick Steve’s’ advice and arrive a day early to acclimate. Please message me with questions. Road Scholar doesn’t have the equivalent of this Trip Forum. PatR

PatR, so glad to read that you enjoyed the same Mexico tour we are signed up for. We are doing their smaller micro group. It does seem to get high ratings. What did you think of the hotels?

Tammy, it looks as if you’ll be staying in the same hotels as my March trip. I liked the Zocalo Central Mexico City hotel very much. Wait until you see the breakfast room overlooking the cathedral. Also, there’s a free-to-guests coffee/soft drink/more bar in the lobby area. The Hotel de la Soledad in Morelia was the best hotel of my life. Of my life. While the Edelmira in Guanajuato was ideally located, and the breakfast was fine, our group was assigned meh rooms. Dona Urraca in Queretaro was lovely, and most members of our group made time for the pool. Quinta Real Puebla and Quinta Real Oaxaca are former convents and the public spaces are wonderfully atmospheric. The rooms were fine, but the public spaces wowed me.

PatR-wow, that is wonderful to hear. What was your guide's name?

Benjamin Gonzales was our guide. He was excellent.

While I’ve not been to Mexico with Road Scholar I’ve done 13 trips with them. 8 to Europe and 5 US activity-based(hiking, birding and genealogy).

I recommend the small group ones (24-26 or fewer) and have had good experiences with the exception of my last trip to Belgium and Netherlands. Their contractor in that area is awful. Their French office is wonderful and I agree with Valerie on the expertise of the guides there.

Do know that Road Scholar does not actually run any of the tours. They contract all of them out. If you can get through to them on the phone you can ask which company is running the trip in question. They’ve had difficulty with their phone staff but according to people posting on the FB pages this is running better now.

There are forums but they are useless and were useless before Covid. They are difficult to find and the link has been removed from the front page of the website and replaced with a Donate to keep us going link. I do recommend 2 Facebook groups, Women of Road Scholar and Friends of Road Scholar. You will usually find someone on one of those pages who has done a specific trip.

I do enjoy the others in the groups. Mostly curious about the world and quite fun to travel with.

I’d go for it with your Mom! What a fun time!

Thanks all. We are moving forward on the Mexico trip and we are staying a few more days in Mexico City after the tour.

Now we only need some coyotes that can take us across the border as airfare is insane!$700 plus tax in basic economy and you have to pay for checked luggage? Talk about gouging.

I'd probably do everything on my own if I were alone but with mom being nervous already about Mexico, I think a tour and motorbus transport is best for her.

I took Spanish in high school and college and have always wanted to see the pyramids and Mayan/Aztec ruins as my teachers talked about going down to Mexico and seeing them and riding the Copper Canyon Train.