Traveling as part of a group tour or escorted tour can be a great way to visit Mexico, particularly if you want to cover a lot of ground in a short period of time, if you don't speak any Spanish, or you don't want to deal with the hassles that can accompany independent travel.
Here is a list of tour companies that offer multi-day guided group tours in Mexico.
Caravan Tours has been in operation since 1952, and is based in Chicago. Known for the affordability of its tours. Caravan offers two different trips to Mexico. One is a 9-day tour of the
Copper Canyon, which begins and ends in Phoenix, Arizona, and the other is called "Mexico's Ancient and Colonial Cities," and begins in
Mexico City and travels through Veracruz, Villahermosa, Palenque, Campeche, Uxmal, Merida, and
Chichen Itza, before winding up in
Cancun. Rates start at $995 for each of these tours, and include all meals, activities, accommodations, and airport transfers.
Exploritas is a not-for-profit organization that runs tours with a focus on educational experiences. Several different Mexico tours are offered, each with a focus on a certain learning experience, be it history, Spanish language, birding, cooking, photography, or natural history. Exploritas tours are geared to travelers 55 years and older, but they also offer intergenerational programs, such as one to the
Sea of Cortez. Read a
profile of Exploritas from Nancy Parode, About.com's Guide to Senior Travel.
G.A.P is one of the largest tour companies in the world, and is known for the scope of its operation, and the low cost of its tours. G.A.P. Adventures offers a range of tours to Mexico, lasting from 3 up to 60 days (longer tours include some Central American destinations). G.A.P.'s trips focus on cultural experiences, and active adventure and are a good choice for travelers with a sense of adventure. These tours have a wide age range - some "Family Adventures" are offered, open to families with children from 5 to 17 years of age. Standard adventures are open to children 12 and older, accompanied by a parent. Read more about
G.A.P. Adventures from Lois Friedland, About.com's Guide to Adventure Travel.
Gecko's tours are geared to travelers from age 20 to 40, and groups are small, usually around 9 people. One thing that makes Gecko's tours different is that they hire local tour leaders. Transportation is on local transport and accommodations are in small, clean, locally-owned guesthouses. Gecko's
Mexico Esplendido tour is an 11-day trip starting in
Mexico City and travels through
Puebla,
Oaxaca, Puerto Escondido and
Acapulco, before returning to Mexico City.
Grand Circle Travel specializes in vacations for travelers over 50, but younger travelers are welcome on their tours. Grand Circle offers a 14-day trip to Northern Mexico and the
Copper Canyon, departing from Tucson, Arizona. Visit Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Divisadero, El Fuerte and San Carlos on this trip. Rates start at $1295 USD for this 14-day trip, and include accommodations, 28 meals, and 5 sightseeing tours. Read a
profile of Grand Circle.
Green Tortoise's trademark is its special sleeper coaches - buses equipped with custom-built booths and couches which convert into beds at night. Green Tortoise tours are adventure vacations. These are no-frill tours, and everyone is expected to pitch in to cook meals or clean up the campsite. Green Tortoise offers several
tours in Mexico which run from seven to 28 days in length. Read a profile of
Green Tortoise Adventure Tours.
Intrepid Travel offers over a dozen different
tours to Mexico with different tour styles - overland, basix, and intrepid original which have varying degrees of "roughing it." On the overland journeys you're part of the crew, pitching in to set up camp, shop for food and even cook. With other tour styles the accommodations and mode of transportation may vary but all of these trips allow you to experience a side of Mexico you would probably never see from the comfort of a tour bus. Read a profile of
Intrepid Travel.
Tucan Travel has offered tours in Latin America since 1987. This company is based in Australia, and has offices in England and Peru. Tucan's groups usually have a wide variety of nationalities and ages. Tucan's
Magical Mexico tour, is a 13-day tour which takes you from Mexico City to Cancun, discovering archaeological sites and colonial cities along the way. This is one of Tucan's "adventure tours" with transportation on local buses, so you're "traveling with the locals" rather than in the comfort of a tour bus.
