Mexico's monarch butterflies
February 4-10, 2022
Price: $1495 pp/double $1995 pp/single
Airfare is additional
Day One: Arrive at Ciudad de Mexico and transfer to hotel Marquis Reforma. Welcome dinner and overnight. (D)
Day Two: Tour of San Angel and Coyoacan, visit to Bazaar del Sabado and Frida’s Museum with lunch at Casa Azul. Return to hotel for dinner. (B L)
Day Three: After breakfast depart for Tlalpujahua, Michoacán and the City of Toluca to visit the Botanical Museum and the Candy Market. Lunch on your own. Arrive at Tlalpujahua by early afternoon and check in at the Mansión San Antonio hotel for happy hour and Michoacán folkloric presentation. Dinner and overnight. (B D)
Day Four: Breakfast at the hotel and then visit the Sanctuary of El Rosario for our first Monarch experience. Lunch at the park and then return to the hotel for a relaxing afternoon. Dinner and overnight. (B L D)
Day Five: Breakfast at the hotel and then depart for the Sierra Chincua Santuary for our second Monarch experience. Lunch at the park and then visit the town of Tlalpujahua to learn about its historical mining industry and its world famous Christmas ornaments sold across the globe. Return to hotel for dinner and overnight. (B L D)
Day Six: Travel back to Mexico City for a city tour of the historical district with visits to the Cathedral, National Palace and the Templo Mayor, Museum Del Tequila and Plaza Garibaldi. Dinner at the Sanborns Restaurant at Casa de los Azulejos. (B D)
Day Seven: Breakfast is included at the hotel. Transfer to the airport and fly home.
baja whales and wine
February 12-19, 2022
February 21-28, 2022
March 7-14, 2022
Price: $1950 pp/double $2250 pp/single
Day One: Arrive in San Diego today. Transfer from the airport or arrive via motorcoach with pickups in Phoenix and Yuma. Join your tour manager this evening for a welcome cocktail and briefing at the hotel.
Day Two: Depart this morning for Northern Baja California, Mexico. Bienvenidos! Welcome to Mexico, crossing the border into Mexico via Tijuana, the world’s busiest land border crossing. Visit Tijuana’s bustling Mercado Hidalgo before continuing on scenic Highway 1 to Ensenada for lunch at a local restaurant. After lunch, return to Highway 1 traveling south through Northern Baja’s tomato, strawberry, and pepper fields along the way to San Quintín and tonight’s Welcome Dinner. (B, L, D)
Day Three: Continue on Highway 1 to Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, through the Desierto Central de Baja California with its unique desert vegetation. Stop in Cataviña along the way to take a short walk through this fascinating desert with rock formations and granite boulders to nearby caves to view cave paintings that offer a glimpse into the indigenous human and animal life that once populated the region. After lunch at a local restaurant, continue to Guerrero Negro, which will serve as base camp for our next days’ whale watching. Dinner this evening at the hotel. (B, L, D)
Day Four: Early this morning depart for Guerrero Negro’s nearby lagoon, Ojo de La Liebre. These lagoons serve as the magnificent Gray whale’s first calving stop on the journey from the Bering Strait. Aboard small, non-intrusive boats captained by local guides, experience an up-close encounter with these gentle and curious giants. Lunch at a local restaurant after today’s excursion before returning to the hotel for a short relaxing time before taking an afternoon excursion to the salt works, the largest evaporative salt production facility in the world. Back to the hotel. Dinner is on your own this evening. (B, L)
Day Five: Mid-morning departure back to Ojo de La Liebre, also known as Scammon’s Lagoon, for the second time to experience this unique opportunity to enjoy close encounters with these magnificent and curious sea creatures. Home to more than just our giant friends, the nearby lagoons are teeming with sea life, such as dolphins, sea lions, and seals, as well as surrounded by giant osprey nests, and frequented by a variety of other migratory birds. Return to town to board the motorcoach, returning north for an overnight in the village of Cataviña. Dinner this evening at the hotel. (B, BOX LUNCH, D)
Day Six: This morning, continue north to the bustling port city of Ensenada. Lunch along the way, arriving this afternoon to your hotel and after checking time permitting join your Tour Manager for an orientation walk of downtown Ensenada. This evening is yours to relax or explore the charming shops, cafes, and taquerias this charming town has to offer. (B, L)
Day Seven: Today after breakfast we will travel to the famous La Bufadora (Blowhole), the world’s 2nd largest marine geyser. After this picture stop continue to the heart of Mexico’s premier wine country, the Guadalupe Valley and its wineries that nowadays rival those of Napa Valley in the USA, here we will visit a locally owned and operated winery. After lunch return to Ensenada. This evening join your fellow travelers for a farewell dinner at a local restaurant. (B, L, D)
Day Eight: After breakfast, return to the USA crossing through Los Algodones Port of Entry. Next stop will be in Yuma. After an optional lunch, continue on the motorcoach to Phoenix. (B)