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Guide to Vacations in Mexico
When you are planning a vacation in Mexico, there are two basic options in terms of how you can go about it:
Read the discussion below, weigh up the pros and cons, and decide which may be better suited to your situation...
Travel Independently
With the advent of the Internet, more and more people are beginning to book their vacation directly with the businesses that supply them, by using secure online Internet booking facilities.
Almost everything you'll need on vacation can now be booked—or at least arranged—using Internet and/or email over the Internet. Many people are now booking flights, hotels, hire cars and travel insurance, among many other services, regularly using the Internet.
For those looking for adventure vacations, local cruises and specialist tours, these too can be booked directly with local firms and operators over the Internet.
Where before, people would always turn to a "package" for long-haul vacations, nowadays many people are preferring to make their own travel arrangements. This can be less expensive and provide a lot more flexibility.
Packages Online: Remember that you can now book packages online, too. For example, when you book one of the Hotels in Mexico using Mexperience, you will have an option to package it with a flight and, in some locations, with airport transfers as well as local tours.
Connect to the Mexperience Directory Homepage for a comprehensive list of services, and links to service suppliers to help you plan and arrange Independent Travel in Mexico.
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Advantages:
You get to craft the vacation you want, as you want it, when you want it. It could work out less expensive and does not have the same constraints that some packages may impose on you.
For example, many (but not all) hotels will not charge you if you change your mind about staying there within 24-48 hours of scheduled arrival. This means that you could change your mind or travel plans at short notice.
Some package companies (and even accommodation booking agents) hide significant 'booking fees and charges' into their prices. These are often not apparent until the last moment. Booking direct with the suppliers rarely incurs additional charges and the good agencies don't hide ANY charges in the price at all.
Many resorts offer "all inclusive" prices when you book directly with them over the Internet, so you only need to buy your flight and insurance, and let the resort take care of the rest, if that's the kind of vacation you're looking for. Putting together your own vacation can be fun, rewarding and may work out less expensive than paying a travel agent to build a "custom" package for you.
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Disadvantages:
Crafting your own vacation will take time, although once you have decided where you want to go, how you'll get there and where you'll stay (Mexperience can help you with all this!), the booking process is simple and straightforward over the Internet
When you buy your vacation independently, you will not be covered by a vacation package 'bond', that ensures you'll be looked after in the event of businesses going bust. In fact, any travel products purchased directly with overseas suppliers (hotel, flight, etc.) will not be covered by Agency Associations such as ABTA, ASTA, ATOL, etc.
You should buy travel insurance (and will have to buy it with a package vacation), which usually covers things like delayed and cancelled flights, lost baggage, etc. but any problems arising may not be managed as a package vacation might be—you would need to do some footwork to deal with local officials and claim on your insurance.
If you are not minded for independent travel, or think that you would not feel confident without the 'service surround' that comes with a pre-arranged package, then you should consider the alternative: the Package Vacation (see below).
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Buy A Package Vacation or Fully Managed Trip
Package Vacations to Mexico provide the ease and comfort that comes with a vacation that has already been designed for you. You are offered a series of options, which you choose from and pay for, according to your tastes, preferences and budget. Then you pack and show up at the airport.
The tour operator will have arranged everything beforehand; your flights, itinerary, airport transfers, hotels, perhaps some activities as well. At the end of the arranged vacation, you are transferred back to the airport, and you fly home.
For luxury travel, the package vacation can be your ideal solution, because you get the advantage of an organized itinerary accompanied by a trip which has been especially created for you and your preferences. Exclusive (or "tailor made") vacation packages are NOT the same as the packages you buy "off the shelf" from large tour operators; they are specifically created with your personal preferences in mind.
Even Package Vacations can experience problems such as delayed flights, which although can be compensated, will be no better than had you bought insurance to cover yourself traveling independently. However, if a package is on offer that supplies everything that you, your partner (and family) need for a break, then the Package Vacation can take the hassle, time and effort out of planning a vacation for you. Good travel agents are 'bonded', so in the unlikely event that things go terribly wrong, by a combination of using your travel insurance and the company's bond system, you can be assured of a safe journey home.
It is worth bearing in mind that a bonded vacation (e.g. ABTA, ASTA, IATA etc.) does not exempt you from the need to buy travel insurance, and indeed, buying insurance (usually from a supplier of your choice) is a pre-requisite with just about every bonded package vacation. Buying a vacation from a bonded vacation company or travel agent will ensure that you are compensated in the event of the company or travel agency going out of business. It is not a travel insurance policy.
What you are really paying for with a Package Vacation are the vacation management services that you would not get by buying your travel services on an independent basis.
Packages Online: Remember that you can now book packages online, too. For example, when you book one of the Hotels in Mexico using Mexperience, you will have an option to package it with a flight and, in some locations, with airport transfers as well as local tours.
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Advantages:
Hassle free; everything is taken care of for you. You choose a Package to suit your tastes, preferences and budget, pay in advance, buy your vacation insurance and show up at the airport.
The agent you book with should be bonded, so your vacation will be assured, or compensation will be due should the company you purchased the package from go out of business before or during your vacation (although travel insurance is still required).
With a luxury or tailor-made travel package you'll have the best of both worlds: a fully managed itinerary created specifically to your personal preferences. These are, of course, the most expensive type of package vacation.
The Package Vacation saves you the time and effort of crafting your own vacation—the research has been done for you beforehand. While on the Package Vacation, you'll find the trip is usually 'managed' should things go wrong—a local 'rep' may be on hand to assist with your requirements.
Your airport transfers are catered for; you will probably not need to interact with any 'locals' to negotiate services or deal with problems, and you should be given an itinerary to know exactly what to expect throughout.
For people with busy lives, families and who do not have the time or inclination to build their own vacation, the Package Vacation can be an ideal way to experience Mexico.
For those who want a more 'personalized' vacation with the benefits of a package, customized Vacation Packages CAN be arranged, but these are priced at a premium, as you will be paying for someone's time and expertise to build the specific vacation for you, and not just buying a package "off the shelf".
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Disadvantages:
Package Vacations tend to be sold in "set menus"— you may not get exactly what you were hoping for, whether it be the dates available, hotel types, available destinations at the price you want to pay. The exception to this is a customized package vacation—expect to pay more for these.
Some package vacations or tours can be frustrating if, for example, the package comes with a specific itinerary and you or the people traveling with you wanted to spend more time at a particular place you only stopped at for a short while, or get bored in a place very quickly and find yourself having to stay 2 or 3 days before moving on.
Although most Package Vacations have an element of flexibility built-in to them, once you have made your choice and paid, you have to stick with it. In this respect, Package Vacations are less flexible than independent travel arrangements, although this may not be a problem for you, especially if you just want to "get away" for a while, with the least amount of effort.
Although a Package Vacation often comes "bonded", you must still buy travel insurance (as you would if traveling independently). The issues you'll face in the unlikely event of a mishap will be similar to those that independent traveler's would face, except that on a Package Vacation, the issues should be managed for you by the company who sold you the package.
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