January 29, 20196 yr My wife really wants to go there, and has for some time. I tend to be a coastal person, but she wants to go here, and her 50th is coming up. Anyone ever been? What is there to do? Where to stay?
January 29, 20196 yr 1 hour ago, Sbbruin said: My wife really wants to go there, and has for some time. I tend to be a coastal person, but she wants to go here, and her 50th is coming up. Anyone ever been? What is there to do? Where to stay? I've never been but have some friends that used to go a lot. Playground for artsy, rich fuckers. Sounds like Mexico's version of Santa Fe -- only on a grander scale.
January 29, 20196 yr A couple of my friends visited last November. They say it's a beautiful city. Bring your walking shoes and explore everything. Rooftop restaurants and bars everywhere with views of the sunset. Art everywhere. It's about a out three and a half hours bus ride from CDMX - around $12. The bus from the airport isn't direct, so it's easier to to an Uber to the bus station in the city with the direct route.
January 29, 20196 yr It's beautiful and fun in a "day without agenda kinda way". You wake up and start walking, find what will be your favorite coffee shop during your stay, keep walking, find galleries, stop for an awesome torta and beer, stop at the square and sit and watch the folks, find more art, go to rooftop deck of your place and pour yourself a drink on the honor system, get a massage on said deck, go to a nice dinner. Another day, maybe a cooking class if you want to have a defined thing to do. The gringo expat community has home tours to raise money for the local library. Or go to see the historic sites around Guanajuato if you really need to have major activity. It's been a few years since we were there, but when we went there was no real golf course, casino, or anything like that. If you demand planned activities, it's probably not for you. You can fly into Leon or Guanajuato and have a much shorter car ride. The weather is very nice. The comparison to Santa Fe is sorta valid, but San Miguel is authentic (the good and bad of that). The center city has a historical designation from the government (and it's a UNESCO world heritage site). There no stop lights or lit commercial signs at all. It makes Santa Fe look like a suburban mall with a theme. Certainly there are rich artsy types around, but also students from the city and eccentric ex pats.
January 29, 20196 yr 55 minutes ago, DFWTexEx said: It's beautiful and fun in a "day without agenda kinda way". You wake up and start walking, find what will be your favorite coffee shop during your stay, keep walking, find galleries, stop for an awesome torta and beer, stop at the square and sit and watch the folks, find more art, go to rooftop deck of your place and pour yourself a drink on the honor system, get a massage on said deck, go to a nice dinner. Another day, maybe a cooking class if you want to have a defined thing to do. The gringo expat community has home tours to raise money for the local library. Or go to see the historic sites around Guanajuato if you really need to have major activity. It's been a few years since we were there, but when we went there was no real golf course, casino, or anything like that. If you demand planned activities, it's probably not for you. You can fly into Leon or Guanajuato and have a much shorter car ride. The weather is very nice. The comparison to Santa Fe is sorta valid, but San Miguel is authentic (the good and bad of that). The center city has a historical designation from the government (and it's a UNESCO world heritage site). There no stop lights or lit commercial signs at all. It makes Santa Fe look like a suburban mall with a theme. Certainly there are rich artsy types around, but also students from the city and eccentric ex pats. You can also fly into Queretaro instead of Leon if the price is right.
January 29, 20196 yr Author 59 minutes ago, DFWTexEx said: It's beautiful and fun in a "day without agenda kinda way". You wake up and start walking, find what will be your favorite coffee shop during your stay, keep walking, find galleries, stop for an awesome torta and beer, stop at the square and sit and watch the folks, find more art, go to rooftop deck of your place and pour yourself a drink on the honor system, get a massage on said deck, go to a nice dinner. Another day, maybe a cooking class if you want to have a defined thing to do. The gringo expat community has home tours to raise money for the local library. Or go to see the historic sites around Guanajuato if you really need to have major activity. It's been a few years since we were there, but when we went there was no real golf course, casino, or anything like that. If you demand planned activities, it's probably not for you. You can fly into Leon or Guanajuato and have a much shorter car ride. The weather is very nice. The comparison to Santa Fe is sorta valid, but San Miguel is authentic (the good and bad of that). The center city has a historical designation from the government (and it's a UNESCO world heritage site). There no stop lights or lit commercial signs at all. It makes Santa Fe look like a suburban mall with a theme. Certainly there are rich artsy types around, but also students from the city and eccentric ex pats. Yeah, that's about what I expected to hear. And that's sounds OK by me.
January 29, 20196 yr You can stay in the outer area of town and uber to the center of the city for like 26 pesos. My wife kept tipping them like 15 pesos for the ride until she realized how much the whole ride was. Rooftop bar overlooking the cathedral was tits. Everything there is expensive for Mexico, but still cheap to gringos. Bernal is not far and has a lot of the same stuff plus a dike you can climb all over (extinct volcano with just the core left).
January 30, 20196 yr If you do decide to go, make sure you make time to include Guanajuato in your intinerary. Probably about an hour and half drive from SMdA. Beautiful colonial city to spend a day rolling around. If you want to do the historical thing, do Guanajuato and drive back to SMdA via Delores Hidalgo where the original "grito" was uttered that sparked the 1810 revolucion. Also the Atotonilco sanctuary is on the road back from Delores Hidalgo which is a beautiful church adorned with many baroque murals (a UNESCO heritage site as well). Highly recommend the entire area for cuisine, art, etc. Agree that it is not high "action" per se, but there are some beautiful hikes in the area.
January 30, 20196 yr For good or bad, both times I went there the people walking around everywhere were all Americans. Things were relatively expensive for Mexico and the art was as overpriced as it would be in NYC. But it’s a pretty place, very low key and calm Food was pretty good. Just don’t expect to be bombarded with things to do. Great place to just rest and get away. My parents did it more recently and complained about the elevation and walking uphill a lot. I noticed but didn’t think that much about it when I went in my 30s, but they were in their late 60s. So if anyone you’re going with has health issues it may be tough.
January 30, 20196 yr 14 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said: You can stay in the outer area of town and uber to the center of the city for like 26 pesos. My wife kept tipping them like 15 pesos for the ride until she realized how much the whole ride was. Rooftop bar overlooking the cathedral was tits. Everything there is expensive for Mexico, but still cheap to gringos. Bernal is not far and has a lot of the same stuff plus a dike you can climb all over (extinct volcano with just the core left). Why would you want to do this? Getting up in the historic city center, with the church bells and walking out to go get your coffee as the ladies sweep the streets and ending up on your rooftop terrace in town overlooking the churches is what this is all about (for me). Could it be that much cheaper to be in a motel outside of town? Not being snarky; I don't know. Quote You can also fly into Queretaro instead of Leon if the price is right. Yes, that is what I meant to say. I was mistaken when I said Guanajuato. American flies to both Leon and Queretaro. Edited January 30, 20196 yr by DFWTexEx
January 30, 20196 yr There some nicer hotels for less money further from the city center. We stayed at the Hotel Misión San Miguel de Allende and it was pretty nice. We also had a car with us because we were down there with the inlaws who have a place about an hour away, so we needed somewhere with parking. Most of the city center won't have good or easy parking. If you are going to bring or rent a car to explore surrounding areas it's something to look into. Of course the bus system in Mexico is pretty awesome so you could probably get away with hitting the most popular destinations from SMdA by taking the bus.
January 30, 20196 yr Look into renting a house as well. We found a nice one about a 10 minute walk from the plaza. Can't remember the name of the place, but the guestbook kept saying to have the housekeeper make chicken verdes enchiladas. So we did and they were the best chicken verdes enchiladas we've ever had. Can't remember what we paid (supplies + labor), but whatever it was - completely worth it. My guess is you could find that staying in other houses as well.
January 30, 20196 yr Go do a tasting of Casa Dragones tequila. It was a great experience. Would highly recommend. Buy a door knocker. Seems to be the thing there. I wish I could remember all the great restaurants we ate at.
January 31, 20196 yr Stay here: https://www.belmond.com/hotels/north-america/mexico/san-miguel-de-allende/belmond-casa-de-sierra-nevada/ Eat here: La Pasodita (get a table on the roof top) Lavanda Cafe (Breakfast) The Restaurant
March 15, 20196 yr Bump...Headed there next week for our wedding anniversary. Leaving a 3.5 year old and 9 month old at home so 3 days of leisurely eating drinking and wandering sound incredible. Staying at the Rosewood and looking for a few lunch and dinner reqs and if anyone has done a cool cooking class/market tour.
March 15, 20196 yr Was just there a couple days ago. Uber rides were about 33 pesos. Taxis like 75. Uber drivers don't stick around late at night, so keep that in mind. You can withdraw money from the ATMs pretty easily so you don't have to carry a large sum of cash and risk losing it. Don't spend too terribly much time around the main plaza by the big church. It's pretty, but everything is overpriced. Do go to the Artisan Market. Do buy some nice Mezcal that isnt available in the US to bring back.
March 18, 20196 yr Also forgot earlier, the trip to Bernal is about an hour and 45 minutes away and is definitely worth it. I think I prefer to to San Miguel de Allende, but it's more of a local place than one where you typically see foreign tourists. Also, stuff is much cheaper there for all your wife's shopping.
July 23, 20196 yr Going on Thursday for a day trip. We’re all Mexicans so should be interesting. I went when I was like 7 so essentially first time. Best place for some tequila? Wait casa dragones is from there?! Shit, I’ll have to stop by if my nephews/nieces let me get away for a smidge.
July 23, 20196 yr There's a liquor store near the Parque Benito Juárez that has a good selection of nice Tequila, Mezcal, and Sotol. There is also a artisanal Tequila place right where the taxis and ubers let you off by the main cathedral. They have some pretty cool hand painted tequila glasses, but no mezcal or sotol. Lots of roof top bars with a nice view at night near the cathedral as well if you are looking to drink in a bar. Bring women with you, we went to one and left after sitting at a table for half an hour without seeing a waiter. They were visiting tables full of womenfolk plenty.
July 23, 20196 yr Cavalico was the liquor store. That area of town was much less expensive, so I would check it out if you have time.
July 30, 20196 yr Just got back, almost did a rooftop bar for dinner but it was 430pm and ballllllls hot. Did Pueblo Viejo instead which is nice. Didnt get to do casa dragones bc it looked like it was by reservation only, couldn’t just roll in off the street (least looks that way on the website). That was meh, but we all had stomach issues so taking it easy drink wise was sadly, an acceptable state of affairs. Turns out we were meeting some cousins (I rolled with the gf, bro/wife/elementary age kids) who had kids around my niece’s ages so we just shot the shit and walked around from 1 to 430. Tons of tourists and lots of attractive women everywhere was my main take of the crowds. City is beautiful and seems like a good place to spend two Long days just walking around and seeing everything. Prices were super expensive for mex but yeah, cheap for tourists. Evening time was lovely and the Victorian dressed actors seemed interesting but we didn’t have time to investigate. Sadly we left that evening hoping to beat sunset back to slp but no dice. The freeways are better than back in the 80s/90s but still, driving in Mexico can be stressful.
October 30, 20196 yr Living mostly in Santa Fe NM the last couple years there are quite a few people who travel between SF and San Miguel. Quite a few people over the years have left SF for SM to live as expats, or have houses in both places. Lately however the flow is trickling in the other direction. New SF residents we've met have told my wife and I that a cartel has moved into San Miguel. It's not anything a tourist would probably notice at this point, so I'm not saying don't travel there, just keep your eyes open and exercise the same caution you would in Mexico City or any other large city. Have specifically been told that business owners are being forced to participate in the drug trade (forced to sell drugs or pay extortion) and if they try to avoid it, well, they dead. When I say local businesses, this extends to even dentists and museums, as well as ordinary market vendors and bars. I wouldn't worry about traveling as a tourist but if you have it on a list of possible retirement destinations I'd take a wait and see attitude for sure.
October 30, 20196 yr Yeah, I did hear some grumblings about the cartels down there from the locals when I was there last spring.
October 30, 20196 yr Yeah pretty much...last year I heard people say we don't drive outside the city after dark. This year it's more like, the cartel is everywhere and our dentist was murdered because he refused extortion and so we're moving out.
March 29, 20214 yr Bumping this thread - sadly after the last post was about a cartel murder - going for a wedding. Only two nights and our later afternoon/night activities revolve around the wedding. Looking for Recs on lunch and breakfast spots. Also any daytime activities, tours to look into. Thanks.
April 5, 20214 yr I'll go backwards. For the amount of your are there, don't do any tours. San Miguel is a town where you walk around and let the day unfold. Get up, go get coffee and wander around somewhat aimlessly, finding galleries, shops, little museums, whatever. There is a walking guide that helps. Find more coffee and pastries and then a boozy lunch and end up at your place, which should have a terrace, in time for drinks at sunset. Upscale full meal lunch in a spectacular setting: Quince Cocktail lunch with small plates with great view: Luna Rooftop Tapas the Rosewood Hole in the wall, locals favorite tortas near the Jardin: Torta Mundo Not sure about sit down breakfasts because the places you stay usually offer you breakfast. We stay at a B&B and the breakfast is fantastic. No need to leave. It's a great place to unplug. We are planning another trip there in July when we will enjoy having to put on a sweater at night.
September 28, 20232 yr I love colonial Mexican towns and would love to visit but heard it is super gringo land and is overrun with Americans
November 12, 20241 yr Headed there over the new year. Any recent visitors have some good recs for food etc? Looking forward to the trip.
November 14, 20241 yr We try to go once a year, especially in the Texas summer when we have to pack light sweaters. Don't let the "it's overrun with gringos" talk bother you. Yes, there is an expat crowd, but SMA is still very much Mexico and Mexican and it's fantastic. It's more overrun by pinche Chilangos. Our favorites that we go back to regularly, are Atrio (prefer it to Quince for spectacular rooftop meal in the shadow of the Parroquia), the Restaurant, and Antonia. We sometimes break things up with a steak meal at Tio Lucas, especially when there is live music. Bovine was the new place we tried this last trip and it was excellent. El Pegaso is still great for straight up Mexican food. And, no trip for us is complete without a torta at Torta Mundo (milanesa de res o de pollo), a hole in the wall on Umaran down from the Jardin. A fun, guilty pleasure: the churros at the bar at Casa Sierra Nevada. The street food is cool, but you won't be disappointed by this upscale version. And, Luna at the Rosemont is good when we are there with people who are in SMA for the first time. The view is awesome and the upscale lunch is great. This looks like a good list for a bunch of newish, foody places: https://www.timeout.com/mexico-city/restaurants/best-restaurants-and-bars-in-san-miguel-de-allende For non-food, get to the Fabrica La Aurora for sure. You can spend a good bit of time there looking at and buying art and other design products.
November 15, 20241 yr 19 hours ago, DFWTexEx said: We try to go once a year, especially in the Texas summer when we have to pack light sweaters. Don't let the "it's overrun with gringos" talk bother you. Yes, there is an expat crowd, but SMA is still very much Mexico and Mexican and it's fantastic. It's more overrun by pinche Chilangos. Our favorites that we go back to regularly, are Atrio (prefer it to Quince for spectacular rooftop meal in the shadow of the Parroquia), the Restaurant, and Antonia. We sometimes break things up with a steak meal at Tio Lucas, especially when there is live music. Bovine was the new place we tried this last trip and it was excellent. El Pegaso is still great for straight up Mexican food. And, no trip for us is complete without a torta at Torta Mundo (milanesa de res o de pollo), a hole in the wall on Umaran down from the Jardin. A fun, guilty pleasure: the churros at the bar at Casa Sierra Nevada. The street food is cool, but you won't be disappointed by this upscale version. And, Luna at the Rosemont is good when we are there with people who are in SMA for the first time. The view is awesome and the upscale lunch is great. This looks like a good list for a bunch of newish, foody places: https://www.timeout.com/mexico-city/restaurants/best-restaurants-and-bars-in-san-miguel-de-allende For non-food, get to the Fabrica La Aurora for sure. You can spend a good bit of time there looking at and buying art and other design products. Thank you very much. Great suggestions!
February 7Feb 7 Summer escape U-turn from Monterey CA area to here. All but done. Adults with the low key pace with about 6 hours of work per day. Kids in some immersion classes, found a mountain bike tour operator they will do some of that. Airbnb prices are way more affordable than US hotspots. Not new to Mexico so cartel presence doesn’t concern us as long as they aren’t highly visible and aren’t coming after gringos. PV isn’t much different - they are there but discrete and not concerned with Americans and Canadians. Invited my 75 year old mom and her bestie - both can walk all over. open to thoughts …
February 8Feb 8 21 hours ago, troph said: Summer escape U-turn from Monterey CA area to here. All but done. Adults with the low key pace with about 6 hours of work per day. Kids in some immersion classes, found a mountain bike tour operator they will do some of that. Airbnb prices are way more affordable than US hotspots. Not new to Mexico so cartel presence doesn’t concern us as long as they aren’t highly visible and aren’t coming after gringos. PV isn’t much different - they are there but discrete and not concerned with Americans and Canadians. Invited my 75 year old mom and her bestie - both can walk all over. open to thoughts … Long shot, but my former, late, step dad used to own this place and it looks like they're still renting it out. It's a 15th Century Hacienda in the Yucatan Jungle (about an hour and some change from Merida). It's amazing with plenty to explore if you don't mind driving. I don't know if it's still being rented out, but if you google Hacienda Xixim, you'll find some sites. Just something off the beaten path.
February 8Feb 8 1 hour ago, dcbc said: Long shot, but my former, late, step dad used to own this place and it looks like they're still renting it out. It's a 15th Century Hacienda in the Yucatan Jungle (about an hour and some change from Merida). It's amazing with plenty to explore if you don't mind driving. I don't know if it's still being rented out, but if you google Hacienda Xixim, you'll find some sites. Just something off the beaten path. You know troph is talking about SMA right? Do you realize how far Yucatan is from SMA?
February 8Feb 8 4 hours ago, rage-a-holic said: You know troph is talking about SMA right? Do you realize how far Yucatan is from SMA? Honestly, despite the thread title, her post was confusing to the uninitiated, and I took it as a broader Mexico rec. But yeah, corrected, and I get it.
February 8Feb 8 We had a great time in SMA over new years. Mexico has become a must for me at least once a year. The food scene is awesome,..people are great and the dollar goes a long way. Edited February 8Feb 8 by Tailgate
February 8Feb 8 Will be there in a couple hours, but only for the day. Never been, so looking forward to seeing the hype.
February 10Feb 10 Booked our place for a month. Reached out to some lesbians we know there who split time or have moved from PV, looking forward to it. Next up finding folks to cook for us, signing up for cooking classes, food tours, art scene can not wait!, wineries, etc etc. 3 story house just outside El Centro, nice sized bedrooms all with separate bathrooms. First floor is full living nice open floor plan with kitchen, dining, living and a garden patio, second floor balcony, third floor is a roof top terrace with city views. I know it’s Americanized - we are scouting it out for a place to bail too for early retirement at least in the summers so the strong expat presence is a plus not a detriment. we don’t have the right car to drive so we are hiring a driver from eagle pass to SMA so we can bring our dog. Edited February 10Feb 10 by troph
February 10Feb 10 38 minutes ago, troph said: Booked our place for a month. Reached out to some lesbians we know there who split time or have moved from PV, looking forward to it. Next up finding folks to cook for us, signing up for cooking classes, food tours, art scene can not wait!, wineries, etc etc. 3 story house just outside El Centro, nice sized bedrooms all with separate bathrooms. First floor is full living nice open floor plan with kitchen, dining, living and a garden patio, second floor balcony, third floor is a roof top terrace with city views. I know it’s Americanized - we are scouting it out for a place to bail too for early retirement at least in the summers so the strong expat presence is a plus not a detriment. we don’t have the right car to drive so we are hiring a driver from eagle pass to SMA so we can bring our dog. We loved it. The place was dead when we arrived at 8:30 am but really livened up. There were 8 different mariachi groups in the main plaza, which made my Mexican GF happy which made me happy. Just a real good vibe. The street and Mercado food game was a little week compared to the other places we have stayed (Reforma, Coyoacán and Queretaro), but we did zero research beforehand so might have not stumbled into the right area. The town will remind you of some places in Italy and Spain as far as the hills in town. I think the one thing I wouldn’t do would be to get a place above town where you had to walk everyday up that hill (not because of my legs, but my ears having to hear about it the whole way up). If you are going to be there a month, I would go check Queretaro for a couple days. We are in the Centro Historico and love it. Just added 10 days to our stay here. There is a Mercado called La Cruz a few blocks away that is a treasure trove of cheap, great food. Best tacos I have had in our 3 weeks so far have been there. If there are any other gringos in there I have not seen them.
February 10Feb 10 We are staying just southwest of centro. If it’s up hill to town oh well. My most likely office spot is the roof top terrace (has a covered space too). Could be lit. Edited February 10Feb 10 by troph
February 10Feb 10 17 hours ago, troph said: We are staying just southwest of centro. If it’s up hill to town oh well. My most likely office spot is the roof top terrace (has a covered space too). Could be lit. oh that should be perfect. i think that whole area through the main parts of the centro going west are pretty flat. you won't be going much uphill at all. it is just the southeast part going up to El Mirador (lookout over the town) that gets steep.
February 10Feb 10 35 minutes ago, po elvis said: oh that should be perfect. i think that whole area through the main parts of the centro going west are pretty flat. you won't be going much uphill at all. it is just the southeast part going up to El Mirador (lookout over the town) that gets steep. can't wait, ready to drop this world for a life of leisure in SMA (and PV).... Edited February 10Feb 10 by troph
February 11Feb 11 2 hours ago, RollLeft said: Check out Merida Troph...plenty of opportunity on the water still at a fair price Merida is hot as fuck.
February 11Feb 11 4 hours ago, RollLeft said: Check out Merida Troph...plenty of opportunity on the water still at a fair price 1 hour ago, rage-a-holic said: Merida is hot as fuck. For that heat we require the water. My ex has been to Merida says it was ok, Oaxaca is much better food scene. And at this point puerto Escondido sounds awesome - but probably only for a visit. SMA and PV have vibrant gay communities so they rise high on our list (PV apart time and SMA during the PV hit season). The climate in SMA is going to be great we think, and the home we are staying in is just incredible looking. Edited February 11Feb 11 by troph
February 11Feb 11 2 hours ago, rage-a-holic said: Merida is hot as fuck. Seconded. Even more humid than Houston.
February 11Feb 11 11 hours ago, troph said: For that heat we require the water. My ex has been to Merida says it was ok, Oaxaca is much better food scene. And at this point puerto Escondido sounds awesome - but probably only for a visit. That area in Oaxaca is beautiful, open minded and a global surfing destination. It would be in my retirement hotspot Top 10 if there was anything to do besides surf and lay on the beach. But the diving sucks; you literally have to fly somewhere else anytime you want to dive. And the only "big" store in PE is a Chedraui that's always crowded.
February 11Feb 11 5 minutes ago, rage-a-holic said: That area in Oaxaca is beautiful, open minded and a global surfing destination. It would be in my retirement hotspot Top 10 if there was anything to do besides surf and lay on the beach. But the diving sucks; you literally have to fly somewhere else anytime you want to dive. And the only "big" store in PE is a Chedraui that's always crowded. Is the area always as full of Chilangos as it was when I was there? It was close to 90% where we were staying in La Crucecita. It looked like everything that was geared towards foreigners was focused on attracting Canadian tourists too, but we were there in summer and they were absent.
February 11Feb 11 1 hour ago, rage-a-holic said: That area in Oaxaca is beautiful, open minded and a global surfing destination. It would be in my retirement hotspot Top 10 if there was anything to do besides surf and lay on the beach. But the diving sucks; you literally have to fly somewhere else anytime you want to dive. And the only "big" store in PE is a Chedraui that's always crowded. All reasons why I’m dying to visit but know it’s not a legit place to live even part time
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