Mexico loves families and families love Mexico, so a Mexico family vacation is a great idea. As always, traveling with children, and traveling with elderly family members who need extra care, will take extra planning and extra patience once you arrive. While the nation’s crime statistics mean you should be careful, most Mexicans can’t help but coo over young children and give them a little pat on the head. Meanwhile, Mexicans treat elders of any nationality with respect. Mexico remains as great a value for family vacations as it does for any other kind of travel.
Where to Stay on Your Mexico Family Vacation
If you’re traveling with children, consider staying in a mid-range hotel or quality budget hotel rather than a four or five star hotel, or one of the tiny, rock-bottom cheap hotels, often called hoteles de paso by the locals. The more relaxed atmosphere and less fragile furnishings of the mid-range hotels mean they will be far more tolerant and better able to deal with any problems that arise than their more expensive counterparts. Meanwhile, the smallest, cheapest hotels, which can be an excellent value for single travelers or couples, are usually not geared toward families. Mexican couples looking for a bit of hard-earned privacy frequent these places (in most Mexican households, several generations of a family live under one roof or even in one apartment), and so the atmosphere may not be appropriate for children.
If you’re traveling with an elderly family member or any family member who needs special accommodations for a disability, even a minor one, you should definitely consider these concerns thoroughly while planning your Mexico family vacation. Most hotels are not at all accessible. Even hotels with elevators sometimes require you walk up a flight of stairs to get to the elevator. Bathrooms, meanwhile, are often studies in extremely compact design. More expensive hotels are more likely to be accessible, but not necessarily. Call ahead and ask specific questions about each area of facility accessibility you will need.