What to see and visit

Thank you Pedro, we are arriving tomorrow staying for 6 days. Anyone feel free to recommend interesting places. Besides the Tequila tour and Scorpion Island, we are pretty much open. We do like to see the more off-beat, odd stuff. Delmar

If you like off beat go check out Foco Tonal. You can Google it for a description. There are a few other threads on here about the place if you do a search.

You could take a daytrip into Guadalajara and visit the San Juan de Dios Plaza or the Zoo.

You could take a daytrip up to Mazamitla (the little swiss town) on the other side of the lake.

You could take a drive all the way around the lake and check out all the other lakefront towns.

And, you can drive east out past Chapala, take a trip to Mescala Island with one of the tour guys, and have a great pizza on the return trup at Foccaccia.

Visit the booths at the Chapala malecon and buy something to celebrate your vacation.

Oh yeah I forgot about Mezcala Island. That is also a great day trip.

CanuckBob wrote:Oh yeah I forgot about Mezcala Island. That is also a great day trip.

The great thing about that trip is how different a slice of history it expresses. We take all the family that comes down to visit out there and they have all liked it best of the day trips.
It also offers the opportunity to see how huge the main part of the lake is. The pizza is a popular item, too.

If you've the time and transportatin Tapalpa is worth the trip, and Guachimontones is interesting. Taking your time it's the better part of day for each destination.

All the last three of Bobs suggestions are available by guided day tour through Charter Club tours. They are great day trips and you will learn far more with a knowledgeable guide than on your own. We have done several of their day tours and enjoyed them. Highly recommended if you do not want to do the driving yourself.

Thank you for all your suggestions, it is 2:47 a.m. here in snow covered Massachusetts. It is 20 degrees F. right now. Getting ready to leave for airport in an hour. Mrum, we may take you up on one of those charters. We did not rent a car and will be relying on taxi's. etc. I will research all your ideas once we settle in Ajijic. Bob hope to meet you in the upcoming few days.
Delmar.

I was born in Mass.

(Went to school there. Is it still "Taxachusetts?")

Take a bus ride locally to Chapala or Joco.  8 pesos. 
Take a local bus to San Juan Cosula and have lunch/dinner at Viva Mexico. 8 Pesos.
The local small buses are an adventure but a safe one that I still enjoy. You never know who will come on the bus. Bad singers, good singers with the young girls saying how beautiful (the boy probably, not the music).

Reality is its hard to be bored here in my opinion. Simple things can be either difficult or fun depending on attitude.

Enjoy!

The thermal pools in San Juan Cosala are also nice and close by. We took our last set of visitors there and they really enjoyed it. You can take a lunch or buy lunch there. They have locked storage for your valuables behind the counter inside the pool area at a small cost. Afterwards, visit Vive Mexico, Tia Lupita for dinner. Just a few blocks from the balnearios.

Visit the historic district in Guadalajara. Take a bus to the main terminal in Gdl and then get a cab to the Hospicios Cabanas to see the work of Orozco and visit the nearby San Juan de Dios and Mariachi Plaza, though be cautious of the area in the last two and be aware of the aggressive vendors in the market.

Tlaquepaque is a great place to spend an afternoon. Take the bus to the main terminal in Gdl and then a cab to Tlaquepaque. Ask to get off at the pedestrian walk (Independencia). You will find lots of shops and probably the best restaurants (my current favorite is Real San Pedro), though El Patio has female mariachis at 3pm and the food is good there too. El Parian also has mariachi shows, though the food is not as good as some of the other restaurants on the pedestrian walk. This is another place we take our visitors and they always love it. There is a three story market at the very end of the pedestrian walk that is open until 4pm, with mostly household goods and food.

Have a great visit.

WDBarr wrote:The thermal pools in San Juan Cosala are also nice and close by. We took our last set of visitors there and they really enjoyed it. You can take a lunch or buy lunch there. They have locked storage for your valuables behind the counter inside the pool area at a small cost. Afterwards, visit Vive Mexico, Tia Lupita for dinner. Just a few blocks from the balnearios.

Visit the historic district in Guadalajara. Take a bus to the main terminal in Gdl and then get a cab to the Hospicios Cabanas to see the work of Orozco and visit the nearby San Juan de Dios and Mariachi Plaza, though be cautious of the area in the last two and be aware of the aggressive vendors in the market.

Tlaquepaque is a great place to spend an afternoon. Take the bus to the main terminal in Gdl and then a cab to Tlaquepaque. Ask to get off at the pedestrian walk (Independencia). You will find lots of shops and probably the best restaurants (my current favorite is Real San Pedro), though El Patio has female mariachis at 3pm and the food is good there too. El Parian also has mariachi shows, though the food is not as good as some of the other restaurants on the pedestrian walk. This is another place we take our visitors and they always love it. There is a three story market at the very end of the pedestrian walk that is open until 4pm, with mostly household goods and food.



Have a great visit.

WDBarr, do you know how much it costs to take a cab from the bus terminal to Tlaquepaque? And is it the old bus terminal? Thank you!

It costs 70pesos from the old terminal in Guadalajara to Calle Independencia in Tlaquepaque.

The last two times we have visited there has been an exhibition in the plaza - Mayans winding down from a tall pole. They perform several times each day.

If you live in Ajijic or San Antonio, ask for the bus back that goes on the Libremiento instead of the bus into Chapala. For a long time, we did not know the difference and traveled into Chapala and caught another bus to San Antonio. The Libremiento bus will let you off across from Black Coffee.

Thanks WDBarr for the info on the cab and about coming back on the bus, that's good to know!

WDBarr wrote:The thermal pools in San Juan Cosala are also nice and close by. We took our last set of visitors there and they really enjoyed it. You can take a lunch or buy lunch there. They have locked storage for your valuables behind the counter inside the pool area at a small cost. Afterwards, visit Vive Mexico, Tia Lupita for dinner. Just a few blocks from the balnearios.

Visit the historic district in Guadalajara. Take a bus to the main terminal in Gdl and then get a cab to the Hospicios Cabanas to see the work of Orozco and visit the nearby San Juan de Dios and Mariachi Plaza, though be cautious of the area in the last two and be aware of the aggressive vendors in the market.

Tlaquepaque is a great place to spend an afternoon. Take the bus to the main terminal in Gdl and then a cab to Tlaquepaque. Ask to get off at the pedestrian walk (Independencia). You will find lots of shops and probably the best restaurants (my current favorite is Real San Pedro), though El Patio has female mariachis at 3pm and the food is good there too. El Parian also has mariachi shows, though the food is not as good as some of the other restaurants on the pedestrian walk. This is another place we take our visitors and they always love it. There is a three story market at the very end of the pedestrian walk that is open until 4pm, with mostly household goods and food.

Have a great visit.

We are doing that tomorrow!!!!!