Mezcal to Mole Holiday

Arrive in Oaxaca on your flight from the UK.

Oaxaca is well-known for its colourful buildings, fantastic cuisine and vibrant Mexican culture. During your time here you will visit local mezcal distilleries, known as palenques, in Matatlan, a small town outside of Oaxaca. Here you will learn about the process of making mezcal, from agave plant to bottled spirit.

You also have the chance to try a couple of different varieties of the drink too. In the evening take a walking street food tour, visiting some of the best spots for local cuisine. 

Arrive in Puebla, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its lovely colonial architecture, baroque cathedrals, bustling main squares and cobbled streets. Your first day is free to discover the city at your own pace.

On your second day you’ll have a walking tour of the city’s highlights, stopping along the way at Calle de los Dulces, Candy Street, where you’ll be able to try some unique and unusual sweets. You’ll also have the opportunity to try local dishes that may include quesadillas, memelas, cemitas and tostadas.

You will transfer by road to Mexico City. Here you will have a cookery lesson starting with an introduction to Mexico’s gastronomic history, you’ll then walk around the local market where you can try exotic fruits and grasshoppers (not compulsory!). Back at the kitchen, you’ll prepare a four-course meal, including street appetizers with Mexican salsas, pre-Hispanic mextlapiques (wrapped food cooked on a grill), a traditional mole blanco dish, and corn cake as dessert. Enjoy your meal with an artisanal mezcal, Mexican craft beer or local wine. 

The next day take a short journey outside of the city to the Shrine of Guadalupe and then on to the immense Aztec ruins of Teotihuacán. Walk along the Avenue of the Dead, and see the Pyramid of the Sun and Pyramid of the Moon while exploring this impressive sprawling site.

Your third day in Mexico City has been left free for you to relax or explore at your leisure. Perhaps visit Xochimilco floating gardens for a gondola ride along canals while listening to mariachi bands play, take a trip out to bohemian Coyoacán to see Frida Kahlo’s home or go to a lucha libre Mexican wrestling match for a flamboyant evening of fun. Speak to your Travel Specialist for more ideas.

San Miguel de Allende is an attractive town, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has grand mansions, pretty churches and narrow cobble side streets inviting visitors to explore. During your time here you will have a walking tour of the colonial town and discover a fascinating history learning about the importance of chocolate to Aztec society, and the influence in 19th-century Mexico of the French pâtissiers. Wander the cobblestone streets, stopping along the way to taste sweet and savoury chocolate recipes, including mole, pralines, a Mayan cocktail, pastries and ice cream.  

The next day you’ll visit two local wineries outside of the town. Although not famous for its wine, Mexico has been cultivating vines and producing wine since the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, the dry climate being perfect for grape growing. Here you will visit the vineyards, cellars, olive and lavender fields, tasting some wine accompanied by food. 

A city of parks and fountains, Guadalajara is known as the birthplace of mariachi and tequila. Tequila differs from mezcal as it is produced from the blue agave plant, whereas mezcal can be produced from any agave plant. During your stay here you’ll visit Tequila Town, where blue agave plantations can be seen across the countryside, and visit the tequila museum and a distillery to learn something of the traditional and modern production methods, followed by a tasting session.

Puerto Vallarta is located on the Pacific Coast, with great beaches to relax on or water sports for something more active. Travel between August and December to see turtles being released or December to March to see humpback whales who come here to mate and give birth. Your time here is free to relax. 

On day 17, you will head to Puerto Vallarta airport for your onward flight and land back in the UK on day 18.