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Tours · Jalisco and Zacatecas
Guadalajara, Lake Chapala, Tequila, Tlaquepaque and Zacatecas
Nine days through the Mexico most tourists never see, from the home of mariachi to a silver city in the mountains.
8 to 12 travellersChad leads every dayPrivate van and driver
At a glance
Length9 days, 8 nights
Group8 to 12 travellers
Starts and endsGuadalajara airport
PaceLight to moderate, one 4.5-hour drive
HotelsNamed below, boutique and resort
PricePer person on request, by group size
DatesOn request
Day by day
Times are the plan, not a promise; Chad adjusts for the group and the weather.
1
Land in Guadalajara, sleep by Lake Chapala
Arrive around 2 pm, or fly in the day before. A shuttle takes you to Ajijic on Lake Chapala, the largest lake in Mexico, for an afternoon among the craft shops and streets. Dinner at La Sima with the lake below you.
2
Mezcala island, mariachi in Jamay, a night in Tequila
After breakfast, a boat to the island of Mezcala, the one piece of land the Spaniards never conquered and later a prison. The afternoon is dinner with mariachis in Jamay on the northeast shore, the old streets and a short ride on the painted trajinera boats. By evening you are in the Magic Town of Tequila, checked into the only hotel with its own distillery; fire pits, the bar or the town square.
3
Tequila the town, tequila the drink
A ride through town on one of the tequila trucks, then the La Cofradía distillery at 12:30 to see and taste how it is made. Lunch and an afternoon at the Cofrade tavern with local mariachis. At 5:30 the van takes you to Hacienda El Carmen Resort and Spa for a massage, a horseback ride or the pool, and dinner at El Carmen.
4
Guachimontones, then Guadalajara
A slow morning at the hacienda, then a short drive to Guachimontones, round pyramids of a people unknown until 1969, where digging began in 1999 and only four percent has been uncovered. Lunch back at the hacienda, check-out, and a two-hour drive to Guadalajara. Hotel Rame sits in the colonial district; dinner at Santo Coyote at 8.
5
Historic Guadalajara and Tlaquepaque
A few hours in the historic centre of Mexico's second city, then Tlaquepaque, the Magic Town on its edge where mariachi music fills the streets. Food and music at 2:30 and a free afternoon for the galleries and workshops. Back at the hotel by 7, with an optional dinner at Talento.
6
The long drive to Zacatecas, a mine and a gondola
Check out at 8 with a box lunch for the 4.5-hour drive north. Check in at Mesón de Jobito around 12:30, then Mina El Edén, a mine that worked for 300 years and is now a museum, and the first gondola in Mexico for the view over the city. Lunch on your own. At 4:30 the Pedro Coronel Museum, with a Picasso among its walls, then the archaeological zone of La Quemada, inhabited from about 350 to 1150 AD, and dinner with entertainment around 8.
7
Sombrerete and Chalchihuites
Breakfast in Sombrerete, another Magic Town a short drive away, then the Mesoamerican site of Chalchihuites at 10:30. Back in Sombrerete by 1 for craft beer at La Cantina and either a free afternoon or a guided walk through town. Return to Zacatecas at 6:30.
8
Your choice: a museum morning or a mountain day
Museo de Guadalupe: an 11 am visit to the museum, back in Zacatecas by 1, a free afternoon, dinner at 8. Or Sierra de Cardos and Jerez: out at 9:15 to the Sierra de Cardos park for zip line, rappelling, a suspension bridge, quads or kayaks, pick two; lunch in Jerez at 2, free time or a guided tour at 4, back by 6, dinner at 8.
9
Back to Guadalajara
Breakfast at 8, then the drive back to Guadalajara, arriving mid-afternoon for flights that day. Prefer not to fly the same day? Chad arranges one more night in Guadalajara.
The route
Guadalajara Tlaquepaque Tequila Guachimontones Ajijic, Lake Chapala Zacatecas Sombrerete Jerez Not to scale Included
- Chad as your guide, every day
- Private van and driver from arrival to departure
- 8 nights in the hotels named above, double occupancy
- The meals marked on each day, and the tastings and entrances named
Not included
- Flights to and from Guadalajara
- Travel insurance
- Meals marked "on your own", and drinks beyond the tastings
- Tips for drivers, guides and hotel staff
- Single room supplement, quoted with your dates
Questions people ask
When does it run?
When your group is ready. There are no fixed departures; Chad proposes dates for your month and confirms once the hotels are booked.
What is the minimum group?
Eight travellers. Couples and solo travellers can join a group that is forming; ask to be put on the list for a month.
I am travelling alone. Do I pay more?
Prices are per person in a shared double. A single room is quoted as a supplement with your dates.
Is it safe?
You travel by private van with a local driver, by day, between towns Chad knows well, and you stay in hotels he has used before. He follows the US State Department's advice for each state on the route and will tell you if anything changes.
Money and tipping?
Pesos for small purchases, cards almost everywhere else. Chad gives a tipping guide before the trip.
Deposit and cancellation?
A deposit holds your place and the balance is due before departure; the amounts and the refund terms are written in your quote before you pay anything.