Mexico travel docs!

[bjmarren]

Hi All,

We've made a last minute booking to Mexico. Whilst it is clear we don't need a visa to visit there, it is unclear as to whether we need to complete a tourist registration form prior to arriving or we can do it upon arrival. Has anyone got any experience of this?

Thanks in advance,

Brendan

[seagles]

This says you do. Best to follow these guidelines. Although my recent experience of Dominican Republic leads me to believe these requirements are not always adhered to. Enjoy your holiday.

[doug2500]

Unless it's changed because of covid you do have to a registration but they will give it to you on the plane. I don't think you need to do anything in advance.

I seem to remember having to fill out another form in the airport (arrival) too. There's also a departure tax so be prepared.

Arrival airport was terrible, big queues, hot, disorganised, but the holiday wonderful. Enjoy.

[bjmarren]

Hi,

Thank you both for replying so quickly.
It seems that airlines currently don't give out the registration form anymore on board but we found a link where we could complete the form online and then after we received an email confirming that it had been accepted and could be downloaded and printed and then presented to immigration on arrival, so thankfully that part has been completed. There also seems to be another form which needs to be completed which is related to the health state of the individual. This seems to be different to the one given on the GOV UK site, thanks seagles for that link, and I should have thought about that site but I live in Bulgaria and am travelling on an Irish passport, due to Brexit. Anyway this other form is clearly a Mexican requirement and we've been told we can complete it manually and present it on arrival, so hopefully that covers everything!

We'll be staying in San Miguel de Allende and have been told it's fabulous, so we're really forward to some sunshine and warm weather.

Thanks once again for your help and advice.

Brendan

[bjmarren]

Hi "doug2500" and "seagles", and anyone else interested in the above topic.

I thought I'd let you know what happened re the travel docs as it might be of use to someone else.

Contrary to what we had been led to believe, but confirming what doug2500 had written, the airline (Lufthansa) handed out the tourist registration forms on board, and we completed this, despite having downloaded and completed a similar type form prior to departing. Anyway the whole process was fairly straight forward and despite the queues on arrival we got through immigration check and collected our baggage and were on our way within an hour of landing.

Was based in San Miguel de Allende, which is about 280km from Mexico city, and which is in the state of Guanajuato, staying with my wife's relative, who has been house sitting there since last November. San Miguel is a very charming place, which is described as "a colonial-era city in Mexico’s central highlands, known for its baroque Spanish architecture, thriving arts scene and cultural festivals". It is very popular with American and Canadian tourists and there is a lot to do and see there. It was a very relaxing stay there, despite being at altitude which meant a lot of walking up and down quite steep streets. There are famous steps connecting the upper part of the town to the lower part, about 175 in all, and as we were staying at the upper part, we climbed these steps at least twice a day, which means we now have calves of rock.

We also visited a couple of neighbouring cities/towns, such as Guanajuato, which is the federal capital of the state of Guanajuato and Querétaro, using a very good out of town bus company, Primera Plus, whose coaches are very comfortable, with excellent toilet facilities, and on-board films and internet connection, although the Internet was very hit and miss. Both places have historical centres and it was very pleasant to wander around them both for a day.

On the way back home we stopped over in Mexico City for just over 2 days. Having a population of over 20 million, the traffic was predictably horrendous but the city has a very good metro and bus system, with a dedicated bus lane, so if you want to you can get around pretty easy with a bit of planning. The metro is also very clean and must be one of the cheapest in the world at only 5 pesos a ticket, about 0.19p. There is a fair bit to see in the city, particularly in the historical centre, but 3 days would be more than enough in my opinion. One thing we did do and would certainly recommend is to visit the Teotihuacan pyramids, which are about 50kms from Mexico city. They predate the Aztecs by about a thousand years and there are 2 pyramids and a Temple. You could book an organised tour but it is as equally as easy to take the metro to the central bus station and then get a bus (104 pesos return, GBP 4) which drops you right off at the site. Entrance was 85 pesos (about 3 quid). You can hire a guide on the spot, but there are boards everywhere at the site describing things so we didn't bother with a guide. Spent about 4 hours wandering around and found the whole thing very impressive.

We found the Mexican food a bit heavy at times but enjoyed the Mezcal! One thing that did impress us was the discipline shown by Mexican people to wearing masks when outside in the streets. About the only people who did not conform were the Gringos! Also, in most larger shops, restaurants and hotels, your temperature was measured on entering and you were obliged to disinfect your hands before entering. All in all we would heartily recommend Mexico to anyone. Great value for money and wonderful experience.

Brendan

[doug2500]

Glad you had a good holiday.

Shamefully, we've only been in resort in Mexico - it was just too easy to chill out and relax there. We've promised to get out more if we go again. We always had to use hand sanitiser going into restaurants (this was pre covid) but were never sure if this was resort policy or a Mexican thing. I guess because of covid we still can't be sure!