Spinsters in "Dangerous Places": How I Afforded Mexico City

Dear friends,

You can run off to Mexico for cheap if you are savvy, and the risk of escaping to this "dangerous" place is well worth it (check out my post about my adventures in Spinsters in "Dangerous Places": Mexico City Myths Debunked ).  As a happy spinster with neither spouse nor children to distract me, I have plenty of time for researching great deals and amazing places.  Save time and use these steps for visiting Mexico City for four days for under $800.00 per person.  

Step One:  Suffer a personal drama that leads to a sudden, rash decision to travel.  This spring, my family went through some health drama, and rather than crumbling into a puddle of fear, Rachel and I booked a trip to Mexico.  "Way to handle crisis, Super Spinster!  You ran away to Mexico!"  Not quite.  When my life becomes hell, I plan for heaven, so we booked the trip for October way back in March.  It gave us something to look forward to all summer, and by the time we left, the crisis was over.  We had booked a trip to a "dangerous" place when we were too anxious about other things to be afraid, and it worked out beautifully.

Hotel Historico Central

Step Two: Book your hotel far ahead of time.  Rachel and I stayed at Hotel Historico Central in Mexico City's historic district.  It offers 60% discounts to early bookers.  We slept in a room that should have cost us $400.00 per night for only $125.00.  Complimentary bottled water and delicious food were available 24/7, we had lots of TV channels for when our tired feet couldn't carry us any further, and the staff left candy and the next day's weather report on our pillows every evening.  We felt like princesses.

Step Three: Purchase your flight around three months before you intend to travel.  Use a website like Google Flights to compare prices, and set up price alerts so you can watch for a drop.  Scott's Cheap Flights is another helpful website for last-minute, inexpensive airfare.

That's not water in my glass--Cafe de Tacuba

Step Four: Save your money.  You don't need that new purse.  You need an extra round of tequila and dessert at Cafe de Tacuba in historic Mexico City.  (Check out this article about Cafe de Tacuba from Food + Wine magazine--This Breathtaking Mexico City Restaurant is a History Lover's Dream.)  Fancy drinks with friends every Friday?  Cut those in half and ask your friends to your house for beer, pizza, and a movie.  Take those dollars you saved and spend them on a culinary safari across Mexico City's markets. (I recommend Eat Like a Local--Mexico City Food Safaris.)  Do you really need that new iPhone?  Nope.  Skip that and pay for a driver to take you out to the Aztec pyramids and a guide to show you through the jungle (on my bucket list for my return visit this winter).  Leverage your money for experiences, not things, and you will be amazed at how reasonable travel can become.

Step Five: Maximize hotel breakfasts.  If your hotel room comes with breakfast, eat with dedication.  Be like a hobbit: have first breakfast then second breakfast.  Take your time filling up so well that you may only need one more meal that day.  And maybe grab a pastry to go.

Note the bottled waters--El Mercado de Jamaica

Step Six: Pack snacks.  Rather than paying for expensive food in the airport or downtown, bring granola bars you buy on discount at home (coupons!).  Make your own trail mix, and pack a lunch or dinner for the airport so you don't overspend.  Rachel and I brought empty water bottles to the airport and filled them once we passed security.  In Mexico City, the hotel gave us complimentary bottled water that we carried around town.

Step Seven: Use rewards points to pay for adventures.  My VISA gives me points for using it, points I have accrued and used to buy tours and to rent cars on vacation.  It's free money.  Check out if there's anything cool in your travel destination on which you can spend your points!

Step Eight: Rachel and I could afford Mexico City because the U.S. dollar is stronger than the Mexican Peso.  Maximize these places where your money can carry you further.  By no means wealthy (Rachel is a public school teacher and I am an associate attorney in a small law firm), we know how to maximize our cash.

The view from El Castillo de Chapultepec

Step Nine:  Partake of free-admission days.  Rachel and I planned our wanderings to hit museums on days when they were free.  Rachel got into the Castillo de Chapultepec for free with her teacher ID while I had to pay a few bucks (no discounts for lawyers).

Step Ten: Walk or take public transit.  I downloaded metro and city maps on my phone for access without wifi.  The Metro cost around $0.50 per ride, and we rode it all over.  Marveling at Mexico City's architecture, we walked for miles burning off the calories we had just consumed and opening up our appetites for more.  Food is reasonably priced, even cheap, in Mexico City, so prepare to eat!

Diego Rivera Murals in El Zocalo, the Mexican Governmental Palace

With these strategies, Rachel and I did Mexico City for four days for $800.00 each.  That includes our flight, hotel, and spending money.  Our memories will last much longer than any fancy purse or new smartphone.  Even if we find spouses one day and are blessed with kids, we will have these memories forever.  .... What am I saying?? Our spouses would take care of the kids as we waved "Adios", a few hundred dollars in hand, heading for the borderline.

¡Viva Mexico!  

Cheers,
Elizabeth