Mexico vacation suggestions please!
 

My spouse and I are looking spend a week in Mexico next October (not sure where yet, and that's where you guys can help!). We want to go to a place that offers a lot for our money (we are on a tight budget!). We want to avoid the hotspots (ie: Cancun, Ixtapa, etc.) where prices tend to be higher. Can anyone suggest a place that's both safe and of good value (ie: cheap food, lodging, etc.)? Thanks in advance.

LAX

A little more info might be helpful.
Do you want a beach? Mountains? Small towns or big cities? Culture? Staying in one place or moving around?

Yes, more info please. Beach, city, ruins, culture etc..... Also, when will yoube going? Summer, winter for a long weekend or two weeks? Just post and we'll help:)

If you don't mind being in the mountains a bit, go to Oaxaca. It's a true gem, fantastic local food, and you'll find everything to be cheap and very friendly people. You're close to a few ruins and you can even divide your trip and go to Puerto Escondido (via air, unless you really need to rough it on the windy bus route). Gives us more information and I'll provide more as well.

LaPaz is nice too, and less expensive than some other places. You can fly in there, or fly into SJD and drive-it's about two hours, beautiful drive through the mountains.

Sorry for not being more specific in my OP. Well, we are both not crazy about beach, but do want to spend some time there. Mountains sound good, too, and it would be a nice bonus to have some ruins nearby. We definitely don't want to move around as we want to relax more than sightsee. Getting a good dose of local foods is a must (I heard seafoods are really cheap in Mexico)! As for timing, we will most likely go in early October for about a week. Lastly, we would like to avoid driving if possible and safety is also very important. Thanks and I look forward to hearing more from you all.

LAX

Mexico Vacation
 

Early October is low season on the east coast of Mexico. It is also hurricane season. Since you aren't really interested in the beach, you might enjoy the area south of Playa del Carmen nearer Tulum. October has some terrific deals at all-inclusive resorts.

Our travel agent indicated that in Mexico if you are involved in a traffic accident, you may just be incarcerated until everything is sorted.

you can fly direct from LAX to Puerto Vallarta (PVR) on AS, Aeromexico, Mexicana...AS gets AA miles as does Mexicana and Aeromexico gets Delta....Puerto Vallarta is VERY low key, relaxing time with great shops, great restaurants and no hassle....from LAX its about 3.5 hours direct and definitely a great trip....have fun wherever you go

Another option
 

Aeromexico will more than likely have some sort of faresaver for that time. There's Manzanillo which is a coastal city, very low key and has an airport (ZLO). There are many beach places around and some small mountain towns, Barra De Navidad is a beautiful place close by (about 45 minutes from ZLO) it has a nice resort and a beautiful beach. There are other beaches close by too...

For a beachy, scenic break, you might want to try Baja. It's got beautiful geysers and nice waves. It's a bit cold to surf in December, but some people do it anyway. You could fly to San Diego, then drive across the border, past Tijuana to a town like Ensenada. That's what I did one December, and I found that town very pleasant and very cheap. It was very different from Cancun, or the usual suspects, and not as remote as Oaxaca. The people are very down-to-earth, curious and interesting, and make you feel like you belong.

PVR vs SJD
 

I think narrowed the list down to these two. Which is better for the combination of good/cheap food and lodging? What about activities besides the beach? Are all-inclusive deals good for either location if food and lodging are supposedly cheap? Thanks.

LAX

Edit to add: I just read about MZT! It sounds like it's cheaper than both SJD and PVR. Any comparisons to either?

No expert on Mexico, but have been several times and most relaxing, satisfying was PVR on 2 occasions, the last in October. To see more, we drove from PVR to MZT, which did not impress us. There are some expensive resort hotels in between, as well as spectacular coast line, but requires hours of driving and few alternatives. PVR offers many choices of lodging, restaurants, and diversions at different price levels, with wonderful scenery between mountains and ocean. Would recommend against Nuevo Vallarta and all-inclusives, unless you just want to hang at the hotel and beach most of the time and eat.

Try the state of Colima. You can goto the City of, then hit the coast (Manzanillo).

Morelia is also a nice city, and not very expensive.

Where ever you go, Mexico is cheaper if you stick to Hotels and restaurants that Middle Class Mexican's goto.

For example, I was at a five star beach resort and ordered aracherra at the Hotel restaurant. It was 250 pesos or about $25. Basically, uncut fajitas with french fries. In a sit down restaurant in town, it would have cost me less than $5. On a street stand only a few dollars (iron stomach).

Stay local and do as the locals do and you can go for less than $100 a day. If you stick to American places or high dollar places, then it can be $500 a day.