Tours in Mexico

Start with the morning, because Mexico is at its best before the day has made up its mind. Taco stands are already hissing, someone is hosing down the pavement, and coffee comes with a basket of sweet bread whether you asked for it or not. You will want a few days of mornings like that, in more than one place.

The country is too big to take in one go, so pick a thread. Mexico City is the obvious start, a sprawl that rewards slow walking. Stay near the Zócalo for the grand squares and the cathedral, then drift out to Coyoacán and Roma for shaded streets, market counters and long lunches. Oaxaca pulls you south with mole, mezcal and markets where you eat as you shop. The Yucatán brings cenotes, Mérida's evening plazas and the great Maya sites of Chichén Itzá and Tulum. Guadalajara, Puebla, Guanajuato and Oaxaca's coast each have their own food and their own pace.

Where we have a tour, it is worth lingering, and that is Teotihuacán. From the ground it is a long avenue of stone, steep steps and the huge Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon. From a balloon at dawn it opens out into a wide, quiet valley, and you see how the whole layout fits together before the crowds arrive. Afterwards you can walk the ruins yourself, with good shoes and a hat, and climbing takes some effort.

Nothing else is listed here yet, but that does not mean it is out of reach. If you want a guide for the Templo Mayor, Palenque, Monte Albán or a food crawl through Puebla, ask. A local guide can often take the request and shape a day around it.