Flaming drinks and beach refusals: Inside Wendy Petrie’s Mexico family holiday

Wendy Petrie takes her family to Mexico. Photo / Wendy Petrie
OPINION
If you’re looking for your next family adventure, that even teenagers will approve of, follow Wendy Petrie’s lead and head to Mexico
Now we’re well past the ‘young family’ life-phase, where you book a holiday timed around sleeps, mealtimes and tantrums, it is time to be more adventurous. Mexico has always been on the wish list with the allure of sunshine, culture, great food and margaritas.
With our eldest of the three now living in San Diego on a university rowing scholarship, we reunited with her in LA, before flying south across the border, straight into Mexico’s heart, the pulsing capital, Mexico City.
Now to tell you the truth, I was slightly wary of taking our family of five into a fast city of 22 million people, but tourism is big business, and we were reassured by a big police presence; apparently a focus in recent years by the Mexican Government.
READ MORE: A beginner’s guide to Mexico City
It really is a great, vibrant metropolis and if you’re taking the usual precautions, you’re going to love it. Bursting with culture and sass, Mexico City known as CDMX, has something for everyone with dozens of museums, shops, great restaurants and thriving nightlife.
One of the biggest issues to grapple with, are negotiating frantic traffic, fast lane changes and bustling crowds. It’s organised chaos, where at any minute a side mirror is about to pop off, but drivers appear unfazed.
We stayed in upmarket Polanco, which feels like a European city with leafy streets, museums, parks and high-end shops. The first day was spent walking to the Museo Soumaya which is worth a visit just to see the building which looks like a giant silver anvil and conveniently sits opposite a huge outdoor shopping mall called the Antara.
After a coffee break, we caught an Uber to Zocalo Square, one of the world’s largest city squares, once the centre of ancient Aztec society. The surrounding historic buildings enclosing the square, dwarf the crowds and we spent time just taking it all in.
You can’t come to Mexico City without a trip to see the ancient pyramids, the treasured Teotihuacan Archaeological Site. For this we organised a driver through the hotel and left early to avoid the heat and crowds.
It’s really is great to see your kids (including a teenage boy of few words), look with genuine amazement at a historic icon. Once home to more than 25,000 people, Teotihuacan was built between the 1st and 7th centuries. The pyramids showcase impressive architectural foresight with enormous pyramids, plazas and residences still relevant today. It helped that our driver and guide was passionate about the past, engrossing us with stories.
What better way to finish off the tour than with a stop-off for tequila tasting, where you could also buy art and trinkets made by locals.
Mexico is of course known for its great food and we ordered tacos and seafood everywhere we went. We had a memorable dinner at a recommended spot called Carajillo. It was like hitting a nightclub, with flaming drinks and a DJ playing festive Mexican music.
With the fast-paced life of Mexico City ticked off, it was beach time. To Baja California and the seaside town of La Paz.
As we got off the plane, we immediately felt the contrast from the busy big smoke to a laid-back vibe. La Paz is the quiet neighbour to the north of the flashy resort town of Cabo San Lucas. Unlike Cabos, this town is not crowded with tourists and Hollywood A-listers. La Paz boasts the best beach in the world and rich marine life. The seafood is incredible and many a fish taco was ordered. It’s hot here; more than 30 degrees and desert dry.
Having not quite done our research, we assumed to see this beautiful Balandra beach, we’d just drive to it as you would in New Zealand. However, upon arrival, we were turned away and told to come back for the ‘afternoon session’. This protected beach is fiercely guarded with limited numbers each day, and dedicated morning and afternoon sessions. It was worth the wait. The aqua sea and crescent-shaped white sand beach provided lovely photos for the kids’ ‘gram’ and we found a hide away cave offering shade, away from the crowds.
We had hired a car, which turned out to be a great way to see the sights. An hour south is Todos Santos, a seaside town describing itself as a desert oasis attracting artists and surfers. We loved wandering the quaint streets and found a delicious lunch spot on the town’s outskirts, Jazamango.
Clearly our lunch times differed from Mexicans, who consider 4pm an appropriate lunchtime following siesta, and dinner is more like 10pm when we’re heading to bed. It’s fair to say prices are not cheap either in Mexico, with a cocktail setting you back NZ$20 and main course up to NZ$50.
With one night left, we went to the Azotea sunset bar, which has the most magnificent view overlooking La Paz and the ocean.
From a bustling big city to a chilled beach location, we loved Mexico and its people. We have great memories of our trip, with not too many family arguments to mention, either. We promise to return and explore some more.
GETTING THERE
Fly from Auckland to Mexico City with one stopover with American Airlines, Delta, United, as well as Air NZ in partnership with Aeromexico.
DETAILS
visitmexico.com