A Rather Exhausting Itinerary

We're off again, this time to mostly Mexico but also 8 days in Guatemala and then dipping a toe in Honduras.  Having inflicted two safaris on Ian this year, I thought it was about time he got to choose where we went and what we did for our next adventure.  We've enjoyed quite a few touring holidays with VJV over the years and he rather fancied their Mysteries of the Mayas & Aztecs trip which essential involves looking at piles of old stones, albeit constructed into some quite amazing edifices given that thesewere pre-Columbian civilisations.

As usual we prefer to make our own flight arrangements, even more so this time as the flights offered were overnight both ways and with Aeromexico; whose reviews didn't read well.  Business Class flights are already off the scale on cost, but back in May I was able to secure Premium Economy at reasonable prices with BA and as we have lounge access anyway we feel we can cope with a 12 hour day flight and 9 hour overnight going home (flying directly from Cancun rather than via Mexico City).

We've booked an extra night in the same Mexico City hotel that the tour is using and arranged for a transfer from the airport when we arrive early evening so that we don’t have to worry about being caught in the taxi scams which are apparently prevalent at this airport.  At least we'll (hopefully) have a night's sleep before the tour starts, whereas the others arrive for breakfast and the tour starts sometime later the same day.  From then on it all sounds pretty hectic, no downtime unless we are on the coach and not much option to get clothes washed:-

1 night         Mexico City
1 night         Puebla
2 nights        Oaxaca
1 night         Tehuantepec

2 nights        San Cristóbal de las Casas
2 nights        Panajachel

2 nights        Antigua 
1 night         Copán
1 night         Puerto Barrios
2 nights        El Remate
1 night         Palenque
1 night         Campeche
1 night         Chichén Itzá
1 night         Cancun  

Having used VJV before we are aware that their brochures promise a lot but are actually "style but not an enormous amount of substance" as in the past great play has been made of a particular place or event but in fact you get a nano second there or, as once famously happened, we simply stopped at a petrol station to fill up.  But we've gone into this trip with eyes open and although it's by no means a cheap holiday it is nevertheless considerably less expensive that the safaris we've done of late and as I learnt in Rhodes recently; caveat emptor as you get what you pay for!  The max group size is 18 but when I phoned 10 days ago I was told we are just 11 which is great but ................... who makes the odd one; is it a selfish singleton or a group of 3.  We've had both in the past and it'll be interesting as with all these types of holidays there is invariably one or two who grate on me (as I'm sure I do on others).  I just hope the vehicle is large enough that everyone can stretch out a little.