Mexico City: Day of the Dead Comfort

Bienvenidos a Mexico! Welcome to Mexico. Arrive at Mexico City’s Benito Juarez International Airport and be transferred to your hotel. Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 6 pm tonight. Modern meets ancient in Mexico City – one of the world's largest urban centres. A bustling, busy place, Mexico City offers a great variety of impressive museums, galleries and architecture, along with exciting nightlife and delicious street food. If you arrive early, head to the Zocalo – the city's huge central square – to see Aztec ruins and colonial architecture or relax in one of the many parks, plazas and gardens. After your important meeting, why not head out and see this city in full swing – street tacos, anyone? You’ll already have noticed a mystical feeling in the air – keep an eye out for any Day of the Dead decorations you can spot around town.

Set out on a walking tour of Mexico City’s historic centre with your leader, walking past the Zocalo, Metropolitan Cathedral, Templo Mayor and Palacio de Bellas Artes. After your walking tour, you’ll also swing by Mercado San Juan, where you might want to buy yourself some lunch. The afternoon is then free to explore on your own. (B/D)

After breakfast, visit Coyoacan. There are five centuries worth of Mexican architecture and culture to uncover in this district’s plazas and narrow cobbled streets. Start your day at the lively Jardin Centenario Park which is surrounded by inviting cafes and townhouses. Then, set off to visit the Frida Kahlo Museum, dedicated to the life and works of the Mexican artist. Located in the house she lived throughout her life, the museum contains a collection of her work, as well as artefacts, photographs and personal items. (B)

Enjoy a free morning to further explore on your own before regrouping at 1:30 pm. You’ll wave goodbye to Mexico City this morning and head to San Pedro Tlahuac, where Nahuatl descendants preserve traditions from Pre-Columbian times, including chinampa farming, fiestas and ceremonies. Visit a local family, get acquainted with their traditional customs and join them to create an altar. Making an altar (or ofrenda as it's sometimes called in Spanish) during the Day of the Dead festivities can be a way to remember your ancestors or honour the life of someone who was important. You can get as creative as you like when building the altar with the local family. As part of the Day of the Dead, people organise ceremonies at the cemetery for those not physically with them any longer and commemorate the lives of people passed over. You’ll visit the local cemetery and see how the families decorate the graves of their ancestors with the belief that when they return from the dead, their spirits will go to the cemetery first. Some even elaborately decorate paths to their homes with flower petals to lead the spirits back. It’s an eye opening, yet beautiful experience that you won’t soon forget. You will arrive back at the hotel in Mexico City late in the evening. (B)

Your immersion in Mexico's Day of the Dead ends after breakfast. That doesn’t mean your Mexican adventure has to come to an end! If you would like to spend more time in Mexico City, we’ll be happy to book additional accommodation for you (subject to availability). (B)