Taking a Family Holiday in Mexico

Pyramid of the Sun, Mexico

Mexico is one of those fascinating places to take your family for a holiday. If your kids are urbanized, they will have a field day with the local cultural dances and traditional wear. Of course, you will need to take them to the countryside for that. Coastal beaches are fascinating too.

Which attractions excite visitors most?

Mexico’s tourist attractions include the areas with rich history about Mexico in pre-colonial and post-colonial era. They also include the Aztec and Mayan ruins and the colonial cities. The deserts that stretch to the north plus the mountains are all exciting to watch from close range. The great thing about these attractions is that they are well serviced by highways and so reaching them is easy.

Which areas provide good family packages?

Aerial View of Puerto Vallarta

There are many child-friendly holiday resorts in Mexico and they give attractive packages when you are checking in as a family. They range from Cancun, which is on the eastern side of Puerto Vallarta, all the way to the fascinating Pacific coast.

How convenient is the border crossing when you are a family?

Crossing the border as a family is no different from when you are crossing as an individual. For example, if you have your SUV or other family car, you may not even need to get out of the car. And if you do, at least the kids will not have to. It is enough that you, as parents, are accompanying the kids. However, your auto insurance must be in place. You need to have the basic Mexican auto insurance that covers your third party liabilities, and then pick up your temporary car import permit if you intend to go beyond the 25km-30km distance that is the Free Trade Area.

Besides that, of course, is the normal parental care you would take, ensuring that you have enough medical insurance for your children, and you as well. If you decided to ride in a rental car, it is important to ascertain, before you sign for the car, that it is duly insured. If they tell you that the third party cover is included in your rental fees and that is the reason the rental charges are high, demand to see the policy document itself so that you can assess its adequacy. To be safe, if you find it inadequate, the best thing is that you pay for additional cover until it reaches the minimum $300,000 Mexican insurance cover that the Mexican law demands. You can easily purchase your Mexican insurance policy for your Mexican trip from this URL.

Other contingencies

The main difference between travelling alone and travelling with your family is that you must be extra careful in all spheres. For instance, when you are with family, the state of the rental car must be at its best. You cannot afford to get stranded on an unfamiliar road with kids in your car because of a car breakdown. Even when the Mexican government avails the Green Angels highway service, you cannot take risks with children around. In fact, it would be advisable to speak to your insurance provider about personal insurance in case of injury to any of you in your car.

Can you take your pet dog along?

Many families are attached to their pets and Mexico appreciates that. So, the country has no problem allowing pets to enter the country. However, it needs to protect their animals against disease, and so there are a few regulations you need to adhere to.

Here they are:

• Provide evidence your dog has been vaccinated against rabies, hepatitis and also distemper. Carry a rabies certificate with you too.
• Carry a health certificate from a veterinarian who is duly licensed, in two copies. That certificate should not be older than 72hrs by the time you show it to the Mexican authorities.
• You also need proof that your dog has been tested for ticks and tapeworms just a few days before you embarked on your holiday trip.

As a whole, apart from the mandatory Mexican car insurance and the documentation relating to your pet, there are no other legal demands on you when you travel as a family.