Mexico Up-close

The Real Deal: Fourteen nights' accommodations and bus travel from $950 per person.

When: Depart May 26, July 7, Aug. 11, Sept. 15, Oct. 27, 2007; additional dates available in 2008.

The Fine Print: The $950 price for this trip breaks down as follows: $550 paid in advance and a $400 local cash payment per person due on arrival, which covers local transportation by bus. The price does not include airfare or airport taxes. No airport transfers included; expect to pay about $15 for a taxi ride at each end. Add approximately $275 for meals--none are included. Single travelers will be paired with a roommate of the same sex; no single supplement. For general guidelines on evaluating deals, click here.

Book By: No deadline; based on availability.

Contact: Intrepid Travel, 866/847-8192, intrepidtravel.com.

Why It's a Deal: Consider that the $950 rate (including the $400 local payment) breaks down to about $73 per person per night and covers accommodations and local transportation. An English-speaking tour leader is available throughout the trip, especially handy for learning local information on the best markets and restaurants on this itinerary.

Trip Details: The escorted trip begins in Mexico City, where will you spend two nights at the modest, 150-room Hotel Mallorca in the Colonia San Rafael neighborhood. Optional activities include a visit to the Museum of Anthropology, arguably the world's best museum of its kind, for $8 per person.

Hop a bus and ride roughly 60 miles southeast to Puebla, renowned in Mexico for the quality of its decorated tiles and pottery. During your two-night stay, nosh on local dishes, such as mole poblano.

Next up: Oaxaca, a city renowned for its culinary delicacies. Oaxaca's chefs eagerly experiment with unusual ingredients, such as hibiscus flowers, toast chilis, and grasshoppers.

Spend one night in this former colonial town, which is cradled in a valley. Optional activities include a night at a folkloric ballet ($10 per person) and a guided English-language tour of the Monte Alban Ruins, which are structures located on a mountaintop that are believed to have been built by the Olmec people about 4,000 years ago ($40 per person).

Move on as a group to San Cristobal de las Casas, a former colonial outpost that features several architectural gems, such as the baroque cathedral La Casa de las Sirenas. During your two-night stay, optional activities include taking a horse ride in the mountains ($20 per person) or hiking part of Sumidero Canyon nearby ($25 per person). Note that the journey from Oaxaca to San Cristobal is interrupted with one night's sleepover on a bus.

Palenque, home of Mayan ruins, is your fourth stop. Optional activities include a trip to a nearby jungle that is the site of roughly 200 ancient Mayan buildings, which the jungle has been reclaiming. Imagine how craftsmen carved the images of gods and rulers into the temple walls. The tour of the ruins costs $4 per person.

After your Indiana Jones-like encounter, dip in the nearby waterfalls. Enjoy it while you can: Your stay in Palenque lasts only one night.

Moving on, you'll spend two nights in Merida, a former colonial city on the Yucatan Peninsula. This town re-creates its 19th-century glory for tourists with historical re-enactments, such as costumed guides driving horse-drawn carriages down mansion-lined streets. Optional activities include a visit to the Celestun Bird Sanctuary, which is a haven for some 300 avian species, for about $35 per person.

Your final destination will be a two-night stay in Playa del Carmen, an ocean-side resort town with opportunities to snorkel and dive around coral reefs.

Groups tend to dine together, but you are not obligated to join and the cost of meals is not included. While your group of travelers is escorted, no guided tours or excursions are included in the price of the trip. Guided hikes and other excursions are additional costs, ranging from $3.50 for a cheap-seat ticket to a soccer match in Mexico City to $45 to $100 for a private flight (as part of a small group) over the Bonampak ruins outside of Palenque.

To enjoy this trip, you need to be up for an adventure. Lodging is usually very simple. The company says that its emphasis is "on the journey, not the accommodation." Think guesthouses, homestays, and one night on a bus.

For more highlights, visit the Mexico's official tourism site.

Before you go, check out the current forecast by clicking here. Find the exchange rate and local time at BudgetTravelOnline.com.

Getting There: Airfare is not included in Intrepid Travel's package. To get a sense of the cost, here are the lowest round-trip fares (arriving in Mexico City and returning from Cancun) that we've found for a July 7 departure: $386 from Los Angeles (American), $408 from Chicago (Northwest), $425 from New York City (multiple carriers), and $531 from Atlanta (multiple carriers).

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