Before I moved to Mexico City, I honestly thought that ‘C’ and I would be traveling all over Latin and South America. A weekend in Costa Rica, pop down to Argentina for a week and explore Buenos Aires…or even attempt the Inca trail…

However I have quickly come to realise that this will not be the case – for two very valid reasons. The first is that Latin and South America are huge…yes, yes I know that is an incredibly obvious statement to make – but I never realised how big it and what exactly the distances were like. Living in Singapore, South East Asia is at your finger tips and a weekend trips to Bali, Bangkok and Thailand was a reality.

Although it is the second reason that really surprised me – air travel out of Mexico is exceptionally expensive! Unlike Asia and Europe where you have a swarm of budget and no-frills low-cost airlines to choose between – this does not seem to be true here. Tiger Airways…I see a gap in the market for you!!

I was at a party the other day and was complaining (slightly) about this, and although airfare is far more expensive than else where in the world, it also turns out that I have been looking in the wrong places on-line. So for those of you who are new to town (let alone this continent) here are a few tips I picked up:

1. Stay away from Kayak. Apparently they are very US orientated and their prices are astronomical…which I can confirm! I was looking for a flight in January to Playa del Carmen when my brother comes to visit…and after choosing the dates I wanted it was going to cost me nearly US$800!!!

2. There is a Latin American version of Kayak called Despegar. So far I have been impressed with them and their prices are far more palatable then Kayak or even approaching the airlines directly. The address is www.despegar.com  

3. Volaris is a low-cost airline designed for the Mexican market. It flies to nearly all major cities within Mexico and a number of cities in the States. It has a surprisingly good website which is easy to navigate (and there is an English option!) The address is: www.volaris.mx

4. Interjet flies only within Mexico, although not a budget airline their prices seem reasonable and again a very professional and easy to navigate website. Their address is: www.interjet.com.mx

So, I will be booking  a flight to Puerto Vallarta with either of the 3 above in the next 24 hours, and I will let you know how it goes! If anyone else has any great tips in regards to traveling in the region,  I would love to hear about them!

Muchas Gracias :)