Travel
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Getting Here.
San Miguel de Allende is located in the central highlands of Mexico, with three main airport choices. Once you have booked your flights, please email your flight details to fontana.raina@gmail.com.
Regional Airports
The two regional airport options are Querétaro and León, each about 80 minutes from San Miguel. If leaving from the Northeast or Canada, you will most likely need to take a connecting flight to get to Querétaro and León. We highly recommend connecting through the U.S. so that you do not need to connect through Mexico City. The Mexico City airport is notoriously busy and spread out so if you do have a connection through there, please leave a lot of time for your layover.
If flying into Querétaro and León, we recommend booking a shuttle with Bajio Go. They are very reliable and will have a sign with your name on it waiting outside of customs. If you’d like, we can let you know if there are other guests on your flight or landing around the same time at the same airport to share a shuttle with.
Mexico City Airport
If you want to fly direct or are planning to spend time before or after the wedding in Mexico City, you can also fly to the Mexico City airport then drive to San Miguel. We tried this and, unless you are going to Mexico City anyways, would recommend flying into Querétaro orLeón instead.
There are a lot of rental car options near the airport. One tip: make sure you have at least 500-700 pesos (about US$25-35) in cash in local currency for tolls on the road along the way. Or you could book a shuttle with Bajio Go.
Don’t forget your passport! You cannot travel if it expires within six months of your trip (which would take us to November 2022).
Where to Stay
Boutique Hotels and Airbnbs
Being Here.
Although the wedding may seem far off, we strongly recommend booking your accommodation early. San Miguel de Allende is a small place, and most of the hotels are in restored colonial buildings with a limited number of rooms.
We recommend staying within the clump of dots on this map. Locations to the south of the clump will be more convenient for the wedding events. Locations to the north of the clump will be more convenient for touring the city and most bars and restaurants.
Hotels
We toured five hotels in San Miguel, all of which we would recommend. They are nice, comfortable and convenient for both the wedding activities and touring the town. There are lots and lots of other hotels in town that could also be good options.
Hotel Casaliza – this hotel is immediately adjacent to Casa Chorro, where the Fontana and Raina families will be staying and where we will be hosting the Mehndi and Welcome Dinner. There are 16 rooms total. Though there is no pool or onsite restaurant, rooms are a great deal at ~$50/night and there are lots of great restaurant options in the area.
Hotel Apapacho – this hotel is right next to Hotel Casaliza so just one building further down the hill from Casa Chorro. There is a tiny plunge pool on the roof, where the bar and restaurant are. Hotel Apapacho only has 6 rooms.
Clandestino Hotel – this hotel is similar in size and niceness to Hotel Casaliza and Hotel Apapacho. There is no pool, and we did not see an onsite restaurant, but it is a very nice spot between the wedding event locations and the city center. There are only 8 rooms, and this hotel is adults only.
Hotel Amparo - another beautiful, boutique hotel! This one is a little further from the venues but closer to the main town square. There are 5 rooms.
Hotel Matilda – this is a very beautiful, hip hotel with a nice pool and celebrated restaurant called Moxi. There are 32 rooms. It is on the more expensive side.
Rosewood – this is a very nice, large hotel with numerous restaurants and bars. It is a big complex with beautiful gardens and an amazing, big pool. This hotel is not in the city center and feels more secluded than the others. It is still very convenient to both wedding locations.
Mansion San Miguel - cute, small hotel pretty close to Casa Chorro. High up on the hill so be ready to walk and also to enjoy those beautiful views.
Airbnbs
The May 2022 calendar just opened up on Airbnb!
Here is our Airbnb wish list with lots of suggested options, but you should feel free to go off list if you see something else you like.
Steph loves nothing more than looking at hotel and airbnb options. Please reach out to us if you have any questions (on how to get a good deal, location, etc.). And let us know once you book your flights and lodging - we’d like to keep track of our guests!
What to Do
Activities in the San Miguel de Allende Area
San Miguel de Allende is a pastel-washed, UNESCO World Heritage-listed colonial town north of Mexico City. You will immediately be able to tell how the cobblestoned loveliness lured Diego Rivera to escape here to paint and Beat poets Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac to hang out at Bar La Cucaracha. Today, it still has fresh energy bubbling among its Rothko-orange façades. Here's a small sampling of the things you can do in the area.
Source (for all elegant phrases in this section) – Condé Nast
EAT & DRINK
From lauded five-star restaurants to local mom-and-pop eateries, the town is also known for its exciting epicurean scene. Its mix of traditional and trending flavors comes across through +350 restaurants, with more than enough mole, gorditas, tacos, and tequila to savor. We will email you a list of some of our favorites, all of which are marked on the Being Here map (above).
Source – A Passion and A Passport
SITESEEING
Check out these travel guides for some SMA site seeing recommendations. Our must see spots were: El Jardin (main city square), Fabrica La Aurora (a fine art lover’s dream), Instituto Allende (see you there Saturday night!) and Mercado de Artesanias and Mercado Ignacio Ramirez (for all your shopping and souvenir needs). We wished we had time to see El Charco del Ingenio Botanic Garden.
Source – A Passion and A Passport
EXPLORE
San Miguel is surrounded by beautiful countryside, so don’t miss the chance to explore this area on a day trip (or two!). We loved the thermal baths at Escondido Place and La Gruta. Afterward, we enjoyed spa treatments and dinner at Hotel Nirvana. We also recommend lunch, a winery tour and a tasting at Viñedos San Lucas. Let us know what you’d like and we can help coordinate shuttles!
Source – Condé Nast