San Miguel Travel Tips
Airports:
LEON/GUANAJUATO
Most visitors to San Miguel fly into Leon/Guanajuato Airport. The airport code is BJX, which stands for "el Bajio", the name of our general region of Mexico, but most people simply refer to it as Leon Airport. Thanks to a new country highway, the trip from Leon Airport to San Miguel is now about one hour and 15 minutes. You can fly into Leon from Houston on Continental, from Dallas on American, from Chicago on Mexicana, from Los Angeles/San Jose/Oakland on Mexicana and sometimes AeroMexico. Or, if you are traveling from Southern California, you might consider crossing the border in San Diego and taking a domestic Mexican airline flight from Tijuana Airport to Leon.
QUERETARO
This is the preferred airport for private jets, plus it does handle a few flights from Houston on Continental. The airport code is QRO. The trip from Queretaro Airport to San Miguel is about an hour and 20 minutes.
MEXICO CITY
You will find many more flight options and better airfares flying into Mexico City (airport code is MEX). Many visitors spend a day or two in the Mexican capital before or after their trip to San Miguel so they can climb the pyramids at Teotihuacan, tour the Centro Historico or enjoy the fine restaurants and museums, including Frida Kahlo's house. Ask us for tips regarding Mexico City hotels, restaurants and tourguides. The trip from Mexico City Airport is about 3.5 hours by car or 4+ hours on the bus.
Ground Transportation:
We work with a very reliable, safe driving service called LeandroTours. If you provide us with your flight info (arrival date and time, airline and flight number, plus number of guests arriving together), we can make all the arrangements for one of the LeandroTours drivers to pick you up at any of the three airports for transfer in a private vehicle straight to your vacation rental.
The driver can come in a sedan (holds up to 3 guests and limited luggage) or in a van (holds up to 7 guests and a lot of luggage). The driver will wait for you at the airport outside the customs area, holding a sign with your name on it. We will have given him directions in advance, so he will know how to get you to the front door of your rental house. About 30 minutes outside of San Miguel, he will call us on his cell phone, and then someone from our company will go to the house to greet you, show you around and personally hand off the house keys.
Some people prefer to take the bus. There is a shuttle service between Leon and San Miguel, which makes several stops en route. You also can take a first-class bus directly from the Mexico City Airport to the city of Queretaro (this is a three-hour ride), where you then can transfer to another bus or take a cab on to San Miguel (about another hour).
We do not recommend renting a car when coming to San Miguel, as there is extremely limited parking in town. Most rental houses do not have garages or parking spaces, so you would have to leave your rental car in a pay parking lot, most likely several blocks away from your house. Once in town, you will find that it is easy to walk everywhere...or you can take one of our local cabs, which are plentiful and inexpensive, around $2.50 USD equivalent to go anywhere.
What to Pack/What to Wear:
San Miguel is very casual. Jeans, khakis and shorts are fine, although women probably won't feel comfortable in short-shorts, unless they want to attract the attention of local men! Sportswear is acceptable in any restaurant, but it's also OK to dress up a little bit (resortwear) at night. Nights can be cooler, so be sure to bring a jacket, sweater or shawl for the evenings.
The most important thing is to bring good walking shoes! Ladies, leave the heels at home. Make sure your shoes have a thick rubber or crepe sole - leather can be too slippery on the cobblestones and ancient stone-slab sidewalks.
San Miguel is located at an altitude of 6400 feet (almost 2000 meters) and at a latitude that is below the Tropic of Cancer. The sunlight can be very intense, even if the daytime temperature is not too hot. Be sure to bring a hat, dark glasses and good sunblock.
