Mexico - Options (but not bargains) for Memorial Day weekend

Is it too late to plan a weekend away in Mexico for Memorial Day? No, but options are disappearing fast and you may be hard-pressed to find a good deal. Still, for those of us who are suddenly surprised that May’s long weekend is nearly here, we might just be happy to score a seat on a plane bound for somewhere interesting away from home, bargain or not.

Following are just a few Mexico itinerary ideas for the weekend, available when I researched this morning. Sample prices are for two adults, assuming a three-night stay — May 23-26, 2008 — and include taxes.

Where flights are involved, I picked the cheapest nonstop option (with the exception of Cabo San Lucas, where I had trouble finding an outbound nonstop; if you’re willing to stop for the others, you can bring down your price, but who wants to spend a valuable three-day weekend changing planes?).

Ensenada via your own car: $320 (hotel) plus gas
On CheapTickets, I found a room at America’s Best Value Inn for $105 per night (excluding $5 service fee). If heading to this destination by road rather than sea (see below), you’ll also have to figure gas costs for the nearly 200 miles from Los Angeles. For Memorial Day weekend, assume a long wait time at the border.

Ensenada via cruise: $910 (cruise)
Carnival Cruise Lines has a three-night trip going from Long Beach to Ensenada on its Carnival Paradise ship; it leaves Long Beach on Friday night, spends Saturday in Ensenada, Sunday at sea and returns Monday morning. I found this price on TopCruiseClub, and it is reflective of an interior stateroom cabin for two people. Deal or no deal? There’s no question that you’re paying more for cruising on Memorial Day weekend than you would on a non-holiday weekend; for the same trip the following weekend, departing May 30, 2008, the total cost is $831. We’re heading into summer season now, though, and with Baja cruising, you’ll find far better rates traveling in the non-summer months.

Cabo San Lucas: $1,267 (flight plus hotel)
I found this one on Travelocity, leaving LAX for San Jose Cabo (SJD). You would stay at the all-inclusive Riu Santa Fe Hotel in Cabo San Lucas. You’ll probably want to tack on a rental car too ($116 and up for the weekend).

Guadalajara: $1,430 (flight plus hotel)
How about a cultural city break in the Jalisco capital of Guadalajara (GDL), which sits at a 5,100-foot altitude? This sample package includes flights from LAX, on Alaska Airlines outbound and Aeromexico inbound, and a hotel stay at the Hilton Guadalajara.

— Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photo: Guadalajara, Mexico; Guillermo Arias / Associated Press]

Permalink | E-mail | Print | Add to My Trips

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 3:11 pm by Susan Derby and is filed under Baja California, Cabo San Lucas, Guadalajara, Last Minute, Mexico, Weekend Getaways. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.