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For More Information:

Mexico Websites & Internet Resources

From The People's Guide to Mexic

Introduction to Mexico on the Internet.

General Information
Belize
Packing Up & Travel Supplies
Weather
Honduras
Mexico: A to Z
Best of Mexico
Cuba
Money
Mexico City
Live & Retire
Volunteer & Social
Action Groups
Copper Canyon
& Northern Mexico
Working In Mexico
Back to the USA
Baja
Getting Around
Mexican Culture
Mexico's Pacific Coast
Driving
Contemporary Culture
& Entertainment
Gulf of Mexico
RV & Camping
History
The Central Highlands
Eco-Travel & Adventures
Links & Online Resources
Puerto Vallarta
Natural Mexico
CyberTravel: Discussion Groups & Travel Newsgroups
Oaxaca
Food
Chiapas
Healthy Living
Yucatan Pennisula
Shopping
Ruta Maya
Spanish

Favorite Mexico Books.

Guatemala

Mexico Links: “Best of the Web”

Thanks largely to La Red (the Web), Mexico is no longer the tierra incognita it used to be. On the other hand, sorting the best websites and online resources from the chaff can be a frustrating, time-consuming task. For example, enter the term “Mexico” in the average search engine, and you’ll have to sort through at least 234,876 “hits”, some offering real estate in the state of “New Mexico”.

To help you narrow your search down, I listed some of our favorite web sites . Keeping up with new and changed websites is a major task, however, so your suggestions are appreciated -- don’t be shy; if your own website, or one of your personal favorites isn’t mentioned, let us know.


General Information

MexConnect, <http://www.mexconnect.com>. This site and @migo (Mexico OnLine) <http://www.mexonline.com> are among the oldest and most reliable sources of information on Mexico.

Azteca Web Page, <http://www.azteca.net/aztec/>. I'm enjoying Azteca’s ongoing discussion on ethnicity, “Are we Chicanos/Mexicanos or Hispanics?” The site includes, “What is Mexico’s Indian population?”, a Pre-Hispanic calendar, US Immigration info, Chiapas updates, Art & Dance.

Consulate General of Mexico in New York, <http://www.quicklink.com/mexico/ingles/ing.htm>. Compared to most “official” government websites, this one is definitely worth a second look.

Free Time, “tiempo libre,” <http://www.tiempolibre.com.mx/>. A weekly “lifestyles” online magazine, in Spanish, with articles on movies, books, dance, music, tourism, nightlife and so on. This is an excellent place to casually hone your Spanish skills. Also, a wide range of links to gay bars, services, organizations and a glossary of gay Spanish.

Wide Wired World, <http://www.worldworks.net/widewiredworld/index.html>. This hard-to-pigeonhole website is like stepping through the looking glass -- follow the links and wherever you end up... there you are!

University of Texas, <http://www.lanic.utexas.edu>. "Superb site with links to everything about Latin America -- arts and humanities, discussion groups, magazines, popular culture -- not just the academic areas." (Kay Rafool) It also has links to Mexican Telephone Yellow Pages and Mexican Zip Codes

Mexican Government Information, <http://serpiente.dgsca.unam.mx/caleidoscopio/gobierno/>. A Spanish-only site loaded with official documents, links and many dry but useful resources.

Excite Travel, Mexico, <http://city.net/countries/mexico/>. Enough travel and information resource links on Mexico and Latin America to overload a Cray Super Computer. Open the institutional size bag of tortilla chips before you visit this one....

Latin America on the Net, <http://www.latinworld.com/norte/mexico/>. Extensive links to Mexican magazines, media and personal web pages in Spanish and English. A genuine cyber-crapshoot.

Central America Today, <http://www.centramerica.com>. An attractive business site with good links for Central America.

NACLA - North American Congress on Latin America, <http://www.nacla.org/>. Information on major trends in Latin America and its relations with the US. Outstanding links of special interest to scholars, activists, Spanish students and serious aficionados of Latin America.

Be There Now: a zine of budget travel and beating the rat race, <http://www.apocalypse.org/pub/u/x/zines/>. Dedicated to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Slack,” this is exactly the kind of irreverent travel rag that makes the internet so entertaining.

Art Of Travel.com, <http://www.artoftravel.com/>. Barnes & Nobles’ worst nightmare: an author self-publishes an entire book on how to travel cheap and then has the gall not to charge us a cent for the information. Chapter 4, “How To Get Cheap Flights” is an excellent overview of how to shop for a bargain air ticket.

Britannica Internet Guide, <www.ebig.com>. Rather than grab everything in cyberspace, Britannica highgrades the Web for the most interesting pages on Mexico and Latin America. Real humans review these web sites and award stars only to the very best-of-the-best. I've used Britannica for all kinds of searches and find it to be consistently excellent.

Nerd World: TRAVEL
, <http://www.nerdworld.com/travel.html>. With a name like “Nerd World” these guys just have to over-compensate by putting up a very good website. I especially enjoy their off-the-wall Mexico links: including the Tijuana's Industrial Park, the Catholic Church of Yucatan and Fernando’s Home Page. A quick pass at this link-filled site is worth a thousand words.

Weather

WeatherPost, <http://www.weatherpost.com/>. Weather reports for thousands of cities worldwide. (Tom Rodriguez)

Weather Underground: Mexico: <http://www.wunderground.com/global/MX.html>
Current weather conditions for a long list of Mexican cities. Use the handy 'add' button to include any city on your personal weather favorites page.

The Best of Mexico

The Copper Canyon & Northern Mexico

Copper Canyon Trekking & Exploration, <http://www.peoplesguide.com/1pages/copper-canyon/1ccindex.html> Burro assisted pack trips into the remote depths of the Copper Canyon. Guided by Carl Franz and friends you'll have the kind of adventure that most people can only dream about.


El Paso City Guide, <http://www.elpasocvb.com>. For more El Paso information see <http://www.citi-guide.com/ep> and The El Paso Infopage, <http://www.ElPasoInfo.com>.

Baja

Baja California Information Pages, <http://math.ucr.edu/~ftm/baja.html#TOP>. This is my kind of site: straightforward, no frills, with lots of well organized, well researched information. Includes road, weather, gas station reports, bus info, hotels, books, tides and so forth. The site is heroically maintained as a non-commercial public service by Fred Metcalf. Well done!

Latitude 38, <http://www.latitude38.com/>. The "Baja Ha-ha" is an annual disorganized gaggle of 500 or so cruising sailboats that departs San Diego every fall for a giant party in Cabo San Lucas before dispersing worldwide. (David "El Codo" Eidell)

BajaLinks, <http://www.bajalinks.com/>

Guide to Mulege and Concepcion Bay Mexico, <http://www.baja-web.com>. Excellent Baja resources, with “highgrade” links to equally good Baja sites.(Vee Weber says this site "has grown
to be a monster site of information about all of Baja.")

Baja, San Felipe, <http://www.sanfelipe.com.mx>. San Felipe is a small town on the northern shore of the Sea of Cortez. This website was suggested by Vee Weber and others as very community oriented.

Baja Sun Newspaper, <http://www.bajasun.com>

Amigos de Baja Discussion Group, <http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/4888/>. The hardcore Baja Rats gather here to plan their adventures, lie about fish and chew over favorite topics. Fishing is prominent on this excellent site but don’t panic, there’s a lot more here than boats and bait: They've got ocean temperature charts! (I know, but some of us weather geeks eat this stuff up). There’s also lots of valuable Baja info such as road conditions, recipes, photos, a very spirited discussion forum and the Baja Breeze online newsletter. 

Baja California Discussion Group, <http://math.ucr.edu/~ftm/bajaPages/MsgBoard/MsgBoard.html>. A public, non-commercial message board and discussion forum on Baja. Maintained by Fred Metcalf as part of his excellent Baja Information Pages site.

Baja Nomad, < http://www.escapist.com> This Baja nomad is maintaining this site commercial free. All of the opinions are his own and not advertiser motivated. His specialty is finding the good life in Baja
(and other places) at a low cost. (Vee Weber)

Los Cabos Fishing Report: http://www.mexonline.com/cabofish.htm

Mexico's Pacific Coast

Mazatlan, <http://www.mazcity.com.mx/> and another Mazatlan site <http://www.maztravel.com/>.

Mazatlan Fishing Report: http://www.mexonline.com/mazfish.htm. Regularly updated fish reports from Mexico Online.

The Central Highlands

Mexico's Lake Chapala & Ajijic: The Insiders guide to the Northshore for International Travelers. With contributions from experts in anthropology, natural history, language and culture, author and Ajijic resident Teresa Kendrick presents a description of Lake Chapala and its popular tourist and retirement communities that is broad in scope yet also quite detailed.... (Full Review) by Carl Franz

Mexconnect <http://www.mexconnect.com>.

Ajijic, Lake Chapala, Guadalajara, <http://www.ajijic.com/default.htm>.

Puerto Vallarta

•Dave's Puerto Vallarta Site: http://www.mts.net/~dcdonahu/

Puerto Vallarta Mexico Access: http://www.accessmexico.com/

http://www.virtualvallarta.com

•Puerto Vallarta Fishing Report, from Mexico OnLine: http://www.mexonline.com/pvfish.htm

•A discussion thread on Renting in Puerto Vallarta

http://aboutpuertovallarta.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=27&FORUM_ID=13&
CAT_ID=7&Topic_Title=LONG+TERM+RENTAL&Forum_Title=Puerto+Vallarta+Rentals

Oaxaca

Oaxaca, Pacific Coast of Mexico, <http://www.eden.com/~tomzap/> Tom Penick covers hotels, travel, food, surfing, snorkeling, scuba diving, fish, turtles, history, native dances and the Spanish language. Information is also available on the beach towns of Jalisco.  

Oaxaca, State Tourist Guide, < http://oaxaca-travel.com/>. This tourist-oriented site manages to overcome its “official” nature and provides some interesting and useful information as well as a good link list: mezcal distillers, folk art, tours, articles, orphanage, museums and more.

Chiapas

San Cristobal Las Casas, Chiapas, <http://www.sancristobal.podernet.com/>. A good community resource site with info on schools, hotels, local newspapers, services, cybercafes, tour operators, airlines, etc.

Chiapas Massacre and What is Really Happening in Mexico, <http://www.criscenzo.com/jaguar/chiapas.html>. Reports from Chiapas on the liberation struggle of the Mayan people.

Zapatista Action, <http://www.utexas.edu/ftp/student/nave/>.

The Ruta Maya

Archaeology of Mesoamerica, <http://www.criscenzo.com/jaguar/>. Jeeni Criscenzo, author of Place Of Mirrors, a self-published, new-age style novel about the ancient Maya, has created a visually striking website on the Maya region of mesoamerica: maps, Mayan glossary, history and more.

Los Loros, a Mayan jungle community, <http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~ctennant/EthnoWeb/home.htm>. Created by anthropologist Chris Tennant, this outstanding website is an inspiring blend of ecology, archaeology, history and community action. The site skillfully presents an educational theme with excellent art, photography and an online museum of Mayan artifacts.

Belize

Corozal: A Belizian Web Site, <http://www.corozal.com>. According to the Bill & Claire Gray, authors of the Belize Retirement Guide, "Most websites in Belize are really tourist brochures, but the "Corozal" site is a true community website." It is the home of Corozal Community College / Corozal Junior College and people, culture, Mayan archaeology, tourism, attractions, schools, business, and other things of Corozal District, Belize.

Virtual Lost Cities:El Pilar, Belize, <http://alishaw.sscf.ucsb.edu/~ford/>. If the Mayan ruins of Belize are beyond your reach, take a mosquito-free, online jungle bashing tour of El Pilar. Follow ongoing research at this archaeological site through video clips, scholarly papers, maps and animation.

Guatemala

Guatemala Living and Retirement Newsletter, PO Box 669004, A-192, Miami Springs, FL 33266. This excellent bimonthly newsletter promises articles, encouragement and tips for retirees and wannabe “expats." Their booklet, The Guatemala Bus Traveler's Little Helper is crammed full of bus routes, schedules, travel tips and even hotel information. Email: folks@go2guatemala.com, and a website at <http://www.goguatemala.com>.

Honduras

Honduras This Week Online, <http://www.marrder.com/htw/>. An online weekly magazine of Honduran news, travel, business, environment and culture.

Cuba

Havanatour: <http://www.cuba.tc/Havanatur/Havanatur.html> General infomation in both English and Spanish: Air schedules and fares, tours, car rentals, accomodations.

The Cuban Connection: Information and Reservation Centre: <http://www.cuba.tc/Havana/> Map of Cuba, Tips for tourists, Advice for U.S. Citizens, Information on various Cuban Cities.

Global Exchange: <http://www.globalexchange.org/tours/cubaTravelQuestion.html> Global Exchange does "reality tours" to Cuba. This page has travel info, including how to travel to Cuba 'Legally'.

Virtual Voyages: Cuba: <http://www.virtualvoyages.com/carib/cuba/cuba.sht> Lots of practical travel information, extensive links and many articles incuding; "Bicycle Touring in Cuba and Two weeks of Music and Dance. Also TravNet! Bulletin Board and newsgroup: soc.culture.cuba

Lonely Planet's website:Destination Cuba <http://www.lonelyplanet.com/dest/car/cub.htm> contains a wealth of articles and links for Cuba, including a Map.

Mexicana Airlines to Cuba, in English: <http://www.mexicana.com.mx/mx2/english/destinos/internacional/lahabana/lahabana.asp>

Health

Mexico Health Profile, <http://www.paho.org/english/mexico.htm>. Information and statistics of special interest to health professionals and traveling hypochondriacs.

In a similar vein: ProMED, <http://www.healthnet.org/programs/promed-hma/9706/>.

Traditional Medicine Project, <http://www.halcyon.com/FWDP/medicine/tmp.html>. The Center for Traditional Medicine in Yelapa, Jalisco (south of Puerto Vallarta) collaborates with traditional village herbalists to provide free local health care and fee-for-service holistic health services to travelers. They seek to increase understanding of the role women and traditional medicine play in strengthening, stabilizing and nurturing human society.  Dr. Leslie Korn also publishes a newsletter, La Curandera (The Healer) and sponsors an Internship Program.

Live & Retire

•Mexico: Live & Retire Forum at Mexico Connect: <http://www.mexconnect.com/liveboard/wwwboard.shtml.>

•Belize: http://www.belizeretire.com. Sometime in the 1980's, Bill and Claire Gray pulled the plug and escaped from California to the Central American country of Belize. You can probably guess the rest: Fleeing the land of smog and gridlock, they were soon hiding out on the beach.

•Guatemala: Guatemala Living and Retirement Newsletter, <http://www.goguatemala.com>.PO Box 669004, A-192, Miami Springs, FL 33266. This excellent bimonthly newsletter promises articles, encouragement and tips for retirees and wannabe 'expats'. Their booklet, The Guatemala Bus Traveler's Little Helper is crammed full of bus routes, schedules, travel tips and even hotel information. Email: folks@go2guatemala.com.

Working in Mexico

The Teach English in Mexico Employment Guide, <http://www.employnow.com/Mexico.htm>. Teachers, this site sells a book that will tell you how to teach in Mexico and what you will get paid. This site also sells many good maps of Mexico. (Ron Mader)

Getting Around

Magic Bus, <http://www.magic-bus.com/> Mexico & Central America, Bus & Travel Information. A fun home grown site on bus travel in Mexico by Steve... with lots of little tips that he's obviously picked up while traveling the back roads of Mexico by bus.

RV & Camping

RV'ers Online, <http://www.rversonline.org/index.shtml> Rv'ers Online is a treasure house of information about the RV'ing lifestyle. Hundreds of pages of information list how-to projects, free camping places, and just about every conceivable aspect of owning and enjoying an RV (Peoples Guide correspondent David Eidell has a mini-series on RV'ing in Mexico at RV'ers Online), and enthusiatically endorses this non-profit site.

Mexico’s National Parks (GORP), <http://www.gorp.com/gorp/location/latamer/Mexico/pks_intr.htm>.

Eco-Travel & Adventures

Trekking in the Copper Canyon, <http://www.peoplesguide.com/1pages/cc/1ccindex.html> Burro assisted treks into the remote Copper Canyon of northwestern Mexico. Guided by Carl Franz and friends, this is the adventure most people only dream about.

Eco Travels in Latin America, <http://www2.planeta.com/mader/>. Ron Mader's Eco Travels ranks near the top of my personal WWW favorites. “...the Internet's foremost clearinghouse of environmental news and ecotourism information for the Americas. You'll find short articles and in-depth reports, book reviews, lists of travel providers and Spanish language schools. The best news - all of this is free.” Includes the Planeta Platica environmental newsletter, an excellent Directory of Spanish Language Schools and other education resources, as well as one of the most interesting eco-oriented travel archives on the Web.

Green-Travel, <http://www.green-travel.com>. Marcus Endicott introduced me to the amazing world of internet travel several years ago when he suggested that I subscribe to an email list that discussed eco-travel. Marcus offers an exceptionally rich website with an almost overwhelming link list.

Natural Mexico

Volcano World, <http://volcano.und.nodak.edu>. Eruption alerts and good things for children. Everything you ever wanted to know about volcanoes. (Kay Rafool)

Did You Feel Anything? <http://www.ssn.unam.mx/> Servicio Sismologico Nacional, Instituto De Geofisica, Unam. It’s entirely in Spanish, but if you’re interested in earthquakes, check it out. I’ve translated their main index below. With a dictionary at hand, you should be able to quickly get an idea of what’s happening. If nothing else, you can check the bottom of the home page to learn the location, time and severity of Mexico’s most recent quake. (more)

Fishing

•Fishing Reports from Mexico Online: Regularly updated fish reports from Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas and Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo. If you like fishing in Mexico, they've got you covered. Mazatlan Report: http://www.mexonline.com/mazfish.htm Puerto Vallarta: http://www.mexonline.com/pvfish.htm. Los Cabos Report: http://www.mexonline.com/cabofish.htm. Ixtapa- Zihuatanejo: http://www.mexonline.com/ixtapafish.htm

Shopping

Mexican Art Sale, <http://www.folkart.com/~latitude/home/mex.htm>. Mexican folk art and crafts for sale. The colorful online catalog gives a great preview of some of Mexico’s fine artesania.

Spanish

The Spanish Language Home Page, <http://www.el-castellano.com/>. A treasure trove for Spanish students, educators, translators and travelers, with links to online dictionaries, language courses, newspapers and literature.

Learn Spanish, <http://www.lingolex.com/spanish.htm>. Useful expressions, live “Espanglish Chat," lots of links to very useful Spanish resources, bookshop and more.

Language Link, <http://www.langlink.com/>, (800) 552-2051. A very reliable broker for academic Spanish programs and language schools in Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru and Spain. Kay Rafool is also an enthusiastic People’s Guide reader and has given us many valuable suggestions.

NRCSA - The National Registration Center For Study Abroad, <http://www.nrcsa.com/>, (414) 278-7410. One of the oldest, largest and most respected booking services for language schools around the world. Includes Spanish, Mayan and Garifuna.

AmeriSpan, <http://www.amerispan.com/>, (800) 879-6640. Spanish immersion and educational travel programs throughout Mexico and Latin America.

Latin America Traveler, <http://www.goodnet.com/~crowdpub/>. “A Latin America travel and Spanish language school resource, with a subscription-only newsletter.

La Pagina del Idioma Español, <http://www.pobox.com/~hispano>

Spanish Schools

Encuentros, <http://cuernavaca.infosel.com.mx/encuentros/spanish.htm> This is Lorena's favorite language school. She says "As a results of years of learning a bit here and a bit there, my Spanish is a real mishmash. Jeannie designed a study program for me that improved my Spanish very rapidly"

Experiencia: The winner of The People's Guide to Mexico 25th anniversay contest studied spanish at Experiencia

El Jovel: High quality, one-on-one, Spanish classes while living with a Mexican family.

Packing Up & Travel Supplies

Walkabout Travel Gear, <http://www.walkabouttravelgear.com>, (800) 852-7085. Essential gear and information for independent travelers.

Europe Through the Back Door, <http://www.ricksteves.com/services/accmenu.htm>, (425) 771-8303). Rick Steves sells a good money belt, an excellent carry-on travel pack and other travel accessories.

Magellan's
, <http://www.magellans.com/>. A major travel accessories catalog, now online.

Roadnews.com, <http://www.roadnews.com/>. Accessories and support for laptop computer users worldwide. I’ll definitely be checking back here before I take my Mac PowerBook on the road again.

Mexico: A to Z

 

Volunteer & Social Action Groups

Action Without Borders, <http://www.idealist.org/>. A site for those seriously interested in volunteer work, humanitarian organizations and social action projects. Action Without Borders is a nonprofit organization that promotes the sharing of ideas, information and resources to help build a world where all people can live free, dignified and productive lives. For general questions and information, email: info@idealist.org, or contact at: Action Without Borders, Inc., 350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 6614, New York, NY 10118, (212) 843-3973, fax: (212) 564-3377.

Institute for Global Communications, <http://www.igc.org/igc/>. A “community” of progressive organizations and individuals, including five “Nets”: Peace, Eco, Conflict, Women and Labor.

Pastors For Peace: “IFCO” Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization, <http://www.ifconews.org/>, email: p4p@igc.apc.org. Pastors For Peace reports on Peace Caravans to Chiapas and other social action projects in Latin America. (Stan Gotlieb)

PeaceNet, <http://www.igc.org/igc/peacenet/index.html>. “information and work for positive social change in the areas of peace, social and economic justice, human rights and the struggle against racism.” Action Alerts, Headlines and Features include updates on the conflict in Chiapas. (Stan Gotlieb)

Doctors Without Borders, <http://www.dwb.org>. (888) 392-0392. This highly respected international relief group sends volunteers to over 80 countries.

•Hands Across The Border Foundation, 4323 North 12 St., Suite 201, Phoenix, AZ 85014, (602) 277-1344. A wonderful exchange program for thousands of American and Mexican schoolchildren.

Pina Palmera, <http://www.eden.com/~tomzap/pina.html>. Pina Palmera is an organization, on the coast of Oaxaca, that provides shelter, meals, training and support for children and people with physical disabilities. email: pinapalmera@laneta.apc.org

Back to the USA

Parrot Papers,” <http://www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/petbird.html>. The official rules and procedures for importing a pet bird into the US from APHIS, the Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service of the US Department of Agriculture.

Plant Protection and Quarantine Permits, <http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/ppqpermits.html>. Download USDA permits to legally import plants into the US. Information on regulations, plant pests, etc.

Mexican Culture

Indigenous Peoples of Mexico, <http://www.indians.org/welker/mex_main.htm>. Native American traditions, history, art and literature presented by tribe as well as by geographical region.

Mariachis, <http://www.geocities.com/~puro_mariachi/>. This is it! Your all-in-one site for mariachi music, including lyrics, performance dates, history, books, CDs and so forth.

Mexican Dance, Music, Art & Culture Web Sites, <http://www.alegria.org/mxother.html>. A feast of Mexican dance companies, folk dance information and discussion, regional dances, plus links to music, art and culture sites.

Mummy Museum
, <http://www.sirius.com/~dbh/mummies/>. The Museo de las Momias is not for viewers with a weak stomach. If you’ve never heard of Guanajuato’s famous mummies, you may want to skip this site and remain blissfully ignorant.

Contemporary Culture and Entertainment


Esquizofrenia Comics: El Webzine del Comic y los Eventos Mexicanos, <http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dimension/8638/>. Tune up your hip, street-wise Spanish on these online comix.

La Chingada, <http://csgwww.uwaterloo.ca/~dmg>. They don't teach this kind of Spanish at the local high school....

Mexico Arts: Universes in Universe, <http://www.kulturbox.de/univers/america/mex/english.htm>. A major collection of Mexican art.


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©1972-2011 by Carl Franz & Lorena Havens