This answer obviously depends on how much time you can take off of work, but we would recommend flying in Wednesday, November 16 - Sunday, November 20 to be sure you have enough time for travel and the weekend events. A lot of flight options are very early in the morning, which is why we decided to have our wedding on Friday. We want to ensure everyone could fully enjoy themselves and not worry about getting to the airport early the next day. If you can stay a few more days, there's plenty to do in the city for a longer vacation. The Ding and Alfaro family will be staying Monday, November 14 to Monday, November 21. If you have additional time, you could extend your vacation and see somewhere else in Mexico. Mexico City is just a few hours away or take a flight to a beach location - domestic flights are pretty cheap once you're in the country!
Unfortunately, due to space limitations, we simply can’t afford for all of our lovely guests to bring a guest of their own. Therefore, we ask that our guests to please not bring a plus one, unless they are specifically named on the invitation. That said, we (intentionally) wanted this trip to feel like a vacation and traveling is always fun when you have company. Numbers are tight but please let us know if you have someone you would like to bring to the wedding. Once we receive RSVPs, we will have a better sense of headcount and will reach out if anything changes.
You will need to have a valid passport at the time of entry in order to enter Mexico. Often, countries will requires your passport be valid for at least 6 months at the point of entry, but that is not an explicit requirement for the Mexican government. It's also always a good idea to scan a copy of your passport to leave somewhere safe in your luggage. As of now, proof of a negative COVID test is not required to enter Mexico or the U.S.
San Miguel de Allende is a popular destination for expats and is one of the safest places in Mexico. Over 8,000 Canadian, British, and American expats live in San Miguel de Allende, which has beautiful Spanish colonial churches, great restaurants, and heritage sites. While crime rates in San Miguel de Allende are relatively low, it is a tourist city and you are in a different country so you should exercise common sense and basic cautious behavior.
San Miguel is a pretty small town so you likely won't need to worry about transportation, unless you're taking a day trip to nearby attractions, like to Guanajuato or Querétaro, or visiting the lake just outside city limits. Your most common mode of transportation will be on foot — so pack comfy shoes because most streets are cobblestone and there is some hilly terrain. If you'd prefer, you can easily flag down a green taxi or call an Uber instead of trekking back up the cobblestone streets. Tip: Save the area of the city on Google Maps offline so it's easy to look up if you don't have cell service. You can also star any locations beforehand, like where you're staying, city landmarks, or places you know you may want to visit or shop at, for quick reference and walking directions.
San Miguel de Allende is in the central time zone.
San Miguel de Allende has a relatively mild climate, with temperatures staying between a certain range year-round. The city is at an altitude so it can take a few days to get adjusted to the air, and nights can get chilly. The average November Fahrenheit lows and highs are 50°F to 78°F. San Miguel is at 6500 feet of altitude, so dressing in layers is key. Be sure to bring a sweater or jacket for the cooler nights.
Knowing some of the basics certainly helps and is appreciated by locals. You can download apps like Google Translate and save the English/ Spanish dictionaries offline so that you can easily look something up or use their instant camera translation function to scan over text and see it translate to English in real time.
There are plenty of ATM locations where you can pull out the local currency, pesos, and most locations take credit cards. Be sure to let your bank(s) know you're traveling to Mexico beforehand! If possible, use a credit card that does not have any foreign exchange fees. Having a currency conversion app on your phone makes it easy to convert pesos to USD. Most of these apps can be used offline. Pesos, the local currency, are definitely good to have on hand for markets, food vendors, smaller restaurants or shops, and taxis.
Let your carrier know you're going to Mexico to see what options are available. Verizon had an option where you paid a $10 fee each day to allow access to your typical plan. As a note, on our girl's trip last October, Jennifer used this function but had spotty service, Lindsey had great service, and Amber kept her phone off and leveraged wifi and downloaded apps to be used offline.
It is not safe to drink the water from the tap in Mexico so every home or hotel here either has water delivery or a water purification system installed. All restaurants here use purified water, so it is safe to drink the water and eat the ice.