Money

This program includes accommodations, transportation, group meals as noted on our website (including soft drinks and local beer or wine at group lunches and dinners), entrance fees, and gratuities for all group activities to guides, waiter and porters. You should need money only for personal expenses, meals on your own, beverages not provided at group meals and for individual purchases.

A few things to note about money while on this trip:

• You will need to pay for everything in local currency using cash or credit cards.

• Use fresh, new-style bills, as overly worn or outdated bills are often not accepted.

• ATMs are readily available in Mexico City. If using an ATM, you will be given the choice if you want the Mexican bank’s exchange rate or your ATM bank’s exchange rate. We recommend the latter for a better rate of exchange.

• Major credit cards (VISA, MasterCard and American Express) are accepted in virtually all hotels, most restaurants and large shops.

The currency in Mexico is Pesos. You can find up-to-date information and current exchange rates online, for example at Oanda. 

Gratuity Guidelines

The following gratuities are NOT included in the program cost:

• Hotels: Because of the difficulty of ensuring that gratuities get to the right person, tips for housekeeping staff at our hotels are not included. If you would like to leave a tip for your housekeeper, $1-2 per day is typically what is recommended. You may tip in USD or local currency.

• Private transfers: Travel/Study / our local operator, gratuities for your transfer driver are not included. If you wish to tip your transfer driver, $5 is the recommended amount, and you may tip in USD or local currency.

• Restaurant meals that are not part of our program: It is customary to tip wait staff in Mexico, and a tip of 10% to 15% of the meal cost will be happily received.