Mexico Real Food Adventure - 8 Days

Bienvenidos! Welcome to Mexico City. Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 6 pm tonight, where you'll meet your leader and fellow travellers. If you arrive early, maybe go and see the Templo Mayor (a 13th-century Aztec temple) or the baroque Catedral Metropolitana de Mexico. If you’re a fan of art, you could go to the Frida Kahlo Museum or check out the Palacio Nacional, which houses murals by Diego Rivera. After the meeting, head out for a taco crawl around town so you can sample different versions of Mexico’s most popular global dish. Maybe accompany your tacos with a refreshing local beer or horchata (a milky cinnamon rice drink).

With your leader, you’ll visit a Mexico City institution – a two-storey bakery brimming with cakes, breads and biscuits, followed by a walking tour of the Centro Historico. Take in the beautiful Bellas Artes Palace, travel down the Paseo de la Reforma thoroughfare and see the enormous Zocalo Square. Along the way, call into Mercado San Juan – the city’s main food market – then roam the surrounding streets and watch local vendors at work. Pull up a chair at one of the best seafood stands in the city for a late lunch. On the way, we will also visit Gastromotiva, an Intrepid Foundation partner who fights hunger and food insecurity across Latin America. Enjoy the rest of the day at leisure. Maybe relax in Chapultepec Park, take in some of the city's notable museums or check out the home of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

Take a private vehicle to Puebla this morning, stopping in San Pedro Tlahuac along the way, where Nahuatl descendants preserve pre-Columbian traditions. This is one of the last remaining places in Mexico that still has the canals and chinampa farms – man-made agricultural islands – from the times of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. Start your visit in a family kitchen where tortillas are freshly cooked and taken to the local market to sell. Be sure to sample the tortillas before boarding a trajinera (a flat-bottomed boat) for the 30-minute journey to the chinampas. Tour the chinampas with a Nahuatl farmer, who will show you their crops, explain how they make a chinampa and their tips for a successful harvest. Fill a basket with vegetables, which you’ll turn into a salad for lunch. A fresh spread will accompany your salad – tortillas stuffed with pork or vegetables and hibiscus tea. Arrive in Puebla in the afternoon – a city known for its long culinary history – and spend the rest of the day however you like. Perhaps pop down Alley of the Frogs – a colourful street perfect for souvenir shopping.

Venture out on a culinary city tour with a stop in a famous local market for lunch. Puebla is renowned for dishes that combine Spanish and pre-hispanic influences, such as chiles en nogada (stuffed chillies covered in creamy walnut sauce - seasonal). Start with some Pueblan street food like tacos Arabes (a style of taco created by Puebla’s Middle Eastern immigrants) or chalupas (fried tortillas with a spicy filling). Then, make a beeline for Calle de los Dulces (Sweet Street) to sample tortitas de Santa Clara (shortbread biscuits) and camotes (sweet potato lollies). Save space for a cinnamon-dusted churro or two! Once you’re full and satisfied, perhaps check out Talavera pottery or chill out in a cantina.

Travel by bus to Oaxaca – a beautiful city nicknamed the ‘land of the seven moles’, hinting at its varieties of the thick sauce. When you arrive, head straight for the bustling Mercado 20 de Noviembre for a late lunch. Among the many great choices, tlayudas (Oaxacan pizza) is a staple you shouldn’t miss. Next, visit Mercado Benito Juarez – a bountiful market taking up a full city block and brimming with produce like mole spices, pastes and towers of Oaxacan cheese. With free time for the remainder of the day, you can continue to roam the markets, people watch in the zocalo or take a gentle stroll around Oaxaca’s streets.

Today, visit a market with a local chef and learn about Oaxaca’s cuisine from an expert. Take the ingredients you’ve picked up and, during a special cooking class, learn how to transform them into traditional Oaxacan dishes, which you’ll then enjoy for lunch. And you can take these recipes home as a souvenir – the gift that keeps on giving! After, explore Oaxaca’s artsy neighbourhood, Jalatlaco, with your leader. Bright murals and coffee shops adorn its streets so sit down with a hot cup of caffeine from a cafe that’s been open for 140 years and take in your colourful surroundings.

Today, you'll venture out of Oaxaca for an insight into regional life. First, head to the ancient ruins of Mitla. Mitla (the Nahuatl word for 'underworld') is an important Zapotec archaeological site and was the main religious centre for the Zapotec people. At lunchtime, explore the abundant Mercado Tlacolula, renowned for its barbacoa and the ideal choice to refuel until dinner. On the way back to Oaxaca, stop at a mezcaleria (mezcal distillery). Although this drink is experiencing a resurgence in popularity all over Mexico, it is largely produced in Oaxaca. It's generally enjoyed straight-up, so it's not for the faint-hearted! 

Your adventure ends after breakfast. Additional accommodation can be pre-booked if you wish to spend more time exploring Mexico. Just speak to your booking agent ahead of time.